Bertram DeLisle

Bertram DeLisle is a man whom Rupert Davenport attempts to impose on Isobel Davenport as a husband, treating her future as something he can arrange and trade. DeLisle remains offstage in the available scenes, but the proposed marriage becomes a concrete threat to Isobel and a decisive reason for her flight.

Reported Identity and Role

The information about DeLisle reaches the reader through other characters. Kitty reports that Rupert’s manservant has said Isobel is to be married and taken away, identifying DeLisle as the intended husband. Isobel herself recalls a previous encounter with him as an elderly, short, florid-faced man with green eyes; the memory leaves her fearful at the prospect of marrying him.

The Proposed Marriage

Rupert presents the arrangement to Isobel as a sale, telling her that DeLisle is coming to inspect her. His manservant also tells the remaining servants that she is betrothed and will soon leave to marry DeLisle. These accounts establish the proposal as more than rumor within the household, while making clear that Isobel’s consent is not part of Rupert’s plan. The expectation that she will be taken away the next morning, and her fear of what marriage to DeLisle would entail, sharpen the urgency of her decision to escape.

Place in the Plot

DeLisle’s role is consequential despite his absence: Kitty acts after learning of the planned marriage, helping Isobel escape before it can be carried out. Later, when Isobel recounts the events to Dominic Cavendish, she explains that talk of DeLisle’s visit and the servant’s announcement of the betrothal prompted Kitty’s intervention. At the graveside, Peter Davenport likewise recalls that Rupert had tried to sell Isobel to DeLisle, framing the scheme as part of the danger Rupert posed to her. The evidence establishes DeLisle as the intended participant in Rupert’s coercive arrangement, but does not show that the marriage took place or establish what DeLisle knew about Rupert’s intentions.