The Official Essex Sisters Companion Guide (18 page)

Character Index

A

Arbuthnot, Mr. Timothy
—
Pleasure for Pleasure

Mr. Arbuthnot is a widower and one of Josie’s admirers; he is seeking a mother for his children.

                       
“I don’t like Mr. Arbuthnot. There’s something waxy about his face, as if he got up in the morning and had to push his nose into place.”

Pleasure for Pleasure

Ardmore, Dowager Lady “Nana”
—
Kiss Me, Annabel

The Earl of Ardmore’s grandmother is a feisty Scotswoman, yet formidable. One can see the resemblance to her grandson. Ardmore’s eyes are green, and hers are silvery and tired, but they have the same decided jaw and beautiful cheekbones. She is nothing but trouble.

                       
She was a long way from the sweet, white-haired lady whom Annabel had imagined. Instead, she appeared to be wearing a straw-colored wig from the Elizabethan era. She had a beak of a nose and a slash of red lip rouge under it. All in all, she looked like a cross between a Roman emperor and Queen Elizabeth herself.

Kiss Me, Annabel

Ardmore, Earl—Ewan Poley
—
Kiss Me, Annabel, The Taming of the Duke, Pleasure for Pleasure

Ewan is absurdly handsome, with red-brown hair in thick rumpled curls down his neck, a square jaw, and sculpted shoulders that make him look like a medieval knight. His eyes are a clear green, lined with long lashes, and the out-of-doors sense he has about him translates into a kind of raw sensuality.

Every inch of him is Scots, from those sturdy, muscular legs to his strong chin and angled cheekbones. After an eventful trek to Scotland he marries Miss Annabel Essex.

Armailhac, Father
—
Kiss Me, Annabel

Father Armailhac is a priest who lives on the Earl of Ardmore’s land. He isn’t the typical serious monk, nor is he likely to pull out a string of beads and mumble prayers over people. He sometimes has a wicked twinkle in his eye. Father Armailhac is the father figure and moral compass for the earl, and plays an important role in the alternate ending to
Kiss Me, Annabel
, as well as the published version.

Augusta, Aunt
—
Pleasure for Pleasure, A Gentleman Never Tells

Berwick, a friend of Lord Darlington, was delivered from penury with the death of his adored and loathsome Aunt Augusta. She succumbed to some sort of malady while in Bath. Naturally, she left all her money to her beloved nephew. He finds himself raising his niece, Hattie. Some years after
Pleasure for Pleasure
, he and Hattie pay a visit to Lady Windingham, after he decides to apologize for his part in the label of “Wooly Breeder.” Cat demands a boon: that he make her grieving sister laugh.

B

Badeau, Madame
—
Kiss Me, Annabel, Pleasure for Pleasure

Imogen’s first modiste in London, promoter of the sausage casing (in other words, the infamous corset that Mayne detests so much)

                       
The tighter the better, Madame Badeau had said, showing her how her maid should brace herself against the bed and force the lacings closed. And then she’d said the magic words: You won’t be able to eat while wearing this, of course.

Pleasure for Pleasure

Barnet, Mr.
—
Kiss Me, Annabel

The manager of Grillon’s Hotel in London.

                       
“I’m afraid that Mr. Barnet has decamped from the hotel,” he [Lord Ardmore] said finally. . . .

                            
“Mr. Barnet, the hotel manager,” he explained.

                            
“What about him?”

                            
“He was the person who provided
Bell’s Weekly Messenger
with information about the events of last night,” he explained. “He was eavesdropping, and I’m afraid that when he realized that he would lose his position due to Lady Griselda’s wrath, there was no reason for him not to sell the information.”

Kiss Me, Annabel

Beckford, Mr. William—
Much Ado About You, Kiss Me, Annabel

Mr. William Beckford (1760–1844). Beckford was an eccentric, even by the standards of Georgian England. By all accounts, he was the wealthiest commoner in England, and the titled never forgave him for it. He is mentioned in two books here, and Eloisa’s hero in
Duchess by Night
is partially based on him.

