My conscience wrestled with her proposition for a good while before I saw fit to accept it.

And now, my dear Lady Blessington, I humbly submit to you in published form that story which you bid me to recount. I offer no apology for it, nor for the scenes in which I engaged, the philosophy I espoused, or the actions that my conscience urged me to take. As you and my devoted readers well know, I am blessed with numerous friends and champions, among which I have considered you for several years. Much to my detriment, I have also acquired an equal number of detractors, many of whom are my very own kinsmen. I bid you to peruse these pages carefully, for amongst the lines are the answers you seek. Only once you have discovered them will you be able to determine whether you wish to rank yourself amongst the former or the latter.

I am your eternally devoted servant,

H. Lightfoot

15th March 1837

Chapter 1

I SHOULD BEGIN by stating this: until I found myself at Mrs Elliot’s gate, I had no desire whatsoever to make her acquaintance. Only that afternoon I had endeavoured to prevent our introduction, and my scheme might very well have succeeded had I not suffered a terrible and sudden reverse. All at once, the lady I had sought most to avoid in Paris had become the nearest approximation of a friend that I possessed.

I cannot rightly say how it was I navigated a path to her home. I recall nothing beyond placing one foot before the other. At first I tripped and scurried, and then, once I had crossed the swirling Seine, my gait slowed into a heavy trudge. I believe it was Fortuna who, quite without warning, compelled me to draw to a halt. There, she caused me to lift my eyes to a sliver of light escaping from a shuttered window. It fell across a sign which read ‘Rue de Miromesnil’.

Her hôtel particulier was simple enough to find amid the row of similar high gates. A lantern hung upon a hook above the entry, illuminating her entwined initials: G and E. I lingered for a while, my eyes set upon the dancing, silent candle flame.