Jack Featherington is the new Lord Featherington following the death of Archibald Featherington.
History[]
Inheriting the Featherington Estate[]
Following the death of Archibald Featherington, Jack inherited his estate, as Jack's own father had died, leaving him as the closest male relative. Jack took some time to arrive as he was in America, where he owned many mines. When he learned of the death, he traveled to London, but it took him a while to get there. He arrived while the women of the house were at a ball and took the opportunity to pay Philippa's unpaid dowry and have Portia's things moved out of what was now his bedchamber.[2]
Royal Races and Philippa's Wedding[]
Jack continued to make changes to the Featherington house, which Portia didn't like, but tolerated because she believed he was there to save them from ruin. Later, Portia found him after Philippa's wedding. He was working on the books. He hinted at the plans he had to settle the estate. She offered her help, but he said he would find someone else and went to talk to the Finches at their request.
Jack gave a ruby necklace to Cressida Cowper, indicating he had an interest in her.[3]
Soon after this, Jack asked Portia to make arrangements to have the Cowper family over for dinner as he'd invited them to come. At the dinner, Jack charmed the family with talk of his mines in America. He also told them he was ready to settle down and marry, making his intentions clear. At the end of the dinner, Jack invited Cressida to promenade later in the week and she accepted.[1]
Hearts and Flowers Ball[]
Jack attended the Bridgertons' annual Hearts and Flowers Ball with the other Featheringtons. While at Aubrey Hall, he went hunting with some of the other men and Kate Sharma.
As the ball began, Jack talked to Cressida until Portia told him that Lord Fife was looking for him in the orangery. However, when he showed up in the orangery, he found Prudence there instead. Portia then led a group of people to discover them. Quickly, she implied that something untoward had happened and forced Jack to offer his hand to Prudence, which he did.
Later, after they returned home, Jack told Portia that she'd just secured herself a life of poverty as he was broke and was relying on Cressida's ample dowry to secure the family finances. He'd covered for his lack of money by paying Philippa's dowry with a counterfeit ruby necklace.[4]
Financial Struggles[]
As bills started to come due that they couldn't pay, Jack blamed Portia for jeopardizing his relationship with Cressida. He wanted to call off the wedding and start pursuing Cressida again, but Portia refused to allow Prudence's reputation to be tarnished.
Jack and Prudence shared a boat ride. After this ride, Jack found Will and asked him about his boxing career, as he'd heard about it all the way from America. Alice invited Jack to come to Will's club so they could talk about it more, though Will was more standoffish.
Portia had Mr. Brookes, a jeweler, examine a ruby necklace. Jack tried to get him to leave, but Portia insisted. Mr. Brooks said he'd need proper tools to get an exact valuation, but advised her to take great care, as it had significant value. After he left, Jack reminded Portia that the stones were counterfeit, but she said they were good enough to fool Brookes, so it would fool others. They would be able to make ends meet.
Later, Jack told Portia that several men had asked about investing in his mines, and she said to take their money. If all the men invested, it would give them all the money they needed.[5]
To aid in drawing potential investors in, Portia had Prudence wear one of Jack's counterfeit necklaces. When Anthony and Edwina's wedding was abruptly called off in the middle of the ceremony, Portia said it was fortuitous for them as the ton came alive with scandal. They encouraged Prudence to show off her necklace, but Prudence was more interested in mimicking the living statue.
When a group of men gathered to talk about Jack's mines, Jack pretended he didn't want to talk business, but quickly changed his mind and said he'd send word to his men in Georgia when Lord Goring said he wanted to invest. Will challenged him on that, asking why he had to talk to those men when he was the owner of the mines. Jack said he just needed a report of what they were finding in the mines. Then he challenged Will, asking about his club and wondering what a boxer would know about running a business. Portia signaled to Jack and he excused himself to talk to her. He told her he was close to reaching deals and they talked about the best targets. She told him not to go after the Bridgertons.[6]
After making deals with several of the men in the ton, Jack went to visit Will, whose club was nearly empty. He told Will that he'd looked over the late Lord Fetherington's books and seen that he was quite a fan of Will's. He hinted that he knew about the deal that Will had made, but Will refused either to confirm or deny it, as Jack expected.
