“It was a servant who betrayed us, a maid whom I had dismissed for impertinence. She went to my father. It was not difficult for him to discover the truth. David was sent packing without a reference, without even the salary that was due to him. I was sent to Yorkshire to stay with my uncle, and while I was on the visit, broken hearted, miserable, yet striving to hide my hurt from the curious eyes of my cousins who had an inkling that I was in disgrace, we had an invitation to visit Edinburgh.
“A friend of the family invited us all to stay – my aunt and her two daughters, myself and one of her sons. There was to be a ball in Edinburgh. My aunt accepted the invitation, principally, I think, because she thought that the distraction would relieve my obvious unhappiness.
“It was at the ball t
