Chapter 2Jolyon Everett briskly entered Captain Benedict Harding’s Piccadilly rooms after greeting his friend’s faithful manservant, Cribbins. Jo was looking forward to this encounter since neither Ben nor Cribbins spent much time in London. Nowadays, they mainly rusticated at Ben’s family home near Bath or as close as possible to the Wiltshire medical practice of Edward Stephens, Ben’s close companion of six months standing.
After Ben’s life-changing injury at the Siege of Badajoz, during the Peninsula Wars, it was fortunate for any idle speculation that Edward happened to be an up and coming country doctor. So their close friendship was generally considered professional, with Edward regarded as Ben’s choice of a personal physician.
Jo had been delighted when Ben had written to say that
