William Quirke

"You don't have to call me Master Quirke all the time." - Chapter Fourteen William "Will" Quirke, was a butler in Todd Allison's household, and was the one who personally took care of Todd. While he suffered through a difficult life, he still remained pleasant, and Todd was something of a beacon of hope to him. Even after Todd has moved away from home, it's clear that he's still on Will's mind.

Appearance
Will is a fair-skinned and tall male, with messy brown hair and sideburns. He has green eyes. He's usually seen wearing vests and ties, regardless whenever he was a servant or not. He's also seen with a brown overcoat, and frequently uses a walking cane to assist him. He also seems to be somewhat attractive, as Petunia becomes flustered whenever she first sees him.

Personality
Will is a kind and cheerful individual, who is usually shown to be smiling. He's very polite, as he was a servant, and remains incredibly humble even after he has been relieved of his position. Despite the fact that he has maids of his own now, he sometimes does their work for them. He appears to be easily flustered, as he flushes whenever Avery Allison makes a comment to him, he stumbles with his words when trying to talk to Marjorie, and he stammered when a couple maids tell a younger Will that Todd thinks very highly of him. Petunia has gone as far to say that he is a "true gentleman", after he tries to return her handkerchief to her while walking in the park.

However, while Will is naturally very cheerful, he often will use cheerfulness to keep others from worrying about him. When a maid mentions that Todd might have consumption, Will becomes quite horrified, but tries to dismiss his feelings and smiles at her before going to check on Todd. It seems that he doesn't like to show pain, as he appears quite uncomfortable walking, but only whenever he was alone.

Background
While Will's background is limited, it's known that most of his family succumbed to tuberculosis whenever Will was much younger, something that still haunts him to the day. At some point, he was employed at the Allison household, as a personal caretaker of Todd, as Avery Allison was often away on business. The two loved one another dearly, and Will became a father figure to Todd. Will and Todd took care of the estate's gardens, played together, and Will took care of Todd when he would fall ill, as he was a very sickly child. Once Todd went to school and moved away from home, it appears that Will was released from his duty at a servant, and has maids of his own now. It's unknown if he's still living at the Allison residence, or if he has his own establishment.

History
'''*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! READ WITH CAUTION!*'''

Chapters 11-15
Will first appears in Chapter Eleven, greeting his maids, who are shocked to find out that he has made himself breakfast and cleaned up. However, their conversation is cut short when Jacqueline arrives, drenched in rainwater, and shows him a newspaper with the article about Todd's kidnapping. She plans for the group to go to Melbourne to find Todd, and Will asks for Marjorie to escort him while he makes a phone call.

He later appears arriving into Melbourne at the train station, with Jacqueline, Karina, and Marjorie. On the car ride into the city, Marjorie asks him how he's feeling. While he claims that he's fine, he encourages her to not call him "Master Quirke", and instead call him "Will", which she refuses. Later, he is seen walking through a park, needing a cane to assist him, and sits down when he feels pain in his leg. While he rests, a girl passes by him and drops her handkerchief, and he calls out to her to give it back. The girl, Petunia, doesn't say anything, and simply stares at him until she becomes flustered and runs away. Will is left standing there with the abandoned handkerchief when Karina comes to retrieve him.

Chapters 16-20
When Petunia insults Cyril for being a "terrible kind of person", she claims that she's seen a true gentleman - referring to Will.

Outside of Lowell's house, William pulls out the handkerchief that Petunia left behind to wipe his nose, but is invited inside along with Jacqueline and the others before he can explain where he got the handkerchief from. When Jacqueline expresses concerns that Todd will evade her and Will from trying to help him, Will tries to remain optimistic that Todd will listen to reason if they speak with him, but Jacqueline quickly shuts him down. He reluctantly agrees to go along with Lowell and Jacqueline's "scheme".

The Daydreamings of Todd Allison
Will is arriving back at the Allison residence, when he hears a shout upstairs and two maids call for his assistance. They demand him to take care of Todd, who has lashed out at the maids and hit one of them. He comes into Todd's room, whose shouting for his company, but Will demands that he rests due to his illness. Todd expresses his frustration about the matter, but Will comforts him and puts him to bed. The maids tell him how envious they are about Todd's love of Will, and remark that Todd probably thinks of Will as his own father. After Todd recovers from his illness, he's seen blowing bubbles outside, and Will asks him to help with tending to the flowers. However, the happy atmosphere is disturbed when Todd is wracked with a coughing fit, and he's put to bed once again. Will tells a maid that they must call for the doctor, and how worried he is for Todd, when the maid asks if he has consumption. Will becomes horrified at the thought, due to his family dying from the disease, but tries to shake off his fear and goes to check on Todd. He asks how his master is doing, and Todd replies that he feels terrible - yet gives him a smile. Todd goes on to say that he understands that pretty things don't last forever, and says that he would rather die when Will is by his side. However, Will is not moved by the sentiment, and yells at him that he wants Todd to grow up and live a happy life. Todd lashes back and says that he's afraid to grow up because that would mean that Will would leave him; but, Will only smiles, hugs him, and says that Todd would be the one leaving him behind.

Todd Allison
Todd was Will's master when he was young, but besides a servant, he saw Will as a father figure. During Todd's childhood, the two were very close, and loved one another. Todd listened to everything Will told him, and often set him straight whenever he threw tantrums. Will was the one who took care of Todd during his frequent relapses of illness, and Todd would help him maintain the gardens on the Allison property. Even after Todd has moved away from home, Will clearly still worries about him, as it appears he and Jacqueline have been looking for him, and becomes very worried when he reads an article about Todd's kidnapping. He decides to go to Melbourne with Jacqueline in order to make sure that Todd is alright.

Jacqueline Webster
Jacqueline, being a childhood friend of Todd's, met Will through his employment in the Allison household. It appears that after Todd leaves for Melbourne, they keep in touch and reside in Sydney. Jacqueline informed Will about Todd's kidnapping, and the two planned to go to Melbourne in order to see him. Jacqueline is the one who appears to be more realistic of the pair, dashing Will's hopes that Todd would accept their presence in Melbourne willingly.

Marjorie
Marjorie appears to be a servant in Will's, or perhaps Jacqueline's, household after he is released from his job in the Allison household. Marjorie is the one who accompanies Will with whatever he needs to get accomplished. It appears that while Marjorie sees him as her employer and master, Will has feelings for her, as he requests that she just call him by his name, rather than "Master Quirke". However, she immediatley refuses, showing that she doesn't see him the same regard.

Quotes
"Do you know why I take care of you?! It's because I want you to grow up and laugh and be happy! That's all I want!!" (to Todd Allison, The Daydreamings of Todd Allison)

''"He probably thinks of you as his father." ''(A Maid to Will about Todd Allison, The Daydreamings of Todd Allison)