Tomilo Ulzhavel

Tomilo Ulzhavel was the wife of the Marquess Ulzhavel. The investigation into her potential murder is one of the central plots of The Grief of Stones.

Appearance
When she was 16 years old, she was pretty and had a direct gaze.

Personality
She wanted children badly, and was saddened she was never able to have any. She heavily supported education, particularly for girls. She disliked photographers because they made pornography, and wanted to ban them from Amalo.

Life
Tomilo married the marquess when they were both 16, and remained married for 58 years. They wanted children, but were never able to have any, which saddened them. Tomilo remained active as she aged, mostly focused on charitable works, particularly for foundlings and improving conditions in the Marigold Rookeries. She also wanted to make a university for girls. Since the family fortune was mostly squandered by her great-grandfather-in-law, she gave people what time she had to help them.

Five years prior to the events of The Grief of Stones, Tomilo discovered that Pavalo Temin, a fellow member of the Cemchelarna Foundling School Board, was demanding that foundlings pay her for job placements, and that the employers pay her for finding them workers. Tomilo told the board that either Pavalo had to resign, or Tomilo would go to the newspapers. Since the Board agreed Pavalo's actions were unethical, they had Pavalo resign.

After the incident with Pavalo, but still five years prior to the events of The Grief of Stones, the Cemchelarna Foundling School Board instituted a policy "to economize by lowering the teachers' wages", which infuriated Tomilo. Tomilo, Hanaru Ganatharan, and only one other member opposed it, while six others supported it. Tomilo protested the loudest.

Three months and three days prior to the events of The Grief of Stones, Tomilo was handed incriminating photographs of her secretary, Esmeän Tativin. Esmeän explained that she'd been destitute and without family and desperate when she posed for the photographs, and Tomilo promised to think things over. Esmeän grew terrified, assuming Tomilo would fire her, and used hezhelta to kill Tomilo, making it look like death by natural causes. Tomilo was 74 years old.

Three months later, the marquess went to Thara Celehar, requesting he investigate Tomilo's death as a murder. In the course of Thara's investigation, he visited Pavalo's Cemchelarna School for Foundling Girls, chasing the idea that she might have still held a grudge against Tomilo.

Eventually, Thara realized that Esmeän was guilty, and got her confession. He continued the investigation, discovering the photographer, Anvina Renthelar, which became a dead end. While investigating the murder of a foundling named Tedoro, he discovered that Anvina had been working more blackmail schemes at Pavalo's school alongside his lover, Pavalo. In the end, Pavalo died at the Hill of Werewolves, her co-conspirators were arrested and sent to Esdravee, the school was shut down, and the remaining foundlings were sent to new homes and jobs.

After the plots around her murder were uncovered, the marquess committed suicide, saying that "without his wife, he found nothing worthwhile in living."

Cretheno Cambesharan
Cretheno grieved Tomilo's death.

Csenaia Ulzhavar
Csenaia attended her funeral.

Esmeän Tativin
Esmeän was terrified that Tomilo would fire her.

Otilis Ulzhavar
Otilis did not attend her funeral.

Marquess Ulzhavel
The marquess greatly loved his wife, which appeared mutual. After her murder was fully solved, he committed suicide out of grief.

Vobora Bazhevar
Tomilo "had no patience for [Vobora's] posturing. And he in turn despised her."

Trivia

 * It's unclear what relation Tomilo had to VIscount Ulzhavel, a possible relation by marriage who committed suicide.