The Wayfarers

He awakens in a disordered drawing‑room, the remnants of a night spent in cards, wine and reckless bravado strewn about like evidence of a crime. The narrator, a once‑privileged scion whose great‑grandfather’s scholarly portrait still watches from the mantel, now faces mounting debts, a fatal duel, and the looming threat of the law. With a wry, self‑deprecating voice he surveys his own ruin, noting the irony of his own “rakishness with the highest honours” as the only thing left unscathed.

Determined to cheat fate, he summons his loyal valet François and prepares for another night of gambling, spirits and desperate scheming in the smoky streets of Jermyn. The opening promises a darkly comic journey through London’s underbelly, where a fallen gentleman must navigate creditors, rivals, and his own conscience. Listeners are invited to follow his tangled path, watching whether wit and charm can outpace the inevitable consequences of his excesses.