Finch Ridlington

Finch is the youngest, and often forgotten, son of Percival and Edith Ridlington. His father is a well-respected general and his mother, the daughter of a judge. Their family’s estate lies on land that had been gifted to Percival and Edith by her parents when they got married. As the youngest son, Finch was able to fly under the radar for most of his childhood. This was both an advantage and a disadvantage. He was able to do whatever he wanted and no one of importance would bat an eye but he often felt neglected by his parents. Finch is a musician, a harpist, but often had no one except his sisters and their staff to hear him play because his father was always away at war, his brothers deemed him too young to be worth their company and his mother just didn’t care. That is, until she had guests over and wanted to brag about what an accomplished musician her third son was. Then she wanted him to play his entire repertoire and make sure all of her friends heard her praise him. One by one, his older siblings made their societal debuts and with each debut came a new level of excitement in the home. An excitement that Finch never understood. Marriage wasn’t something he looked forward to. He had once attempted to discuss the option of him not getting married with his mother but she wouldn’t entertain the notion, establishing that it was expected of him. When his sister Dorothea made her debut, Finch knew that he would be next and he dreaded it. He finally made his debut during the previous social season and while it meant that he was a step closer to marriage, it also meant that his mother paid a little more attention to him than she had the rest of his life. Though it was mostly through making sure that he always looked presentable when out in society and that all the women he spoke to were up to her standards. There was one woman who passed his mother’s scrutiny and Finch got closer to her outside of the social season. However, the two of them ended things before it became serious, leaving him open for the upcoming social season.

## Personality

Finch is a very social person. As a child, due to his parents often leaving him to his own devices, he developed the ability to make friends and converse with just about anyone as a defense mechanism against loneliness. He trusts easily and will quickly establish with people he meets that they can depend on him. However, he has a tendency to put others before himself, no matter the personal outcome. Music is his passion but he won’t play a piece for anyone until he’s 100% satisfied with it and knows he won’t mess up while playing. This always meant practicing until his fingers were raw and it hurt to continue touching the strings of his harp. Despite his father’s best attempts to rid him of the quality, Finch is an empathetic person. Often mistakenly interpreted as sensitivity, Finch has a tendency to mirror the emotions of the people around him and the desire to not upset people is more often than not what causes him to put the needs of others in front of his own. Finch is a relatively calm person and while it takes a lot for him to get angry, he does get frustrated easily. The main trigger for his frustration is when a harp piece isn’t going the way he wants but it can also be triggered by people every now and again. Mostly when he thinks that there is a better way for something to be done that no one else seems to be thinking of.