Plumleigh-Teignmott, Pillover

Pillover Plumleigh-Teignmott is Dimity's younger (by a few years) brother.
== Appearance ==
Pillover wears spectacles that are very thick, an oversized bowler, and an oiled greatcoat. Pillover bears more a resemblance to his mother than his sister, Dimity, does. 
By Manners & Mutiny, he has grown gangly and accidentally gives off an air of dissolute idleness that ladies find fascinating. 
As an adult, in Defy or Defend, he has grown into his looks. His sulky, pouty ways came off as that of a dark fallen angel despite his overindulging in the pudding course. Crispin thinks he comes off as retiring and dour. 
By 1896, while most of his hair was still holding on valiantly, it was going grey. His shoulders were stooped from bending over manuscripts, his face wrinkled from squinting in weak lighting. He had to wear spectacles all the time instead of just for reading. he looked, in face, exactly as he was, an Oxford don of middling teaching capacity but good reputation, well published and set in his ways - a confirmed bachelor. His sulky air was now deemed grumpy and eccentric.Ambush or Adore, The Beginning Ends 
== Personality ==
In Etiquette & Espionage, he is no more than mildly bad. His parents want him to be an evil genius, but he has his heart set on Latin Verse. He has attempted to be an evil inventor but only managed the "Evil Lens of Crispy Magnification" which is a magnifying glass on a stick but can't even manage to kill ants with it.
Sophronia considers Pillover morose and a general failure at being both evil and a genius. He is smart, but a too nice. 
By Waistcoats & Weaponry, Pillover has grown up and his sad air and tendency to wish to be alone begins to attract girls who want to try to make him happy.
“Oh, Sophronia, thank goodness. Save me? Please? All those young girls, in pastels, talking about the weather. I shall go jump off a bridge, I swear I shall. Do you have bridges in Wiltshire? They chatter, they chatter worse than Dimity ever did. Oh, the chattering! The chattering, it haunts me.” (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Chapter 6)
==History==
His father was a founding member of the Death Weasel Confederacy, and his mother was a kitchen chemist of questionable intent.Ambush or Adore, Chapter 1
He has been sent to attend Bunson and Lacroix's Boys' Polytechnique to be trained as an evil genius. He is a disappointment to his father, who is a founding member of the Death Weasel Confederacy, because Pillover is not evil at all. Pillover does not get on well with his fellow students at Bunson's. He is usually bullied by a group of popular students called the Pistons, who are characterized by the gears they sew onto their waistcoats. When Genevieve starts attending the school in disguise, she and Pillover become close friends. They helped eachoether whenever possible and in countless ways, from defense to distraction to bruise balm and bandages. As a result, Pillover would remain a steadfast and true friend to the wily French inventor in payment for all the times that tiny fearless frame had tricked boys bigger and meaner than both of them into leaving off some horrible bit of mischief.Ambush or Adore, Chapter 5 
He has also created the Articulated Hassock that moves when people try to sit on it, but it always moved forward helpfully. His other failure is a custard pot that never got cold enough for the pudding to set, but cook used the Custard Pot of Iniquity to keep her buns warm.
He eventually became a don at Oxford teaching Latin.Ambush or Adore He never attained the rank of Evil Genius, having only gotten as far as Reprobate Genius. Ambush or Adore, The Beginning Ends
== In the books ==
=== Etiquette & Espionage ===
Pillover is introduced on the ride to Mademoiselle Geraldine's with his sister, Dimity. He was not particularly helpful when attacked by flywaymen. Then, when Soap, Sophronia, and Vieve infiltrate Bunson's he helps them make their way to the roof to take a look at the transmitter. He then attends Sophronia's sister's ball and helps them outsmart the Picklemen.
=== Curtsies & Conspiracies ===
PIllover (age: 13) and his sister Dimity are the focus of a kidnapping plot. They were to be used as leverage against their inventor parents, who created the crystalline valve frequencer. Pillover and a number of other boys from Bunsons ride with the girls' school to witness the Gifford test in London.
