# Fay — Short Fiction character guide

> Fay in Short Fiction by Catherine Louisa Pirkis.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0002-ii

## Snapshot

A dark-eyed young woman whose drowned body is drawn from the reeds wearing a plain gold wedding band where a ruby ring should be.

## Who they are

Fay is the beloved at the center of a circle of men—a father, a truehearted lover, and Lord Hardcastle—who kneel over her mud-stained blue silk dress and clasped hands. The wedding ring on her finger, replacing the antique ruby engraved sans espoir je meurs, announces a secret marriage no one in Harleyford can explain. Her death and the mystery of that band propel the search that consumes Frank and the family in the book's middle chapters.

## Relationships

### [Val Thorndyke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_61_se/characters/val_thorndyke)

_romantic_

A passionate and volatile romantic relationship, filled with attraction and frequent conflict.

### [Val Thorndyke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_61_se/characters/val_thorndyke)

_romantic_

A passionate and volatile romantic relationship, filled with attraction and frequent conflict.

### [Val Thorndyke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_61_se/characters/val_thorndyke)

_romantic_

A passionate and volatile romantic relationship, filled with attraction and frequent conflict.

## In the story

### [Drifting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_61_se/chapters/drifting)

Fay is overwhelmed by the darkness and uncertainty, blindfolding herself as a crisis approaches. She sings to distract herself, but her thoughts turn to regret over a lie she told Euan and her mother's influence on her character.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_61_se/characters/fay
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_61_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_61_se/characters