Charlotte Baudelaire
Name: Charlotte Elise Baudelaire 'nee' Charlotte Elise Whitlock
Nickname/Title: Letty
Age: 32
Birthplace: London, England
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Play-By: Eva Green
Occupation: After the loss of her Husband, Charlotte has stepped up and taken control of his company and his shipyards. In a male dominated world and occupation, she has made a name for herself as one the leading Steamship makers of Europe. Mostly contracted by the Crown, her company builds Ships for the protection of the empires dominance in international trade and for Her Majesties Royal Navy.
Physical Description: Charlotte Baudelaire has been described by many since childhood as the embodiment of the classic Grimm's fairytale of Snow White. 'As white as snow, as red as blood and as black as ebony wood' the fable would say. Charlotte seems to possess these traits at their fairest. Her skin is pale and soft like the cream that forms on the surface of fresh milk. Her lips are red as if they had just been pricked by embroidery needles and her hair is as black as the ebony wood that would frame the face of the one you loved. From birth, Charlotte's eyes have always seemed a little too large for the rest of her features though this has only ever served to enhanced her enchanting appeal.
The sirenic features that make Charlotte look so charming can also be turned to the more serious side of things giving her a darker and more commanding appearance. Let not her Gender fool you. Charlotte Baudelaire is a fierce and formidable Woman. When in command of her Business she holds herself with an air of authority that the Men in her employment know to respect. Charlotte can appear at times cold and unfeeling but this is not the case. She simply knows that when working with Men, she can either appear weak or show them her strength and if that means she must endure the slurs of sexists talk behind her back, so be it.
Charlotte favors clothing that further portrays her competency in the workplace but does not detract from her obvious femininity. Though she has never been one to gravitate towards blushing pinks and baby blues, her choices now days tend to be well made, tailored clothes that fit her figure and highlight the asset she deems are her best features. You can often find her in long A-lined coats that keep her dresses clean from the constant splatter of mud from the streets but also protect her from the cold. She favors high necklines and dark colors. There is an undeniable sensuality to the Woman that possibly comes from her subtle defiance of the status quo. Black tends to be a color she favors a lot though she has an affinity for the many shades of blue as it matches her eyes.
Distinguishing Features: Beyond the unique features that make up her face as there is nobody who looks like her, Charlotte possess two small beauty marks on the left-hand side of her forehead. Charlotte also still wears her wedding ring, despite the fact that she is Widowed. The elegant gold band sits on the very same finger it was placed by her Husband thirteen-year-ago. The only time that Charlotte has ever been seen taking it off is when she removes it to clean the stunning diamond and sapphire stones. As of yet, she has not found a Man worthy of removing it for good.
Personality Description: Charlotte Baudelaire is resilient. While this is not a very elegant word to describe a Woman, for Charlotte, it is an accurate one. Even as a child of five or six she showed courage and strength beyond her years. It was not uncommon for Charlotte to be the first one to dive into the lake or lead the way into the Freaks and Oddities section of Putney Family Waxworks. She has an undeniable sense of adventure that on occasion gets her into trouble. The voice of her Mother echoes still to this day in her mind. Warnings to stand up straight and act like a lady. Charlotte is a Lady. There is no denying this but the elegance and grace of a natural Woman did not come to her until she was much older. No doubt this is because she spent most of her youth in a constant emotional battle against her Mother.
Charlotte has known pain and loss. It has strengthened her but not hardened her heart. She had always believed in love and for a time she was blessed enough to live it. She hopes to one day feel that feeling again but she is not searching. Her responsibilities take up a great deal of her time. Charlotte works like most Woman are afraid to. She has a need to prove herself that often means her own wants and needs are put to the side until the task is done to her satisfaction. She is highly ambitious and intelligent to a point that may be threatening to the Male Gender but she has never let that stop her.