=== Waistcoats & Weaponry ===
In Waistcoats & Weaponry, Pillover once again attends a ball at Sophronia's house, but this time rather than being chased by Pistons, he is accidentally engaged to Sophronia, despite his being about two years younger than she. He makes quite a dash with the young ladies who see his gloomy demeanor as romantic.
=== Manners & Mutiny ===
Pillover has reached the rank of Nefarious Genius at Bunson's, due to the fact that all his inventions now explode upon contact. After Lord Dingleproops nearly lost an eye to his exploding hair tonic applicator, the Pistons stop bullying Pillover.
He has a romantic interest in Agatha Woosmoss, and Agatha returns that interest.
While Sophronia is dealing with the situation aboard the school, Pillover helps to rescue Sister Mattie and Lady Linette from their incarceration at Bunson's. For his defiance of the school, he will be moved up to the rank of Reprobate Genius.
=== Defend or Defy ===
Pillover has become an Oxford don, popular among the intellectual set. Dimity invites him to Nottingham Hive to perform poetry by Catullus at the intellectual salon. 
=== Ambush or Adore ===
Ambush or Adore tells the story of Pillover and Agatha's touch-and-go relationship in the years following the Finishing School series. Pillover even agrees to translate Latin scrolls of little interest to him, not knowing it's part of Dimity's plan to have him infiltrate the Order of the Brass Octopus on her behalf. In the epilogue, it is revealed that Pillover is able to tell Agatha about a plot by the Order of the Brass Octopus to seed the aetherosphere with hundreds of mines. She is able to help concoct a plot against it, but it was only half successful. 
== Trivia ==
* Gave Sophronia a Depraved Lens of Crispy Magnification as a gift for her 15th birthday.
* Was engaged to Sophronia for a short while.
* Sophronia made Pillover dress in her petticoat to escape from Bunson's.
* Madame Spetuna's fortune for Pillover: "You are greater than the sum of your parts. And you will never make your father happy. Stop trying." (Curtsies & Conspiracies, The 10th Test)
* Dimity and Sophronia call him Pill as an affectionate nickname. Agatha also picks up using the name. 
* In Manners & Mutiny Pillover has reached the level of Nefarious Genius at Bunson's.
* For his graduation gift, Pillover asked his parents to transfer the title of the townhouse in London into his name. This separated Dimity from any further dependency on their good will. Ambush or Adore, Chapter 8
* Gifted an agate by a friend, Fellburt. This becomes a bit of a pet name between him and Agatha. 
== Links ==
* Pinterest Character Board for Pillover Plumleigh-Teignmott.
== Quotes ==
* "It was difficult to make out what kind of creature lurked under the oversized bowler and oiled greatcoat. But, if she pressed, she would have said it was some species of grubby boy. He had spectacles that were very thick, a brow that was very creased, and a large dusty book occupying the entirety of his lap and attention." (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Two)
* “What’s that?” she asked the girl, wrinkling her nose. “Oh, that? That’s just Pillover.” “And what’s a pillover, when it’s at home?” “My little brother.” “Ah, I commiserate. I have several of my own. Dashed inconvenient, brothers.” (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Two)
* "'Mummy and Daddy want him to be an evil genius, but he has his heart set on Latin verse. Don't you, Pill?' The boy gave his sister a nasty stare. 'Pillover is terribly bad at being bad, if you take my meaning. Our daddy is a founding member of the Death Weasel Confederacy, and Mummy is a kitchen chemist with questionable intent, but poor Pillover can't even bring himself to murder ants with his Depraved Lens of Crispy Magnification. Can you, Pill?"' (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Two)
* "But Pill here is a sad disappointment to poor old daddy.' The boy in question put down his book, clearly driven to defend himself. 'I made the articulated hassock that moved when someone went to sit on it. And there was that custard pot that never got cool enough for the pudding to set." (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Two)
* "Face it, Pill, you're disappointingly good. (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Two)
* "Clearly, prattling was a family trait even Pillover was prone to indulge in sometimes." (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Two)
* "Pillover emptied the pockets of his oversized greatcoat: some pine-sap gum, a monocle on a stick - the Depraved Lens of Crispy Magnification, perhaps? - and a long piece of ribbon that probably started life in his sister's hair." (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Two)
* "Want to come, Pillover? We're heading to the roof to look at a transmitter.' 'Rather!' Pillover's normally dour face brightened at the idea." (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Twelve)
