Frank Harpole

Frank Harpole

Portrayed by Matthew Goode
Full Name	Francis John Harpole
Associated Noble House(s)	Dukedom of Leicester
Date of Birth	9th October 1777
Father	James Harpole (deceased)
Father's Rank	Duke of Leicester
Mother	Adelaide Harpole (deceased)
Mother's Rank	Duchess of Leicester
Town Residence	The Albany, Piccadilly
School	Eton
University
Profession	Former exploring officer, leader of operations at Whitehall

Lord Frank Harpole is the youngest brother of the Duke of Leicester and has spent most of his adult life as an Exploring Officer for Lord Wellington. Since 1810 he has been living in England at his estate Ripley Hall in Hertfordshire, which he is using as a base for managing his operations.

Frank is played by Rose.

Family

Duke of Leicester (deceased) - father
Duchess of Leicester (deceased) - mother

Duke of Leicester - half brother
Duchess of Leicester - half sister

Admiral Lord Edmund Harpole - brother
Lady Edmund Harpole - sister-in-law

Lady Caroline Harpole (deceased) - sister
Mary Harpole - niece

Duke of Claitonborough - cousin
Lady Elizabeth Dunford - cousin

Background

Early Years

Frank was born the youngest child of the Duke of Leicester and his second wife. His father died when he was only eight years old and was replaced by his eldest brother, Lawrence, already twenty-two going on forty. He had a very typical upbringing for a boy of his position. His parents were distant and subsequently dead (his mother died when he was twelve) and he was passed from tutor to Eton school master as he grew older. Despite the gap in age between him and his siblings, especially Lawrence, Frank was close to both Edmund and Caroline. All three of them took after their mother, who had been an active, clever sort of woman, rather than their father, a dull fellow, no doubt made duller from centuries of aristocratic inbreeding. Edmund had ambition and an eldest son's determination without being verbally clever so went into the navy where he distinguished himself. Caroline chafed at a tedious home life and the expectations that came with being an only daughter, was seduced at seventeen and was subsequently banished to a cottage on a distant estate where she lived in seclusion with her daughter, Mary, until her death forced the recently wedded Lady Edmund to take responsibility for the child, whom she passed off as a poor cousin.

All of this happened while Frank was still a schoolboy, where quick intelligence combined with a youngest son's sense of irresponsibility and a natural aversion to obeying rules made him immensely popular with his peers and the reverse among the masters. When Eton came to an end, Frank was forced to choose a career, for though the comfortable life of a gentleman on one of Leicester's several estates was offered to him, both Lawrence and Edmund agreed that Frank was of the restless, disruptive sort of personality who needed something more tangible to engage him, lest he fall into the common trap of wealthy young men with nothing to do and ended up in debt and needing his brothers to bail him out of awkward situations. Frank was happy to agree with them for the life of a glorified farm manager held little appeal at the age of eighteen. The church being quickly dismissed, Frank tried his hand at law for six months, studying under the guidance of The Honourable John Fitzgerald of Russell Square. While speaking in court appealed to him and he was good at the detailed work needed to build a case, the long hours of pouring over books in a dusty office reminded him too much of school to be palatable. Following this failure, the Duke bought him a commission in the army and advised him to do his best to make something of himself.

Army Life

This was late 1795 and Frank was immediately sent off to the West Indies. He was not, however, a good soldier in the usual sense. He was certainly brave, if not reckless, but he often thought he knew better than his commanding officers and when he was not being insubordinate, he was making a nuisance of himself making bets and dares with easily led soldiers. This irresponsible behaviour led him eventually to making a solo attempt to infiltrate the South American settlement of Demerara where he was predictably captured. Frank escaped, killing two Dutch guards in the process, and returned to his regiment bringing with him useful information that he had managed to acquire before capture which would eventually lead to the capture of the settlement. Not with Frank's help. He was sent back to England in disgrace.

