Ailbe Eldershaw

Too young for the chair, and refusing to act it. Ailbe Eldershaw is the new head of the Eldershaws — one of Marshedge's Old Family heads — pushed into the seat by an untimely death and carrying the family reputation for being tough yet honorable like a coat that does not quite fit.

Appearance: A young woman in her mid-twenties, narrow-shouldered but upright, wearing her family's good wool like someone who has recently learned what it costs. Her jaw is set; her eyes are attentive and slightly too controlled for her age. She keeps her hands visible and still.

Instinct: To put off decisions