Theodore Matthew Casper. Regal, is it not? Refined, with a hint of softness. The feather-light whisper of the "th," the hum of the "m," the caress of the "s." But with a cutting edge in the hard "c." The "dore" at the end of "Theodore" sounds much like the word "adore." It is a teddy bear-like name by nature ("Teddy" is a nickname I loathe, however). Yet the "asp" in "Casper" hints at something dark and snakelike.
Theodore Matthew Casper. Finn helped me pick it out. We went through nearly every author in The Eyre's magnificent library, fingers dragging over the cracked leather spines of books, but finally I settled on a name grafted together from the authors Theodore Brighton and J. E. Casper. I knew I wanted the middle name to be "Matthew" from the beginning, as a partial thread and memoir to my bittersweet past life.
But Theodore Matthew Casper is more than a false identity—at least, to me it is.
Theodore Matthew Casper is an attorney of the highest order. One who can dance around the law, weave lies, and use oh-so-specific legal terminology as a latticework for his assault on the aristocracy and to buttress his defense of The Eyre's fragile, eggshell-thin walls. Theodore Matthew Casper defends The Eyre with everything he has—it is his world, his purpose. It's what wakes him up before dawn and keeps him toiling long after the sun has gone down. Theodore Matthew Casper works multiple jobs; he is a tax attorney, civil attorney, criminal attorney, estate attorney... If it has paperwork, he is the one doing it.
Nothing gets past Theodore Matthew Casper. He is loyal, thorough, methodical, analytical, experienced, sharp, shrewd, perfect.
I must limber up to Theodore Matthew Casper. One shot of whiskey usually does the trick, but any more than that and I'm back at Ned Crawley again.
I don't like Ned Crawley. Ned Crawley is a drunk. Ned Crawley doesn't know what he's doing. Ned Crawley prays no one will look at Theodore Matthew Casper's shadow, where he hides. Ned Crawley cries about his dead parents, despite the embarrassing amount of time that has passed since their deaths. Ned Crawley begs on hands and knees to gods he does not believe in for good fortune—so his efforts to keep The Eyre safe and tucked away prove fruitful. Ned Crawley is gullible. Ned Crawley is naive. Ned Crawley is a child.
Ned Crawley needs to be more like Theodore Matthew Casper.
