It was a cloudy, wet spring evening in the royal borough of kensington in west London, as a small gathering of close friends sat about a lavish, candlelit dinner table within the stately Edgeworth House belonging to James and Claudia Doherty.

Among them sat Thomas Moore and Eli Grant, both of whom were financiers alongside James at the prestigious Barclays bank. Adeline, Thomas' wife, and Claudia were the best of friends, having been neighbors as children on the outskirts of London where their families' country estates were situated.

After a lovely, three course dinner, the friends eased themselves into a champagne nightcap and comfortable conversation.

'Addy, have you seen Mrs. Evans recently? It would appear as if she's taken up the bottle. She was seen by Mrs.Wilson only last week stumbling about in Burberrys and talking quite a lot of silliness. How embarrassing for Mr. Evans,' tattled Claudia as she lifted a crystal flute of sparkling champagne to her lips.

'Mrs. Evans? She is a marvelously eccentric woman. I do hope she's alright,' Adeline replied.

Claudia, unlike Adeline, was most often engaged in idle talk about others. She was not alone in her passions, however, as many genteel men and women enjoyed a good scandal. Adeline, on the other hand, had been the topic of conversation on more than one occasion and did not care for it, believing it to be in poor taste to sneer at other's misfortunes.

'Mr. Evans has, not so privately, taken a mistress,' Eli began, 'Word has it he's even moved the young woman into the marriage home'

'Goodness,' Adeline uttered, feeling a great sympathy for poor Mrs. Evans.

Thomas leaned back in his chair, 'What muses me, is she's been associating herself with the women's suffrage committee. Away from home all hours of the day, aligning herself with those uncouth widows and spinsters. Perhaps had she focused on her domestic duties, as a good wife should, she would not be having to share her home with a mistress. Men need to feel needed.'

'It really is her own fault, I'm afraid,' Claudia agreed with Thomas, 'In any case, what is this committee aiming to accomplish?'

Eli responded, 'They want the vote'

At this, Claudia chortled, 'Why would any woman concern herself with such things as politics? Are we not busy enough as is?'

Thomas smiled, 'Quite so. Women do not have time to vote. They are far too busy taking care of their home and the children'

It was not at all apparent, as Adeline was a master of the placid facade, but she felt a sharp twinge at Thomas' mention of children. It was a strong point of contention between husband and wife, one that could very easily end her marriage, had Thomas the desire. Adeline viewed her inability to give Thomas a son or even a daughter as a failure that rested solely on her shoulders. She sometimes wondered why Thomas had not already left her.

'Women do not need a ballot to clean out their kitchen sinks,' Eli jested.

'Not only that, women's votes would double the electorate, voting would cost more without adding any new value,' James added just before striking a match to light his after dinner cigar.

Claudia nodded, 'I simply do not understand why these women insist on making fools of themselves by demanding to be treated like men. I am perfectly content with my lot in life'

'As should be the case for any decent wife,' Thomas added as he looked to Adeline and rested his hand atop her own.

Adeline gifted Thomas a gentle simper, and yet was eager to shift the topic of conversation, 'Eli, how is our dear Rose faring?'

'Beautiful as ever,' Eli mused, 'But I'm afraid my wife's condition only worsens. She's lost all motility this past year and can no longer communicate her wishes,' he confessed, appearing doleful.

'A monstrous sickness to befall a wonderful woman such as Rose. I am so very sorry,' Adeline expressed.

Eli smiled, 'You are too kind, Adeline, as always. A genuine heart, such as yours, is a rarity these days, I'm afraid'

'I'm certain your wife is as rare a gem as my darling Adeline,' Thomas noted, looking first to Eli then to his wife.

'She most certainly was,' Eli paused, 'Illness, I've come to learn, has a way of stripping a person of their altruism. It is easy to be kind when the world has been kind to you. The same cannot be said to the contrary'

A quiet fell amongst the friends for a moment before Eli spoke again, 'Now, let us talk of tragedy no more. Claudia, how are the children?'

'Delightfully impish as always, although Emily far outmatches her big brother in mischief,' answered Claudia, thankful for the opportunity to move on from such a vexatious topic.

'She certainly stands out amongst the four of you,' Adeline teased playfully.

