In the intervening months since Carew's murder, Utterson had warmed to me again after his rejection of my dinner invitation. We had dined together many times, and I had seen him in passing both on the street and in church. So it was that on the night of the eighth of January I found myself as host to both him and Doctor Lanyon. It was like old times as we sat afterwards in the light of the fire and discussed life and our professions. It transpired that Lanyon had not kept up on the advances of medicine in the same way that I had, and he was interested to learn all I had to tell him. Even Utterson roused himself from his usual dourness to smile and provide us with an anecdote.

At that time, I felt that all was finally well. It was a new year, and yet we old friends were still able to sit together and talk as we had for years. Hyde could not have been further from me.