Minor characters
Sheila Runcie-Campbell
She is the 12-year-old younger sister of Roderick and a representation of all that is bad about the aristocracy. She is the hard face of the upper classes: spoilt, mocking and lacking in any compassion.
Captain Forgan
Captain Forgan is Lady Runcie-Campbell's brother and Sheila and Roderick's uncle. He is another upper-class character - he is home on leave and playing cricket with Roderick when he requests the deer hunt. However, when asked for his views on the deer hunt fiasco he calls Calum a 鈥榩oor-fellow鈥 and appears unperturbed.
He is 35 and during peacetime is a lawyer. He advises his sister while her husband is away fighting the war, and has perhaps inherited their father鈥檚 sense of justice from being a judge and a lawyer himself.
Mr Tulloch
He is the forester at Ardmore and is responsible for the brothers鈥 employment as cone gatherers on the estate. He is a champion of the brothers and understands the deer hunt disaster was not Calum鈥檚 fault, advising Lady Runcie-Campbell to deal fairly with them. He is perhaps more compassionate because he lost his own brother at Dunkirk and understands the brothers鈥 close protective relationship.
Mrs Morton
She is the housekeeper at the Big House and is a sensible buxom widow who finds Duror 鈥榙istinguished鈥. She allows Duror to flirt with her and speak coarsely to her, while at the same time she visits his bedridden wife Peggy. She doesn鈥檛 entertain Duror鈥檚 attempts to spread false rumours about Calum being a pervert, instead sensibly advising Duror to stop being so twisted and hate-filled.
Peggy Duror
She is Duror鈥檚 obese, bedridden, sick wife who was once a beautiful woman and ran romantically through the fields with her husband. According to her mother, Mrs Lochie, only three years ago she was once very happy and made others happy too. Now she is full of regret for what once was and lives a miserable existence with a husband who feels trapped by his domestic situation and who clearly does not love her.
Mrs Lochie
She is Duror鈥檚 mother-in-law who looks after her daughter Peggy in Duror鈥檚 absence. She is full of anger at God because of her daughter鈥檚 situation and choice of husband, and she turns this anger onto Duror, accusing him of being more caring of his dogs than his sick wife. Just as Neil wonders what would happen to Calum if he didn鈥檛 look after him, Mrs Lochie worries whether Duror would look after Peggy in her absence.
She also seems to lead a miserable life, knitting, listening to the radio and moaning about and at her son-in-law. She even tries to get him into trouble by telling Lady Runcie-Campbell she saw him with a naked doll. Mrs Lochie contributes to making Duror鈥檚 bleak domestic situation all the more unbearable and unpleasant.
Dr Matheson
He represents greed in wartime Britain. He appears to be only selfishly concerned with the minor inconveniences the war has brought, moaning about his diet of spam before showing great delight when Duror presents him with a gift of venison for helping his wife, Peggy.
Despite his own flaws, the doctor is quick to realise that Duror may be suppressing his true nature and could be suffering mentally because of his wife鈥檚 degenerative state. Dr Matheson merely advises Duror to endure, which he is doing or appears to be doing already, without any other help besides Mrs Lochie who seems to make Duror鈥檚 mental state even worse.