Who is Stephen Best?

Stephen Best is Elizabeth’s husband. He is suffering with dementia which is becoming worse. Stephen has a conversation with Bogdan one day while they are playing chess during which Stephen tells Bogdan that he knows something is wrong with him. During another conversation later, Stephen tells Bogdan that he has never played chess and that Elizabeth is the chess player in the family.

Even though Stephen is suffering with dementia, he studies the books in Henrik’s library. He is able to remember the names and authors of many of the unique books that the Viking owns. These books are later used to track the Viking’s identity.