Characters – Wychwick

Blurb about characters

Wychmere Family

Prominent and respected, the Wychmeres are the founding family of Wychwick- well the surviving one at least. At their head is Lord Byron Wychmere, a cold, calculating patriarch whose influence shapes the village from behind ledgers and contracts. Lady Eleanor, his dignified wife, moves with authority, but grieves with the tragic death of their eldest daughter, Cassandra.

Cassandra’s untimely death – drowned on the day she was to wed Julian Brush – casts a long shadow across the family. Isabelle, the artistic middle daughter, holds her own secrets close, while young Henry seeks escape among the clatter of beetle races and the oblivion of drink. Reginald, Eleanor’s brother, a veteran and a rogue, lingers on the estate as well, trying to help his sister keep the family together.

Their manor, their manners, and their mourning all whisper of things unsaid. In Wychwick, it is often what is not spoken that weighs the heaviest.

Dunwick Family

Once equal in stature to the Wychmeres, the Dunwicks were Wychwick’s second founding family – clever, charming, and always slightly apart. Known for their fox-like cunning and quick wit, the Dunwicks amassed influence through quiet deals and promises. But prestige curdles fast in a place like Wychwick.

One by one, the Dunwicks met strange ends- a fall from a cliff, a ship gone missing, a sudden illness that swept through the nursery. Their grand estate, perched above the sea, became a place of ill omen. The final blow came in a fire that devoured the remaining household and left only scorched stone and sea-blown ash. None were thought to have survived.

There is a rumor of course. Of a distant heir, or perhaps a ghost in flesh, who now walks Wychwick’s cobbled streets once more. Some say they seek answers. Others say unfinished business. The villagers watch with wary eyes, wondering what still burns in the heart of a house long turned to smoke and ash.

Village Folk