Mr. Thomas Kinnear: A Fine Gentleman

A few things can be said about Thomas Kinnear based on first impressions: he is polite, charismatic, charming and overall a very fine gentleman. When Grace first meets Mr. Kinnear, he introduces himself as her new employer in a public place, which is a statement on its own as servants were never really addressed by their employer, especially in public, as there was a certain hierarchy that was meant to be maintained. It's already seen that Mr. Kinnear doesn't treat his servants as they were servants, but rather as if they were friends, family, or unlike how the other upper-class citizens treat their help, like human beings. After being introduced to Thomas Kinnear, she is introduced to his Bay Gelding horse, Charley, she is taken back to the place she will have to call home for the next little while. Some other things can be noted about Thomas Kinnear, and that is that he didn't have someone drive him, which was usually what was expected. He also assisted Grace when it came to loading all of her luggage into the wagon, and on top of that, he insisted on her sitting in the front seat with him. I thought that this was a brave act performed by Mr. Kinnear, mostly because servants were supposed to work for their employer and they were to do it without any assistance, and without any complaints.

It's not that things are off about Thomas Kinnear because frankly, there should have been more just like him in the nineteenth century. However, it almost seems throughout the novel as if he was trying to mess around with the Great Chain of Being associated with this era, while also trying his luck. In his household, Grace observes that he has a peacock feather fan displayed openly, and peacock feathers were apparently considered to be bad luck. Thomas Kinnear is presented as a very fine gentleman who is very respectable and treats others with this same respect, but although he is all of these things, he can also be seen as very arrogant in a way where he thinks that he can cheat the universe by going against everything that everyone's ever believed, and by already knowing his fate, I can safely say messing with hierarchies and trying luck was probably not a good call for Thomas Kinnear.