Adora Belle Dearheart

Miss Dearheart
Name	Adora Belle Dearheart
Race	Human
Age
Occupation	Chief Executive Officer of the Clacks network; also manager of the Golem Trust
Physical appearance
Residence	A marital home on Scoone Avenue in Ankh-Morpork
Death
Parents	Robert Dearheart (Father) Mrs. Dearheart (Mother)
Relatives	John Dearheart (Brother)
Children
Marital Status	now married to Moist von Lipwig
Appearances
Books	Going Postal, Making Money, Raising Steam
Cameos

Adora Belle Dearheart is the object of Moist von Lipwig's affections, which she returns grudgingly during most of Going Postal, with the exception of the end; in Making Money they are a couple and, now she has found the time, are married as of Raising Steam. As is obvious from Moist's nickname for her, "Spike", she isn't that adorable, nor is she a 'dearheart', yet Moist has fallen in love with her and is sometimes, if their jobs (mainly his with a lot of travelling in Raising Steam) allow, fulfilling his marital duties with her. The nickname given by her late brother John Dearheart is more honest and straightforward: "Killer". Apparently he meant this affectionately. The only other characters who use this nickname (and these not to her face) are the members of The Smoking Gnu.

She works for the Golem Trust, and often makes sure that their well-being is being taken care of, as well as their rights. Adora Belle speaks fluent Ancient Golem and is able to understand and communicate with most of her charges, although at times must call in an expert such as Professor Flead. At the time of Raising Steam, the golems are now organised and numerous enough to be able to do most of the organising for themselves, and do not need her as much. She has therefore accepted the position of chief manager of the Clacks Grand Trunk: evidently Vetinari chose not to nationalise it, but rather to pass it back to the Dearheart family to manage on behalf of the city. It is likely to be her salary that enables the newly weds to buy into the most upmarket street in Ankh.

She mostly wears heels and dresses which are tight, severe and ostensibly modest. She also smokes like a chimney. Her whereabouts can be determined by asking the tobacconists, or simply finding a huge cloud of cigarette smoke and heading toward the middle of it. Efforts to dissuade her from smoking are generally futile and any long time without a cigarette is likely to put her in quite a bad and, for the people around her, dangerous mood. The only Discworld resident as yet known to have succeeded in stopping her from smoking is the Librarian, who does not put up with that kind of thing around books.

Adora's appearance, demeanour and, especially, cloud of tobacco smoke suggest to some that she may be an avatar of the goddess Anoia (and Lela before her.) This would put Moist in an odd relationship with both the goddess and her worldly manifestation, although he was, himself, the avatar of Fedecks, messenger of the gods...

She has no fear (people who know they are in the right always have no fear), a sarcastic sense of humour and will speak frankly and candidly to the Patrician himself. Vetinari appears to appreciate this character trait, to the point where he will affably bait her just to provoke a response (in much the same way that a man might use a long stick, poked through the cage bars, to gently prod a tiger so as to be able to assess the results from a position of safety).

She has even resisted arrest from, and attempted to assault, Sergeant Detritus of the Watch by trying to stab his foot with her heel. It is uncertain as to whether lack of fear, or sheer incandescent rage, was dominant at the time, but it earnt her a broken heel (of her shoe), a twisted ankle and a night in the cells. Moist von Lipwig recalls an event when she put a stiletto (heel) through a man's foot while smoking after she lost her temper.