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FULL NAME: Elspeth Lily Urmstone (née Hawthcourt)

BORN: 15 June 1758, Berylford St. Barbara, Hampshire (aged 35-36 in Lust & Liberty; 56-57 in Sin & Secrecy)

EYE COLOUR: Brown

HAIR COLOUR: Dark

FAMILY: The Hon. Juvelia Ullswell (née Hawthcourt) (sister); Edmund Urmstone (husband, deceased); The Hon. Marcus Hawthcourt (father, deceased); Beatrix McLaer (mother, deceased); Duncan McLaer (cousin); The Hon. Farquhar Hawthcourt (grandfather, deceased)

ALLIES: Judith-Ann Haffisidge, Lady Oliviera Vyrrington, Julia Osborne, Agnes Gwynne, Juvelia Ullswell

ENEMIES: Jesse Blameford, Mr Jackdawe

OCCUPATION: Socialite; town gossip

PERSONALITY: Fiery, nosy, recalcitrant, interfering, domineering, querulous, fastidious, snobbish, defiant, stubborn

POLITICS: Conservative

FAITH: Catholic

Who is Elspeth Urmstone?

In a tale that is largely melodramatic and themed around death and domestic drama, there needs to be some form of comic relief. And The Berylford Scandals‘ answer to that is Elspeth Urmstone, in my opinion. While fulfilling the town gossip archetype, I needed to explore beyond that and make her prone to accidental ridicule. And to say things she does not quite mean. All this is harnessed in her conservatism, which applies to everything she does in her life. In her style of dress, in her social attitudes, all the way to the food she eats. In many ways, she is a tribute to all well-meaning women who come off as not especially nice people. We all know a Mrs Urmstone in some way, I think. You cannot hate her totally, for she is staunchly loyal to the friends she has – Lady Vyrrington and Mrs Haffisidge – almost to a fault. She will not tolerate a word against either of them, even in the face of scandal.

Some of my favourite moments of Mrs Urmstone take place in narrative that I ultimately had to remove from Lust & Liberty. Indeed, in the original novel, we meet her at the same time as Lady Vyrrington, Lord Wilson, Abel Stirkwhistle and other pivotal characters, as they attend a party. She is with their hostess, Lady Riva Bært-Styridge and her sister Juvelia, at odds with the Scandinavian food on offer…

from the original Chapter I of The Berylford Scandals: Lust & Liberty

Food was laid out at liberty to be taken by the guests on a table in the large drawing room.  At least half of this table was filled with delicacies native to Norway and Denmark. Such delicacies included raskekako: dumplings filled with bacon; sursild: a type of pickled herring that was served with rye bread; and, on a sweeter note, pikekyss: a baked meringue. There were also slices of fish, which were slightly odd in appearance in the opinion of the fastidious Miss Elspeth Hawthcourt who, much to the embarrassment of her much better–composed sister Juvelia, questioned Lady Riva on the dish.

“It is klippfisk, Miss Elspeth,” replied Lady Riva, “Cod.”

She spoke in the most sophisticated and elegantly–presented English, yet maintained her smooth and – to an extent – deep contralto Norwegian accent. Some of her sounds were embellished with a refined trill of her tongue. With the words native to her own language, her voice seemed to deepen even further, yet managed to add to the refinement of her pronunciation and intonation.

“It looks rather unfortunate to be cod,” returned Miss Elspeth, “Has something tragic occurred to it?”

Lady Riva chuckled, as did Miss Juvelia, the latter nervously in response to her sister’s incredulous questions.

“It is a dish that originated by accident, you could say, Miss Elspeth,” Lady Riva said, “the legend is that: a fire was started in the house of a poor family who were eating cod that night. They, of course, fled the house which collapsed in the fire, and ash covered the fish. A subsequent rainstorm caused the ash to seep into the fish meat. When uncovering the remains, the family found it and they were certainly in no position to dispose of the food. And thusly, that is how klippfisk came about.”

Miss Elspeth grimaced, diverting her hand from the platter on which the klippfisk was being served.

“Perhaps… I will decline this time, Lady Riva,” she said.

“Of course, Miss Elspeth. Admittedly, it most certainly is an acquired taste. Instead, I can recommend the cheeses that we Norwegians offer.”

“Cheeses?” Miss Elspeth remarked excitedly, as she was only too partial to it, “I was not aware cheese was available in Norway.”

