Person

Book/Story

Nicknames

Family

Description

Barker, Mr.

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Mentioned onGeneral Billington-Smith’s unfinished list of people to see and things to do.

Barkis

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Dinah Fawcett refers to Stephen Guest as Barkis when asking Fay, Lady Billington-Smith why they don’t run off together.

BILLINGTON-SMITH, Captain Francis

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Uncle: General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith

Cousin: Geoffrey Billington-Smith

Nephew of General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith, he is a tall, slender young man with sleekly shining black hair, thin lips under a tiny moustache, a sardonic, mocking smile, and shows the grace of muscles under perfect control under his incredibly immaculate tennis flannels. Though his manner is languidly cynical and he is extravagant, the General favors him over his own son, Geoffrey Billington-Smith, because of his affinity for manly pursuits such as athletics and the military. He is second in line after Geoffrey to inherit the General’s estate.

BILLINGTON-SMITH, General Sir Arthur

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Wife (1) Lady Billington-Smith (divorced) (née Theresa Lamb)

Wife (2): Lady Billington-Smith (née Fay Fawcett)

Son: Geoffrey Billington-Smith

Nephew: Captain Francis Billington-Smith

Father of Geoffrey Billington-Smith and much older husband of Fay, Lady Billington-Smith, he is retired from the military and residing with his wife at the Grange, near Ralton. He is an influential landowner in the district and also a church warden, but he belongs to that class of soldier who thinks much is accomplished by rudeness and females are inherently inferior. Large, rich, masterful, and extremely pleasant when he so chooses, he is well-preserved, with handsome features, a toothbrush moustache, and hair only slightly grizzled above the temples. He is very proud of his roses, and he cannot bear unpunctuality.

BILLINGTON-SMITH, Geoffrey

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Father: General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith

Mother: Lady Billington Smith(divorced) (née Theresa Lamb)

Stepmother: Lady Billington-Smith (née Fay Fawcett)

Son of General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith by his first wife, née Theresa Lamb, he is a handsome and slightly effeminate youth with long, fair hair, large eyes, and a mouth that quivers a little when he is agitated. He went to Eton but was good at neither sports nor studies, and at Oxford he got into a mess with a girl from a tobacconist’s shop who had to be bought off. Now he perpetrates, very seriously, fugitive poems without rhyme or (say the unitiated) reason which are published in magazines, and he affects an artistic style of dress with large-brimmed hats, polo sweaters, and pleated dress shirts. Having always been delicate, he is not very popular with other men, but a certain charm of manner and his high-strung fragility make older women want to mother him. He is engaged to Lola de Silva and has brought her for the weekend to the Grange, to meet his father and step-mother.

BILLINGTON-SMITH, Lady (née Fay Fawcett)

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Husband: General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith

Stepson: Geoffey Billington-Smith

Sister: Dinah Fawcett

Mother: Mrs. Fawcett

Older sister of Dinah Fawcett and second wife of General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith, she is 30, with large, rather strained blue eyes, thin hands, and pale gold hair—pretty as a picture drawn in pastels. She has a shy woman’s respect for convention and is incapable of fighting her own battles.

CARNABY, Old

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

A neighbor of the Billington-Smith’s at the Grange, between them and the village of Ralton.

CHUDLEIGH, Mrs. Emily

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Emmy

see: Lamb, Theresa Emmeline

Husband: The Reverend Mr. Hilary Chudleigh

Wife of Vicar Hilary Chudleigh in Lyndhurst, near Ralton, she is about 50 and thin, with a weather-beaten complexion and pepper-salt hair. She may once have been pretty but has not worn well and does nothing now to improve her appearance: she wears pince-nez, despises face powder and curling-tongs, and wears out-dated frocks, despite gold chains around her neck. She peers through weak eyes and so looks inquisitive, and she is certainly a busy-body. She is also entirely devoted to her husband.

CHUDLEIGH, The Reverend Mr. Hilary

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Wife: Emily Chudleigh

Husband of Mrs. Emily Chudleigh and vicar in Lyndhurst, near Ralton, for only 4 years, having worked his best years in unimaginable slums till his health could take it no longer. He is in late middle age and a little deaf, with a gentle, austere countenance and a permanent stoop to his shoulders. A vegetarian and a pacifist, he is not suited to being a country vicar, because he disapproves of fox-hunting and pheasant-shooting, and is not at all fond of social intercourse; nor does he recognize divorce, which makes for strained relations with the Billington-Smitths at the Grange, whom he visits as seldom as possible.

