A Lady of Quality

On a fog‑laden November morning in 1690, the courtyard of Wildairs Hall erupts with the clatter of horses, barking hounds and the raucous laughter of Sir Jeoffry and his companions. A boisterous, larger‑than‑life gentleman, he is famed for his strength, his love of drink, and his blunt, oaths‑spattered humor. Yet beneath the merriment lies a strained marriage to a gentle, quiet wife whose many children have not survived, leaving Sir Jeoffry bitter and distant.

When the old nurse of the house appears, her urgent whisper about a newborn infant—still an hour old—breaks through the chaos. The child's arrival, announced in the midst of Sir Jeoffry’s drunken tirade, hints at a fragile hope that may challenge the lord’s hardened ways. As the day unfolds, listeners are drawn into a world of 17th‑century intrigue, where pride, sorrow, and the promise of a “lady of quality” begin to stir the quiet corners of Wildairs Hall.