“But of course there is cheese, Miss Elspeth. I can thoroughly recommend to you the gammelost,” said Lady Riva, pointing at a waxy–looking cheese.

Miss Elspeth observed it, again grimacing at what the Countess had suggested to her. It was of a most pungent aroma.

“Might I ask how much one is recommended to slice?” she said.

“I would recommend you have a care with how much you slice. Gammelost is a rare cheese. Very difficult to find nowadays.” She slanted a sideways glance at Miss Juvelia.

Miss Elspeth took up one of the many cheese knives that lay beside the plate on which the gammelost, as well as all the other cheeses that were there with it, was set.

Very hesitantly, she cut herself a very thin slice of the gammelost, and an equally–thin piece of bread. Placing the two together and pressing them between her fingers and thumb, she held them to her lips, squinting at the tanginess of the cheese’s smell.

Miss Juvelia and the Countess watched her as she hindered herself in taking the cheese. She diverted her eyes from her food and smiled nervously at them both. The Countess of Styridge’s eyes widened as if to press Miss Elspeth to continue. Taking this hint, and giving another reluctant half–smile, Miss Elspeth opened her mouth, screwing her eyes shut and biting at thin strip of the bread and the gammelost at the same time, and immediately shutting her mouth, opening one eye slightly to see if the Countess and her sister were still watching her, which they were. In order to keep up appearances – a principle only too important to Miss Elspeth – she smiled and kept her eyes shut as she chewed what she had taken.

As she chewed, Lady Riva turned her back to Miss Elspeth and whispered to Miss Juvelia:

“Gammelost, in English, is literal for old cheese.”

Miss Elspeth did not chew for long, and swallowed the cheese in order to rid herself of the flavour, which resembled that of sour milk. She grimaced once again as soon as she had swallowed, and then opened her eyes slowly, smiling as she saw that Lady Riva and Miss Juvelia were still watching her.

“Definitely… an acquired taste, Your Ladyship,” she said, maintaining her false smile.

Origins & Basis

Despite now being one of the main characters of The Berylford Scandals series, Mrs Urmstone was originally a background character that only appeared in one short scene in the original novel. It was the subsequent revisions that took this interfering and shrill old bat and reworked her into a socialite of the same rank as Lady Vyrrington, not to mention one of her closest friends. And then we gave her a dead husband, plus a Scottish heritage that associated with royalty back in the day. This was to give her some vulnerability – Mrs Urmstone is somewhat ashamed that, despite marrying the Lord Mayor of the town she loves, she has not earned a title or any substantial fortune, unlike her sister Juvelia.

Literary Inspiration

Mrs Urmstone fills the archetypal town gossip role, most notably Miss Octavia Pole from Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford. Another woman who is so committed to nosing into others’ business that she does not come off as particularly nice to know, but loyal to a fault. Mrs Urmstone’s eccentricity and waspish words are also in part inspired by Betsey Trotwood from Dickens’ David Copperfield. If ever she were to retire to the seaside, I wouldn’t put it past her to oust all unwelcome visitors (and donkeys) off of her property.

Do you love or hate Mrs Urmstone? Does she remind you of anyone – both real-life or fictional? Let us know in the comments section. Take a look at our other characters, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with our news…

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FULL NAME: George Edward Whitlocke

BORN: 16 October 1760, London (aged 33-34 in Lust & Liberty; 54-55 in Sin & Secrecy)

EYE COLOUR: Blue

HAIR COLOUR: Blonde

FAMILY: Amethyst Whitlocke (née Cheshill) (wife)

ALLIES: Lord Wilson Vyrrington, Amethyst Whitlocke, Abel Stirkwhistle, Lady Oliviera Vyrrington (sometimes), the Vyrrington children

ENEMIES: Lady Oliviera Vyrrington (sometimes), Jesse Blameford, Luke Warwick

OCCUPATION: Butler

PERSONALITY: Loyal, dogged, stern, officious, generous, discrete

POLITICS: Unknown

FAITH: Catholic

Who is George Whitlocke?

Labelling the Vyrrington butler Whitlocke is complicated. In Lust & Liberty, he is not really a protagonist, as he poses a lot of threats and obstacles to Lady Vyrrington, the main anti-heroine. However, he is not a villain either, since his motives are not evil. They stem from his loyalty to his master, Lord Vyrrington. Whitlocke is one of those ambiguous characters.