Charlotte is a caring soul. Few know the depth of her devotion. Those that get to see this side of her never forget it. Charlotte has used her wealth and influence to help those in need whenever she can. She was born from wealth and it could be said that her own fortune now eclipses that of her parents but Charlotte is a different kind of Aristocrat. At least she tries to be. It would kill her to ever learn that she was anything like her Mother. Truth be told though, Charlotte does share some of her Mother's traits. She is strong and determined but without the cruelty and selfishness that was her Mother undoing.
There is a light that lives inside of Charlotte Baudelaire that she will often say she keeps lit in honor of her Sister but the truth is that the light is her own. It is a light born from a loving Woman who wants only the best for those around her. Charlotte is wise enough however to know how fiercely such a light must be protected in order for it not to be snuffed out. This is why she can at times be hard to read or difficult to warm up. She knows loss and pain but love and joy too. Charlotte is a Woman with a strong personality that she often keeps under cover like a candle within a glass lantern. Her flame has never gone out but it is protected from the elements.
Characters History: What is pretty on the surface may still be rotten on the inside.
Charlotte Elise Baudelaire, born Charlotte Elise Whitlock was born privileged. It wasn't until she was around 15 years old however that this fact became apparent to her. As a child, she saw her life as normal. It was normal for her to be awoken each morning not by her Mother but by her Nanny. It was normal for her to be served at supper time by the staff. She no more questioned the presence of the cook and the gardener than she did her Father's business partners and their weekly game of cards. This was her life and for the most part, she was happy.
Charlotte spent her days frolicking with her Sister and their friends through the Gardens surrounding her Family home. She was an adventurous child which her Mother seemed to take constant offense to. It took a while for the young girl to transform into the young Woman her Mother wanted her to be. Though it was not conscious, Charlotte seemed to resist the pressures placed upon her delicate shoulders. She did her best however to be the young Woman the world expected her to be.
It was this desire to make her Mother smile that forced Charlotte to face her fears and play with the many dolls her Mother bought her. She had always hated the little things. Their painted faces never moving but always watching. Every night Charlotte would turn each doll around to face the wall before going to sleep. She never turned them around again in the morning for when she woke, she found them already staring down at her. Knowing the sometimes volatile nature of Mrs. Whitlock, Charlotte's Nanny would reposition the dolls for the young girl's sake, lest she get into trouble.
Charlotte often got into trouble. While the norm was for a Father to be the head of the household, things were different for the Whitlock's. Charlotte's Mother was a fierce and formidable Woman, in all the worst ways. She controlled her Home and her Family through fear and intimidation. Charlotte's Father was a quiet Man, a Man who had dedicated his life to knowledge. Though he was in no way a weak Man, having served in her Majesty's Royal Navy since he was 18, he saw no gain to be made by arguing with his wife when it came to how she ran the Household or disciplined the Children.
It was not unusual for Charlotte to redirect her Mother's rage towards herself in order to spare her younger Sister. Emma was born four years after Charlotte and came into this world with a full head of white blonde hair. In many ways, she was the polar opposite of Charlotte. While Charlotte struggled with the tasks assigned to her gender, Emma did not. Elegance and grace came easily to the younger Woman. While Charlotte was often described as wild and brash, Emma was quiet and delightful. The differences between the two Sisters did not push them apart however. Charlotte and Emma were enamored with one another and were inseparable from birth. Charlotte would have done anything for her Sister. Sadly, anything isn't always enough.
The older they grew, the more it became apparent to everyone just how different these two girls were. Rumors began to spread like a gas leak. The whispers were slow and soft at first but Emma eventually became aware of them and soon enough, the possibility that she might have been raised believing a lie began to choke her. She looked nothing like her Sister nor her Mother or her Father. Where had her white blond hair come from? When she finally gained the courage to question her Mother about it, the Whitlock's life changed forever.
Charlotte remembers the day when her Sister found her voice. The shouts echoed through the old House and rattled the fixtures. Emma needed answers about her birth. It didn't matter how much Charlotte tried to reassure her Sister that they were blood and bonded no matter what, Emma needed to know. Mother was not in a mind to spill her secrets however. She refused to admit her sins and for good reason it seemed. Should it come to light that Mrs. Whitlock had been unfaithful to her Husband, Divorce would be instant and she would be left with nothing.
