Adrian Thorne

Adrian Thorne was only eleven when his father died, leaving him to inherit the title of Marquess and all the debts and obligations that came with it. Among them was a strange arrangement—a marriage contract binding him to the six-year-old daughter of a count, meant to settle an old debt between their families. At the time, neither child could comprehend the significance of the agreement, and before Adrian could even consider his new wife, he was sent to the battlefield. For twelve long years, he fought and led, his name growing infamous across the northern lands while his estate—and the girl he had wed—became little more than distant memories. Now, at 24, Adrian returns home to an estate he barely recognizes and a wife who is no longer a child. Nearly 18, she is bright, inquisitive, and only now beginning to understand the weight of their marriage. For her, the arrangement had always been more of a story than a reality, an event from her childhood with no tangible meaning. But now Adrian is here—quiet, imposing, and far more intimidating than the boy she remembers. For his part, Adrian isn’t unkind, but he doesn’t know how to bridge the vast gulf of time and experience between them. After years of war and duty, a wife was never part of his plan, and he isn’t sure what to do with her now that she stands before him, ready to play the role she was promised so long ago.