Jack Favell and Rebecca de Winter

Jack Favell and Rebecca de Winter were first cousins who shared a bond forged in childhood and sustained into adulthood as a secret, physical liaison. Favell later claimed that he and Rebecca had been "tremendous pals" since they were brought up together, liking the same things and the same people, and that he was "fonder of Rebecca than anyone else in the world." He asserted that they had been lovers and that he was her prospective husband, had she lived. However, Mrs Danvers, who had known Rebecca since childhood and served as her personal maid, contradicted this claim with devastating authority. She stated flatly that Rebecca was not in love with Favell, nor with Maxim de Winter, nor with any man; Rebecca despised all men and was "above all that." According to Mrs Danvers, Rebecca treated love-making as a mere game, a source of amusement that made her laugh, and she would return from her assignations and "rock with laughter at the lot of you."

Childhood and Early Bond

Favell and Rebecca's relationship had its roots in their shared, wild youth. Mrs Danvers recalled that when Rebecca was fourteen, she drove a four-in-hand, and Favell got up on the box beside her and tried to take the reins from her hands. They fought it out there together for three minutes, "like a couple of wild cats," with the horses galloping. Rebecca won, cracking her whip over Favell's head and sending him head-over-heels, cursing and laughing. Mrs Danvers described them as "a pair," noting that Favell was sent into the Navy but could not stand the discipline because he had "too much spirit to obey orders, like my lady." This early dynamic of rivalry, physical daring, and mutual enjoyment of transgression established the pattern of their adult relationship.

The Secret Affair at Manderley

As adults, Favell and Rebecca conducted their affair largely in secret, using the stone cottage on the beach at Manderley as their meeting place. Favell would visit when Maxim was away, and Rebecca would spend nights there with him, telling the servants she was going sailing and would not be back before morning. Mrs Danvers was aware of these meetings and would wait up for Rebecca. The affair was known to Frank Crawley, who saw Favell's car turn in at the lodge gates and reported it to Maxim. Maxim, who had already warned Rebecca about her behavior, confronted her about Favell, telling her that if he found Favell anywhere on the estate, he would shoot him. Maxim described Favell as having a "black, filthy record" and said the very thought of him walking about the woods in Manderley, in places like the Happy Valley, made him mad. Rebecca, however, shrugged off the warnings and continued the affair.

The Final Night and Its Aftermath

On the day she died, Rebecca wrote a note to Favell from her London flat, saying she was going down to Manderley right away and would be at the cottage that evening, asking him to follow her because she had "something to tell" him and wanted to see him as soon as possible. Favell did not receive the note until four in the morning, by which time it was too late to drive to Manderley. When he learned of Rebecca's death, he believed she had been drowned in a sailing accident. A year later, when Rebecca's boat was discovered with a body in the cabin and the inquest returned a verdict of suicide, Favell appeared at Manderley with the note, accusing Maxim of murder and attempting to blackmail him. He claimed that Maxim, jealous of their affair, had killed Rebecca. The blackmail attempt failed when Doctor Baker revealed that Rebecca had been terminally ill with cancer, providing a motive for suicide. Favell, shaken by the news, abandoned his accusation but left with a final, ominous laugh, suggesting he might still cause trouble in a different way. Mrs Danvers, after learning the truth from Favell, disappeared from Manderley, her loyalty to Rebecca and her complicity in the affair having driven her to a final, unknown departure.