Bedingfield, Mrs.—
Pleasure for Pleasure

Mrs. Bedingfield appears in the book only as a digression: Darlington uses a mixture of bribery and desire to entice Lady Griselda into an
affaire
. To lure her to a hotel on a given night, he has to take into account all other social events available that evening. Luckily, there is nothing except a soirée given by the Smalepeeces, which
couldn’t be anything other than tedious, and Mrs. Bedingfield’s musical evening. Griselda would never go to that, because she’s escorting Josie.

                       
No one would go to a musical evening unless they attended in the mad hope that a single gentleman would accidentally find his way there. Lady Griselda was far too experienced in the ways of the
ton
to consider the possibility.

Pleasure for Pleasure

Bedrock, Duke of—
Pleasure for Pleasure

The Duke of Bedrock’s family name is Darlington, and Charles Darlington is the third son of the duke who has a dubious habit of creating cruel but witty descriptions of debutantes. He does have a reason for his madness; he makes fun of girls in order to disqualify them as future brides, since his father is obsessed with marrying him off to a rich woman. Here’s Darlington explaining his relations with the Duke of Bedrock:

                       
“Once [the duke] accepted that the Church would likely never have me, he began bringing home lists of debutantes. Young girls of an appropriate family, with a large dowry. Of course, they couldn’t be of the very best quality, or they would never wish to marry one such as I. It had to be a nicely calculated mix: a girl with means, but one whose parents would be sufficiently dazzled by their new son-in-law’s relation to the
Duke of Bedrock that they would overlook his impoverished status, his lack of skills, and his general uselessness.”

Pleasure for Pleasure

Beekman, Lord—
Kiss Me, Annabel

One of Imogen’s admirers, with whom she is less than thrilled.

                       
“Lord Beekman has twice asked me to dance with him. As if I would even contemplate dancing with that plump toadlet. He should look lower . . . perhaps in the scullery.”

Kiss Me, Annabel

Bellingworth, Cecilia—
Pleasure for Pleasure, A Midsummer Night’s Disgrace
.

Cecilia has a difficult time on the marriage market due to her family link to Silly Billy, a label stemming from her brother William having suffered the consequences of a severe blow to her head. After two miserable years as a wallflower, Cecilia takes matters in her own hands, gives herself a Cinderella makeover, and heads to the ball (in this case a musical evening thrown by the Duchess of Ormond). The one gentleman she does
not
want to attract is the obnoxious duke, who used to torment her by dropping grasshoppers
down her dress. But that gorgeous, brilliant pianist whom she can’t stop herself from flirting with? He’s a different story!

Berwick, Mr.—
Pleasure for Pleasure

Oliver Berwick, a friend of Lord Charles Darlington, has sulky good looks and now a fortune to boot. In the nick of time, he is saved from being obligated to marry some rich cit’s daughter by the death of his loathsome Aunt Augusta. Now he is as rich as Croesus and every mama’s dream.

                       
The whole thought process gave Berwick an unpleasant feeling in his stomach. Had they really made something of a
career
out of ruining young women’s marriage prospects?

Pleasure for Pleasure

In years after, Oliver regrets his part in promoting Darlington’s witty but cruel remarks. What happens when he finally decides to seek amends? Read Eloisa’s novella,
A Gentleman Never Tells
, to find out!

Blechschmidt, Lady Emily
—
Kiss Me, Annabel, The Taming of the Duke, Pleasure for Pleasure

Lady Emily is not even forty, but already one of the fiercest moralists in the
ton
, quite as sharp-tongued as an old maid of eighty. She is known far and wide for her fierce and dogmatic views of unchaste behavior and loose women.

But given those opinions, why is she seen at Grillon’s Hotel late at night? Like many a politician who does in private the very things he excoriates in public, Lady Emily has been having an
affaire
. In fact, she’s in love with Gemima, but alas, Gemima has other fish to fry.

Bluett
—
The Taming of the Duke

Mr. Bluett is a symbol of the difficulties a young actress faces. It has been said that an actress gave the stage manager, Bluett, a
favor
for the role of Queen Mab.

