Lord Robert St. Simon

Lord Robert St. Simon is a prominent member of the English aristocracy and a man of considerable social standing. He recently married after years of maintaining a "very friendly" understanding with Flora Millar, a woman of theatrical background, though he claims to have treated her generously. On his wedding day, his new bride—whom he had married with quiet ceremony specifically to avoid scandal—inexplicably fled the reception after a brief private conversation with her maid. Baffled and deeply embarrassed by the social implications, Lord St. Simon turns to Sherlock Holmes to recover both his wife and his reputation. He is proud of his social position and the "immense social stride" his marriage represents, yet his account to Sherlock Holmes reveals a man more concerned with propriety and status than with understanding his wife's inner life. His theory that she has suffered a nervous disturbance speaks to his limited insight into female psychology, and his dismissal of Flora Millar's capacity for harm reflects his complacent assumptions about those beneath his station.