Character Analysis
Political Player—Perhaps?
Mr. Bradford is the son of the former prime minister, Lord Bradford. When Azalea becomes reacquainted with him, she "wondered if he knew that all of Eathesbury expected him to run for P.M., like his father" (2.78). Like father, like son, eh?
Whenever he talks about it though, he doesn't sound too into the idea. He tells Fairweller in a conversation, "I haven't a head for politics" (13.48), then later he tells Azalea: "Government wore my father down […] After my mother died. It etched every line in his face and pushed him to breaking" (17.76). No wonder dude's kinda hesitant about government work.
There are many reasons he'd be good at politics, as soul-sucking a career as it can be. When he's talking to Azalea at the Yuletide ball, he politely pretends not to notice that her younger sisters are hiding in the Christmas trees and noisily eating desserts. He even asks Lady Caversham to dance before she can see what's going on and make a fuss (and since Lady Caversham doesn't seem too nice, this is definitely an act of self-sacrifice on his part). In short, Mr. Bradford is a natural diplomat.
Not Too Neat
One of the reasons Azalea has trouble picturing Mr. Bradford in parliament at first is that he never looks fully put-together. She observes that his smile is "as cooked as his cravat" (4.128), which on the one hand makes him sound quirkily handsome, and on the other hand makes him sound like he doesn't care that much how he looks.
When they meet in the graveyard one chilly morning, Azalea notices: "Part of his collar was twisted up against his face, the other side down, and his dark cravat was turned askew. Azalea twisted her fingers at the knot in her shawl to keep from reaching out and straightening it" (21.62). Stuff like this—twisting her fingers—happens pretty much every time Azalea sees Mr. Bradford somewhat disarrayed. It's as though his slightly messy appearance sparks her big-sisterly concern and makes her want to look out for him.
Perhaps his messiness is related to his innate curiosity about things. He owns a clock shop, and he admits that he likes to take clocks apart in order to put them back together in different ways (21.78). We get it: when you're messing around with science, who has time to worry about one's appearance? You guys have seen Einstein, right?
Solid Guy
Maybe he's not the most dashingly charming guy ever, but Azalea doesn't mind. When they first run into each other (as adults, at least), she notices that he looks "terribly disheveled! A strand of his mussed hair, the indiscriminate color between dark blond and brown, hung in his eyes" (2.57). His hair, as we come to find out, doesn't behave very often.
Beyond the constantly-messy hair that Azalea notices, he "had a long nose, but it was his eyes, warm and brown, that marked his features. Everyone in her family had blue or green eyes. The brown caught her off guard and fascinated her" (2.67). If eyes are the windows to the soul, then seeing some warmth in them is only a good thing—plus he has a nice voice and a sweet laugh, too, which just intrigues Azalea further.
And he's got a sense of humor, which is always a bonus. When Azalea is in his clock shop and dashes into the closet to hide from Fairweller, Mr. Bradford says, "Good heavens… There's a lady in my coat closet" (21.100). He knew she was there already, which is what makes it funny, and he uses this joke to ease the awkwardness of this encounter.
He's not the best dancer in the world, but he dances well with Azalea, so much that "she felt the thrill of the dance, of being matched, flow through her" (23.65). Another good sign, since Azalea really wants someone who's a good partner for her, not someone who's just marrying her for her position.
They say nice guys finish last, but Mr. Bradford is a thoroughly nice guy and he seems to do just fine. He loans the girls his pocket watch when he has to stop the tower clock, since they're worried about not being able to keep track of time anymore, and even more importantly, he's at the front lines of the King's men who come to rescue the girls from Keeper's clutches. Plus he mans up and gets into politics since it means a shot at being with Azalea—so in the end, Mr. Bradford is clear on his priorities, and that's one reason he's a winning match for Azalea.