Characters of Beaufort and the Grisard Mansion

The Gossips

The gossips:

• Mrs. Bonnard (Régine). Proud, authoritarian busybody. Isabelle is criticized for what she did in the past, and others envy their money. She is the mother of Jérôme. Mrs. Bonnard listens without interrupting and believes everything she is told; the perfect confidante. She loses a shawl when coming to visit Isabelle.
• Lady Lavoine (Marie). Her husband is a merchant who makes frequent trips to Paris. She is shy, small, frightened and naive.
• Lady Chancel (Élaine). Woman associated with the notary. Tall and bony, with round glasses that give her an owl-like appearance.
• Mrs. Buquet (Martine). The mayor's wife.
• Ms. Dubois (Sophie). An elderly woman of strong character. Single; she says she rejected every man who tried to court her since she was 15. She proposed visiting Isabelle.

Mansion Grisard — Inhabitants

In the mansion Grisard (old mansion on the outskirts of Beaufort):

• Isabelle. Orphan (her mother died in childbirth), and a former laundress for the villagers. She left five years ago after her love for a young nobleman, Philippe de Latour. She has returned among the rich, dressed in black and appearing sickly and extremely pale. She says she suffers from insomnia and claims to be a daughter of the night.
• Mikhail. Isabelle's tremendous servant who never speaks. He has abrupt manners and a strange appearance (hair completely white despite his youth). He stopped speaking when he was attacked by Philippe de Latour, who had been turned into a vampire. That was also when his hair turned white. Isabelle saved his life. He does not speak.
• Philippe de Latour. Son of a nobleman who was vacationing in Beaufort, where Isabelle met him. When his father heard, he sent Philippe to continue his studies. Everyone thinks he died three years ago.

Children

• Jérôme Bonnard. Son of Mrs. Bonnard. Leader of the gang of children. A naughty boy who will make every effort to learn more about Isabelle and the mansion.
• Fabrice Morillon. Youngest son of the Morillon farmer. He exaggerates what happened to the cow.
• Armand. Son of a baker. He is attacked by the vampire when he goes to the mansion and falls into shock.

Villagers and Notables

The people:

• Jean-Michel. Works at the post office.
• Father Rougier. Parish priest. Isabelle was employed by him as a youth; he taught her to read and write. When Max asks him, not knowing, he says.
• Lord Chancel. The notary.
• Henri Morillon. Farmer whose cow is found dead, drained of blood. He later receives money from a stranger to pay for the cow — money that is more than the cow is worth.
• Rouquin. A burly, energetic, impulsive, stubborn bully of a farmer. He decides to convene the first raid to find the animal.
• Brigitte. She works at the inn.
• Dr. Leblanc. The village doctor. He tries to treat Armand.
• Michelet. The village baker, father of Armand.

Other Characters

They are the people:

• Delvaux. Supposedly the doctor who comes from Paris to visit Isabelle.
• Bronac. Max hires him as a private detective in Paris.
• Dagenham. Author of Children of the Night, the book Isabelle reads.