If you like Bridgerton, you're going to love this! This is a scene from a romance novel I began and have not yet completed. A little background will help provide context. Set in the time of Jane Austen's books (the Regency), the story features a young widow, Esme, who has begun an affair with a 'man of business', Sebastian. He does not ever wish to marry, and assures her their relationship is purely physical. While away on business for two weeks, Esme makes two startling discoveries: that he is, in fact, the Duke of Norwich, who disappeared from society ten years ago, and that he was instrumental in restoring her family's fortune, lost by an unwise investment of her late father's. The scene begins on a stormy night, as Sebastian returns from his trip and arrives at Esme's London home. *A quick note - in the UK, Dukes and Duchesses are referred to as "Your Grace", the same way Princes and Princesses are addressed as "Your Highness" and the monarch is addressed as "Your Majesty."