In her eyes, Mrs. Whitlock had only one option. Now that Emma had found her voice, she refused to be silent. If Mother could not stop her from speaking, she had to make sure that nobody believed anything that came out of the young girl's mouth. At just 15 years old, Emma was vulnerable. Charlotte had always protected her but she couldn't have foreseen the sheer malicious, manipulation that their Mother was capable of.
How Mrs. Whitlock managed to convince the Doctors at Bethlem Royal Hospital that her youngest Daughter was insane, Charlotte doesn't know. She suspects that money played a large part in the scheme. It was not the first that she had witnessed the influence that money and privilege could have. How it came about never really matter however. What mattered to Charlotte was that her Sister, her dearest friend, love of her life had been incarcerated in a place that any logical person could see was no better than Hell.
Charlotte pleaded with her Father endlessly those following days. He knew that his little girl was not insane. She was no danger to herself or anyone else. Emma wouldn't hurt a fly. While Mr. Whitlock admitted to this knowledge in the quiet of his study to his eldest Daughter, he also confessed that there was nothing he could do. That was the day that Charlotte gave up on her Father and left her Mother's House. The wonderful life they had looked pretty from the outside looking in but look a little deeper and it was rotten to the core.
At 19 years of age, Charlotte left the comforts of Home and braved the world on her own. She had one goal in life and that was rescuing Emma. What she wanted though would not be easy. She needed to prove to the State that her Sister was sane and no longer required their 'help' if that's what you could call it. It was a daunting task and no easy feat. In fact, it took two whole years before Charlotte was able to have Emma released. In that time both young Women's lives had changed. Emma had undergone great trauma and despite Charlotte's objections, she had been subjected to a lobotomy. Said to ease the madness of hysteria, Charlotte's little Sister had been strapped to a table while a surgeon cut out a piece of her brain. Emma was left severely brain damaged and no longer able to function in any way close to normal. Bedlam had not only removed a portion of Emma's brain, they had stripped her of her light.
Charlotte too was no longer the person she was. Just before her 20th Birthday, she met a Man that utterly shifted her perspective on life. William Baudelaire was a force of nature. He had not come from money and yet he had managed to see more and do more than any of the Gentleman that Charlotte knew. The couple met in Kew Gardens on a rare warm summers day. A conversation was struck over the Middlemist camellia which is an extremely rare flowering plant with only two known examples. One situated in a Nursery in New Zealand and the other, right before their very eyes in London. As juvenile as it was, William dared Charlotte to reach beyond the rope and touch the petals of the bright pink bloom and for reasons still unbeknownst to her, she did. To this day, Charlotte can claim to be one of only a very few who have felt the soft petals of one of the rarest plants on Earth. William ended the evening by stealing a kiss from Charlotte claiming that her lips were just pink and just as rare and now they could both say that they had touched something beautiful.
Seventh months later, Charlotte and William were married. Never thinking that she could ever feel a love as strong as the love she held for her Sister, Charlotte was utterly enamored by her Husband. He was her strength, her world, her heart. The couple could not have been happier. They were embarking on a new adventure together but William knew as Charlotte knew. As a couple, the first thing they needed to do was free Emma. With William's help, it finally happened. Two years after she was admitted to Bethlem Royal Hospital, Emma was finally released into the care of her Sister and her Husband. It was not an easy task, caring for a Sister who for all intended purposes was comatose but Charlotte refused to allow Emma to be cared for by anyone else at first. William was a kind Man and it was at his suggestion that they expand the Family Home to give Emma her own room and room for a live-in Nurse if and when Charlotte decided she could trust someone else.