* "Pillover stood holding the petticoat between thumb and forefinger as if it were contaminated with some dreaded chemical." (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Twelve)
* “'Most likely Pistons,' said Pillover in a resigned tone of voice. 'You told them about the ball. They like to go to events uninvited, put gin in the punch, and steal all the spoons. Stylish shenanigans like that.' 'Charming,' said Sophronia.” (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Sixteen)
* "Pillover was indeed, at their center. He was sitting atop a small trunk, shrouded in his oversized oil coat and battered bowler, reading a grubby book while the boys around him heckled him as though he were an emu at the zoo." (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Sixteen)
* "Pillover, although a good deal shorter than she, nevertheless offered his arm gallantly to Sophronia, who took it solemnly. He escorted her in the first with all the dignity of an undertaker." (Etiquette & Espionage, Lesson Seventeen)
* "Pillover was a godsend, sitting across the way, although he would shovel mutton into his maw as if sheep were soon to be obsolete." (Curtsies & Conspiracies, The 4th Test)
* "Pillover looked down the table to where Felix was once more staring in their direction. The viscount seemed distressed by the amount of attention Sophronia was bestowing upon Pillover. Since Pillover was customarily the victim of the Pistons' pranks, he was morosely pleased to be getting under the boy's skin." (Curtsies & Conspiracies, The 4th Test)
* "Pillover looked as cagey as a round boy with an obvious stash of apple fritters could." (Curtsies & Conspiracies, The 4th Test)
* "And Pillover doesn't count. Pillover never counts." (Curtsies & Conspiracies, The 7th Test)
* "Not that Monique would ever flirt with me,' added Pillover, staring glumly into his bowl of porridge. Sister Mattie had put him on a diet. He was, if possible, even more morbid as a result." (Curtsies & Conspiracies, The 7th Test)
* "Pillover shook his head even more glumly, practically sinking face-first into the porridge, he was hunched so low." (Curtsies & Conspiracies, The 7th Test)
* "Over supper, Pillover agreed to Vieve's planned infiltration, because it was evil to hide a girl from his professors, and he'd yet to do anything truly evil. 'If I'm found out, I'll probably be awarded top marks. So I'm game.' His expression remained morosely impassive. Poor Pillover; everything was a struggle. Here he was, forced to be bad, when at heart he was really a rather agreeable fellow. No wonder he behaved like a pustule, as his sister put it." (Curtsies & Conspiracies, The 11th Test)
* "Pillover began arguing with his sister. Protesting that, for being kidnapped, they had actually been treated fairly and the tea was excellent." (Curtsies & Conspiracies, The 16th Test)
* "He was a morose sort, a general failure at most aspects of life, particularly - to his great trial - at being both evil and a genius. Pillover could invent things, and he wasn't stupid, he was simply too nice. This was a shortcoming he found depressing." (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Five)
* "His customary occupation when traveling was to bury his nose in a book, but it was raining too much to read in the open cart." (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Five)
* "Agatha not with you?' he asked. Dimity blinked at him. It was not like Pillover to distinguish between females, let alone ask after one. 'What? I like Agatha. She's no fuss and doesn't chirrup on. Unlike some people I know.' Pillover huffed." (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Five)
* "I'm the best and most trustworthy option of a bad lot, I suppose." (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Six)
* "He is a veritable hobbledehoy." (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Six)
* "Well, yes, Pillover is perfectly ghastly. But does that really matter? He'd make an amenable husband. You could do whatever you liked, take any patron you wanted. Secretly run the empire as Her Majesty's Mistress Intelligencer and he'd never notice. So long as you kept him well supplied with bacon and books." (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Six)
* "Soap stopped staring angrily at Felix and turned to follow Pillover's slouched form as he led an excited lady through a reel in a competent - if desultory - manner. The young woman clearly thought he was the most wonderful thing. 'Oh, dear,' said Soap. 'Who knew Pillover would turn into a lady-killer?" (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Six)
* “Oh, Sophronia, thank goodness. Save me? Please? All those young girls, in pastels, talking about the weather. I shall go jump off a bridge, I swear I shall. Do you have bridges in Wiltshire? They chatter, they chatter worse than Dimity ever did. Oh, the chattering! The chattering, it haunts me.” (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Six)
