Cedric lives alone with his mother in modest circumstances after his father dies of an unnamed illness. His father, Cedric Errol, Sr. was a captain in the English army until he fell in love with and married an American woman, Cedric’s mother—who the younger only refers to as ‘Dearest’ after the way his father addressed her. Cedric Sr. came from an aristocratic family and was the youngest of three brothers. His elder brothers, who would inherit the bulk of their father’s estate, were untalented and ignoble. Cedric Sr., on the other hand, possessed all the gifts a nobleman should: “He had a beautiful face and a fine, strong, graceful figure; he had a bright smile and a sweet, gay voice; he was brave and generous, and had the kindest heart in the world, and seemed to have the power to make every one love him” (4). His father, Lord Dorincourt, was bitter at the injustice of having to grant his estate to his elder children and was angry with Cedric Sr. for being so perfect, and yet he couldn’t help but love him. However, when Cedric Sr. announced his intentions to marry an American girl, Lord Fauntleroy all but disowned him because of his hatred of Americans.