CONCETTA

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Lola de Silva’s maid.

DARCY, Mrs.

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Lives in Ralton; her under-housemaid in engaged to Constable Hammond, a fact which facilitates the spread of information in the neighborhood.

DAWSON, Joan

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Housemaid to the Billington-Smiths at the Grange; she has a romantic soul and a passion for drama and is a fan of Hollywood films. She thinks Lola de Silva is just like Lupe Velez and might even be she, traveling incognito.

de SILVA, Lola

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Fiancée of Geoffrey Billington-Smith and a guest at the Grange for the weekend, she is a Mexican cabaret dancer and is accustomed to being received by volleys of applause. Most striking, even beautiful, with enormous dark eyes, an enchanting nose, a lovely, petulant mouth, and clusters of black curls, she overshadows all other women present. She favors high fashion and furs, whatever the occasion and weather, she must have absinthe in her cocktail, and she thinks being a murder suspect might be very desirable publicity.

Dickens, Charles

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Geoffrey Billington-Smith presumes Dickens and Scott were the only books his father had ever read in his life.

Dove

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

The linen-draper in the High Street, Silsbury.

FAWCETT, Miss Dinah

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Sister: Lady Billington-Smith (née Fay Fawcett)

Mother: Mrs. Fawcett

Younger sister of Fay, Lady Billington-Smith and a guest at the Grange for the weekend, she is 25 and lively, despite her face of youthful gravity. With short brown locks and a friendly, infectious smile, she is a young lady not easily discouraged, has an irrepressible sense of humor, and looks good even in a severely cut gray flannel coat and skirt.

FAWCETT, Mrs.

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Daughters: Dinah Fawcett and Lady Billington-Smith (Fay).

Mother of Dinah Fawcett and Fay, Lady Billington-Smith; her chief consideration is her own comfort and she is addicted to fad diets and new religions. She tried Christian Science but it didn’t last, and now she has gone all lettucy; nuts, too.

FINCH

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Butler to the Billington-Smiths at the Grange, he has great presence of mind in a crisis and, with a good head for detail, he is a very precise witness. He thinks bicycles troublesome.

FLETCHER, Constable

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

A policeman Lola de Silva says stares at her as if she is an assassin.

GRIERSON, Major

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Chief Constable of the Silsbury police force, he is about 50, with a quick, fussy way of talking and apparently chronic catarrh; he dabs often at his thin nose and punctuates his speech with sniffs. He was acquainted with Inspector Harding in the army during World War I and alerts him to dealing with the idiosyncrasies of Superintendent Lupton..

GUEST, Stephen

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

A connection of General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith, some kind of cousin, who visits the Grange with some frequency and is there for the weekend. He is a big man in rough tweeds, with deep-set eyes, a rugged, curiously square face, and a slow, heavy tread, and has lived in the USA, Africa, and Australia. He is taciturn and doggedly calm, having loved Fay, Lady Billington-Smith unwaveringly for 2 years. Despite doing the strong silent man thing, he is an easy bleeder.

HALLIDAY, Basil

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Wife: Camilla Halliday

A weekend guest at the Grange with his wife, Camilla, having become acquainted with the Billington-Smiths in the south of France, at Nice, the previous winter. He is in his late 30’s and thin, with a face prematurely lined through ill health, very deep-set, almost sunken eyes, and a way of twitching his brows that shows nerves on edge. He is not very interesting and tends to self-pity.

HALLIDAY, Camilla

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Husband: Basil Halliday

A weekend guest at the Grange with her husband, Basil, having become acquainted with the Billington-Smiths in the south of France, at Nice, the previous winter. She is pretty, with corn-colored hair, shingled and perfectly waved, shallow blue eyes, a predatory little mouth sharply outlined by scarlet lipstick, and pointed fingernails lacquered red. She is mechanically provocative, mercenary, and simply never wears black.

HAMMOND, Constable

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

On the Ralton police force and engaged to Mrs. Darcy’s under-housemaid, a fact which facilitates the spread of information in the neighborhood.

HARDING, Detective-Inspector John

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Of Scotland Yard, he is 6 feet tall and in his late 30’s, with steady gray eyes that look you square in the face and a rather charming smile. He is patient and tactful, his clothes bear the indefinable stamp of a good tailor, and he is clearly gentry. Reading law at Oxford when WWI intervened, he then found himself obliged to support himself by the death of his father. Now he has come into quite a pleasant legacy, and rather than become head of Scotland Yard, he would like to retire and raise pigs or chickens.

