Part I, Chapters 1-4 Summary

Edward and Charlotte are enjoying the seclusion of their early married life, when Edward requests that his friend the Captain come stay with them. Charlotte expresses misgivings, but then she agrees to it. The couple also decides to bring Charlotte's niece to stay with them in their castle.

Edward and Charlotte are a wealthy Victorian couple. When they are young, Edward is interested in Charlotte, but she ends up marrying someone else and having a daughter named Luciana. Edward, who has been a spoiled only child all his life, marries an older rich woman that his parents pick out for him. After some years of marriage, Charlotte's husband dies, and Edward's wife also dies, leaving Edward with her vast fortune. Now that both of them are free again, Edward takes the opportunity to marry his first choice...