Smith in Sprig Muslin, she set the mould for many of Heyer's romantically minded and unrealistic young beauties such as Lady Letitia Merion in April Lady and Miss Tiffany Wield in The Nonesuch, although she is nowhere near as irrational as either of those two. Ludovic Lavenham – Grandson to Sylvester, Lord Lavenham, cousin to Basil Lavenham, Sir Tristram Shield and Eustacie de Vauban. Accused of murdering Sir Matthew Plunkett to retrieve an heirloom talisman ring which was won from him in a rigged game, Ludovic Lavenham fled the country two years before the book's period with the assistance of his grandfather and cousin Tristram. Since then, he has taken up free-trading and smuggling, using The Red Lion inn as a headquarters. When Eustacie de Vauban runs away from home and falls into his hands, it triggers off a sequence of events during which he is shot, has to evade the Bow Street Runners whilst invalided, and prove his innocence of Sir Matthew's murder with the assistance of Eustacie, Sir Hugh and Sarah Thane and Sir Tristram. Although something of an incorrigible rogue, Ludovic is a very romantic character who fascinates Eustacie, and whatever his flaws, he is no brutal villain. His chivalry in preventing Ned Bundy from killing Eustacie from the start, his bravery and somewhat reckless spirit make him rather a devil-may-care fellow but he is a typical example of a wronged romantic hero with a name to clear, a role which is most comparable to that of Jack Carstares in Heyer's first novel, The Black Moth Lavenham, Basil. "Beau Lavenham" – Great nephew to Lord Sylvester Lavenham, cousin to Eustacie de Vauban, Ludovic Lavenham and Sir Tristram Shield. Basil Lavenham, a typical dandy with his coquelicot-striped waistcoats and spotted silk coats; is not particularly liked by any of his relations. He is an exquisite of the first degree, composed of delicate mannerisms and niceties of dress; with a languid manner and a soft voice. One of Eustacie de Vauban's suitors, she does not like him in the slightest. Despite his apparent ineffectiveness, however, Beau Lavenham is a devious man capable of almost anything. Sylvester Lavenham – Grandfather to Ludovic Lavenham and Eustacie de Vauban, great-uncle to Sir Tristram Shield and Basil Lavenham. An eighty-year-old man on his deathbed at the start of the novel, Sylvester used to be a rake in his day, but is now a