Thomas Cresswell

SPOILER WARNING

Art by PhantomRin

**Thomas Cresswell** is one of the main characters in the series.

## Personality

Thomas can be quite charming when he needs to be. Even charming Edmund Wadsworth, Audrey Rose's father, into letting her go to school in Romania. He is also a know- it- all and is very good at deducing people and crime scenes. Thomas is also very flirtatious when it comes to Audrey Rose. Thomas and his sister Daciana Cresswell are both very dramatic. However, he is good at shutting off his emotions and can be very cold and awkward in emotional situations. He uses humour to lighten the mood of many dark situations.

## Physical description

Thomas is described as very tall, normally towering over other men. He is also described as being lanky with dark brown hair and golden-brown eyes. He has an angular face, luxuriant lashes, a squared chin that gives him an air of steadfast determination and a "thin and regal" nose. Audrey Rose describes his profile to be "a study of perfect lines and angles".

## Biography

### ***Early Life***

When Thomas was little he used to play a game with his sister, Daciana. When at dinner parties, they'd study the adults around them, guessing their secrets and exchanging coins to keep them to themselves. The Noblemen were known for keeping their private affairs private, yet Daciana and Thomas could easily point out their affairs, their relationships, and other such traits, such as their occupation or their interests.

This gave Thomas and his sister the ability to read people exceptionally well.

### Stalking Jack the Ripper

Thomas is first introduced in the story as he comes in the laboratory of his professor Jonathan Wadsworth on the same night as the protagonist Audrey Rose Wadsworth was there practicing a postmortem with her uncle. On that meeting, Thomas does not give Audrey Rose much attention and just leaves with his mentor to tend to some urgent unknown matters to the female.

The next day, on the date of 31st August 1888, at Harrow School for Boys, the class led by Jonathan Wadsworth discussed possible methods in which Mary Ann Nichols, a young prostitute who had died recently, met her end. During that class Thomas Cresswell impresses everyone with his theories and the arguments he gives to prove his point, earning a praise from his mentor and starting a prank of jealousy in Audrey Rose who considers him to be quite arrogant. After the class, the two protagonists have their first conversation, started by Thomas giving her some observations on the way she depicted the murder into a drawing. He could see right away that she was not, in fact, a boy as she pretended to be and she uses her real names as she introduces herself, but he denies the fact that they would have met the previous night in the laboratory of Audrey`s uncle. By the end of their conversation, Thomas mentions that he was looking forward to test a few of his theories as to why a young lady would choose to attend that course, during their future meeting in Jonathan Wadsworth`s laboratory.

During their meeting that evening at Dr. Wadsworth`s, Thomas and Audrey Rose send malicious comments to each other as they discuss the proofs the body of the deceased shows and other theories they come up with. There are even some sort of attempts at cheeky flirting on Thomas` behalf. The two of them seem to compete for their mentor`s approval and respect.

A week later, as Audrey Rose attempts to sneak around Whitechapel hoping to find more clues for the investigation, she is caught by Thomas Cresswell and handed to her brother, Nathaniel Wadsworth, who informs her that the two boys are part of a group called "The Knights of Whitechapel". Their purpose was to make their own inquiry, taking up posts and looking for suspicious persons. Nathaniel asks Thomas to take his sister home with his carriage, unknown to them that a second murder would occur that night.

The next day, 8th September 1888, again in the laboratory of Jonathan Wadsworth, Thomas brings them more news from the scene of the murder of Miss Annie Chapman. He is chided by the forensic pathologist for using words not meant to be heard by young ladies such as his niece, but in the end Audrey makes her point clear that she wanted to be treated as an equal and not like she was inferior due to her gender, and Thomas agrees to this and also the two of them decide to drop the formalities and call each other by first or last name only. Returning to commenting on the crime, while wondering what possible reason would have had the murderer to kill only prostitutes in such brutal ways, Audrey Rose suggests that maybe he was trying to play God. This suggestion surprises Thomas who actually expresses his admiration for her intuition and kisses her cheek despite being an inappropriate gesture. The three people in that room decide to keep any theory they have to themselves and not share it with anyone else, not even family members.

