# The Countess — The Midnight Guest character guide > The Countess in The Midnight Guest by Fred M. White. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Countess **First appearance:** 0001-ii-no-1-fitzjohn-square ## Snapshot Eighteen years after being deprived of her child, the Countess Flavio walks into Ravenspur's drawing room and informs him they have never met. ## Who they are Cold, self-possessed, and haughty, the Countess obeys a dying man's request to hand Walter a small parchment volume, then turns and faces the daughter she lost and the man she believes stole her. Ravenspur has heard her called a fiend by her late husband; what he sees is a woman whose composure is its own kind of armor. Her arrival forces the novel's oldest secret into the open and reframes every earlier suspicion. ## Relationships ### [Luigi Silva](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/luigi_silva) _professional_ Luigi Silva and The Countess are allied in a scheme or share a professional arrangement, possibly involving manipulation. ### [Lord Ravenspur](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/lord_ravenspur) _social_ Lord Ravenspur and The Countess move in the same social circles, with a relationship of mutual convenience and suspicion. ### [Vera Rayne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/vera_rayne) _psychological_ The Countess exerts a manipulative influence over Vera Rayne, possibly as a mentor or rival for attention. ### [Maria Delahay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/maria_delahay) _professional_ Maria Delahay serves or assists The Countess, likely as a maid or secretary with a degree of loyalty. ### [Walter Lance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/walter_lance) _rivalry_ The Countess and Walter Lance are opponents, with her scheming against his interests. ### [Mrs. Delahay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/mrs_delahay) _rivalry_ Mrs. Delahay and The Countess are in a tense rivalry, competing for status or influence in the household. ### [Luigi Silva](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/luigi_silva) _professional_ Luigi Silva and The Countess are allied in a scheme or share a professional arrangement, possibly involving manipulation. ### [Lord Ravenspur](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/lord_ravenspur) _social_ Lord Ravenspur and The Countess move in the same social circles, with a relationship of mutual convenience and suspicion. ### [Walter Lance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/walter_lance) _rivalry_ The Countess and Walter Lance are opponents, with her scheming against his interests. ### [Lord Ravenspur](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/lord_ravenspur) _social_ Lord Ravenspur and The Countess move in the same social circles, with a relationship of mutual convenience and suspicion. ### [Vera Rayne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/vera_rayne) _psychological_ The Countess exerts a manipulative influence over Vera Rayne, possibly as a mentor or rival for attention. ### [Maria Delahay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/maria_delahay) _professional_ Maria Delahay serves or assists The Countess, likely as a maid or secretary with a degree of loyalty. ## In the story ### [Valdo in a New Light](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/chapters/xx-valdo-in-a-new-light) Leads Mrs. Delahay to Silva; explains her past meeting with Louis Delahay to retrieve jewels and her suspicions about the murder. ### [XXI: To Be in Time](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/chapters/xxi-to-be-in-time) Present during Silva's revelation; learns that her daughter Vera is alive and connected to Lord Ravenspur. ### [A Strange Homecoming](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/chapters/xxxiv-a-strange-homecoming) Vera's mother; revealed to be behind the abduction, though Vera questions her motives. ### [In the Dead of Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/chapters/xxxvi-in-the-dead-of-night) Briefly appears, claiming to be Vera's mother, but is silenced by Silva. ### [A Ray of Light](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/chapters/xli-a-ray-of-light) Revealed as Vera's mother; agrees to go to Cannon Green and retrieves Silva's diary for Walter. ### [Run to Earth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/chapters/xlii-run-to-earth) Coldly confronts Lord Ravenspur about being deprived of her child eighteen years ago. ### [The Story of a Crime](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/chapters/xliv-the-story-of-a-crime) Present at Cannon Green with Vera, awaiting Mrs. Delahay's arrival. ### [Count Flavio's Diary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/chapters/xlv-count-flavio-s-diary) Reveals that Silva murdered Louis Delahay and orchestrates his confession. ### [XLVII: The Passing of the Vengeance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/chapters/xlvii-the-passing-of-the-vengeance) Accepts her lost years with Vera; agrees not to stand in the way of Vera's happiness; discusses Vera's future with Ravenspur. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters/the_countess - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_midnight_guest_se/characters