Exploring Officer

Back in England in late 1796, Frank found himself soon in the company of a certain Earl Parry who had heard about what happened in Demerara. He sat him down and offered him a choice: either to leave the army in disgrace or to work for him as one of a network of 'exploring officers' he ran throughout occupied territory in Europe. Frank's choice was obvious. In fact, he was intrigued. The job was dangerous, but required intelligence and initiative more than simple brute force. Besides, Lord Parry easily filled a quasi-paternal role that had been lacking so far in his life - a genuine interest in his abilities and what became of him and a warm and welcoming family, including a very pretty daughter.

As an exploring officer, Frank finally found a career that challenged him and suited him. Over the next few years he acquired a good deal of information which contributed towards several notable British successes (and some failures, including an attempt to assassinate Napoleon in 1800) and he distinguished himself personally among Lord Parry's associates at Whitehall. This was not fame that he could boast of openly but it was enough. His confidence grew and while returned to England during the season of 1798, he had a sufficiently high opinion of his character and prospects as to propose marriage to Lady Catherine Layton, whose youthful image had kept him warm in his insalubrious foreign hideouts for two years. His suit, presented as it seemed by an arrogant boy, a feckless officer not much older than herself, was summarily rejected, and Frank took himself back off to the continent with his tail between his legs. While he certainly does not still carry a torch for his first love, he has nevertheless not made any serious overtures to a woman since, preferring the less permanent but easier to manage charms of women he has met abroad. No doubt there are several illegitimate Harpoles running around Europe by now, but Frank has never stayed long enough in one place to be aware of them.

In 1805 Lord Parry was murdered in France and Frank spent the good part of a year on the trail of the mole who allowed his identity and movements to be compromised both because of his orders from the man who replaced him and because his mentor's death hit him hard and he wanted revenge. The man who dealt the final blow was never discovered but the mole was successfully unmasked, partly due to Frank's zealous pursuit of justice. In 1807, Frank, now a trusted and senior member of the organisation, was given a particularly dangerous task - to remain in Paris as a lead contact for other exploring officers. He remained there under an assumed identity until 1810 at great personal risk.

Return to England

Finally, Frank petitioned to return to England for longer than the brief trips he had previously been making through the years. His cover in Paris was growing weak and he was growing exhausted by such constant, wearying vigilance, very different from the shorter spurts of danger he had experienced before. His commanding officer, Lord Parry's replacement and a man equally high in the echelons of power, agreed to his request and Frank returned to England to the position of second in command, in charge of his own overseas operations and the decryption and interpretation of documents and information acquired by the exploring officers. To facilitate this, Frank has told his brothers he has sold out of the army, of which he was still nominally a member, and wishes to settle down. Consequently, the Duke has given him use of a handsome estate in Hertfordshire, a conveniently easy distance from London, and he has made noises about standing for parliament and even getting married. In truth, this life suits Frank very well for the moment. He has no intention of retiring from his chosen profession and he has been abroad once in the last year to oversee an operation personally and will no doubt go again, but everyone needs a rest from time to time and Frank has chosen his time shrewdly before he got too burned out by the demands of his work in Paris.

Relationships

Friends

• Harry Watson: Frank's soldier-servant and constant companion for the past eight years. A brother in all but name.

• Lord Selwyn: Frank's brother-in-law. The two get along well and share irritation over Augusta.

• "Cousin Lizzie": Frank has reconnected with his Dunford cousins and discovered he likes Lizzie very much.

Thread Tracking

Thursday May 16th

• She's just like the weather, can't hold her together[1]: Caught in the rain with Catherine Seymour

Fitzgerald Ball

• They have their exits and their entrances[2]: Arrival at the ball
• The Very Pink of Courtesy[3]: With Rebecca before the first dance
• You are the dancing queen[4]: First dance with Rosalind
• Such as we are made of, such we be[5]: Fourth dance with Lizzie
• I never knew what made it so exciting[6]: Sixth dance with Blanche