Arabella Blydon

The heroine of the novel, Arabella "Belle" Blydon is a strong, outspoken woman who knows what she wants. She is very much concerned with her self-improvement, as evidenced by her working her way through Shakespeare's works. She is well-bred and most likely rich. Though she knows society's conventions well, she is not afraid to stretch them to their limits in order to get what she wants. Hence, she goes to call upon Lord Blackwood (John) under sketchy circumstances. However, she rarely flouts convention altogether at the beginning of the book. As the novel goes on, she grows in important ways, and begins to see her love with John as more important than these conventions. Therefore, she does things such as climbing into his room at night, demanding certain things from him, and even marrying him before her parents return home. While these are not 'proper' behaviors, Belle...