The heroine's father, Maurice Malherb, is based on [Thomas Windeatt]?.
In the novel Malherb is a miscreant who destroys Childe's tomb and beats his servant. He is portrayed more as a victim of his own bad temper rather than an unremittingly vicious sadist.
Malherb is introduced as the younger son of a noble family and he builds the Fox Tor house to be the impressive gentleman's residence suggested by William Crossing rather than the humble cottage which it actually is.