Felton

Also known as: John / John Felton / Lieutenant / Lieutenant Felton / Mr. Felton / the lieutenant / the young officer · Family: English · Role: naval officer · First appears: Chapter 49

In chapter 49, John Felton, a young English naval officer, received orders to take charge of Milady, conduct her to an isolated castle, and confine her under the government’s wartime observation measures. Acting under Lord de Winter’s authority, he swore to guard her safely, arranging her meals and enforcing her imprisonment. Though he initially wished to treat her with the attention due to a woman of gentle birth, he accepted Lord de Winter’s warning after her attempted attack with a harmless knife, admitting, “you were right, my Lord, and I was wrong.”

In chapters 53–56, Felton continued guarding Milady, with orders to kill her if she escaped. Her religious singing, apparent distress, and account of persecution gradually affected him; he opened her door, secretly dismissed the sentinel, investigated her story, and brought her a knife while refusing to permit suicide. Milady’s influence over him deepened until he abandoned Lord de Winter’s judgment, promising, “No,” cried Felton, “no; you shall live and you shall be avenged.” Though Lord de Winter had rescued him from misery, made him a lieutenant, and regarded himself as Felton’s protector, friend, and father, he came to mistrust him and removed him from the guard.

In chapter 58, Felton cut through the bars and helped Milady escape, carrying her aboard a hired sloop and arranging with Jack Butler for her passage to France. He told her that Buckingham would not sail with the fleet, then separated from her under their plan to reunite if necessary. In 1628, at Portsmouth, Felton used Milady’s knife to stab Buckingham after Buckingham refused to sign her liberation order; Lord de Winter captured him and placed him in the guards’ custody. Later, Milady was revealed to have corrupted Felton and placed the weapon in his hand to cause Buckingham’s assassination.