Leighfer Bardingale

She hired the Assassins' Guild to kill a slaver blackmailing abolitionists. Every word of that was a lie, and she was the slaver.

Leighfer Bardingale is a noblewoman of Melisande and the true villain of The Assassin and the Underworld, from The Assassin's Blade — a poised society hostess with a melancholy gaze who paid Arobynn to have Celaena murder her own abolitionist ex-husband, then bought the girl's horse on the way out.

At a glance

KIND: Human — a noblewoman of Melisande
ALSO: Benzo Doneval's ex-wife — and the true villain of the tale
HIRED: Arobynn's Assassins' Guild to kill Doneval and take his papers
COVER STORY: That Doneval was a slaver blackmailing abolitionists
THE TRUTH: Doneval was the abolitionist; she was buying the trade
HER FACE: A gracious, melancholy society hostess — decency, performed
BOUGHT: Celaena's Asterion horse, on her way out
LEAVES BEHIND: The betrayal that breaks Celaena from Arobynn

Her people

The ones who mattered.

Swipe to meet them all

Sam Cortland Arobynn's second bestSam Cortlandcrossed pathsEnter Sam Cortland →

What she loves

On the right side, quietly.

The record on her runs thin, but the one thing that's certain is where she stood.

The cause
Against Adarlan, and the darkness behind it. She backed it.
The resistance
One of the allies the fight could actually count on.
Standing firm
When it mattered which side you were on, hers was clear.
The quiet work
Not every ally needs a legend. Some just show up.

Her heart

Where she stood

Her part in the story is a short one, and it's an honest one: she stood with the resistance against Adarlan and the shadow moving behind it. No grand arc required. Some allies matter because they were simply, reliably there when it counted.

The long versionRead her whole storyEverything, in one place.Enter the full story

We're Caffeine and Curses. The Library started as my design research — I can't put Manon on a shirt without knowing which way the iron teeth snap — so we keep the notes here where everyone can use them. The pages are fan-made, not official; the licensed designs are in the shop.

Officially licensed