Doctor Grimshawe's Secret - Chapter 20

In which, amidst the fading echoes of a grand feast, two friends share confidences concerning mysterious pasts and uncertain claims to ancient honours, their discourse weaving between dreams and sober realities. The restless young man, drawn irresistibly towards a venerable ancestral mansion, finds both counsel and caution from an old companion and a cherished confidante, as they stand on the threshold of intertwining destinies.