In the following years, Charlotte did eventually come to trust another with Emma's care but it was all done within the Family home. Such a thing as full-time care was expensive but Charlotte and William were living comfortably. A lifetime of sailing the seas had given William a unique insight into the inner workings of ships. Hard work and a mind unlike any other gave William the skills he needed to start his own business. In the span of a decade, building small fishing vessels on commission turned into a contract with Her Majesty Royal Navy to build steamships of magnificent size and power.
Charlotte had everything she had ever wanted. Emma was safe, though Charlotte still blamed herself for not getting to her sooner. Every evening she fell asleep beside the Man she loved and every morning she awoke in his arms. They were an unconventional Family but a Family none the less. They made good money, had a beautiful home and yet, after 10 years of marriage, there were no Children to be seen. Doctors were unable to figure out whether the infertility problem was with Charlotte or her Husband but it was abundantly clear, together, they would never have a Child.
Charlotte was no stranger to tragedy. While she was fully aware that the life she had lead had been privileged and blessed compared to many, she had not escaped the sting of pain throughout her years. The knowledge that she would never be a Mother in a conventional way was a devastating blow but with William's support, she learned to move past it. There were other ways to have a Family and they were interested in exploring them but life had other plans.
A mere month past their 10-year anniversary, William boarded a ship headed to America. He was to meet with a supplier producing a new engine component that would revolutionize the way they built their steamships. The journey was supposed to take 10 days, weather permitting. The ship arrived at its destination as predicted, William did not. Panic and concern arose in Charlotte when the first of several letters she sent to William were returned to sender. The sickening feeling that hit the pit of her stomach was mortifying. Something horrible had happened but to this day, Charlotte has no idea what.
The investigation into her Husband's disappearance spanned two countries and took over a year but ultimately, it led nowhere. There were suspicions that William had fallen overboard and been lost to the sea but Charlotte knew this couldn't be. The love of her life was a seasoned sailor. He would never have allowed himself to succumb to such a fate. It was also suggested to her that perhaps he had simply tired of domestic married life and had left her for someone else. Again, Charlotte knew that this coudln't be. Many people had lied to her in her life but Charlotte would have gambeled everything she had and everything she was on the fact that William loved her more than anything, as she loved him.
Three years on and Charlotte still has no answers as to what happened to her dearest William. He is presumed dead and she a Widow. Charlotte has taken up the mantel of her Husband's business and she continues to care for Emma as she always had. Life moves on. Charlotte Baudelaire is resilient. She has never and will never give up. William would never want her to and Charlotte has always felt a certain amount of responsibility to live her best life for the sheer fact that Emma was robbed of her's.
"So its true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.
Goals: Charlotte has goals to expand her shipyards and her reach. While the original passion for ship-making came from her Husband William, Charlotte has developed a love for the craft. She hopes that the business will continue many generations after she is gone though this brings up another goal. Charlotte has always believed that she was meant to be a Mother. She silently desires to find love once again and perhaps be blessed enough to start a family though she worries that perhaps she has had all the love she is allotted in this life and that it is intended that she be alone until she meets her Dearest William again on the other side.
Likes: Charlotte has a love for literature and nature. She enjoys a trip to the Theater or the Museum. A strong cup of tea will always bring a smile to her lips and a slice orange cake with a dark chocolate sauce is a delectable indulgence. Charlotte likes the smell of tobacco and the feeling of rain on her face. She likes to surround herself with intelligent people who aren't afraid to dance.
Dislikes: Charlotte has a strong dislike for cruelty in any form. She hates those who pray on others out a sense of entitlement but she equally dislikes those who stand by and willingly do nothing. Charlotte has always been frightened of dolls and while they do not scare her like they once did as a small girl, she still finds the things a touch creepy. She has never liked the taste of offal though to be fair, she has been reluctant to try it to any real degree.
