The old man nodded. ‘I understand. And I take no offence. Let us proceed. Despite how all this may fly in the face of everything you think you know about the world, the Keeper is the daughter of Zacharias Bosquanet. More than just his daughter—she was his oldest child, his right hand and his closest confidante. It was understandable, too—she was in every way a chip off the old block. Which was more than could be said for his son and heir, Augustus. One can easily understand his disappointment. While his sister went from distinction to distinction, from classroom to boardroom, young Augustus kept the gossips busy by going from scandal to scandal instead. There were even a few minor brushes with the law, which were quickly hushed up, most of them to do with either questionable public conduct or the irate parents of young ladies. None of this found any favour with his father—this sort of publicity was undesirable, both for the business as well as the personal reputation of the Bosquanets. And the only two things the Chairman cared about were the business and the Bosquanet name. Augustus, on the other hand, showed scant interest in either. It was a well-known fact that only the long-held Bosquanet family tradition of a son becoming Chairman prevented Zacharias from completely washing his hands of Augustus. As it was, he had the boy nominated to the board, where he spent most of his time at the forefront of tabloid feeds.’

‘The black sheep,’ said June.

Father smiled. ‘Exactly. But only as far as the Chairman was concerned, mind you. That was the funny thing. For all his wayward ways, and there were plenty of those, Augustus was a singularly well-liked young man. As to why he chose not to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities afforded to him, and spent his life in an orgy of dissipation instead, I cannot say. One might say it was his way of dealing with the burden of guilt for a life of privilege not earned. Or you might say he was just a spoilt young wastrel, with no thought for anything but his own pleasure. Both are probably equally true.’

‘You knew him then?’ asked Albert.