Editing Sam Vimes (section)

==Lady Sybil==
'''Lady Sybil Vimes''' (full title: [[Grace (style)|Her Grace]], The [[Duchess]] of Ankh, [[Lady]] Sybil Deidre Olgivanna Vimes ([[Married and maiden names|née]] Ramkin)), is Vimes's wife, whom he married at the end of ''[[Men at Arms]]''. First introduced in ''[[Guards! Guards!]]'', she is a rather imposing [[Wagnerian]] [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocrat]], but also a kind-hearted and compassionate person, embodying the positive aspects of aristocrats, who are otherwise depicted unflatteringly in Ankh-Morpork's population. She is a deeply gracious lady, able to like almost anyone (even ''Nobby Nobbs''). She donated a property, Pseudopolis Yard, (bought by her father), to the Watch after their original headquarters was burnt by a dragon.

She was born into the wealthiest family in [[Ankh-Morpork]] and resides in the most select part of Ankh, Scoone Avenue. As well as being an amateur [[soprano]], she is a leading expert in swamp dragons and has a dragon pen outside her house where she breeds and cares for swamp dragons, though aside from her hobby most of her house is vaguely under-tended due to apparent lack of interest. She also supports ''The Sunshine Sanctuary For Sick, Abused Or Abandoned Swamp Dragons'', which is run by her friend Rosie Devant-Molei.<ref>T. Pratchett, ''Guards! Guards!'' (1990), p.403</ref> Her hobby has left her with her natural hair singed off and she wears a wig in nearly all circumstances. Despite her high-class upbringing, she has displayed a resourcefulness ("''in an outdoorsy kind of way''") that first attracted Vimes's attention. 
 
The pattern of Sam and Sybil's marriage was set the moment he turned away from his wedding to chase an assassin who had just made an attempt on the Patrician's life. Lady Sybil is a remarkably patient woman; she spent nearly the entirety of ''[[The Fifth Elephant]]'' attempting to inform her increasingly distracted husband that she was pregnant with their first child. Though he finds being affectionate in public embarrassing and is divided on disliking Sybil's status as a noble, it is clear that Vimes loves his wife dearly; indeed when he was [[Night Watch (Discworld)|trapped in the past]] alone in a world he no longer recognised, the [[History Monks]] gave him a silver cigar case his wife had bought him to inspire him to continue with his mission. It is unclear if his hatred of crime and the evil of humanity is greater than his love for his wife. Sybil bears this divided loyalty with some grace; nearly every Watch novel concludes with Sam making some form of amends to his neglected wife, either a delayed honeymoon, or simply time alone with their new baby.

In spite (or perhaps ''because'') of her wealth, Sybil engages in certain 'housewife'-like activities such as repairing socks and preparing meals. This is mainly out of a sense of duty and tradition than actual need or skill. Sam is somewhat baffled by the overtures, but as he is already used to an imperfect lifestyle, he is generally appreciative of the sentiment.

Sybil maintains a number of close (female) social contacts from her schooldays, who, thanks to the kind of school she went to (The Quirm College for Young Ladies), are now all strategically placed in the highest levels of power across the [[Sto Plains]] and often more powerful than Ankh-Morpork Guild leaders. Vimes once conjectured that if they so conspired, they could run the world, if they don't already do so.

Sybil tries her utmost to get Sam to take some time off in almost every book, but for the most part, Sam finds an excuse to stay on the job. In ''[[Snuff (Pratchett novel)|Snuff]]'', Sybil forces Vimes to take a vacation to their countryside estate, Crundells. The character of one of her [[ancestor]]s, John "''Mad Jack''" Ramkin, was inspired from real-life aristocrat [[Mad Jack Fuller|John "Mad Jack" Fuller]] of [[Sussex]] (&/or [[John Mytton|John "Mad Jack" Mytton]] of [[Shropshire]]).  As the aforementioned John "Mad Jack" Ramkin is also hailed as the 3rd Earl Ramkin, this reveals that the Ramkin estate is an [[earldom]], and that Lady Sybil was already a countess (provided that the title wasn't entailed) before her husband Sam Vimes' elevation to Duke at the end of ''[[Jingo (novel)|Jingo]]''.