As Nathaniel comes to his uncle`s house on Highgate to see his sister and make sure she was alright, Audrey Rose accuses Thomas of being an intruder on her conversation with her brother, an action she immediately regrets. It turns out that, due to his powers of deduction, Thomas could already tell the situation Mr. Edmund Wadsworth was currently in, the true reason Nathaniel was there.

After Nathaniel leaves, Thomas returns and deduces that Audrey Rose was relieved her father would not be present, but also the fact that the father and his daughter were not truly close since the death of Audrey`s mother, Malina Wadsworth. These unwanted comments infuriate Audrey and she snaps at Thomas again that day. Regretting his mistake and apologizing to his female companion, Thomas is ultimately forgiven with the price of explaining the way he discovered those truths. He admits then that he tries to see the world in the form of mathematical formulas and the fact that it usually works, except for the feelings he has around her which are impossible for him to figure out. He also confesses that the reason he can figure things out so well is that he detaches himself from the situation, not letting emotions or feelings cloud his judgement, advising Miss Wadsworth to do the same. During that same meeting they find out from the medical journals of Dr. Wadsworth that the first victim of the Ripper was, in fact, miss Emma Elizabeth Smith.

On the 11th of September, during a meeting at Great Western Royal Hotel with Audrey Rose, Thomas shows how deductive he is once again and points out to Audrey Rose how he found out that she was in a hurry to catch a train to Reading, despite her poor attempt to lie about it. During that same meeting, he proposes to her to become partners and they promise not to lie to each other. Afterwards, the two new partners travel together to Reading. Where they visit Mr. Thornley, the ex valet of the Wadsworth family who was on his dying bed, hoping to gather information about Miss Emma Elisabeth Smith and her ties to the Wadsworth family. Unfortunately, all they find out from the dying man is that the first victim of the Ripper had been Jonathan Wadsworth`s fiancee at some point and the name Alistair that might be a person useful to the investigation.

Learning from Nathaniel that Alistair Dunlop had been a carriage driver for their family. Audrey Rose and Thomas start searching for him, accompanied by the blind dog of a friend of Thomas` named Toby, but ultimately they find him dead, recently killed. The scene disturbs Audrey greatly.

Later, Thomas visits Audrey Rose to discuss the crime scene they had just found and the conclusion the police came to about it. His visit does`s lack flirting and while they were inspecting some medical journals of Dr Wadsworth, a servant of their mentor arrives. He announces them that the forensic pathologist had been arrested as a suspect for the recent murders and that his laboratory was being investigated. Arriving at the house on Highgate, the pair meets William Blackburn, the Superintendent in charge of the investigation and Thomas is greatly outraged by the fact that most of the discoveries made by the doctor would be destroyed.

After about two weeks from this incident, Audrey Rose looks for Thomas after an eventful night. stead of enjoying a night at the Circus with her brother, she ended up visiting her uncle at Bethlem Royal Hospital, intending to tell her partner everything. Thomas was at that moment sneaking around the town towards the Necropolis and the girls chooses to follow him to find out where he was heading to. After picking up a cadaver for his own personal laboratory, he turns his attention to the lady who had been stalking him. Thomas shamelessly flirt with her for a bit and they almost share a kiss before they set off towards his flat to examine the cadaver he purchased, assured by his seller that the body was unclaimed.

On arriving at Thomas`s flat where he lived on his own on Piccadilly Street, accompanied only by the maid, Mrs Harvey, Audrey Rose notices the picture of a beautiful girl on a shelf and guesses that she was Thomas` fiancee. Thomas describes the mysterious girl as one would describe their lover only to later clarify that was his sister. Afterwards, the two of them inspect the substance that Dr .Wadsworth was drugged with. Concluding that their mentor was indeed treated badly in Bethlem, they turn their attention to the fresh cadaver and proceed to make a postmortem.

