hotel.

Daphne Heccomb
Daphne is Mrs. Heccomb’s stepdaughter and works at a library. She resides with her brother and Mrs. Heccomb to help with household expenses. Daphne is well-liked and spontaneous. Portia catches Daphne and Eddie holding hands at the movie theater, but Daphne assures her it was meaningless and cautions Portia to be wary of Eddie.

Dickie Heccomb
Dickie, Mrs. Heccomb’s stepson, works at a bank and lives at home to assist his stepmother with expenses. It is his cigarette lighter that reveals Eddie and Daphne holding hands at the movie theater.

Mrs. Heccomb
Mrs. Heccomb looks after Portia at her home in Seale-on-Sea while Thomas and Anna are in Capri. She was once Anna’s governess and later married a physician who passed away, leaving her with limited means. To supplement her income, she paints lamp shades and rents out her house during the summer. The family atmosphere at Waikiki, Mrs. Heccomb’s seaside villa, is vibrant and free-spirited, contrasting sharply with the somber environment of Anna and Thomas’ home in London. Mrs. Heccomb’s two children, Daphne and Dickie, are well-liked and full of energy, often hosting spontaneous dance parties at the villa.

Lilian
Lilian is Portia’s schoolmate and her only friend of similar age. She has begun to develop a womanly figure and attracts attention from men. She attends Miss Paullie’s school because she fell in love with the female cello teacher at a previous school.

R. Matchett
Matchett is a servant in Thomas and Anna’s household, having come from the first Mrs. Quayne’s home after her passing. She is very proper and manages the house with strict discipline but is also empathetic to Portia’s circumstances. On evenings when Thomas and Anna are out, Matchett visits Portia’s room to tuck her in and share stories about Portia’s father from his time with the first Mrs. Quayne.

One night, Matchett discovers one of Eddie’s letters to Portia under Portia’s pillow. Although she does not read the letter, she makes it clear to Portia that she disapproves of Eddie and believes he is bad news for someone as inexperienced as Portia. Due to her bond with Portia, Thomas and Anna select Matchett to bring Portia back after she runs away.

St. Quentin Miller
St. Quentin Miller is a close friend of Anna’s and a somewhat famous writer. He is aloof and somewhat distant, counting Anna as one of his few friends. He alludes to his emotional distance being a result of past experiences where becoming close to others proved too painful. He inadvertently reveals to Portia that Anna has read her diary.

Miss Paullie
Miss Paullie is the headmistress of the school Portia attends. It is a very costly school, seemingly catering to girls who have not succeeded at other institutions. Miss Paullie conducts classes in her father’s large house, where he also practices as a physician. She is strict and enforces very rigid codes of conduct for the students.

Robert Pidgeon
Robert Pidgeon was romantically involved with Anna before she married Thomas. She still keeps his letters, and Thomas is aware of them. The exact reason for Robert and Anna's breakup is unclear but involves their mutual inability to achieve true intimacy. Both Anna and Major Brutt regard Robert as highly competent, and he is well-respected. Anna continues to read his old love letters.

Anna Quayne
Anna, who is thirty-four, is married to Thomas. They attempted to have children, but after two miscarriages, she decided against it. Their relationship appears strained, with Anna controlling their level of closeness. She dislikes Portia and is nearly cruel to her but tolerates her presence in their home because it's the right thing to do. Anna shows little sympathy for anyone, especially Portia, and cannot empathize with others. Both she and Thomas often speak poorly of their friends behind their backs. One of her closest friends is St. Quentin Miller, but she is also very fond of Eddie and secured him a job at Thomas' firm.

Irene Quayne
Irene, Mr. Quayne's significantly younger second wife, is Portia's mother. They had an affair after being introduced by mutual friends and married when Irene became pregnant with Portia. After Mr. Quayne's death, Irene passed away in Switzerland. Her sister then informed the Quaynes in London about Portia. Portia has many memories of moving between cheap hotel rooms in Switzerland with her mother and the closeness they shared.

Mr. Quayne
Mr. Quayne is the father of Portia and Thomas. He once managed a small business, but his first wife, who had money, persuaded him to retire early to a house she purchased. Mr. Quayne is portrayed as a weak man led by his wife. He was fifty-seven and living a very orderly life when he began his affair with Irene in London. At that time, he had one child, Thomas, with his first wife, who, upon learning of the affair, calmly demanded a divorce and for Mr. Quayne to marry Irene. Before his death, Mr. Quayne wrote a letter asking Anna and Thomas to care for Portia for at least a year if Irene also passed away before Portia reached adulthood.

Mrs. Quayne
Mrs. Quayne, the mother of Thomas and the first wife of Mr. Quayne, possesses considerable wealth. When Mr. Quayne confesses his affair with Irene and reveals that Irene is pregnant, Mrs. Quayne methodically orchestrates the subsequent events: her divorce from Mr. Quayne, the packing of his belongings, Thomas driving him to the train station, and Mr. Quayne's marriage to Irene. Matchett, speaking to Portia about her former employer, notes that Mrs. Quayne intended "to do right," rather than simply doing good, when she expelled Mr. Quayne from the house and ensured he married Irene.

Portia Quayne
Portia, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Mr. Quayne and Irene Quayne (the second Mrs. Quayne), was born in France shortly after their marriage. Her childhood involved moving around Switzerland from one inexpensive hotel to another. Following the deaths of her parents, Portia relocates to the London home of her half-brother Thomas and his wife, Anna. Although the childless couple takes her in out of a sense of duty, they derive no pleasure from her presence and view her as a disruption to their orderly household. Eager to belong and understand their world, Portia’s innocence often unsettles them.

Portia maintains a diary, which Anna reads, discovering that Portia has depicted her and others unfavorably. This invasion of privacy is one of the factors that drives Portia to flee from the home towards the end of the story.

Portia falls for Eddie, a friend of Anna’s who is a self-absorbed seducer. He encourages Portia to center her life around him, but her naive eagerness for love intimidates him, leading him to eventually tell her that he no longer loves her. His rejection is another catalyst for Portia’s desperate attempt to run away.

Thomas Quayne
Thomas, Portia’s older half-brother, is the son of Mr. Quayne and the first Mrs. Quayne. He harbors little brotherly affection for Portia, still feeling the impact of the family rift caused by her birth. Married to Anna for eight years, Thomas resides in a comfortable London home and is a partner in his own advertising firm, Quayne and Merrett.

Thomas’ marriage to Anna often appears cold and devoid of passion. His character seems weak, especially in interactions with his wife. For instance, when Anna’s friend, St. Quentin Miller, visits for tea, Thomas feels unwelcome and remains in his library until Miller departs.