At Headcorn Hall, Lord Townes watches the estate continue to decay as barns in the lower fields collapse one by one. The failing buildings symbolize the long decline of the family property, which has steadily shrunk through generations of sales and mismanagement.

Robert Townes reflects on how the estate was once thousands of acres but was reduced first by his grandfather’s piecemeal sales and then by his father, who sold large sections and squandered much of the money in Mayfair casinos. As a result, Robert inherited only a fragment of the original land along with heavy debts, and the family seat now survives on just eighty acres.

Robert has spent years trying to keep Headcorn Hall going. His City career brought in money, but much of it went into repairs, and later consulting work dried up because he was older and out of step with the modern workplace. He had also tried hiring out the house for film shoots, but he stopped after learning that one company had used it to make pornographic films.

Despite his setbacks, Robert remains alert to opportunity. He thinks about the recent unexpected visit from Holly Lewis and Nick Silver, who asked for his advice, and he recognizes the possibility of profit in helping wealthy people while finding an angle for himself. With a glass of expensive whisky, Robert allows himself to hope that the Townes family fortunes may finally begin to turn.