Francis Button is the main antagonist of the Ghosts episode "The Thomas Thorne Affair". He is the cousin to Thomas Thorne, and orchestrated his death in order to take his lover, Isabelle Higham, and in turn inherit her family's riches and estate.
He was played by Al Roberts.
Biography[]
Francis' birth date, family (apart from Thomas), and personal life are currently unknown, and it's uncertain as to if it will ever be confirmed. All that's currently known of him is he was born some time before October 10th, 1824, the date of Thomas' death.
He and Thomas attended a gathering at Higham House, Button House's previous name. Francis makes it clear he admires the estate, commenting, "What a place, imagine inheriting this!". This comment would later help Thomas uncover his cousin's treachery.
Thomas was in love with the daughter of the house's owner, Isabelle Higham. Francis knows this, and thus begins his plan to betray his cousin. Thomas and Isabelle are not allowed to converse openly, as Isabelle's father is not yet aware of their relationship and they fear he may forbid the match, on account that Thomas isn't very popular. Francis suggests he write a note to her, stating he will "be his cupid" and deliver it for him.
Thomas does this, thanking Francis and rejoining the party. Francis then burns the note in the fireplace without Thomas knowing, and instead writes his own note, impersonating him. In this note he says that Thomas in fact does not love Isabelle, and that she must have "misinterpreted his words or actions". This confuses Isabelle, to which Francis states he has "many fancies". Francis had also written a second note, this time impersonating Isabelle. The note was word-for-word the same as the one he had written as Thomas, the only thing changing being the names. This note he then gave to Thomas, which made him believe it was Isabelle who did not reciprocate.
Thomas is distraught, and decides to hear the words from Isabelle herself to confirm the letter's legitimacy. This panics Francis, knowing he'd be found out if he spoke to her. He decides to fabricate a story of a party guest insulting Isabelle as a distraction, which enrages Thomas. He turns his attention from talking to Isabelle to confronting the alleged insulter (who was actually talking about the writer Mary Shelley, not Isabelle). In the heat of the moment, Thomas challenges the man to a duel. He accepts, much to Francis' pleasure.
Francis talks to Thomas before the duel, stating you take twenty paces before shooting. This information was incorrect, as you're only meant to take ten steps, but Francis knew - he was trying to get Thomas to lose, and succeeded. While Thomas was still walking, his opponent turned around, but didn't shoot immediately. He was visibly confused, and only shot after looking for others to greenlight it. After Thomas was shot, Francis ran to his side, stating his opponent had cheated. His final act of treachery to Thomas was to run off with Isabelle, after Thomas' dying wish to see her one last time.
Francis went on to marry Isabelle, and the two had a son, George Button's grandfather. He returned to live at the now renamed estate.
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 Villains
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Ghosts (BBC) Ghosts (CBS) | ||