Henrietta Foredale

Henrietta, a character in the Desire &amp; Decorum series, is a countess in Egdewater and the wife of Vincent. She is the mother of Edmund and Harry and your character's stepmother. She is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 1.

Appearance
Henrietta has long and wavy blonde hair tied up in a bun with blue eyes and light skin. She wears a purple dress with gold featuring as patterns on the sleeves and as chains along her chest.

Personality
By all accounts, Countess Henrietta is an exceptionally unpleasant person. She is incredibly rude to almost everyone she encounters, especially those with no rank or title. She makes her distaste for your main character not even remotely secret, due to your upbringing and the threat you pose in taking over Edgewater. Briar tells you that the servants say she is vicious and cutting even to her own husband and son.

Book 1

 * Chapter 1: The Journey Ahead
 * Chapter 2: Ties That Bind
 * Chapter 3: Threading the Needle
 * Chapter 4: Best Foot Forward
 * Chapter 12: In Sickness and In Health
 * Chapter 13: A Better Place
 * Chapter 14: Fight or Flight (mentioned)
 * Chapter 15: A Cut Above
 * Chapter 16: Season's End

Book 2

 * Chapter 1: Betrothal & Betrayal
 * Chapter 2: A Royal Introduction
 * Chapter 3: Homeward Bound
 * Chapter 6: A New Set of Rules
 * Chapter 7: Moonlit Deception
 * Chapter 8: Hunt Or Be Hunted
 * Chapter 10: In the Balance
 * Chapter 13: Changing Tides
 * Chapter 15: Eye of the Storm
 * Chapter 16: The Final Vow

Edmund Marlcaster
Edmund Marlcaster is her son from her first marriage. She wants him to become the next Earl of Edgewater after her husband dies. Her relationship with her son is very controlling, often speaking for him and never letting himself talk.

Harry
Harry was the son she had with Vincent. He was always expected to take over as Earl of Edgewater from his father, but he died after being thrown off his horse while hunting with friends. When your main character asks about him during the sewing circle in the third chapter of Book 1, she curtly ends the conversation and appears to still be grieving his loss.

Rupert
Rupert was Henrietta's father-in-law after she became married to Vincent. Both of them played a huge role in preventing the main character's parents from reuniting, intercepting the letters from Mary and keeping them hidden from Vincent.

Vincent
Vincent, the Earl of Edgewater, is her second husband. They had a son together named Harry, who died prior to your main character's arrival to the estate. It is mentioned throughout Book 1, that their marriage was not a happy one and that Henrietta was only invested in having either Edmund or a child with Vincent that would secure Edgewater and her status.

Your Character
Henrietta immediately detests your character due to the threat she poses in claiming Edgewater as her own. She refuses to accept your character as Vincent's natural daughter and takes every opportunity to belittle your character at every turn. She goes to great lengths to discredit your character throughout the first book in her attempt to have her son, Edmund, take over as the heir to Edgewater's estate. Alas, she is ultimately unsuccessful once your character becomes engaged to Duke Richards.

Tristan Richards
She and her first husband was initially friends with the Duke, as their land bordered with Duchy Karlington. Duke Richards had even bought a toy for Edmund when he was first born. Little did the Marlcasters know that the Duke's true intention was to seize their land for himself, which he was ultimately successful in doing once Henrietta became a widow. She has vowed to ruin him ever since.

Trivia

 * In Book 1, Chapter 2, Luke Harper reveals that Henrietta paid Vincent's father to marry Vincent.
 * In Book 1, Chapter 3, she says "Riddle me this", a phrase often used by the DC Comics Supervillain, The Riddler.
 * The name Henrietta is of English and French origin and means "home ruler". It's the female version of the name Henry.