Character Analysis
If you're looking for a hoity-toity royal mouse, then look no further than the Duchess of Cheddar Gorge. She's mouse-in-waiting (yep, that's a thing) to a human called Princess Louise, Queen Victoria's daughter. Basically she helps the princess with whatever she needs, but she also tries to stay out of the way since, you know, she's a mouse.
The Duchess is definitely proud of her royal status—she wears a crown and everything—but she's also a seriously hard worker. She may be hoity-toity, but she can get her hands dirty when she needs to. And she sure does get some ink on her paws when she helps the Cranston mice to forge the princess's party guest list:
But, oh, she was deft. With her old bent back crouched over the page, she wrote an artistic hand. Her letters had loopier tails than her own. Each time we three carried the pen back to be dipped in ink, she ran a hand down the arch of her aching back. (9.85)
Wow—the Duchess is super willing to help the Cranston mice out. She's pretty old, but that doesn't stop her from working so hard that she nearly hurts herself to lend a helping hand (er… paw). Take a look at how much pain she's in while she's writing. That's some serious dedication, right?
And thanks to the Duchess, the Cranston mice become expert matchmakers. They're able to get the Upstairs Cranstons invited to the princess's shindig, and Helena has a new gig in Buckingham Palace once she gets to England. Not too shabby, Duchess. Not too shabby at all.