Obscurity was a preferred state of existence for Lieutenant Fotherby, never more so than in the realisation that a matter of honour had ranked higher than merit. He had not visited the Chesters, the Tenterchilts nor the Portlands at the end of the year but had spent his Sundays escorting Miss Kitty Simmons on strolls through the city parks. On weekdays he journeyed out to Greenwich to help in the hospital there. He was paid poorly for this but, for the most part, he wished only to lose himself in the work he was able to do. The hospital also provided him with a place to sleep and food so that every penny he made was saved to enable him to return once more to Derbyshire.

He spent Christmas at Wanderford Hall with his father and uncle. His uncle’s disagreement with him had faded now, seeing that t...

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