The Keeper of the Bridge, Chapter 2

⁠​​​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌⁠There were two mysteries in Simon Lovat's life. One was how he, a poor Highland Scots-born boy, reared in abject poverty, had ever come to be the great architect he was. And the other was how he had become engaged to Cecily Stanford, Gamaliel Stanford's only daughter, and Gamaliel Stanford was a millionaire.

He hated to think of his infancy in the little Argyle town where he was born. He hated even