                       
“Everyone is saying that she did him a favor.” Jenny giggled. The stage manager, Bluett, was not a man for whom a woman would do favors unless there was a certain reward attached.

                            
Loretta wrinkled her nose.

                            
“How disagreeable.” Loretta did not like to dwell on disagreeable subjects.

The Taming of the Duke

Brinkley
—
Much Ado About You, Kiss Me, Annabel, The Taming of the Duke, Pleasure for Pleasure

Brinkley is the Duke of Holbrook’s butler at Holbrook Court. He is always composed, as if he knows nothing, thinks nothing, and is far above gossip.

                       
There was a reserved tone in his butler’s voice that signaled displeasure. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Brinkley’s tone signaled the disgruntlement of the entire household of elderly servants, not one of whom was enchanted by the idea of accommodating themselves to the presence of four small, female children.

Much Ado About You

Brodèrie, Sylvie de la
—
Pleasure for Pleasure

Sylvie was Mayne’s fiancée prior to his marriage to Josie. At the age of ten, during the Peace of Amiens and much to her dismay, her father fled with the family to England. She is very intelligent and paints exquisite portraits in miniature.

Her life intersects with that of Lady Emily Blechschmidt, but even more so with Gemima, with whom she travels to the Continent. One has to wonder whether she learned to like kisses (because she certainly didn’t like Mayne’s).

Bunts
—
Much Ado About You

The jockey Bunts refused at the last moment to ride Draven’s Blue Peter in the race at Silchester, which precipitated Draven’s reckless decision to ride Blue Peter himself.

C

Cambridge, Duke of
—
Pleasure for Pleasure

The Prince Adolphus (1801–50) was the Duke of Cambridge during the time of the Essex Sisters series. Griselda explained to Sylvie that the Royal Ascot was not just
any horse race, because the queen would be there, along with the Duke of Cambridge and his new wife. The duke truly did attend the Royal Ascot that year. What fun that Prince Will and Kate Middleton are now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (not to mention, the family includes Prince George of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge).

Carême, Madame
—
Much Ado About You, The Taming of the Duke

Madame Carême is the preferred modiste in the novels
Much Ado About You
and
Kiss Me, Annabel
.

Caribas, Marquis de
—
Pleasure for Pleasure

Marquis de Caribas was one of the few French aristocrats able to flee Paris prior to the war. He was the father of Sylvie and Marguerite de la Brodèrie.

It’s fun to note that this name was similar to the “Marquis of Carabas,” a character in the Puss and Boots story. But according to Sylvie, he was a great lover of dogs, and presumably not of cats.

Caudwell, Emily
—
Much Ado About You

Emily Caudwell is the name on the headstone Tess finds near the Roman ruins in Silchester, after her wedding to Lucius Felton. The pasture is owned by Mr. Jessop and had one of the finest Roman ruins near Silchester. Emily died at the age of sixteen and her husband William’s tomb nearby showed he died at the age of twenty-four or twenty-five.

Cavendish, Lady Margaret—
Pleasure for Pleasure

In a bit of retiring room gossip, we learn that Griselda has run into Lady Margaret Cavendish, whose hair—according to Griselda—had turned “as yellow as a marigold.”

Clarence, Duchess of—
Pleasure for Pleasure

Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (1797–1889) became the Duchess of Clarence upon her marriage on July 11, 1818. In
Pleasure for Pleasure
, Griselda strolled by the royal enclosure at the Royal Ascot to see if she could catch a glimpse of the new Duchess of Clarence.

Clarence, Duke of—
Kiss Me, Annabel, The Taming of the Duke

The Duke of Clarence (1765–1837) was crowned King William IV of England in 1830, well after the Essex Sisters series.

Clark
—
Pleasure for Pleasure

Clark is the butler at Darlington’s home on Portman Square. He is an elderly man with stern eyes, who bows stiffly when Griselda visits Darlington’s home unescorted. Little did Griselda know at the time that Clark was once accused of murder, though Darlington insisted his butler did not commit that murder.

Collins, Jenny—
The Taming of the Duke

Jenny is an actress at the Regency Theatre and a close friend of Loretta Hawes.