Two days later, Blackburn takes Audrey and Thomas to Central News Agency to see the letter the murderer, who signed himself as Jack the Ripper, had sent. This inspection is followed by a row between the two partners as Thomas confessed having some suspicions about Audrey Rose or someone else from her family having written that letter to save her uncle from prison, considering the perfume the letter still had etched on it.

A few days later, a new crime occurs and Audrey rose is taken there to inspect the scene and the body of Miss Catherine Eddowes by Blackburn, but her investigation is cut short by her father and brother finding there. On that same day, Nathaniel shares with her a bit of information about Thomas and their uncle`s past: Dr Wadsworth had performed an operation on Thomas`s mother too, not only on Malina Wadsworth and the woman died shortly after. Since then, Thomas has been trying to find a cure for his mother`s illness himself by all cost.

Choosing to face the two men and find out the truth behind the accusations insinuated by her brother, Audrey Rose leaves the house of her father and goes to her uncle who had recently returned from jail. There Thomas and Dr Wadsworth explain to her that neither of them had tried any organ transplant and they kept this fact about them working together only because this subject was difficult for Thomas. They also clarify the matter of her uncle`s murdered ex -fiancee who made him choose between science and herself.

One day, Thomas was sent by his mentor to accompany Audrey to the funeral of Catherine Eddowes where the two of them meet Robert James Lees, who was, supposedly, communicating with ghosts and had a message for them from the last victim of the Ripper. Reluctantly, the pair go to his place to attend the ritual even though they did not believe in it. They are warned that the Ripper is someone known and that Audrey is in great danger.

About a week later, before being summoned to Scotland Yard by their mentor, Audrey confesses to Thomas her suspicions of her father being the Ripper. At Scotland Yard, they find out the said murderer had sent another letter alongside a part of the kidney of his last victim. They come to the conclusion that the criminal might need a heart the next time, engrossing William Blackburn.

When Audrey chooses to do something and not only sit around by dressing like a easy-woman to be able to walk around Whitechapel in disguise hoping to see the murderer, Thomas takes the decision to go with her under disguise as well. While they were on this mission, instead of finding clues about the identity of the Ripper, they stumble across relatives of one of the cadaver Thomas had been practicing on. One of the men holds a knife to Audrey Rose`s neck, threatening to harm her just like Thomas had cut his loved one. With luck, they manage to escape from them and then Cresswell confesses to her that he had been frightened to lose her when he saw the blood on her neck. Afterwards ,they share a first kiss in the alleyway. On the same night ,they spot the carriage of Edmund Wadsworth and decide to spy on him together, contemplating whether or not to call for the police when he stopped at the residence of a woman. As they had been following Lods Wadsworth the whole night almost, they were surprised to find out the next day that the woman had been killed and mutilated.

After finishing the postmortem of the last victim, Audrey decides to go home and confront her father, but Thomas is not able to accompany her as he is sent to Scotland Yard by Dr Wadsworth.

He arrives during the family dispute, concerned about Audrey Rose`s well-being before warning Nathaniel that he should be on his way if he didn`t want to be imprisoned by the Scotland Yard which was on its way. When Nathaniel inquires him about how he was able to find out that he was Jack the Ripper, Thomas explains, showing again how good he is with deductions. Despite him giving the Ripper a chance to flee, Nathaniel chooses to go through with his experiment, killing himself in the end. During this whole scene, Thomas held Audrey Rose in his arms to protect her.

After this whole tragedy, Thomas took up studying the journals of Jack the Ripper, hoping to be able to find information on how to make a successful organ transplant one day as he dreamed to. He had also spoken with Audrey`s father, being able to be charming and gain the trust of the Lord enough to convince him to allow Audrey Rose and himself to study Forensics abroad, in Romania.

