Mrs. Ansley’s late husband, whom she married just two months after her encounter with Delphin Slade at the Colosseum. After Mrs. Ansley reveals that Delphin is the true father of Barbara, her daughter, it becomes clear why she had married Horace in such a rush: she had been pregnant with another man’s child. Though they belonged to the same social circles, Mrs. Slade thinks of Horace Ansley as a “nullity,” a person of little importance or worth.