PROLOGUE
7 Mayfair Square, London, 1821
Sir Septimus Spivey here:
"It's not easy being a ghost.
"One must put up with being overlooked, ignored, forgotten, or worse yet, spoken of with heartless disrespect as if one weren't there.
"Well, yes, of course I'm not there anyway, but in light of who I am--was--surely my name should evoke nothing short of reverence.
"I have suffered too much, for too long, and this must stop.
"I should have listened to my father. He warned me that my generous spirit would bring nothing but disappointment.
"Hmm. Of course, my father never reached, or even approached, the level of my own successes in life. Nevertheless, he was right in this instance. I built a beautiful house for my family--and only for my family. The fact that circumstances have forced me to take up residence elsewhere--in a manner of speaking--is no excuse for the way in which my granddaughter and her nephew now abuse the jewel in my professional crown.
"I was knighted for my accomplishments as an architect. Number 7 Mayfair Square is the best of my extraordinary designs. Hester and her nephew, young Hunter Lloyd, are despoiling their inheritance. They have jeopardized their own reputations, their own standing in society, and thus tainted the very air that touches the face of my precious creation. More importantly, they have sullied a peerless man's memory--mine.
"In Mayfair Square, address of addresses, golden carrot before the noses
of the most ambitious of well-bred noses, the stuff of dreams for those who look longingly but know they are unfit: in this square, at the triumph that is Number
Seven--there are lodgers!
"Hester and Hunter are letting rooms.
"I am as angry as I can be and I refuse to tolerate this state of affairs any longer.
"This is insupportable, you know. I have reached a stage at which I should need to do nothing but occupy my favorite vantage point in the fabulously carved staircase I myself sketched for the craftsmen. The faces of members of my family are depicted there in great detail, and so is mine. That is where I retire to rest, and where I should be left in peace to admire what I have accomplished. But, no, no, thanks to my ungrateful relations it's not yet to be. No matter, I shall prevail.
"And I have a plan.
"Meg and Sibyl Smiles live at 7B. They are sisters, orphans of some country clergyman. I cannot even remember the name of the village. Somewhere forgettable in the Cotswolds, I believe. Oh, the shame of it all. They try to disguise the truth that Number 7 is being used like a lowly rooming house by speaking of Lady Hester's "resident protegees" if you can imagine such foolishness. Since when have protegees paid their champions? And who, may I ask, champions seamstresses and pianoforte teachers--or shopkeepers--or failed painters? Oh, we have them all at Number 7 Mayfair Square, my friends.
"Meg Smiles has certain troubles, I understand. For these I am profoundly sorry. I wish life were treating her better. Regardless, I intend to assist in her removal from my house for other parts. Sibyl will accompany her. Toward that end, this is what I intend:
"There's a new fellow at Number 17, name of Count Etranger--Jean-Marc. Fancies himself more English than . . . than whatever they call people from Mont Nuages. Country about the size of Hyde Park on the border between France and Italy. Anyway, Etranger wants a home away from home, I should think, so he's brought his sister to London for the Season. Intends to marry her off to the wealthiest, most elevated contender and use the resulting connections to weasel his way into the best places, don't you know. Good luck to him, that's what I say.
"The sister is Princess Désirée. She understands fiddle-all of the ins and outs of going about in Town, and Etranger knows this is so. He needs absolutely trustworthy assistance with the girl's preparation. Someone, or more than one, who can guide the young lady in basic areas without having any pretensions of their own. Who better to fill the post--posts--than the sisters Smiles?
"They will do well enough as companions expert in questions of style (although they have none), elocution, voice training and mastery of the pianoforte. After all, how much experience could be necessary to fill such posts?
"Of course, companions are also for the purpose of keeping their charge company. To this end they must move to Number 17. My task will be to ensure Meg and Sibyl do not return to Number 7.
"Trust me. They won't"
  
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