Armadale Book the third - Chapter XV, pt 1

In which we find Mr. Bashwood senior anxiously awaiting a meeting with his son in a London inn, whilst the younger Bashwood, a shrewd and unsentimental investigator, prepares to reveal the intricate history of Miss Gwilt, whose mysterious past is entwined with secrets and scandal. The younger man, with a mixture of sardonic wit and professional pride, begins to narrate the tale of her early years—her uncertain parentage, her mysterious guardians, and the incidents abroad that shaped her unusual character.