# Mr. Nicholas Kyd — Midwinter character guide

> Mr. Nicholas Kyd in Midwinter by John Buchan.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Colin, Mr. Kyd, Kyd, Nicol Kyd

**First appearance:** 0006-iv-mr-kyd-of-greyhouses

## Snapshot

A jovial, sun-browned Lowland Scot with a country squire's manner and a mortgage-deed mind, whose merry talk smooths over the sharpest questions in the room.

## Who they are

Mr. Kyd moves through Brightwell society as a genial bachelor, laughing off runaway marriages and wagging a moralising head at other men's scandals. His perpetual readiness for laughter and his broad Lowland accent make him easy to underestimate, even as he steers conversations exactly where he wants them. The letters that pass through Brightwell on their way north carry his hand, and the question of what he is really doing in this business shadows the whole middle of the book.

## In the story

### [II: In Which a Nobleman Is Perplexed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/ii-in-which-a-nobleman-is-perplexed)

A guest at Cornbury, present during the evening's festivities.

### [III: In Which Private Matters Cut Across Affairs of State](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/iii-in-which-private-matters-cut-across-affairs-of-state)

Present at the table, grows drunk and makes cynical remarks; serves as a foil to Johnson's earnestness.

### [Mr. Kyd of Greyhouses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/iv-mr-kyd-of-greyhouses)

Jacobite agent using the alias 'Menelaus'; provides Alastair with hospitality and route advice; shows a furtive look that raises Alastair's suspicion.

### [V: Chance-Medley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/v-chance-medley)

Mentioned in Alastair's dreams and memories; his face appears both honest and sinister, raising Alastair's suspicions.

### [VI: Introduces the Runaway Lady](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/vi-introduces-the-runaway-lady)

Alastair suspects Kyd's servant of betrayal; Kyd is absent, having gone south.

### [How a Man May Hunt with the Hounds and Yet Run with the Hare](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/vii-how-a-man-may-hunt-with-the-hounds-and-yet-run-with-the-hare)

Mentioned as the suspected source of the traitor; Alastair fears Kyd's servant is betraying secrets.

### [IX: Old England](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/ix-old-england)

Alastair debates Kyd's loyalty; Midwinter questions whether Kyd might be false.

### [Night at the Same: Two Visitors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xi-night-at-the-same-two-visitors)

Spied by Alastair in the Brown Room, confirming his involvement with Norreys.

### [XII: The Hut in the Oak Shaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xii-the-hut-in-the-oak-shaw)

Implied as the mastermind behind the plot; Alastair reflects on Kyd's treachery and his role in framing him.

### [Duchess Kitty on the Road](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xiv-duchess-kitty-on-the-road)

The traitor heading to Brightwell, where Alastair plans to confront him.

### [XV: Bids Farewell to a Scots Laird](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xv-bids-farewell-to-a-scots-laird)

Confronted at Brightwell; pleads for mercy with a sentimental appeal to Scotland, but is condemned to exile.

### [XVII: Ordeal of Honour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xvii-ordeal-of-honour)

Revealed as the instigator of Sir John's treachery; already dealt with by Alastair and sent into exile.

### [In Which Three Gentlemen Confess Their Nakedness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xviii-in-which-three-gentlemen-confess-their-nakedness)

Alastair reflects that Kyd has conquered in his downfall and will chuckle over the discomfiture of his judges.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/characters/colin_kyd
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/characters