Re: Frances

Frances was a new girl mentioned by Marianne in her letters, the poor child howls with storms and loud noises. Her father, ruined by debt, went insane, shot his wife, his son and himself but forgot he had a daughter. When it became apparent that Frances was brain damaged, she was kept to a nursery by herself and conveniently forgotten about. She's a good, biddable girl, but her understanding is seriously limited, and many things scare her [which is probably the fault of her parents and an inadequate nursemaid]