Frederick Hale

Frederick Hale is Margaret's absent brother, spoken of in worried tones long before he appears: a former naval officer living in exile in Spain, unable to set foot in England because he took part in a mutiny. When he does slip home in secret, he is warm, protective, and painfully aware of the danger he brings with him.

Rupert Evans plays him with an easy, affectionate charm that makes the Hale household feel suddenly whole and suddenly fragile at once. The character works because his very presence is a held breath — every scene he's in carries the tension of a family risking everything just to have him near.