The bastard son of Lord Breckenridge and a London prostitute (both deceased), Cyrus has escaped the worst of the deformities caused by congenital syphilis and retains his sight and much of his nose and soft palate. Unfortunately, the disease is eating his brain, leaving his mental development interrupted and awareness unstable in addition to being prone to twitches and fits. His father arranged that Lady Breckenridge should keep her title and fortune in the event of his death, so long as she personally sees to Cyrus' care and entertainment in the 8-15 more years he's likely to live: there's both a tension and a strange bond between Cyrus and his 'stepmother', both wanting free and intimately understanding the mirrored rot that's killing them through the acts of the same man.