Ruthven, Arsenic

Dr Arsenic Ruthven is a major character in The Custard Protocol. She joins Prudence Akeldama and the crew of the Spotted Custard as ship surgeon at the beginning of Reticence.
She is the daughter of Preshea Ruthven (nee Buss) and Captain Gavin Ruthven and the youngest of four sisters.
== Appearance ==
Arsenic is about the same age as Rue and the twins, maybe a bit older. Percy describes her as "on the smallish side, thin compared to Rue and Prim, and a mite taller""Reticence", page 8 with a serious face, dark hair and dark blue, almost violet eyes. She also has a predilection for sportswear and eschews wearing hats unless they are sunhats and serve an actual purpose. Overall she is very practical in her manner of dress, preferring clothes that offer a certain freedom of mobility and don't stain easily. In accordance with that she also keeps her hair in a simple braid rather than some fancier do. 
She has a distinct Scottish accent (which she has tried to train herself out of) and smells of honeysuckle.
== Personality ==
== History ==
Arsenic was born as the fourth and youngest daughter of Preshea and Gavin Ruthven and grew up in Scotland.
She studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh via a correspondence degree and posed as a man for some of her practical experience. She also served as a battle field surgeon and accompanied the military to South Africa, though she was not enlisted. 
== In the books ==
=== Reticence ===
== Trivia ==
* Her mother not only named all the Ruthven girls after poisons but also taught them some of what she learned at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s and during her career as an assassin - even before studying medicine, Arsenic knew eight ways to kill a man
* Arsenic's older sister Belladonna is a professor of botany
== Links ==
* Gail's blog post on Arsenic and Victorian lady doctors
* Pintrest Character Board for Arsenic Ruthven
== Quotes ==
* “He let Rue boss him around as navigator, and Primrose boss him around about his personal affairs, and Virgil boss him around about his wardrobe. Percy was the kind of man who identified an expert and then ceded control, complaining all the while. He'd apparently decided that she was the expert on his safety. That, she'd been trained for, his heart was another matter. The safeguarding of another's emotions was a serious undertaking. Arsenic could only hope she was up to the task. Although she realized she wanted to try.” (Reticence)
== References ==
Category:Characters
Category:Parasolverse Characters
Category:Custard Protocol Characters