Making his farewells to his uncle and his father brought a sense of loss to Fotherby. His uncle had given him the address of the house he boarded in when he visited London and insisted that his nephew should stay there.

“I am proud of you, Henry,” he confided in an uncustomary moment of affection whilst he accompanied Fotherby to the crossroads to meet the stagecoach. “You must be in no doubt of that. Had my life been different I should have wanted my son to have been just as you are.”

These words were to provide him with the only comfort and companionship on his journey, but Fotherby found he needed nothing else. It took him two days to journey south to the capital and the moment he arrived he visited the college to register for the exam the following day. The man he...

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