Leo Abberton
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| Portrayed by David Oakes | |
| Full Name | Leonard Abberton |
|---|---|
| Title | Earl of Mersea, Viscount Lexden, Baron Abberton of Mersea |
| Associated Noble House(s) | Earldom of Mersea, Viscountcy of Lexden, Barony Abberton of Mersea |
| Date of Birth | 9th March 1780 |
| Father | Godfrey Abberton (deceased) |
| Father's Rank | Earl |
| Mother | Elizabeth Abberton(deceased) |
| Mother's Rank | Countess |
| Town Residence | Lexden Park and a house in Hanover Square |
| Income | ??? |
| School | Harrow |
| University | N/A |
| Year Attained Title | 1806 |
| Year of Marriage | 1802 |
| Spouse | Laura Abberton |
| Spouse's Rank | |
| Spouse's Death | 1805 |
| Issue | Clare Abberton |
Leo, Earl of Mersea is the head of a family of dysfunctional siblings, a family he is trying to rescue from previous scandals and mismanagement, all while bringing up his darling daughter, Clare, and trying to find a suitable second wife.
Leo is played by Rose.
Family
Wife: Laura Abberton, Viscountess Lexden (b. 1785 d. 1805)
Daughter: Lady Clare Abberton (b. 1804)
Father: Godfrey Abberton, Earl of Mersea (d. 1806)
Mother: Elizabeth Abberton, Countess of Mersea (d. 1797) née Cole
Brother: Harold Abberton (b. 1783)
Sister-in-law: Amanda Abberton (b. 1788)
Twin nieces: Emily and Juliet Abberton (b. 1808)
Brother: Lucas Abberton (b. 1784)
Sister: Lady Charlotte Abberton (b. 1785)
Illegitimate half-siblings: Xavier and Véronique Abberton (b. 1786)
Brother: Augustus Abberton (b. 1787)
Sister: Lady Helen Abberton (b. 1792)
Background
Early Childhood
Leo had the misfortune of being born the eldest of an old and noble family with a beautiful estate on an estuary near the sea in Suffolk - and a completely irresponsible father. The late Earl of Mersea inherited his title young and immediately began frittering away a substantial fortune with grand tours abroad, horse racing, and mistresses. These activities did not stop him from fathering a brood of children, mainly sons and most of whom survived, with a long-suffering wife whenever he could be bothered to return home to the family estate. Leo was therefore brought up mostly by his mother in a household that veered between chaotic and peaceful. He much preferred the peace. He was sent to prep school at eight years old and subsequently to Harrow where his diffident nature and homesickness for his mother saw him the easy target of those more confident and outgoing, teasing which would no doubt have been much worse if he were not the heir to a great title.
When he was twelve, his father who had been barely around for many years by this point, preferring warmer climates and looser company, returned unexpectedly with a pair of six year old French twins, his children so he said. He gave them the Abberton name, left them with his wife with the instruction to look after them - “wouldn’t it be amusing? And it’s not as if they have anywhere else to go” - and promptly left again. This ignominy was too much for Lady Mersea, who was at that time pregnant with her final child. It was a difficult birth which left the countess much weakened for the rest of her life and the disruption at home surely played a part in this.
Adolescent Attempts at Control
At this point, Leo was only a schoolboy but he already saw the real necessity of taking charge of his inheritance, the anticipation of which had caused him considerable anxiety throughout his school years. His mother’s final illness and death was the catalyst. His father might be still alive but he showed no interest in really providing for his numerous children and Leo now had five younger siblings to look after, not to mention two illegitimate half-siblings who barely spoke English. With the help of his father’s steward (a man who did his job and no more and who had no interest in being a surrogate father to young Viscount Lexden), he hired a governess for Lottie, Helen and Véronique and ensured his brothers had places at school if they didn’t already and that Xavier went to the local clergyman for tutoring as paying for an additional place in school for him was not an option.
Leo left Harrow and did not follow school with university as many of his peers did. He was neither filled with curiosity for his studies in grammar nor was he a keen sportsman; although he was not bad at gentlemanly sports, he did not particularly enjoy them. Certainly not enough to waste his time at Oxford or Cambridge to pursue them. He felt his place was at home, whether in London or in Suffolk.
He studied hard to try to make the various estates connected to the title run better and be more profitable but he was inexperienced and insecure and did not have the real authority to make changes. These years after school were filled more with worries of inadequacy and failure than in making any substantial changes.
Marriage and Fatherhood
One obvious course lay open to him: that of marriage to a wealthy woman. It was what his father had done and it seemed a reasonable way to secure the future of the family, especially since he was increasingly convinced that he did not want to pass the title and responsibility onto any of his brothers. At the age of twenty-two, he braved the London season, met and briefly courted a young lady of fortune, and married her. Laura had seemed quiet and sensible and a kindred spirit. Unfortunately (and it took him quite some time to realise it) she was simply equally shy and had been taught to make herself attractive by agreeing with whatever a man said. She was of no help to him as an equal companion and she was unable to stand up to the demands of a loud and dysfunctional (and not always kind) family of adolescents with the scandal of the twins and the absent earl looming over them. It was an unhappy marriage and after the birth of her daughter, Laura fell into a depression from which she never recovered, barely leaving her room until her death eight months later.
Fatherhood, however, changed Leo. The moment his daughter Clare was put into his arms and opened her eyes, he truly became a man. She might not be the hoped-for son, but she was perfect and gave him something to fight for. While he might not have been able to exert his authority successfully on his own behalf or for a wife he had grown to resent and feel guilty for, he could for Clare. Nothing was too good for her. Her future must be ensured. With something to really fight for, Leo grew bolder and more effective. Laura’s money gave him an element of independence even while his father was still alive to cautiously invest in dependable schemes, buy his brother Augustus a commission in the army, and provide dowries for his sisters. When Lord Mersea died of a heart attack - in the company of two prostitutes in a Prussian beer hall - Leo felt nothing but relief and a little guilt for such unfilial feelings.
The new earl felt reborn - rarely was any peer so keen to accept his responsibilities with confidence and take up his seat in the Lords, which had sat vacant for most of living memory. Since his father’s death, Leo has continued to dedicate himself to the management and renewal of his estates, with the assistance of his half-brother, Xavier, whom he has supported in a career in banking. Alongside this, he has become active in politics and remains a devoted father to his now seven year old daughter. Although he remains rather overly concerned for the future of his extensive family, one major problem does remain: his lack of an heir and a mother for Clare as she grows out of childhood. The time has come to once more brave the marriage mart.