Jack then met with Colin, who said he was interested in investing in the mines after seeing the necklace Prudence had worn at the wedding. Jack asked for some time to consider Colin's offer to become business partners. After Colin left, Portia reminded him that she'd told him to leave the Bridgertons alone. He said he'd tried, but Colin was persistent. However, after an issue of Lady Whistledown spread the news that Eloise had been socializing unsupervised with political radicals, Portia told him to seal the deal.[7]
Ball and Departure[]
Portia asked Jack where things were with Colin and he said that they were close to closing a deal. Portia decided she wanted to start spending some of the money and was going to throw an elaborate ball. When Mrs. Varley asked about the Bridgertons and Sharmas, Portia said to invite them, though she didn't expect them to come.
Jack then met with Colin at Will's club. While they were talking about the mines, Will approached and warned Colin not to entertain any dealings with Jack. Jack took offense to Will calling him a swindler, but Will said his cousin was the same way and Will got caught up in that. Colin said that the Featheringtons were a fine family and their reputation was unfairly sullied. He warned Will not to make accusations like that when he couldn't afford to lose customers. He suggested finding a new place for them to do business.
Jack reported to Portia that Colin had taken the bait. Since they'd gone through the entire ton, Portia suggested expanding to the wealthy families in the countryside, but warned that people would start asking for a return on their investments soon and the whole scheme would fall apart. Jack suggested leaving London to travel to America, to enjoy wealth and opportunity. He told her to think about it.
At the ball, Portia was delighted to see the queen attend. However, she and Jack later came into a room where Colin was telling Penelope that the necklace Jack had given Cressida was a fraud and so was Jack. He berated Jack for taking advantage of women with no husband or brother to protect them and said he'd keep it quiet as long as Jack returned all the money and left immediately. Once Colin left, Portia pretended to be shocked and told Penelope she'd deal with it. Once Penelope was gone, Jack said they had to accelerate the plan and leave the next day. Portia said that was too soon and asked about her daughters. Jack said they'd send for them later. He was relieved that he wouldn't have to marry Prudence and could have other possibilities. He leaned in and kissed Portia, then said they needed to return to the party.
Portia later directed people outside for a surprise. Then she told Jack she'd instructed the maids to pack his things. She'd give him enough money to return to America and leave their lives. He was confused, saying they were a great team, but she said she had a team - her daughters - and it was clear he didn't care about them. She was going to keep a large share of the money to support herself and her daughters and Varley had forged a signature on a form saying that the first son of one of her daughters would inherit the title and the estate.[8]
Personality[]
Lord Featherington at first appears light-hearted and aloof, but it masks the more panicked and conniving aspects of his character.
Relationships[]
Romantic[]
Cressida Cowper[]
Shortly after his arrival, Jack gave Cressida a ruby necklace, indicating his interest in her.[3] This interest was further confirmed when he invited her to dinner and a promenade, the former in which he kept dropping hints about marriage.[1] He planned to marry her for her fortune to cover for his lost one. However, his plans to marry Cressida were foiled by Lady Featherington's intervention.
Portia Featherington[]
After being set up with Prudence after one of her mother's schemes, Jack shows growing romantic interest in Portia who seems to return the sentiment. Jack and Portia shared a kiss. They end up growing apart after Portia decides to protect her daughters instead of following Jack to America.
Familial[]
Professional[]
Jack collected investments from wealthy London noblemen. One of those noblemen was Colin Bridgerton, who later uncovered the faux gemstones as such.
Career[]
Jack Featherington told everyone he owned gem and gold mines in the Americas. He was assumed wealthy by everyone, which his family found out later is a lie because the mines supposedly filled with gemstones were empty and he travelled to London on his last penny.
Lord Featherington then proceeded to scheme with Portia Featherington. They swindled the wealthy noblemen of London into investing in the unfruitful mines in the Americas.
Notes and Trivia[]
- Netflix Bio: The heir apparent after Lord Archibald Featherington's death, Jack is the newest member of the ton and a mysterious new addition to the Featherington household.
- If Archibald's daughters are indeed the fourth cousins of Jack, that would make him Archibald's third cousin-once-removed, himself.
Gallery[]
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A more complete gallery with pictures of Jack Featherington (Netflix) can be found here. |
Appearances[]
| Bridgerton, Season 2 | |||||
| #01 | "Capital R Rake" | #04 | "Victory" | #07 | "Harmony" |
| #02 | "Off to the Races" | #05 | "An Unthinkable Fate" | #08 | "The Viscount Who Loved Me" |
| #03 | "A Bee in Your Bonnet" | #06 | "The Choice" | ||
References
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