### ***Hunting Prince Dracula***

In Hunting Prince Dracula Audrey Rose and Thomas travel to Romania to attend the Academy of Forensic Medicine and Science, which is located at Vlad the Impaler’s castle. They travel to Romania accompanied by Mrs. Harvey by the train. On the journey, as their chaperone is fast asleep, Thomas and Audrey stumble across a new crime scene. A body is found on the hallway looking as if he had been killed in the manner vampire are, with a spike implanted in his chest. The two forensic students are not able to investigate any further as royal guards, led by Dănești, send them back to their compartments.
During the carriage ride, Thomas takes advantage of the time their chaperone spends sleeping due to her “Travelling Tonic” and besides flirting with Audrey Rose, he explains to her briefly about *strigoi*. He even surprises her by changing the means of transport with a horse-drawn sleigh. During this part of their journey, he proves to know Romanian very well and confessed to Audrey Rose that his mother had been, in fact, Romanian.

On arrival at Bran Castle Audrey Rose and Thomas are greeted in an unfriendly manner by Wadim Moldoveanu who is the Headmaster at the school. Moldoveanu mistakes Audrey Rose as Thomas wife and is shocked and annoyed to find that she will actually been enrolled in the school. After learning that they would have to earn the two spots in the Academy from the Headmaster, the two friends are led to their chambers.

The next day at breakfast, Thomas joins Audrey Rose at the table after her row with Prince Nicolae. He succeeds in bringing her some kind of comfort and calming her with his flirting and humour. He proves to be quite protective when the Prince, Andrei and Wilhelm join their table, not bothering to hide the fact that he didn’t truly like them.

After breakfast, the two partners go by foot towards the village of Brașov, tailing Wilhelm Aldea and Thomas proves to be the one who had drawn the dragon Audrey Rose has found in their compartment. After losing sight of Wilhelm, the attention of the girl lands on a beautiful dress in a window shop and he makes a few comments on it. Deciding to take on themselves to investigate this new case they have at hand, the two friends part to be able to cover a wider area and hopefully find their suspect, who had previously been on the train with them when the first murder took place.

Later, Thomas finds Audrey Rose in a alleyway after she had seen the cadaver of Wilhelm and had been accused by Prince Nicolae. Worried about her health and mental state, Thomas proposes going back to London immediately and return another time to try to earn a place in the Academy, angering Audrey Rose this way as she felt underestimated and that he was just like any other man, taking decisions in her place and caging her freedom. She regrets being rude to him afterwards.

That same night, Thomas sends his female partner a letter to invite her to his rooms. He dismisses her apologize and dives right into a discussion about the murder of their classmate. However, their conversation is cut short by the arrival of Daciana Cresswell, Thomas` elder sister. The meeting of the two siblings is quite loving and cheerful, hinting at how close they are. He enjoys the confusion of Audrey Rose who mistook Daciana for a lover, before introducing the ladies to each other.

The next day, after hearing that Audrey Rose found out about the clandestine relationship between his sister and Ileana, Thomas pays her an early visit. He finds this whole situation very funny as Wadsworth is still very embarrassed for interrupting the moment between the two girls the previous night. That same morning he is first introduced to Anastasia and, after breakfast he makes the great mistake of talking to Professor Radu on Audrey Rose`s behalf to tell him about "her fragile constitution" after the Ripper case. This action determinates Audrey Rose not to talk to him for a while, angered by his second mistake of proving to be just like the other men in her life. He tries to make up for his mistake after failing in justifying himself by putting a stop to the mockery of his classmates on Audrey Rose, but it doesn`t help much his case.

Desperately trying to get Audrey Rose to talk to him again, Thomas asks his sister to speak on his behalf once, but with not much result. With Ileana`s help, he gets Audrey Rose to the morgue of the Academy where he pretended to be dead. This action of his does not have the result he wanted, instead of that he scares to death Audrey Rose, but in the end they get to talk and sort their problem out. During this conversation, Thomas` mask of coolness slips off, showing vulnerability and uncertainty.

