The Pendragon Legend

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“MY WAY IS TO BEGIN at the beginning” said Lord Byron, who knew his way around polite society.

Strictly speaking, I suppose all my stories begin with the fact that I was born in Budapest and that soon after — though it escaped my notice at the time — I was given the name I still bear today, János Bátky.

I pass over the events of the next thirty-two years — which include the Great War — between my birth and my first encounter with the Earl of Gwynedd, for he rather than myself is the hero of this remarkable tale.

So, to our first meeting.

Early one summer, with the London season drawing to its close, I was at a soirée at Lady Malmsbury-Croft’s. This kind lady had taken me under her wing ever since my time as Donald Campbell’s scientific secretary. I should explain that my occupation is to assist elderly Englishmen in the pursuit of their intellectual whims. Not to earn my living, as it happens: I have a small inheritance from my mother on which I can get by in whatever country I choose. For some years now that country has been England. I am extremely fond of its noble landscapes.

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