# Cynthia Allonby — The Line of Love character guide

> Cynthia Allonby in The Line of Love by James Branch Cabell.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Allonby, Cynthia

**First appearance:** 0005-i-the-episode-called-the-wedding-jest

## Snapshot

Cynthia Allonby keeps the famous Earl of Pevensey dancing attendance for a fortnight, weighing his gilded cups against the price of being a costly luxury.

## Who they are

Daughter to the Marquis of Falmouth and kinswoman to Pevensey, she watches her suitor defy Elizabeth Tudor's orders to linger in plague-ridden London, flattered and a little frightened by such gay self-confidence. She sees clearly that he would keep her as he keeps his lovely cups, for hours of leisure, and she says so aloud. Her refusal to give an honest yes or no stalls a Queen's business and a great man's career, making her cool appraisal the quiet engine of the episode's suspense.

## Relationships

### [Earl of Pevensey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_line_of_love_se/characters/earl_of_pevensey)

_romantic_

A flirtatious and calculating courtship, with Cynthia toying with the Earl's affections for her own amusement.

### [Earl of Pevensey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_line_of_love_se/characters/earl_of_pevensey)

_romantic_

A flirtatious and calculating courtship, with Cynthia toying with the Earl's affections for her own amusement.

## In the story

### [IX: The Episode Called Porcelain Cups](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_line_of_love_se/chapters/ix-the-episode-called-porcelain-cups)

Cynthia is courted by Pevensey but feels undervalued; she tests Marlowe's love by burning his poem.

### [X: The Envoi Called Semper Idem](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_line_of_love_se/chapters/x-the-envoi-called-semper-idem)

Marries Edward Musgrave and emigrates to Virginia, becoming the ancestress of the American Musgrave family.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_line_of_love_se/characters/cynthia_allonby
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_line_of_love_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_line_of_love_se/characters