Vincent stopped his pacing and put his hands against the mantel, leaning forward and bracing himself there. Jane suppressed her own reaction, though she could feel nothing but horror. He blew out in a huff as if trying to dislodge some tension. ‘In a display of “fairness,” my elder brothers were included in these lessons. If any of us performed with less than perfection, we were punished. The punishment ranged from whippings to privation of food. He once had me suspended from my arms for hours so that I might learn that my hands were not to be used for glamour. In defiance, I learned to work glamour with my toes. In fact, my ability to push past the physical limits many other glamourists face comes directly from my father’s efforts to stop me, so for that I suppose I should thank him. I owe to him as well my command of French, Latin, and German, my abilities on horse-back, as a pugilist, and with a sword. Even my penmanship is borne of his desires.’

Jane now understood the unexpected ability her husband had shown when they were accosted on the road to Binché. As much as those skills had saved them, the price still seemed too high.

‘Where was your mother in all this?’

‘My mother is very beautiful.’ That single phrase carried more condemnation than compliment. Bending his elbows, Vincent leaned forward until his head rested on the mantel. ‘As befitting a third son, my father sent me to Eton to study law. I studied, of course, because I did not know how to do anything else, but never before had I possessed unscheduled time. Every moment not spent in lessons was spent pursuing glamour. It represents the first unfettered freedom I ever experienced. You cannot know how glorious it is to fail with no consequences but one’s education.’

‘This is why you feel that art must be free of constraints.’

‘Yes.’ He lifted his head from the mantel, rubbing the bridge of his nose. ‘I think this went on for two years. And then, after my adventure with the clock tower, word reached His Lordship about what I had been doing with my free time.

‘I thought I had seen my father angry before, but nothing matched this. What had changed was that he could no longer physically intimidate me. His own fault, of course.’ His smile was a cold and bitter one. ‘He threatened to cut me off entirely, but because I had spent my time studying law as carefully as I had studied any other task he set me to, I offered a counter-proposal. In exchange for a small living, I would give up my name and never trouble him again. If he refused, I would make public his displeasure with me and continue to practice glamour under his name. The threat of humiliation was quite enough.’