* "Pill, I don't think you solved the problem.' 'People tell me that all the time." (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Six)
* "I loathe adventures." (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Seven)
* "Pillover looked like Pillover, the weight of the world oppressing him." (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Seven)
* "He may have found his calling at last,' said Sophronia. 'Hoodwinking my sisters. That's no mean feat. We have brothers, too; we're usually immune to their charms.' Dimity chuckled. 'Imagine Pill, with charms! What a hoot.' Sidheag said, in all seriousness, 'He should be at Mademoiselle Geraldine's, he'd make a great intelligencer. No one should ever believe it of him." (Waistcoats & Weaponry, Session Eight)
* "Of all people, Pillover had found her hiding spot. Dimity's little brother had a longstanding relationship of such casualness with Sophronia as to make him treat the boundaries set by polite society with brotherly disregard." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis One)
* "As there was nothing Pillover disliked more than being the object of feminine attention, he remained utterly unmoved by their interest. This, of course, only made him more desirable." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis One)
* "Pillover had a soft spot for Agatha. He thought her restfully chatter free - the most desirable quality in a girl." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis One)
* "Pillover looked a mite less glum at the prospect of a broken engagement. Accordingly, he stood and mooched away. He could be a bit of a wet blanket, but one had to admire a boy who followed instructions." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis One)
* "A lively Agatha looked up adoringly into his face. Pillover's expression went soft-still glum and morose, but certainly soft). (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis Two)
* "Pillover danced with Agatha twice, much to Agatha's pleasure. And possibly to Pillover's as well. Hard to tell with Pillover - he had an almost spylike ability to maintain a sulky expression." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis Two)
* "Pillover grabbed up Agatha's handkerchief and began gesticulating at them with it. 'I am a... new bride?" Dimity tried. Imagining Pillover dressed in white lace gave Sophronia a momentary attack of the giggles." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis Ten)
* "Pillover was remarkably egalitarian for a toff. This was possibly because he preferred Greek translations to evil intentions and had suffered under Piston recriminations as a result. Pillover, being disenfranchised, felt that the friendship of a dark-skinned member of the proletariat was solidarity, not stigma." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis Ten)
* "Pillover said, 'I hate adventure. Did I mention recently that I hate adventure? Well, I do. Sophronia, is this your fault? Have you arranged an unwarranted adventure for us?" (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis Ten)
* "This caused Pillover to emit an agonized grumble. He'd come along if Agatha insisted, but he knew Sophronia of old, and following her always got messy." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis Eleven)
*"Dimity's brother, Pillover, was an oxford don who did very little in life but mutter about things in Latin and overindulge in teh pudding course. Dimity considered him, of course, an utterly useless codswallop, always had, but for some reason the intellectual set absolutely adored him. He was also, she hated to admit, the better looking of the two of them. Dimity knew herself to be passing pretty, and she'd been trained to make the most of her assets, but Pillover was a sulky, pouty slob who looked like some dark fallen angel with transcendent thoughts and secret passions. He was no such thing, of course, but tell that to the young ladies always setting their caps on him." (Defy or Defend, Chapter 9)
* "Pillover, perturbed by the prospect of sentimentality, made a hasty bow and drifted after his sister." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis Eleven)
* "...but Pillover was a sulky, pouty slob who looked like some dark fallen angel with transcendent thoughts and secret passions. He was no such thing, of course, but tell that to the young ladies always setting their caps on him." (Defy or Defend, Chapter 9)
* "It was worse, he thought, to be the one who waited than the one who went away. She always knew what was happening to her when it was happening. he had to guess and imagine and hope she returned." (Ambush or Adore, The Beginning Ends)
* "Shoe could always depend on Pillover to be Pillover, to say Pilloverian things, sometimes in Latin, and do Pillover actions, generally in a slightly depressive manner." (Ambush or Adore, Chapter 8)
== References ==
Category:Characters
Category:Finishing School characters
Category:Parasolverse Characters