Sebastian Colborne

Sebastian Colborne

Portrayed by Zachary Fall
Full Name	Sebastian Gregory Colborne
Title	Earl of Falstone
Associated Noble House(s)	Dukedom of Rothbury
Date of Birth	19th February 1781
Father	Gregory Colborne
Father's Rank	Duke
Mother	Penelope Colborne
Mother's Rank	Duchess
Town Residence
Income
School	Eton
University	Cambridge
Year Attained Title	1781

Sebastian Colborne, Earl of Falstone, is the oldest son and heir of Gregory Colborne, the 11th Duke of Rothbury, and his (now estranged) wife Penelope and brother to Lord Raphael Colborne and Lady Margaret "Meg" Colborne. In recent years he has taken over running the Ducal estate in Northumberland for his father, but at his sister's is currently in London to help informally introduce her to society before her debut next year. When he was younger he came close to an engagement, but for personal reasons hesitated to propose and the lady in question married another, leaving Sebastian somewhat heartbroken.

Sebastian is played by Sarah.

Family

• Gregory Colborne, 11th Duke of Rothbury, (born 1753) – father
• Penelope Colborne, née Westfall, Duchess of Rothbury (born 1762) – mother
• Lord Raphael Colborne (born 1783) – brother
• Lady Margaret Colborne (born 1793) – sister

Background

Seb was born in a cold month, in a cold part of England, to a marriage that was rapidly cooling. Neither of his parents truly understood the other, although when his mother first realised she was pregnant they were still infatuated enough to feel only the joy of it. They celebrated further when she gave birth to a healthy boy, an heir, and their pride, along with the novelty of being parents for the first time, helped to mask their differences a while longer and carry them along enough for the Duchess to fall pregnant a second time. By the time Raphael was born, however, they had begun to discover the irreconcilable differences in their personalities and the two-year-old Sebastian found his once attentive parents were no longer interested in spending time with him or his baby brother.

Over the next few years they grew ever more discontented with one another, conversations devolving into sniping, arguing and occasionally (on his mother’s part) throwing things. Being a bright child, Seb was not taken in by his nurses’ fluttering attempts to conceal it all; he knew his parents were bitter and unhappy, and having witnessed more than one blazing row he knew it would be up to him to protect his younger brother. He took it upon himself to keep Rafe out of the way whenever his parents started to argue, distracting him with games and toys and sometimes at night covering his ears or telling him stories so he would not hear the vile things their parents screamed at one another. The unfortunate result was that Sebastian was aware of everything, and the once sunny, cheerful child became solemn and serious, until only his brother could truly make him smile.

As he grew, mature beyond his years, he found easier ways to deal with his parents. A carefully placed comment to his mother encouraged her to take the waters in Bath and visit friends around the country, and another to his father saw the Duke return to London for a time to see to his political duties. He made sure the Duke hired tutors for himself and for Rafe, and when the time came, sent them both to Eton.

It was a great shock to hear of his mother’s third pregnancy, and although he would never admit it for a long time he suspected that the baby might not have been fathered by the Duke. When his sister was born, he uneasily contemplated how he might protect her as he had done Rafe when he was away at school – neither brother wished to return home for holidays when they might stay with friends, so Seb relied on writing to his parents and continuing to subtly encourage them to remain away from each other. The few times they all gathered together in Northumberland, he did what he could to shield Meg from any arguing as he had done Rafe.

School and university were a great relief to Seb, being able for those years to be simply a young man without so much responsibility on his shoulders. He made friends, thrived in his studies, and recovered some of the sense of humour and lightness that had been lost in his formative years. It was too brief a time though, and after attaining his degree his mind turned to his home: making sure his father was away had helped their family but meant the estate had not been tended as it ought, and there was the matter of his sister. Someone needed to step up, and it would have to be him, so he returned to take the reins of Rothbury Manor.

His guilt intensified when he was reunited with his sister – ten years old now, but starved for companionship and affection. She latched on to him, and Seb has done everything he can to make up for the loneliness of her early childhood. They have become very close as a result.

In 1808 his mother asked him to visit her in London. Reluctantly Seb agreed, intending only to stay a week or so – but in fact stayed for much of the Season. There was one reason for this and one reason only: Isabel St. John. Daughter of the Earl of Kilbride, she was beautiful, charming and clever, and it did not take long for Seb to find himself quite head over heels.

