Is Rhodri Meilir just the man to play Skiff?
At the beginning of the tale Skiff is the roughest of the ruffians who control the local petty crime scene in Newport and the surrounding district. He is a friend of Will Owen, the tearaway (and rather intelligent) son of the Plas Ingli housekeeper. The two of them are involved in petty crime, extortion and blackmail, and the smuggling of contraband goods and wrecking activities whenever the opportunity comes along. Martha, like many other members of the gentry, is a good customer of theirs. In dealing with their enemies they stop short of serious bodily injuries and murder, but in their line of business things are occasionally brutal, and people do get hurt.
One day Skiff is on the run from the customs officers while in possession of valuables from a local shipwreck, and he is saved by Martha from deportation and possible execution for grand larceny. Thereafter Skiff is in Martha’s debt, and he becomes her spymaster and protector. They become good friends, and on many occasions Skiff’s spy network in the town saves Martha and provides vital information on the activities of her enemies. Martha encourages him to use his wits in pursuit of a legal fortune, on the right side of the law — and he takes her advice, to the extent that by the end of the narrative he is the wealthiest merchant in the district, owning and operating a number of trading vessels and local warehouses handling goods from all over the world.
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