Family:
Name - Jonathon Whitlock
Age - 62
Relation - Father
Name - Helena Whitlock
Age - 54
Relation - Mother
Name - Emma Whitlock
Age - 28
Relation - Sister
Name - William Baudelaire [Presumed Deceased]
Age - 30
Relation - Husband
Nickname/Title: Letty
Age: 32
Birthplace: London, England
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Play-By: Eva Green
Occupation: After the loss of her Husband, Charlotte has stepped up and taken control of his company and his shipyards. In a male dominated world and occupation, she has made a name for herself as one the leading Steamship makers of Europe. Mostly contracted by the Crown, her company builds Ships for the protection of the empires dominance in international trade and for Her Majesties Royal Navy.
Physical Description: Charlotte Baudelaire has been described by many since childhood as the embodiment of the classic Grimm's fairytale of Snow White. 'As white as snow, as red as blood and as black as ebony wood' the fable would say. Charlotte seems to possess these traits at their fairest. Her skin is pale and soft like the cream that forms on the surface of fresh milk. Her lips are red as if they had just been pricked by embroidery needles and her hair is as black as the ebony wood that would frame the face of the one you loved. From birth, Charlotte's eyes have always seemed a little too large for the rest of her features though this has only ever served to enhanced her enchanting appeal.
The sirenic features that make Charlotte look so charming can also be turned to the more serious side of things giving her a darker and more commanding appearance. Let not her Gender fool you. Charlotte Baudelaire is a fierce and formidable Woman. When in command of her Business she holds herself with an air of authority that the Men in her employment know to respect. Charlotte can appear at times cold and unfeeling but this is not the case. She simply knows that when working with Men, she can either appear weak or show them her strength and if that means she must endure the slurs of sexists talk behind her back, so be it.
Charlotte favors clothing that further portrays her competency in the workplace but does not detract from her obvious femininity. Though she has never been one to gravitate towards blushing pinks and baby blues, her choices now days tend to be well made, tailored clothes that fit her figure and highlight the asset she deems are her best features. You can often find her in long A-lined coats that keep her dresses clean from the constant splatter of mud from the streets but also protect her from the cold. She favors high necklines and dark colors. There is an undeniable sensuality to the Woman that possibly comes from her subtle defiance of the status quo. Black tends to be a color she favors a lot though she has an affinity for the many shades of blue as it matches her eyes.
Distinguishing Features: Beyond the unique features that make up her face as there is nobody who looks like her, Charlotte possess two small beauty marks on the left-hand side of her forehead. Charlotte also still wears her wedding ring, despite the fact that she is Widowed. The elegant gold band sits on the very same finger it was placed by her Husband thirteen-year-ago. The only time that Charlotte has ever been seen taking it off is when she removes it to clean the stunning diamond and sapphire stones. As of yet, she has not found a Man worthy of removing it for good.
Personality Description: Charlotte Baudelaire is resilient. While this is not a very elegant word to describe a Woman, for Charlotte, it is an accurate one. Even as a child of five or six she showed courage and strength beyond her years. It was not uncommon for Charlotte to be the first one to dive into the lake or lead the way into the Freaks and Oddities section of Putney Family Waxworks. She has an undeniable sense of adventure that on occasion gets her into trouble. The voice of her Mother echoes still to this day in her mind. Warnings to stand up straight and act like a lady. Charlotte is a Lady. There is no denying this but the elegance and grace of a natural Woman did not come to her until she was much older. No doubt this is because she spent most of her youth in a constant emotional battle against her Mother.
Charlotte has known pain and loss. It has strengthened her but not hardened her heart. She had always believed in love and for a time she was blessed enough to live it. She hopes to one day feel that feeling again but she is not searching. Her responsibilities take up a great deal of her time. Charlotte works like most Woman are afraid to. She has a need to prove herself that often means her own wants and needs are put to the side until the task is done to her satisfaction. She is highly ambitious and intelligent to a point that may be threatening to the Male Gender but she has never let that stop her.
