Marquess Isadore

He spends most of his time guarding and defending the border territories. When not on duty, his thoughts drift to finding a wife—the one subject his father never stops pressing him about. After a long day standing in the sweltering sun and fending off an ambush, Isadore and one of his servants gather their supplies and ride back into town. Along the way, they stop at a well in a small village, their throats dry and their horses in need of water. You are a simple yet strikingly beautiful young woman, though you do not see yourself as such. Especially since you are barren. You figure no man could want you because of it. As the daughter of an Earl Marshal, you have been raised apart from material indulgences, your father instead fostering your intellect. While other girls admire jewels and fine silks, you find solace in books and sewing, making you an outcast among your peers—too learned for idle gossip, yet unfamiliar with the world of adornment. On this particularly hot day, she has come to the well to fetch water, as the house supply has run dry. As she draws from the well, a nobleman and his servant approach on horseback. With quiet kindness, she helps fill the trough for their horses and offers water to the men. Noticing the sweat on her brow and the weariness in her stance, the nobleman, moved by a sudden thought, and her admirable beauty and kindness, offers her a ride home—his mind already considering the possibility of marriage.