After making up, the two go to check the secret passage under the morgue, a place used by Vlad Dracula to kill those he wished dead. They find a cadaver in one of the many rooms which is later identified as being Anastasia`s.

From this point on they investigate together the case, meeting how often they can. One day, instead of meeting his partner in the library as he was supposed to, Thomas goes into her room, unknown to him that Miss Wadsworth was still in there, planning to place a nice present. He succeeds in keeping her from finding out hat was in the present but then his attention focuses on the fact that his partner had been put on probation by the Headmaster for being caught sneaking outside after some unknown figures who were dragging a cadaver. On that same occasion, he confesses to her his family roots and his title of being the last male heir of Dracula, something he does not take pride in, on the contrary. Audrey Rose comforts him by telling him he is not any kind of monster like his ancestor.

Starting to come up with theories as to why only the Danesti branch of the Basarab family was targeted, Thomas and Audrey Rose begin to become suspicious and worried for the safety of Daciana as well as they got no word from her in a while.

After the headmaster decides to put guards to escort the students to class and to their chambers immediately after, Thomas picks an argument with Danesti and he is sent to the dungeons as a punishment. Later that night, he visits Audrey Rose in her chamber, sneaking in by climbing on the roof of the tower and the two of them set off to inspect the forest for more clues.

The students are prevented from leaving the Academy for the Christmas break due to the disappearance on Prince Nicolae and Thomas and Audrey are unable to go to Bucharest as planned. Instead, determined to solve this case for good, the two of them return to the secret tunnel and face together the many threats in there, like a team.

In the end, they find out that the murderer had been all along Anastasia who had faked her death and had been planning to finish the Danesti line and afterwards the Romanian Royal family in order to claim the throne for herself and Thomas, thinking that they were meant to rule as heirs of Vlad Tepes and Elisabeth Bathory. Thomas is saved from having to kill Anastasia himself as his sister and Ileana, members of the Order or the Dragon, come to the rescue.

Headmaster Moldoveanu, upon discovering the truth about his ward, sends Audrey Rose and Thomas to Bucharest, not intending to ever call them back.

In Bucharest, Audrey and Thomas attend the ball held by Daciana Cresswell in the estate of their family there. Audrey Rose, dressed in the dress she had admired in the shop window in Brasov, the present Thomas had sneaked into her room a while ago, spends the entire night in the presence of Thomas, sharing kisses away from the eyes of the others and dancing.

The next day, intending to give her the Christmas present he had prepared for her, Thomas finds her dressed in a surprising outfit consisting of a chemise and trousers, which he admires. The present was a painting he had done of an orchid whose petals were actually constellations, a mix of their favorite things apart from forensics. Afterwards, they share a very romantic moment of confessing their true feelings for each other and Thomas actually asking for her permission to court her before asking her father as it was usual.

Their romantic moment is interrupted by Daciana as she announces the visit of Dr Jonathan Wadsworth. Thomas and Audrey Rose were to go with him to Chicago to investigate a case.

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## Appearances

* *Stalking Jack the Ripper (first appearance)*
* *Hunting Prince Dracula*
* *Escaping From Houdini*
* *Becoming the Dark Prince*
* *Capturing the Devil*

## Trivia

* Thomas fathers name was revealed in a bonus chapter
* He is said to have a sweet tooth and it proves right in the second book.
* He is fluent in Romanian and knows the whole family tree of the Basarabs
* His family owns a house in Bucharest
* Thomas is very talented in art too. It is first noticed in the first book as Audrey Rose sees his drawing of the cadavers or the crime scenes, afterwards in the second book he draws a dragon on a piece of paper and there are old paintings of his in the house in Bucharest. He also makes a painting for Audrey Rose for Christmas.