Charlotte is a caring soul. Few know the depth of her devotion. Those that get to see this side of her never forget it. Charlotte has used her wealth and influence to help those in need whenever she can. She was born from wealth and it could be said that her own fortune now eclipses that of her parents but Charlotte is a different kind of Aristocrat. At least she tries to be. It would kill her to ever learn that she was anything like her Mother. Truth be told though, Charlotte does share some of her Mother's traits. She is strong and determined but without the cruelty and selfishness that was her Mother undoing.
There is a light that lives inside of Charlotte Baudelaire that she will often say she keeps lit in honor of her Sister but the truth is that the light is her own. It is a light born from a loving Woman who wants only the best for those around her. Charlotte is wise enough however to know how fiercely such a light must be protected in order for it not to be snuffed out. This is why she can at times be hard to read or difficult to warm up. She knows loss and pain but love and joy too. Charlotte is a Woman with a strong personality that she often keeps under cover like a candle within a glass lantern. Her flame has never gone out but it is protected from the elements.
Characters History: What is pretty on the surface may still be rotten on the inside.
Charlotte Elise Baudelaire, born Charlotte Elise Whitlock was born privileged. It wasn't until she was around 15 years old however that this fact became apparent to her. As a child, she saw her life as normal. It was normal for her to be awoken each morning not by her Mother but by her Nanny. It was normal for her to be served at supper time by the staff. She no more questioned the presence of the cook and the gardener than she did her Father's business partners and their weekly game of cards. This was her life and for the most part, she was happy.
Charlotte spent her days frolicking with her Sister and their friends through the Gardens surrounding her Family home. She was an adventurous child which her Mother seemed to take constant offense to. It took a while for the young girl to transform into the young Woman her Mother wanted her to be. Though it was not conscious, Charlotte seemed to resist the pressures placed upon her delicate shoulders. She did her best however to be the young Woman the world expected her to be.
It was this desire to make her Mother smile that forced Charlotte to face her fears and play with the many dolls her Mother bought her. She had always hated the little things. Their painted faces never moving but always watching. Every night Charlotte would turn each doll around to face the wall before going to sleep. She never turned them around again in the morning for when she woke, she found them already staring down at her. Knowing the sometimes volatile nature of Mrs. Whitlock, Charlotte's Nanny would reposition the dolls for the young girl's sake, lest she get into trouble.
Charlotte often got into trouble. While the norm was for a Father to be the head of the household, things were different for the Whitlock's. Charlotte's Mother was a fierce and formidable Woman, in all the worst ways. She controlled her Home and her Family through fear and intimidation. Charlotte's Father was a quiet Man, a Man who had dedicated his life to knowledge. Though he was in no way a weak Man, having served in her Majesty's Royal Navy since he was 18, he saw no gain to be made by arguing with his wife when it came to how she ran the Household or disciplined the Children.
It was not unusual for Charlotte to redirect her Mother's rage towards herself in order to spare her younger Sister. Emma was born four years after Charlotte and came into this world with a full head of white blonde hair. In many ways, she was the polar opposite of Charlotte. While Charlotte struggled with the tasks assigned to her gender, Emma did not. Elegance and grace came easily to the younger Woman. While Charlotte was often described as wild and brash, Emma was quiet and delightful. The differences between the two Sisters did not push them apart however. Charlotte and Emma were enamored with one another and were inseparable from birth. Charlotte would have done anything for her Sister. Sadly, anything isn't always enough.
The older they grew, the more it became apparent to everyone just how different these two girls were. Rumors began to spread like a gas leak. The whispers were slow and soft at first but Emma eventually became aware of them and soon enough, the possibility that she might have been raised believing a lie began to choke her. She looked nothing like her Sister nor her Mother or her Father. Where had her white blond hair come from? When she finally gained the courage to question her Mother about it, the Whitlock's life changed forever.
Charlotte remembers the day when her Sister found her voice. The shouts echoed through the old House and rattled the fixtures. Emma needed answers about her birth. It didn't matter how much Charlotte tried to reassure her Sister that they were blood and bonded no matter what, Emma needed to know. Mother was not in a mind to spill her secrets however. She refused to admit her sins and for good reason it seemed. Should it come to light that Mrs. Whitlock had been unfaithful to her Husband, Divorce would be instant and she would be left with nothing.
