THE BARON AND BARONESS

he location of Crapulent Towers is not precise, but is probably vaguely in the Herefordshire/Worcestershire/Shropshire area. The oldest part of the building is part of an old castle, possibly Norman. It has been added to substantially at various times and now is rather an ugly conglomeration of different styles. The Baron is too close to it to notice its ugliness, but wouldn’t anyway as he is philistine in any matters of beauty or design.

The Baron, given name Gervase Rattley-Gore, as the eldest son was naturally named after his father. After leaving University where he obtained a two-two in Economics he immediately started to work for his father. On the latter’s death he inherited not only wealth and land but many business interests. He is pompous and genuinely believes himself superior to all except certain members of aristocracy of higher rank or superior wealth. He has used contacts, astuteness and ruthlessness to continue making enough money to keep the ancient home, to which he is devoted, viable. He would certainly not hesitate to ruin an old friend if it were to the advantage of maintaining the estate.

He dislikes and has virtually nothing to do with, and has difficulty in understanding any domestic matters including children, even though all are now adult. He would have liked a son of his own ilk but of large number of offspring he has only two, of both of which he despairs.

The Baron enjoys inviting ‘useful’ people for the weekends, especially during the shooting season. He can fluctuate between being lavish and extremely parsimonious depending on his guests.

Most of the local village of Chugley Harvard belongs to the estate. In addition the Baron has gradually bought up various freeholds of the surrounding areas - ‘Empire building’. He also has a town house in Mayfair.

Some of this expansion was facilitated by his advantageous marriage to a second cousin Honoria Gore-Smythe, to whom he usually refers as ‘my good lady wife’. The Baroness is a voluminous, unruffled and kindly lady, who was rather intimidated by the Baron in the early years of their marriage, but has over the years gradually asserted herself so that she is now on equal terms. She might have made a good mother if she had been allowed to rear her children herself, but they were mostly in the care of Nanny, the Schoolmistress and later boarding at Public School.

She deals with organising domestic matters of which the Baron is only very vaguely aware. Probably salts some of the domestic finances away as she is not stupid and is probably the only person to be able to get one over on the Baron financially.