And this role continues in Sin & Secrecy. He assists both Abel Stirkwhistle and Lady Vyrrington as a sort of scout for information, but also as a messenger. His relationship with his mistress is very much the same; since Abel is the main focus of S&S, I thought it would be fun to explore his friendship with Whitlocke a little further. They have known each other for years and, despite the class difference, they’re of a similar intellectual level. That was why I thought it fitting and believable to make them drinking partners. It gives me an outlet to have Abel talk about things he couldn’t necessarily confide in Lady Vyrrington…

from Chapter XV of The Berylford Scandals: Sin & Secrecy

Whitlocke was stood at the bar when Abel entered the tavern, almost knowing psychically that the arrival of the ageing crustacean of a man was imminent. The butler handed Abel a glass of red wine, which he took with the keenness of a child at the sight of sweets.

            “What’s wrong?” Whitlocke asked Abel, leading him through a glass-paned door into the snug of the tavern. It was more of a private lounge for the two men; they were the only ones who ever went in there. It had been installed for the benefit of the Berylford ladies, but none would dare even enter The St. Barbara’s Arms, much less drink in there, however privately.

Abel’s response to Whitlocke’s question was prefixed by a heavy sigh and he wearily took his seat.

            “This schoolteacher thing will be the death of me,” he groaned, gulping his wine.

            “It’s only been a few days!”

            “And a few days too long. Last time we advertised a job at the schoolhouse we had responses left, right and centre in no time at all!”

            “Yes, but if I remember rightly, the woman your sister hired was on the run, was she not?” returned Whitlocke snidely.

Abel huffed.

            “One schoolmistress dies in mysterious circumstances, that’s not enough to put off the criminals,” he observed, “But two die in such circumstances, even the amoral among us won’t answer the advertisement. The only ones we can’t put off are those who aren’t remotely qualified.”

Whitlocke laughed.

            “For someone who hates the job so much, you don’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to pass it along to someone else!” he said.

            “I don’t know what you mean.”

            “Berylford isn’t Kensington, Abel. The children here aren’t going to be great statesmen or thinkers or writers. Those that live to see fourteen will either end up in the army or on the farms. Or in service.”

            “You could have been a statesman if I recall correctly. You chose service.”

            “I chose Lord Wilson Vyrrington. It was you and your family that made me believe service wasn’t something to be ashamed of.”

            “Perhaps. But I fail to see the point you’re trying to make here, Whitlocke.”

            “It doesn’t matter how qualified they are,” the butler replied, “As long as they can read, write and manage arithmetic, and can teach the children to do the same, that’s all they need to fit them for the world. What’s more important for you is to get out of that place. Before you add yourself to its increasing body count!”

Abel finished his glass of wine. His mouth formed a stilted smile.

            “See?” he said, “Such wisdom and common sense are wasted in service! Even to one such as Lady Vyrrington! I’m going to buy you another drink.”

Origins and Basis

George Whitlocke’s surname was originally Burgess, which I changed to name him after one of my great-grandparents. He was of the original 40 characters created back in 2008 for the first definitive Berylford story. His relationship with Lady Vyrrington was always acrimonious, even in those early drafts. I had not decided why at the time, however, since the story involving the affair with Jesse Blameford had not been written or even thought about.

When we think of butlers and other servants, we generally see them as loyal people who are devoted to their employers’ every need. I wanted to challenge that. And the simple way to do that was to have Whitlocke and Lady Vyrrington mutually hate one another. But they tolerate each other for the sake of their other loved ones: Lord Wilson and Amethyst. However, it made sense for them to put aside their differences in times of grief, such as the death of Lord Wilson and those of the Vyrrington children.

Literary Inspiration

Like Abel, Whitlocke is somewhat based on Dickens’ Jeremiah Flintwinch from Little Dorrit. Not physically, of course – primarily in his relationship with his employer. Flintwinch is both an ally and an obstacle to Mrs Clennam in the same way that Whitlocke is to Lady Vyrrington. Otherwise, the character is quite original. However, I have heard a reader of Lust & Liberty compare him to Tommy Lascelles, as portrayed by Pip Torrens in The Crown on Netflix. That rigid and unwavering devotion to the proper order of things. This was quite accidental, but something I’m bearing in mind as I revise Sin & Secrecy.

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