In her eyes, Mrs. Whitlock had only one option. Now that Emma had found her voice, she refused to be silent. If Mother could not stop her from speaking, she had to make sure that nobody believed anything that came out of the young girl's mouth. At just 15 years old, Emma was vulnerable. Charlotte had always protected her but she couldn't have foreseen the sheer malicious, manipulation that their Mother was capable of.
How Mrs. Whitlock managed to convince the Doctors at Bethlem Royal Hospital that her youngest Daughter was insane, Charlotte doesn't know. She suspects that money played a large part in the scheme. It was not the first that she had witnessed the influence that money and privilege could have. How it came about never really matter however. What mattered to Charlotte was that her Sister, her dearest friend, love of her life had been incarcerated in a place that any logical person could see was no better than Hell.
Charlotte pleaded with her Father endlessly those following days. He knew that his little girl was not insane. She was no danger to herself or anyone else. Emma wouldn't hurt a fly. While Mr. Whitlock admitted to this knowledge in the quiet of his study to his eldest Daughter, he also confessed that there was nothing he could do. That was the day that Charlotte gave up on her Father and left her Mother's House. The wonderful life they had looked pretty from the outside looking in but look a little deeper and it was rotten to the core.
At 19 years of age, Charlotte left the comforts of Home and braved the world on her own. She had one goal in life and that was rescuing Emma. What she wanted though would not be easy. She needed to prove to the State that her Sister was sane and no longer required their 'help' if that's what you could call it. It was a daunting task and no easy feat. In fact, it took two whole years before Charlotte was able to have Emma released. In that time both young Women's lives had changed. Emma had undergone great trauma and despite Charlotte's objections, she had been subjected to a lobotomy. Said to ease the madness of hysteria, Charlotte's little Sister had been strapped to a table while a surgeon cut out a piece of her brain. Emma was left severely brain damaged and no longer able to function in any way close to normal. Bedlam had not only removed a portion of Emma's brain, they had stripped her of her light.
Charlotte too was no longer the person she was. Just before her 20th Birthday, she met a Man that utterly shifted her perspective on life. William Baudelaire was a force of nature. He had not come from money and yet he had managed to see more and do more than any of the Gentleman that Charlotte knew. The couple met in Kew Gardens on a rare warm summers day. A conversation was struck over the Middlemist camellia which is an extremely rare flowering plant with only two known examples. One situated in a Nursery in New Zealand and the other, right before their very eyes in London. As juvenile as it was, William dared Charlotte to reach beyond the rope and touch the petals of the bright pink bloom and for reasons still unbeknownst to her, she did. To this day, Charlotte can claim to be one of only a very few who have felt the soft petals of one of the rarest plants on Earth. William ended the evening by stealing a kiss from Charlotte claiming that her lips were just pink and just as rare and now they could both say that they had touched something beautiful.
Seventh months later, Charlotte and William were married. Never thinking that she could ever feel a love as strong as the love she held for her Sister, Charlotte was utterly enamored by her Husband. He was her strength, her world, her heart. The couple could not have been happier. They were embarking on a new adventure together but William knew as Charlotte knew. As a couple, the first thing they needed to do was free Emma. With William's help, it finally happened. Two years after she was admitted to Bethlem Royal Hospital, Emma was finally released into the care of her Sister and her Husband. It was not an easy task, caring for a Sister who for all intended purposes was comatose but Charlotte refused to allow Emma to be cared for by anyone else at first. William was a kind Man and it was at his suggestion that they expand the Family Home to give Emma her own room and room for a live-in Nurse if and when Charlotte decided she could trust someone else.
