Rebecca Seymour

Rebecca Seymour, a character in The Unexpected Heiress series, is the Marchioness Huntsbury and part of the Somersets' aristocratic social circle. She is first seen in Chapter 4.

Appearance
Rebecca has brown eyes, black hair, and fair-to-tan skin. She wears a white high-collared blouse and light teal green coat.

Personality
She is polite and reserved. According to the dowager, she "has a tendency to get overshadowed in a more boisterous crowd, especially when she is compared to her husband." However, the dowager also praises her dutiful nature and her care for her family. She is also very proper and ladylike, not wanting to participate in sports such as cricket, grouse hunting, or in a game of Imposter. She is shown to be very protective of her children and wants them to be financially secure.

Background
Rebecca is originally from Hong Kong or one of the other British concessions in China. Although her family is of the aristocracy and she was able to match with and marry Vincent, she is not considered to be a British citizen. As such, if her oldest son renounces his claim to be the next Marquess Huntsbury, her younger children's inheritance would be jeopardized if Vincent's transgressions came to light.

The Unexpected Heiress

 * Chapter 4: Roses & Thorns
 * Chapter 5: Without a Trace (Mentioned; Determinant)
 * Chapter 7: Belle of the Ball
 * Chapter 10: Power Play
 * Chapter 11: Upper Echelon
 * Chapter 12: The Hunter and the Prey
 * Chapter 13: Raising the Stakes
 * Chapter 14: Buried Truths
 * Chapter 15: Reckoning
 * Chapter 16: The Bride

Vincent Seymour
Vincent is her husband. During the garden party, he mentions that he gambled away a gift from her father to her dismay, but dismisses her feelings and tells her that he can just buy a new one to replace it. Effie is not sure if he is aware of how he acts towards his wife; she cannot tell if he's oblivious or cruel.

In Chapter 7, he says that Rebecca was so quiet when they initially met, and he was pleased with the match they made. In Chapter 10, his gambling affliction is apparent as he argues with his wife that it's only a bit of spending money and a few harmless games of cards. When she tries to protest, he argues that he is the one who manages their finances and that she shouldn't worry about it.

When Amelia had a small ladies' get-together with her Aunt Maude, Nicolette, and Rebecca, Rebecca admitted to the girls that she and Vincent went through a difficult period after their oldest son, Edwin, was born. It took her years to conceive again, and she thought it was shameful since it is her duty to bear heirs.

When the truth of Rebecca's actions come to light, she tells you that Vincent did not know what she did. He was too busy squandering his fortune and satiating his lust. When she is arrested, Vincent is shaken by the whole ordeal and is left to care for his children alone.

Your Character
You meet Rebecca at the garden party, and you earn her approval by acting with decorum. In Chapter 10, if you tell her that she needs to be firm with him about his gambling, she politely thanks you but says it is a private matter that she doesn't wish to discuss.

In Chapter 11, she and her husband offer Huntsbury cathedral for your wedding, pushing the date up as the venue is only available for a few weeks before it begins repairs. She hopes that by doing so and forcing you to leave for your honeymoon would encourage you to drop your investigation, but did not expect you to be as stubborn as your sister. In Chapter 16, she admits to sending you the threatening letter and knows you and your friends were investigating Amelia's death, due to Francis's lack of subtlety when inquiring about the perfume bottle. Before she can kill you and Effie, your love interest bursts through the doors with Delia on his/her heels. You either knock the revolver from her hand or tackle her, but not before your love interest is shot in the commotion. Your love interest subdues Rebecca, who angrily yells at you for depriving her children of their mother and their birthright.

A month later, you learn from Francis that she is being held safely, having made a full confession to the crime.

Amelia Hayes
In London, February 1912, Rebecca is first introduced to Amelia at a ball. The former finds the latter charming, lively, and intelligent but also unconventional and outspoken. Nicolette adds that Amelia is also friendly with the servants and treats them as equals, which the two older women find distasteful. Several months later, her husband comes home from a social dinner, drunk and mumbling, and tells Rebecca that he thinks he said too much about India to Amelia during the card games. Rebecca is livid with him, but pretends to be shocked at the news when Amelia comes to her home a few days later. Amelia tells her about Vincent's affair with Margaret, hoping that Rebecca would want to leave him, but Rebecca tells her that she must stay with him for their children's sake and asks Amelia not to tell anyone what she has learned. Amelia promises not to, but either happens upon evidence about the bribery through her work with "the cause" or by investigating Vincent and through him, finding Percy.

At a social dinner at Windcroft Manor, when Vincent puts down Rebecca, Amelia is quick to Rebecca's defense. She almost blurts out about his indiscretions in front of others including Nicolette, but remembers her promise and backs down. Later, Amelia takes Rebecca to the hidden room to talk, and discovers that Rebecca knew all along about the affair. Rebecca tries to explain that a woman in her position doesn't have many options, but Amelia argues that Margaret might want to return to London and that the latter's children deserve to know Vincent just as much as Rebecca's children do. Amelia tells Rebecca that she won't stand by and be complicit in this "cover-up scheme".

Knowing this, Rebecca buys an ornate perfume bottle from a small perfume shop. With her knowledge from India, she breaks into and enters Ambassador Worthington's greenhouse to steal a rare purple flower. She uses the flower to poison the perfume and sends it anonymously as a wedding gift to Amelia to silence her.

Edwin Seymour
Edwin is their oldest son who had always been away at boarding school. Currently, he is studying at a university in America.

Trivia

 * She shares her first name with Becca Davenport from The Freshman series, and Rebecca McKenzie from Most Wanted, Book 1.
 * Her character model resembles one version of Mary from the Desire &amp; Decorum series and Eleanor Rys from the The Royal Heir series.
 * Her and her husband's last name is revealed in Chapter 11.
 * She is a playable character in the bonus scene of Chapter 16.
 * Her crimes include bribery, breaking and entering, blackmail, murder, and attempted murder.