She waved her hand vaguely at the frowning man behind the desk.

James glanced at the paper in her hand and said, ‘May I?’

Beatrice hesitated, then handed it over to him.

He flicked quickly through the pages and she saw his eyes widen – as well they should. The paper was filled with such wonders: a flower that could bring rain, another whose scent could remove physical pain, a bird whose song bestowed visions of other lives, and a frog who could catch nightmares right out of the sky.

James looked up at the secretary and said, ‘Please be so good as to fetch the president.’

The man gave a startled laugh. ‘Oh, but he will not—’

‘I am not joking, sir; fetch him at once,’ James said, his voice sharp.

Beatrice felt a flare of resentment as the secretary gave a bow and hurried away. For almost half an hour she had stood here arguing with him, to no effect whatsoever. It was galling to have James sweep in now and take charge of things, even if he was trying to help her.

‘These discoveries are extraordinary,’ James said, passing the paper back to her. ‘You must be immensely proud.’

She inclined her head, but said nothing. A few minutes later the secretary reappeared with the society’s president, a thin man with a neatly trimmed white moustache, named Sir Harold Monker.

‘What is all this, Mr Sheppard?’ he asked, ignoring Beatrice entirely. ‘I hear it is most urgent?’

‘Sir, I have the honour of introducing Lady Beatrice Sitwell,’ James said, before turning to her. ‘May I present Lord Monker, the president of the Linnean Society?’

In spite of the difficulty in getting him here, Beatrice felt a hum of excitement to be standing before him at last.

‘H-H-How d-do you d-do, s-s-sir?’

Lord Monker gave her a bow. ‘It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Beatrice. Forgive me, but I’m not sure quite how I—’

‘Lady Beatrice has travelled widely over the last eighteen months,’ James said. ‘She is a fine botanist and mycologist and has come to present a paper to the society. I highly recommend that you read it.’

Lord Monker looked astonished. ‘But my heavens, we cannot possibly—’

‘Please be so good as to at least glance at the pages, sir,’ James said.

The president sighed and flicked through the paper in his hand. His movements were impatient at first, but he quickly slowed down and his expression changed to one of interest. Finally he looked back up at James.

‘Well,’ he said. ‘This is most interesting, I must admit. In light of the … ah, the significance of some of these finds, we might, perhaps, permit you to present the paper on her ladyship’s behalf?’