JANET

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

An employee of the Billington-Smiths. Possibly, Janet is a kitchen worker because Mrs. Moxon, the cook, refers to her as That Janet.

JARVIS

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Inspector Harding’s man at his small flat overlooking the river, in London.

Lamb, Theresa Emmeline

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

see: Chudleigh, Mrs. Emily

The first Lady Billington-Smith and mother of Geoffrey Billington-Smith, she ran off with another man 21 years ago. She was a school friend of Julia Twining.

LAMLEY, Greg

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

One of Lola de Silva’s dancing partners. With him she did the Apache Dance, just what the English public wants.

LESTER

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Head gardener to the Billington-Smiths at the Grange.

LEWIS, Samuel Mr. (Sam)

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Press-agent for Lola de Silva, he knows all about the publicity racket. Finch describes him as a Hebrew person, and he is a stout gentleman with a somewhat Jewish cast of countenance, several gold stoppings in his teeth, hence a wide, dazzling smile, and he wears a handsome ring and a pearl pin in his tie.

LILIAN

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Parlormaid to the Chudleighs at Lyndhurst Vicarage; she seems to regard all policement with trepidation.

LUPTON, Superintendent

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Of the Ralton Police, he is 50 years old, with scant gray locks, a red and somewhat fierce face, and a 50-inch waist. He is a difficult man to deal with, offensive and defensive at once, with a tendency to bully his subordinates. He is hostile and patronizing to Inspector Harding, suspecting him of feeling superior. Sports he regards as a waste of time for policemen; he prefers a quiet set-down in a cosy bar with a mug of beer.

MASON, (Young)

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Of Mason’s Stores in Laxton, 18 miles from the Grange. He saw Captain Billington-Smith changing a flat tire there.

MASON, Colonel

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Inspector Harding’s commanding officer when Major Grierson first met him at Bailleul during World War I.

MOXON, Mrs.

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Cook for the Billington-Smiths at the Grange, she is darkly sympathetic to Fay, Lady Billington-Smith.

NETHERSOLE, Sergeant

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Of the Ralton police, gratified to be assigned to assist Inspector Harding in the Billington-Smith case and hoping it will lead to advancement. At 37, he is earnest and painstaking, large, with a somewhat wooden face and round blue eyes that tend to stare at the nearest person or object when he is thinking. He has a slow, deep voice, a methodical mind despite his bovine gaze, and is slow of utterance and even slower to wrath. Married, he notes to Harding that women are not very good with notions of time.

PEACOCK

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Chauffeur to the Billington-Smiths at the Grange; he intends to give notice as soon as he’s paid.

PECKHAM, Miss

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Head housemaid to the Billington-Smiths at the Grange, she is prim and uncompromising, starched and rigid, with a brisk, severe voice—the other extreme from Joan Dawson.

RAYMOND, Dr.

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Physicial to the Billington-Smiths, from Silsbury; a burly man of about 40, with a cheerful manner and twinkling blue eyes.

Scott, Sir Walter

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Geoffrey Billington-Smith presumes Scott and Dickens were the only books his father had ever read in his life.

Ted

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Joan Dawson’s significant other; mentioned in passing.

THOMSON, Charles

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Footman to the Billington-Smiths at the Grange.

TREMLOWE, Gerald

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Mentioned in passing as a partner in the law firm of Tremlowe, Tremlowe, Hanson and Tremlowe.

TREMLOWE, Horace

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Solicitor to General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith and executor of his will, he belongs to the firm of Tremlowe, Tremlowe, Hanson and Tremlowe and is appropriately placid and methodical.

TWINING, Colonel (deceased)

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Julia Twining’s late husband, who served with General Billington-Smith in the army.

TWINING, Julia Mrs.

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

Aunt Julia to Geoffrey Billington-Smith

An old school friend of the first Lady Billington-Smith, hence an old acquaintance of General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith, she lives at Blessington House, 3 miles from the Grange. She has lived much abroad and is now a widow in comfortable circumstances, having buried her late husband, Colonel Twining, in India many years ago. She could be anywhere from 45 to 60 and is always perfectly dressed, self-controlled, graceful, and assured, with considerable strength of character and no sentimentality—some might call her cool, caustic, even cynical. The Ralton neighborhood found her too clever to accept easily at first, but relented because she is clearly perfectly well-bred.

VELEZ, Lupe* (1908-1944)

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

A Hollywood actress, popular in the early 1930s, known as The Mexican Spitfire. Joan Dawson thinks Lola de Silva may be she incognito.