His infatuation did not go unnoticed and there were whispers about whether he intended to make her his Duchess, but Seb hesitated. After witnessing the catastrophe of his parents’ marriage, he was wary of irreparably binding himself to someone only to cast them both into misery. Surely, he reasoned, it was better to be patient and take the time to be certain they truly understood one other and were suited?

Unfortunately, Isabel did not have the time to wait. Although her family was an old one, they were also poor after her grandfather and father had speculated and gambled away their fortune – she had to marry, and soon, to secure her own future. Her cleverness made her coldly practical to this, and when Sebastian did not propose after a few weeks she decided waiting for the hope of a Duchess’ coronet was too great a risk and accepted an offer made by Viscount Clifton. He was not as handsome as Seb, nor as intelligent, but he was good natured enough, rich and willing to propose at once. Seb understood her decision, but it hurt him far more than he thought possible. It was not long after her marriage that he retreated to Northumberland with no intention of returning, and he would have happily have stayed there if Meg had not begged him to come back to Town with her.

Personality

Born into another family, raised with loving care, Seb would likely have been as charming and merry as his younger brother. As it is, he is a man who was forced to grow up far too soon and that has left an indelible mark on his personality.

He views his responsibilities and duties with utmost seriousness – never having been able to count on the adults in his life, he only really relies on himself, and he will do whatever it takes to fulfil his obligations, to the point that he will and has sacrificed his own happiness and comfort to ensure that his home and family are taken care of. Those he takes under his protection can be sure that he will be fiercely devoted to them. He is not, however, devoid of humour. It comes out the most around his siblings and friends, in those moments when he can, however briefly, relax.

As clever in his own way as his siblings, he has never been able to devote his mind simply to studying as his mind is usually more pressingly occupied – with estate matters, with caring for his brother and sister and with handling his parents. Most of his father’s employees know by now that Seb is really the Duke in all but name, having taken over the vast majority of his father’s concerns.

It is a growing concern in his mind that he must marry and produce an heir, but his childhood and his experience with Isabel have both left him very reluctant to search for a bride. His heart has not entirely mended, and he cannot abide the thought of putting himself, his future wife and any children they may have through an unhappy marriage – yet he knows at some point, given the relatively short courting period of the Season, he will have to take the risk. It is a conundrum he does not know how to solve.

Thread Tracking

Saturday 25th May

• You've got a heart full of gold and that's really turning me on: Sebastian and Rafe attend the cricket match in Hyde Park and converse with Frederick Lazenby [1]
• Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath: Sebastian talks with Sophia Lazenby at Mirabel O'Sullivan's card party [2]
• She's a little explosion of hope: Sebastian talks with Frederica Haverleigh at Lady Mirabel's card party [3]

Monday 27th May

• If everybody minded their own business, the world would go round a great deal faster than it does: Sebastian is reacquainted with Julia Hissop calls she in at Rothbury House [4]
• We are the only poets and everyone else in prose: Sebastian talks with Philippa Agnew at his sister's afternoon tea party [5]
• I know what it takes to fool this town: Sebastian converses with Blake Pritchard and Charity Pritchard at the Duke of Henley's party [6]

Wednesday 29th May

• Togetherness, well that's all I'm after: Sebastian visits Emerson House to see Blake Pritchard and also sees Elise Hampton [7]
• Have you heard it's in the stars: Rafe and Sebastian attend a ball thrown by Tempest Sandeford-Wrey and Taliesin Wolfe to celebrate their marriage, and converse with Mirabel O'Sullivan and Louis Agnew [8]
• Still enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away: Sebastian converses with Constance Cole at the Wolfe Ball [9]
• From whence come wars and fightings among you?: Sebastian talks with Louis following following his argument with Rafe at the Wolfe Ball [10]

Thursday 30th May

• Let's pretend, oh let's make believe: Seb and Meg run into Constance Cole while walking in Hyde Park [11]

Saturday 1st June

• I hate to turn up out of the blue: Seb escorts Meg home after brunch with her friends, only to find their father has arrived unexpectedly [12]

Friday 7th June

• Peace even in the storm: Seb visits the British Museum and meets Phoebe Khumalo [13]

Monday 10th June

• We're a society of lovelorn lads: On the way home from their club, Seb introduces Asher Heathcote to Meg [14]