Everstill • h.s

There is a manor deep in the woods.
It is not abandoned.
It is waiting.

When Vivienne Pembroke receives a strange letter offering work at Calverhall Manor, she accepts for one reason only: she has nowhere else to go.

The villagers of Blackmere offer no welcome. Only warnings.

Do not follow the fog.
Do not let the fires go cold.
Do not look too long into the mirrors.

Beyond the village, hidden among twisted trees and old silence, Calverhall rises from the earth as though it has always been there. Vivienne is told to keep the rooms in order, tend the hearths, and ask no questions.

But the house does not behave like a house.

Doors open where walls once stood. Footsteps sound in empty corridors. Portraits seem to change when unobserved. And each morning, something in the manor feels subtly, terribly different.

Then he appears.

Lord Marlowe-beautiful, severe, and untouched by time.

He speaks as though she belongs there. Watches as though he has been expecting her. And the longer Vivienne remains, the harder it becomes to tell whether Calverhall is keeping her prisoner...

...or protecting her from what waits outside.

Author's Note: This is a work of fiction inspired by the likeness of Harry Styles. Lord Marlowe is an original fictional character whose appearance is imagined with features reminiscent of Harry Styles, but his personality, actions, and story are entirely fictional.