The son of a minor lord, with a sadistic streak and an obsession with Aliena who, by refusing to marry him, had blocked his rise from the country landed gentry to the nobility. He temporarily gains the earldom of Shiring but eventually loses it. He lives for power and revenge, but fears Hell, which often gives both his adversaries and his allies an advantage over him.http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/The-Evil-William-Hamleigh-Lunch-with-Ken-Follett-Video