Character guide

Linford Pratt

major

Also known as Pratt, Mr. Pratt, young Mr. Pratt, Master Pratt

Pratt is Eldrick's clerk at a Barford solicitors' firm — outwardly dutiful, inwardly cataloguing every advantage. When Antony Bartle collapses in the office, Pratt alone grasps what the dead man carried, and his long-hoped-for opportunity arrives in the fog. His quiet, plausible manner makes him hard to suspect and harder to stop, and his patient blackmail of Mrs. Mallathorpe sets the novel's central machinery turning.

Bartle Collingwood

major

Also known as Collingwood, Mr. Bartle, Mr. Collingwood, old Bartle, young Collingwood, Antony Bartle, Mr. Antony Bartle, old Antony Bartle

Collingwood arrives in Barford to bury Antony Bartle and take up a promising legal career, only to find himself drawn into the Mallathorpe affairs. Proud enough to dread being thought a fortune-hunter, he is drawn to Nesta Mallathorpe while distrusting Linford Pratt on instinct he cannot yet justify. His watchfulness and legal training make him the one man positioned to test Pratt's story — if he can find the proof.

Nesta Mallathorpe

major

Also known as Nesta, Miss Mallathorpe, Miss Nesta Mallathorpe, Mallathorpe

Nesta inherits wealth, the mill, and a family already compromised by secrets she does not yet know. Where her brother was weak and her mother fearful, Nesta is direct and unflinching — she tells Pratt to his face that he is an enemy. Her refusal to be managed forces Pratt to show his hand, and her strength becomes the counterweight the plot must reckon with.

Charles Eldrick

supporting

Also known as Eldrick, Mr. Eldrick, Lawyer Eldrick

Eldrick handles the Mallathorpe estate business and takes a practical, paternal interest in Collingwood's career, even handing him cases. He calls Pratt a clever chap and half-defends him, unaware how much the clerk has overheard and pocketed. His easy confidence in his own office makes him both a useful ally to Collingwood and an unwitting shield for Pratt.

Richard Mallathorpe

supporting

Also known as Mrs. Richard Mallathorpe, Mrs. Mallathorpe

Mrs. Mallathorpe has quietly run the estate and mill while her son Harper drifted, and she knows exactly how much is at stake when Pratt reveals what he holds. She cannot confide in her weak son or her upright daughter, so she must deal with Pratt alone — veiled visits, sleepless nights, and money she can move without anyone noticing. Her desperate bargain is the secret that binds the whole Mallathorpe story together.

James Parrawhite

supporting

Also known as Parrawhite

Parrawhite once took money from Eldrick's desk and booked passage to America, or so the shipping agent says. Now Halstead & Byner and Eldrick are both hunting him, and Pratt affects surprise at the advertisements while clearly knowing more than he admits. Whether Parrawhite sailed or never left Liverpool becomes the question that could unravel Pratt's whole position.

Eldrick & Pascoe

supporting

Also known as Eldrick, Pascoe, Messrs. Eldrick & Pascoe, Messrs. Eldrick

Eldrick & Pascoe handle the Mallathorpe estate and the affairs of old Antony Bartle, placing them at the crossroads of Barford's money and secrets. Eldrick, the senior partner, is shrewd enough to watch his own clerk narrowly while pretending not to; Pratt, that clerk, is a born observer who answers questions before they are asked. The firm's routine business — wills, leases, advertisements for a missing man — becomes the machinery through which the novel's central mystery turns.

Halstead Byner

supporting

Also known as Byner, Halstead, Mr. Byner, Mr. Gerald Byner

Halstead Byner works for City solicitors hunting Parrawhite, the vanished legatee of twenty thousand pounds, and his advertisements drag the case into Barford's local papers. He is methodical and deliberate, insisting to Eldrick that the search will be thorough — a warning aimed as much at Pratt as at anyone. His quiet pressure keeps the missing man's fortune in play and forces the people who know more than they admit to move carefully.

George Pickard

minor

Also known as Mr. Pickard, Pickard

A local tradesman with connections to the Mallathorpe family.

Esther Mawson

minor

Also known as Esther

A housekeeper or servant in the Mallathorpe household.

R. Murgatroyd

minor

Also known as Mr. Murgatroyd, Murgatroyd

A local businessman involved in the community.

John Mallathorpe

supporting

Also known as Mr. John Mallathorpe, the late John Mallathorpe, Mr. Mallathorpe

John Mallathorpe's death left his estate in the hands of his widow and his weak-willed son Harper, with his strong-minded daughter Nesta kept at a distance from the truth. A later will, if produced, would dispossess the children entirely — and the clerk who found it knows exactly what that silence is worth. His unseen presence shapes every bargain in the novel's early arc, turning grief into leverage and a family's comfort into a secret held by a stranger.

Prydale

minor

Also known as Sergeant Prydale

A police sergeant investigating the death of John Mallathorpe.

Cobcroft

minor

Also known as Mr. Cobcroft, Mrs. Cobcroft

A couple who are tenants or associates of the Mallathorpes.

Harper Mallathorpe

minor

Also known as Harper, John Mallathorpe, young Harper Mallathorpe, Mr. Harper Mallathorpe

The late John Mallathorpe's nephew and a potential heir.

Jabey Naylor

minor

Also known as Jabey, Naylor

A local character with ties to the events surrounding the will.

Hoskins

minor

A servant or employee in the Mallathorpe household.

Clough

minor

Also known as Mrs. Clough

A woman who provides lodging or services in Barford.

John Standridge

minor

Also known as Sir John Standridge

A baronet mentioned in connection with the Mallathorpe family.

Stringer

minor

Also known as Mestur Stringer, James Stringer

A minor character in the Barford community.

Gaukrodger

minor

Also known as Mrs. Gaukrodger, A Mrs. Gaukrodger

A woman with knowledge of the Mallathorpe family history.

Robson

minor

Also known as Mr. Robson

A solicitor or clerk associated with the case.

Shepherd

minor

Also known as Mr. Shepherd, Mestur Shepherd

A minor figure in the legal or business circles of Barford.

Parsons

minor

A minor character appearing in the later chapters.

Vickers & Marshall

minor

Also known as Messrs. Vickers, Marshall

A firm of solicitors involved in the legal proceedings.

Bill Thomson

minor

Also known as Bill, Thomson

A local man who provides information to the investigators.

Martin Charlesworth

minor

Also known as Charlesworth

A name mentioned in connection with the will or estate.

Arthur James Wyatt

minor

Also known as Wyatt

A person referenced in the legal documents of the case.

Ann Mallathorpe

minor

A female relative of the Mallathorpe family.