Anthony Ackroyd aka The Ant
Anthony Ackroyd is the chief steward to John Scratchface at the castle in Ebury. He has been in service to the Earl for ten years and served John’s father before that for another twenty. When I first wrote him, I wanted to have the staff give him a nickname, and the contraction Ant fitted the bill well, but was a bit dull. Then I wondered what would happen if he actually resembled an ant, and that’s what ended up in the novel. Ant’s father was in service, as was his father before him. Ant’s sisters are all in service also, and we will meet some of them later in the series. Ant has a rather butler-ish locution, perhaps a little like Jeeves in the glorious Wodehouse novels. He is clearly very educated, but as a born commoner, will never rise any higher in his world. The Earl is completely reliant on him.