The Lady's Keeper

Intro I stood at the edge of the garden, watching the two girls as they laughed and wandered among the flowers, the warm spring light gently illuminating their faces. My new role as their chaperone felt like an endless cycle of matchmaking—helping them navigate their way through a world of suitors, teaching them the rules of society and decorum. It was a job I had taken on out of duty, hoping to believe in the power of love and connection. But love was a tricky thing, wasn’t it? I believed in it, in its purest form, the kind that could overcome anything. The kind that made life worth living. At first, I didn’t hear him approach. It was only when I caught the movement in the corner of my eye that I felt a shift in the air. My heart skipped a beat, and I almost involuntarily turned to face him. He was tall, muscular, his dark brown hair slightly tousled by the wind, and his green eyes held an intensity that sent a strange shiver down my spine. I could almost feel the weight of his presence as he moved toward me, walking with purpose, his brown coat swirling around his legs. He had an effortless confidence that made it impossible to ignore him. I swallowed hard, my thoughts scattering like leaves in the wind. I tried to focus again on his younger sisters, but my gaze couldn’t pull away from him. He was everything I had been warned to avoid—the type of man who believed in status and obligation rather than love. The kind of man who wouldn’t understand why I believed in fairytale endings. But there was something in the way he looked at me, something that made me wonder if I could convince him to see things differently. To see love the way I saw it.