In the following years, Charlotte did eventually come to trust another with Emma's care but it was all done within the Family home. Such a thing as full-time care was expensive but Charlotte and William were living comfortably. A lifetime of sailing the seas had given William a unique insight into the inner workings of ships. Hard work and a mind unlike any other gave William the skills he needed to start his own business. In the span of a decade, building small fishing vessels on commission turned into a contract with Her Majesty Royal Navy to build steamships of magnificent size and power.
Charlotte had everything she had ever wanted. Emma was safe, though Charlotte still blamed herself for not getting to her sooner. Every evening she fell asleep beside the Man she loved and every morning she awoke in his arms. They were an unconventional Family but a Family none the less. They made good money, had a beautiful home and yet, after 10 years of marriage, there were no Children to be seen. Doctors were unable to figure out whether the infertility problem was with Charlotte or her Husband but it was abundantly clear, together, they would never have a Child.
Charlotte was no stranger to tragedy. While she was fully aware that the life she had lead had been privileged and blessed compared to many, she had not escaped the sting of pain throughout her years. The knowledge that she would never be a Mother in a conventional way was a devastating blow but with William's support, she learned to move past it. There were other ways to have a Family and they were interested in exploring them but life had other plans.
A mere month past their 10-year anniversary, William boarded a ship headed to America. He was to meet with a supplier producing a new engine component that would revolutionize the way they built their steamships. The journey was supposed to take 10 days, weather permitting. The ship arrived at its destination as predicted, William did not. Panic and concern arose in Charlotte when the first of several letters she sent to William were returned to sender. The sickening feeling that hit the pit of her stomach was mortifying. Something horrible had happened but to this day, Charlotte has no idea what.
The investigation into her Husband's disappearance spanned two countries and took over a year but ultimately, it led nowhere. There were suspicions that William had fallen overboard and been lost to the sea but Charlotte knew this couldn't be. The love of her life was a seasoned sailor. He would never have allowed himself to succumb to such a fate. It was also suggested to her that perhaps he had simply tired of domestic married life and had left her for someone else. Again, Charlotte knew that this coudln't be. Many people had lied to her in her life but Charlotte would have gambeled everything she had and everything she was on the fact that William loved her more than anything, as she loved him.
Three years on and Charlotte still has no answers as to what happened to her dearest William. He is presumed dead and she a Widow. Charlotte has taken up the mantel of her Husband's business and she continues to care for Emma as she always had. Life moves on. Charlotte Baudelaire is resilient. She has never and will never give up. William would never want her to and Charlotte has always felt a certain amount of responsibility to live her best life for the sheer fact that Emma was robbed of her's.
"So its true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.
Goals: Charlotte has goals to expand her shipyards and her reach. While the original passion for ship-making came from her Husband William, Charlotte has developed a love for the craft. She hopes that the business will continue many generations after she is gone though this brings up another goal. Charlotte has always believed that she was meant to be a Mother. She silently desires to find love once again and perhaps be blessed enough to start a family though she worries that perhaps she has had all the love she is allotted in this life and that it is intended that she be alone until she meets her Dearest William again on the other side.
Likes: Charlotte has a love for literature and nature. She enjoys a trip to the Theater or the Museum. A strong cup of tea will always bring a smile to her lips and a slice orange cake with a dark chocolate sauce is a delectable indulgence. Charlotte likes the smell of tobacco and the feeling of rain on her face. She likes to surround herself with intelligent people who aren't afraid to dance.
Dislikes: Charlotte has a strong dislike for cruelty in any form. She hates those who pray on others out a sense of entitlement but she equally dislikes those who stand by and willingly do nothing. Charlotte has always been frightened of dolls and while they do not scare her like they once did as a small girl, she still finds the things a touch creepy. She has never liked the taste of offal though to be fair, she has been reluctant to try it to any real degree.
Family:
Name - Jonathon Whitlock
Age - 62
Relation - Father
Name - Helena Whitlock
Age - 54
Relation - Mother
Name - Emma Whitlock
Age - 28
Relation - Sister
Name - William Baudelaire [Presumed Deceased]
Age - 30
Relation - Husband