Matilda Grenfell
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| Portrayed by Anna Paquin | |
| Full Name | Matilda Talbot Grenfell |
|---|---|
| Associated Noble House(s) | Baron de Grave |
| Date of Birth | January 2, 1787 |
| Father | Albert Bartley |
| Father's Rank | Commoner |
| Mother | Virginia Bartley |
| Mother's Rank | Commoner |
| Town Residence | De Grave House, 39 Bruton Place |
| Year of Debut | 1805 (New York) |
| Dowry | Sizeable |
| Year of Marriage | 1806 |
| Spouse | Leander Grenfell |
| Spouse's Rank | Baron de Grave |
| Issue | Robin Grenfell (1808) |
Matilda Grenfell, Lady de Grave, born Matilda Bartley in New York, is the widow of Leander Grenfell, the late Baron de Grave, and the mother of Robin Grenfell, the current Baron de Grave.
Early Life and Debut
Matilda Grenfell is the only daughter of Albert Bartley and his wife, the daughter of recent Dutch immigrants, Virginia Talbot (anglicised from Talabod). She has one elder brother, Phineas "Finn" Bartley.
The Bartleys, successful fur-traders come very successful New York-warehouse district landlords, were recognised as part of New York's developing society set and, upon her eighteenth year, Matilda was launched into said society. With her bright personality, increasingly wealthy family and pretty little features, Tilly stood in very good stead to be a proper society belle. And this was precisely what she intended to be, followed by a wife to a gentleman of comparable standing and then the mother to his children and revered society hostess.
However, at the Alfrey card party she met (The Honourable) Mr Leander Grenfell, an English export with wicked dry humour, unshakeable reserve and an accent that made Tilly wish that he would never stop talking. She was smitten. As was he.
Marriage
Leander's courtship of Tilly was brief and intense. The pair were often at loggerheads about some issue or another and then, much to the surprise of anyone present, back to whispering sweet-nothings to one another and exchanging longing looks. They shared impetuous and adventurous natures and - fortunately - a tendency to forgive quickly and look to the future, never the past.
Tilly's parents, each of whom could easily trace back to their own European roots, had no concerns with their daughter marrying an Englishman - though his appeal to their pretty young daughter was a mystery to them. Provided he had no intention of whisking her away to Wiltshire (and, he assured them, he could not think of anything worse) they were content. Finn, Tilly's elder brother, was somewhat more dubious about his sister's decision. However, as he would not wish her to question the types of young women with which he spent his time, he did not question hers.
The marriage was a happy and productive one. Both longed to travel - to see Europe and, at the very least, more of their own continent - but Leander's temperamental health preveted it. In 1808 the couple welcomed baby Robin George Grey Grenfell in New York. It had been upon a whim that Leander had suggested that they give the little boy the Grenfell 'family' names George and Grey but perhaps it was an omen of things to come.
Changes
News soon arrived from Wiltshire: the baron, Leander's elder brother, had died. Sonless. Suddenly everything changed. They would need to move to England. Leander was a baron - a concept that Tilly would have found amusing, had she not had so much to contend with - with an estate. If Tilly was hesitant to leave, Leander was down right unwilling. His younger brother had Copperdene well in hand and what good would it do for them to up and move? Matters could wait until Robin was somewhat older, until his own health had settled, perhaps under they had another child. Tilly was grateful for his stalling and the idea of moving countries was relegated to back of mind.
However, a second shake up was in store. In 1809 Leander's health deteriorated rapidly and he passed away from acute dropsy.
Tilly's son, baby Robin, was suddenly and inexplicably the new baron and was summoned to the bosom of the Grenfell family in Wiltshire, England. In shock and wretched with grief, Tilly numbly did as she was told and boarded a ship to England with her son. At the last moment Finn, in a burst of protectiveness, joined her.
Tilly spent months wandering about the greenery of Copperdene, the de Grave estate- well, her son's estate now, she supposed - in somewhat of a lost haze. Copperdene certainly did not feel like her new home. It came complete with an incumbent master and mistress: The Honourable Piers Grenfell (Leander's younger brother) and Sophronia, Lady de Grave, Leander's elder brother's widow. While both were outwardly pleasant, it was difficult to stave off the feeling that they were her guards.
However, as she healed, she begun to take the reigns of her new home - and begun to view daily power grapples with her brother and sister in law as more of a game than a serious threat.
Her son Robin has grown into an adorable, if a touch sickly, toddler. Her heart overflows with love for the little baron.
London
Robin is now three. Tilly is out of mourning. London awaits.
The Dowager Baroness is aware that she has a great deal to learn about the way this town works but trusts that her family (and few Wiltshire friends) will assist her.
The continent may have changed, and she may no longer have a husband by her side, but by golly she has a title now and still has high hopes of becoming the society hostess that she had once aspired to be. First task: make some friends.
