Although it had been less than two years ago, it felt like a different time. So much had changed. She had been but a girl then. Now she was a woman. Now she was married. Now she had Archie. Though it was Raven who had drawn her into danger and had forced her to appreciate what she might be capable of, Archie was the man who had truly transformed her life.

She looked over at her husband, Dr Archibald Banks, who was sitting in an armchair by the window, squinting at the front page of the Scotsman. He owned a pair of reading glasses but rarely wore them. He said they made him look like an old man, something he was sensitive about given the age difference between them. He was thirty-six years old but could pass for a man several years younger. Sarah hoped that his youthfulness would work in his favour.

She had met him when he came to Queen Street on his quest to consult with the great medical minds of Edinburgh. He had encountered Dr Simpson back when they were both students, and they had remained friends since. He was handsome, lively, articulate, well read, and, as a medical man, fascinated by the role Sarah had, the fact that there was no title that encompassed all that she did. He was not in any way bemused by her scientific curiosity and her determination to better educate herself. When they first spoke at any length, he had listened as though he might learn from her. She could not think of another man who had ever done that.

He was a wealthy man from a good family and yet had no qualms about associating with her. They often walked together in Queen Street Gardens when the weather permitted, discussing matters as diverse as current affairs and the contents of medical journals. They attended public lectures at the Assembly Rooms, listening to speakers discussing everything from philosophy to phrenology. They traded novels and eagerly compared their impressions.

She could not help but compare his attitude to that of Will Raven. When their relationship deepened, he had sought to put distance between them. He became too busy to spend time with her; the work for his MD thesis had to come first. And as the end of his medical studies drew near, he seemed to become increasingly uncomfortable with what he perceived as the gulf in social standing that lay between them. He had left her in no doubt that he thought their relationship to be impractical, impossible and ill-advised.

Then he left for Europe and she had not heard from him since.