The woollen dress

The story opens with a lone cyclist winding his way through a riot of autumnal colour, drawn toward a mysterious chateau that looms like a forgotten fairy‑tale palace. The narrator’s vivid descriptions turn the forest into a living tableau—golden lindens, copper‑chestnuts and a perfume of ancient legend that hangs over a deserted village. As he reaches the crumbling estate, he meets a solitary peasant who speaks of its past as a nunnery and a noble’s seat, hinting at layers of history waiting to be uncovered.

Soon the tale turns to the enigmatic owner, a daring millionaire aviator whose restless genius has taken him from scientific curiosities to daring flights. The narrator, once acquainted with him in society, is both fascinated and wary of a man who seems to abandon every triumph at the first taste of fame. Their conversation sets the stage for a quiet, atmospheric exploration of memory, ambition, and the lingering ghosts that haunt a house named for Sleeping Beauty.