# Lady Constance Dex — The Secret House character guide

> Lady Constance Dex in The Secret House by Edgar Wallace.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lady Constance, Lady Dex, Constance Dex

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A masterful, still-beautiful woman living quietly at Great Bradley under an old scandal's shadow, until a locked door and a needle free her from a velvet prison.

## Who they are

Lady Constance Dex is the woman whose youthful indiscretion — a dead lover, a brother who knows, a blackmailer named Montague who threatens murder if she goes to the police — has kept her entangled with Farrington and the secrets of Great Bradley. She is resourceful enough to survive captivity in a tapestry-hung cell, and grateful enough to guide T. B. Smith toward the red-painted door that matters. Her buried history with Farrington is one of the keys the detective must turn to understand the whole conspiracy.

## Relationships

### [Count Poltavo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/characters/count_poltavo)

_social_

Count Poltavo and Lady Constance Dex move in the same high-society circles, with Poltavo using her for social leverage.

### [Frank Doughton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/characters/frank_doughton)

_social_

Frank Doughton and Lady Constance Dex are acquaintances within the same social stratum.

### [Count Poltavo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/characters/count_poltavo)

_social_

Count Poltavo and Lady Constance Dex move in the same high-society circles, with Poltavo using her for social leverage.

### [Count Poltavo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/characters/count_poltavo)

_social_

Count Poltavo and Lady Constance Dex move in the same high-society circles, with Poltavo using her for social leverage.

### [Frank Doughton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/characters/frank_doughton)

_social_

Frank Doughton and Lady Constance Dex are acquaintances within the same social stratum.

### [Frank Doughton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/characters/frank_doughton)

_social_

Frank Doughton and Lady Constance Dex are acquaintances within the same social stratum.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/chapters/ii)

Her photograph is on Farrington's desk, and her initials are on the gold scent bottle found at the crime scene.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/chapters/iii)

Victim of Montague Fallock's blackmail; mentioned in T. B.'s investigation.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/chapters/viii)

Visits T. B. Smith to discuss the scent bottle and her involvement; confesses her love for George Doughton and her desire for vengeance against Montague Fallock.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/chapters/ix)

Reveals her past with George Doughton, her divorce, and blackmail by Montague Fallock.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/chapters/xiii)

Victim of Farrington's blackmail; her lover was killed and she witnessed the Brakely Square shootings.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/chapters/xv)

Arises from a sleepless night, breakfasts with her brother, and departs for Moor Cottage, where she later disappears.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/chapters/xvii)

Mentioned as being in danger; T. B. believes Farrington spirited her away and she may be in an underground chamber.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/chapters/xviii)

Confirmed alive and held by Farrington; she shot at him and planned reprisals.

### [The Last Hand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/chapters/xx)

Accompanies Ela to the Secret House; escapes from the underground chamber.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/characters/lady_constance_dex
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_house_se/characters