From the Foreword:
I have had this idealism for quite some time, and as it has never managed to ink itself onto the page, nor does it seem very appropriate to me to write such a tale as this. However, as I thought it might make for an interesting adventure, I believe I shall share it.
It is the last day of January in Victorian London. Amid this quaint milieu, a small assembly of single, middle-aged gentlemen is discussing life amongst themselves. Each has procured a great deal of wealth, but never the greatest prosperity, the understanding of happiness. Never having so much as courted a young maiden, and now, to be beyond the years when it was thought proper to do so.
Suddenly, one so boldly decides to take his life by the horns. He makes a sizable wager, risking a small fortune, that in one month, just 28 days, he shall not only be wed but have children to call his own.
Naturally, this is thought by the others to be quite ridiculous, and they accept his challenge. Therein, lies the start of our tale. – Nigel Thesboreaux