THOMAS WILLIAM LEIGH, esq.,
eldest son of COLONEL thomas james leigh, master of lyme park
[ philip froissant, he/him, cis man ] — was that THOMAS WILLIAM LEIGH? the TWENTY-SIX year old is a GENTLEMAN, MASTER OF LYME PARK, how exciting to see them this season! rumors have it they are EXTROVERTED and TENACIOUS, but i’ve heard they are CAPRICIOUS and DEMANDING as well — maybe that’s why they’ve been called the PENDULUM. I have even heard that he has taken over affairs at lyme park due to his father’s failing mental faculties—only time will tell.
QUICK HISTORY
Thomas James Leigh (father), a colonel in the British army and descendant of old Sir Thomas Legh, a diplomat under King Henry VIII, married the daughter of a Tory diplomat, Joanna Egerton (mother) - a scandalous match for the master of Lyme Park as she was American-born, only returning to Britain when her father was deported by the revolutionists.
Thomas William is the eldest of five children, all boys except the youngest, a girl
Thomas William was particularly close to his mother, a woman that was somewhat of a black sheep of society. She caught illness soon after giving birth to her last child and died when Thomas was only fourteen
His father was rather stern about Thomas’ tutelage and once retired from his rank in the military, was an authoritative presence over affairs in his estate. He sent Thomas to a boarding school after the death of Joanna and was not permitted to return until he finished schooling at Brasenose College at age 21.
Though he wished his son to return disciplined and orderly, Thomas William had a colorful career at Brasenose College that included all sorts of debauchery and ill-reputed exploits and returned not at all interested in taking over his father’s affairs anytime soon. However, it became apparent that his father was losing his mental faculties most likely dementia and needing immediate intervention or Lyme Park could face financial ruin from his fathers unintentional negligence.
Thomas William, after learning of his father’s mental decline that first year of his return, has spent the last few years slowly stepping into his father’s shoes. Much to the distaste of aunts, uncles and cousins alike, Thomas William has now all but completely taken over most duties as master of Lyme Park with his younger brother helping to keep accounts of their income from horse breeding, land leases, and his father’s pension from the Crown (approx. £9000/yr)
Currently feels the pressure to find a wife and have children but also preoccupied with keeping his father’s illness a secret
CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE –
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Talk about your character’s name. What is it, and how is it pronounced? What does it mean? Does your character have any nicknames? THOMAS WILLIAM LEIGH, from a long line of Thomas Leighs - Thomas Peter being the most frequent designation but he had a mother strong-willed enough to convince his father to name him after his late maternal uncle. His mother always called him “William” or “Will” but he is known to all formally as “Thomas William” or “Mr. Leigh”. Appropriate pronunciation would be: TAW-MUS WIL-LEE-AM LEE, though it would also be historically accurate for common folk to pronounce his family name as “LAY” or “LEG”.
Post a picture of your character or describe what they look like in detail. Note any distinguishing facial features. For a gentleman of such a determined and steadfast nature, people tend to remark on his soft and gentle countenance. Aside from his strong jaw, he has brown eyes with a rounded brow that gives him a very pleasant and agreeable appearance. His mouth naturally rests upturned and rarely does he wrinkle his nose unless truly disgusted. His most prominent feature is probably his red hair which is a copper shade that glimmers in the sunlight but could appear brown in a dimly lit room. His skin has a warm undertone, and his complexion is usually a little rosy especially about the cheeks and on his chest. He has light freckling along the bridge of his nose, cheeks, and shoulders from sun exposure and the clustering seems to grow each year. He has a slender body type, triangular from behind but perhaps a bit narrower about the shoulders and chest than would be ideal for a typical gentleman. From his frequent equestrian activities and some illicit practice boxing, he has strong forearms and hard hands that he keeps gloved when attending any kind of formal occasion.
Describe your character’s personality. He is an extrovert, thriving in social interaction and frequently in the company of acquaintances but due to an insufficient desire to make time or emotional space for intimate connection, Thomas is not a cultivator of close friendships. He has a desire for convenient challenges, those which he knows to be conquerable but maybe surface-level impressive all the same and is not a distance runner for much of anything. That being said, he is quite determined so once he has jumped the hurdle of accepting a task, he will make sure it is completed to satisfaction.
