Catherine McAvoy
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| Portrayed by Keeley Hawes | |
| Full Name | Catherine Helen McAvoy, Dowager Countess of Kirkfries |
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| Associated Noble House(s) | Earldom Parry, Barony of Loseley, Earldom of Kirkfries |
| Date of Birth | 18th March 1781 |
| Father | Henry Layton (deceased) |
| Father's Rank | Earl |
| Mother | Louisa Layton (nee Barnet) |
| Mother's Rank | Dowager Countess |
| Town Residence | Layton House, 116 Park Street |
| Year of Debut | 1798 |
| Dowry | £40,000 |
| Year of Marriage | 1798 |
| Spouse | Godfrey McAvoy |
| Spouse's Rank | Earl |
| Year of Widowhood | 1800 |
| Issue | None |
Lady Kirkfries is the eldest child of the first Earl and Countess Parry. She married the Earl of Kirkfries in 1798 and was widowed in 1800 after two years of unhappy marriage. Since then, she has become a fashionable hostess in Edinburgh, known for her feminist opinions, outspoken opinions, and her lovers.
Catherine is played by Rose.
Family
Henry Layton, Earl Parry (deceased) - father
Louisa, Dowager Countess Parry - mother
Henry Layton, Earl Parry - brother
Lady Phoebe Layton/Sister Maria Agnes - sister
Archibald Layton, Marquess of Crantock - great-uncle
Jane, Duchess of Welby (deceased) - cousin
Lady Madalene Rossington - first cousin once removed
Sophia, Duchess of Leighton (deceased) - paternal aunt
Nicholas, Duke of Leighton - cousin
Lord William Gosling - cousin
Constance Blackwood - maternal aunt
Richard Blackwood - cousin
Background
Lady Catherine Layton, elder sister of the current Earl and Lady Phoebe Layton was brought up at Loseley Park in Berkshire and made her debut in 1798. She was one of the most admired young ladies of the season, being beautiful, extremely lively and witty, an excellent singer and most importantly rich. Drunk on adoration and full of self-confidence and desire for independence she married the Earl of Kirkfries for his unentailed title on a very short acquaintance. This was a mistake. Once Lord Kirkfries had got his young wife back to his estate in Scotland, he proceeded to treat her with coldness and tyranny bordering on the cruel. Catherine who had felt merely indifferent towards him on their marriage soon grew to loathe him and herself for marrying him. Fortunately he died of food poisoning after only two years of matrimony in 1800, leaving her his entire fortune and property. The title itself has reverted to the crown.
Since Lord Kirkfries' death, Catherine has thrown herself into Scottish high society, taking a house in Edinburgh during the season and entertaining lavish house parties at Kirkfries Castle in the summer. She has taken and discarded many lovers since her husband's death but shows no sign of contemplating remarriage.
She remains close to her brother Henry and she has recently arrived in London to stay with him, following a falling out with a lover in Edinburgh and his wife and mother. The London season has been amusing for Catherine so far and has included briefly taking Stephen Brydges as her lover. She has rekindled friendships with the Pritchard family and Daphne Werlington and got far more involved with her brother's affairs than she'd like.
She is accompanied by her ladies maid, Miss Barrett.
Relationships
Friends
Henry, Earl Parry: Catherine has a strong, close relationship with her brother.
Georgiana, Lady Louth: Met Lady Louth at church and immediately liked her.
Lady Gwendolyn Moncrieff: Met Lady Gwendolyn at Henry's party and immediately talked to her about rather personal matters.
Robert Vickery: A school friend of Henry's whom Catherine has now met.
Emma Vickery: Catherine enjoyed riding with her.
Robert Fitzgerald: Catherine enjoys flirting with Lady Viola's brother.
Lady Viola Fitzgerald: Catherine enjoys Lady Viola's company though does not know her ell.
The Duchess of Wycombe: Catherine knew the Duchess from before her marriage and is looking forward to deepening the acquaintance
Lady de Grave: Catherine likes this irreverent American
Lady Wadebridge: A distant relation of her husband's, Lady Wadebridge seems a suitable acquaintance to develop further
The Duchess of Beaumont: A good friend from her unmarried days as a debutante
Lord Huntingdon: Catherine and Aubrey were friends before her marriage and he asked her to be godmother to his daughter, which she refused
Lovers
Stephen Brydges: Between the 8th and 12th May
Enemies
Thread Tracking
Tuesday 30th April
- Lady Kirkfries to Lord Parry[1]: Catherine announces her intention to come to London
Saturday 4th May
- La Belle Ecossaise[2]: Catherine arrives at Layton House
Sunday 5th May
- Hills of the North in a Southern Church[3]: Catherine and Henry meet Lady Louth at church
- du besoin d'avoir une femme dans ma confidence[4]: With Lady Gwendolyn, Miss Pritchard and the Duke of Leighton
Monday 6th May
- Riding in Rotten Row[5]: Out riding with Henry and meeting Mr. And Miss Vickery
- Curiosity and the Cat[6]: Calling on the Baroness de Grave
Tuesday 7th May
- A Chance Collision[7]: Bumping into John Quinn on Bond Street
- I dearly love to laugh[8]: With Henry and Dosie in the milliner's
- From One Brother to Another[9]: Calls on Robbie Fitzgerald with Henry
- Whispered during intermissions[10]: With Charity and Gabriel at the opera
Wednesday 8th May
- We're all ladies together[11]: Calls on Louisa
- The Widow and the Dragon[12]: With Demelza at Almack's
- All the Nice Girls love a Sailor[13]: With Stephen at Almack's
- The bridge is crossed so stand and watch it burn[14]: Cat goes to a brothel with Stephen
Thursday 9th May
- The birdcatcher, the cat and the canary[15]: Helena calls on Henry and Catherine
- East West Fusion Bar[16]: Aaron Abdullah comes to dinner with Henry and Catherine
Friday 10th May
- Friday Is a Day for Calling[17]: Call on Penelope Quinn
- What's New Pussycat[18]: Catherine runs into Aubrey Sayre at a dinner party
Saturday 11th May
- Once More...Unto the Breeches?[19]: With Stephen at the Middleton Ball
- The Wife and the Mistress[20]: Meeting Rebecca Sterne and Viola Fitzgerald at the Middleton Ball
Sunday 12th May
- The Breakfast Club[21]: Henry and Cat have breakfast at Emerson House
- A Lady's Imagination is Very Rapid[22]: Cat takes Henry to task over Charity
- Cat Got Your Tongue?[23]: A romantic interlude (in theory) with Stephen
Monday 13th May
- Kindred spirits are not as scarce as I used to think[24]: Daphne calls with Natalie and Abigail
- Once Upon a Time in Fair London Town[25]: Cat and Henry arrive at Emma Vickery's ball
Tuesday 14th May
- ...but who can tell the mischief which the very virtuous do?[26]: With Will Gosling at the Ridotto
Thursday 16th May (Fitzgerald Ball)
- They have their exits and their entrances[27]: Arrival at the ball
- When Othello met Lady Macbeth[28]: Second dance with Harun
- Boldness be my friend[29]: Third dance with Tony
- Entr'Acte[30]: Catherine performs over supper
- The nicest thing about the rain is that it always stops. Eventually.[31]: Meeting Nick at the end of the ball