Claudia tittered, 'She has all the spirit and spunk of her great grandmother.'

'She'll certainly be keeping the boys on their toes in a handful of years,' her father, James added.

Adeline smiled, 'It is said that curly haired girls have a wild side. Seems as true as can be in this case.'

Adeline could speak joyfully about Claudia's children for hours if given the opportunity. She thought of them as niece and nephew from the days they were born and had, arguably, spent more time with them than even their own parents.

'Children truly are a blessing,' Eli mused wistfully, his own marriage devoid of offspring.

'Indeed,' Thomas concurred just after sparking himself a cigar and blowing the smoke upward toward the ceiling.

Claudia smiled warmly and nodded, 'Why, I don't know what I would do without them.'

☆

After a lovely evening with their dear friends, Thomas and Adeline departed the Doherty's beautiful home, en route back to their own home up on Campden Hill.

'What a lovely evening,' Adeline smiled warmly at Thomas, but he seemed preoccupied as he peered out the window of their coach, and offered his wife only a passive, 'mhm'

Traveling through the darkened, foggy streets of London, all conversation fell short as Thomas' social charms sloughed off to reveal a disinterested, implacable man.

It had been going on this way for some time. Adeline's only opportunity to reunite with the charming, affectionate man she married was when the couple were in the company of others. It truly felt as if Thomas were two separate men altogether, and everyone aside from Adeline received the very best of him. She remembered fondly how Thomas had, in the beginning, pursued her with such admirable license. He was everything a gentleman suitor ought to be, and very swiftly earned Adeline's deepest ardor. She marveled at the fact that she and him had been married nearly ten years already, having wed when Adeline was only of seventeen years, and Thomas twenty.

After unsuccessfully attempting to continue on a conversation with her husband, Adeline shifted her focus to the darkened terrace houses and the dim street, illuminated only by the gas lamps which stood six to each city block.

Having rained not long before, the street and cobblestone walkways glistened, reflecting the amber light provided by the lamps. The permeating, often choking scent of dirty coal smoke always existed in the air of London, its use to power machinery and heat homes rampant and unyielding. Adeline likened the smell to that of a burning cigar, the smoke of which she, and every other Londoner could not escape.

Gazing out her carriage window, Adeline soon found herself helplessly ensnared by the piercing gaze of a dear old friend.

Golden yellow eyes and black fur like soot, Adeline's mysterious guardian had returned to her. She certainly would not have seen him had she not turned just then to witness him as he witnessed her.

She was not a fanciful or unbalanced woman, in fact, most people would agree the opposite was true, but she had, for as long as she could recall, seen, dreamt and felt the presence of an entity who appeared to her only ever as an intimidating black wolf. As a young child, Adeline was naturally terrified by the presence of this devilish spectre. This beast, who so brazenly dismissed the laws of nature, appearing silently by her bedside to watch in the dark and still of night. She could not escape it, and to make matters worse, her father only ever insisted that her visions were nothing more than a bad dream; a dream which never faded away. As Adeline grew, the black wolf remained and perhaps out of necessity, she began to regard him with a cautious warmth. After all, his visitations always seemed to coincide with difficult times in Adeline's life, and so she began to welcome him as an old friend and gave him the name, Grimm.

She came to understood that her experiences with Grimm were quite impossible to make any sense of, so Adeline, seeing no other option had many years prior decided she must dissociate the black wolf from the rest of her very ordinary life, if only so that she could preserve that ordinary life. She kept this secret to herself her entire life, and in doing so, created and largely maintained a fine feather reputation amongst her peers.

What ever Grimm was, Adeline always felt both a sense of fear and protection when he appeared to her.

As she watched him stare back at her from the darkened alley with those luminous, flaxen and alarming eyes, she felt a rather strange sort of comfort, just as she nearly always had.

As the clamorous coach traveled past the back street where Grimm silently stood, Adeline leaned forward toward her window, craning her neck in order to watch him until his mysterious image slowly faded into obscurity. Much the same as every encounter, this too was dubious and inexplicable. Was Grimm merely a trick of shadows and childish imagination? Perhaps it was Adeline's desire which demanded his presence and nothing more. She was never quite sure.