What is your character like in relationships? Are they clingy? Faithful or unfaithful? Do they jump from one relationship to the other? Thomas has never had a consistent, long-term relationship and has not seriously courted anyone. Unless he intended to marry, he would likely frequently entertain casual relationships with no real promise of commitment but never degrade himself (in his opinion) to consummate an illegitimate union. He is a talker, though, and so he has likely promised himself into a corner a time or two with ladies who wanted to become Mrs. Leigh of Lyme Park, a dream he likely fostered when swept away in some romantic banter. He definitely would be reputed to have a flair for insincerity.
What kind of things does your character like? What do they dislike? In general, Thomas likes to be entertained so whatever can occupy his attention and give him something to do for a time would be alike. He does not like silence or boredom. He loves to exercise, especially walking around the grounds at Lyme Park, riding horses, and swimming. He does read but this is not a particularly favorite pastime, and he would much rather make arrangements to see an opera, or ballet, or hire a performer to sing ballads or play pianoforte. He is not well-traveled himself, but he enjoys a good conversation with those who are.
How does your character treat their friends and family? How about strangers? Enemies? It depends on the family. He has some strained relations with aunts/uncles and cousins due to managing the affairs at Lyme Park haphazardly. Thomas regards everyone politely until they’ve proven unworthy of such regard and then it is usually avoidance and cold-shoulder treatment.
What kind of people does your character surround themselves with? Why? As mentioned above, he has plenty of acquaintances that he can sit down and be entertained with and by, those he would invite to an opera or for a soirée at Lyme Park but they could not be considered close or intimate friends. They are enough company to make Thomas feel less alone but at enough distance that he is left with a tiny nag for connection in their presence. Very tiny, though. Tiny enough that the temporary joy makes it easy to ignore.
Where was your character born? Where do they live now? Lyme Park and he has always lived at Lyme Park and very rarely leaves the comfort of the estate unless he has business to tend to elsewhere.
Where does your character go when they are angry? Thomas lets off steam by mode of explosive tangents, yelling at no one in particular but for everyone to hear, and most often storms about the gallery hall. This usually spurns house maids and other estate employees to make themselves scarce so as not to be in his path.
What is your character’s biggest fear? Who have they told this to? Who would they never tell this to? Why? Probably both his biggest desire and biggest fear is connection. It is a fear because of the possibility of a connection lost either due to distance, death, or some fault of his own. He has never said and would never say this to anyone.
Does your character have a secret? If so, what is it? He has been diligently hiding the senility of his father, Thomas James, under the guise of consumption for a little over a year with the help of the estate doctor and lawyer. Though he does feel somewhat comforted by the common rumors of King George’s frailty, his father’s condition is kept secret to protect his and his family’s dignity.
Has your character ever been in love? Have they ever had a broken heart? To be decided! My inclination is to say no but open to plot this.
Does your character have any flaws? What are they? As stated above, he has many flaws: ill-tempered, inability to connect, inability to commit, among others.
Then dig deeper by asking more unconventional questions:
What is in your characters refrigerator right now? On their bedroom floor? On their nightstand? If it weren’t for the excellent staff at Lyme Park picking up after Thomas, he would surely have worn clothes, crumpled stationary, tea cups, etc. strewn about his bedchamber.
Your character is walking home in the dark when they hear some noises around the corner. What do they do? How would they react if they heard someone crying out for help? Thomas likes to play the part of white knight when the situation is convenient and most likely would confront whatever issue presented itself, either by calling out to the noise, following it to find whatever/whoever is making the noise, or offering a helping hand to the person in need. Although he is not a bad person and truly wishes to be helpful to someone in need, the main motivator here would be vanity and pride as well as the expectation of a commendation even if only in the form of a ‘thank you’.
When your character thinks of their childhood kitchen, what smell do they associate with it? Sauerkraut? Oatmeal cookies? Paint? Why is that smell so resonant? Probably fresh baked bread. Thomas was always an early riser as a child and his first destination was to the kitchens where the estate cook would be baking that morning’s sourdough loaf. The cook would always get a piece fresh from the oven and serve it to Thomas there in the kitchen with a pat of hand churned butter.
Your character is doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for them to throw out? What is difficult for them to part with? Why? Any portraits of his mother. They are kept covered to avoid agitating his father’s dementia but Thomas could never bring himself to put them away in storage. He still sometimes pulls away the sheets to remind himself of what she looked like as the memory of her increasingly fades as time goes by.
It is Saturday at noon. What is your character doing? Give details. If they’re eating breakfast, what exactly do they eat? If they’re stretching out in the backyard to sun, what kind of blanket or towel do they lie on? He is most likely just getting up at this point in the day, usually after a late night of games with friends. He will break his fast with a poached egg, toast, and usually a filet of mackerel and a shot of brandy.
