THE BASICS

Name: Marie LaCour

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION


Gender: Female

Age: 19

Hair: Blonde but wears a variety of highly styled wigs in various colors.

Eyes: Green

Distinguishing Marks: Beauty mark just under her left eye.

General Appearance:
Marie has light blond hair, deep green eyes, alabaster skin, an oval face, shell-like ears, and a delicate aquiline nose. Her height is 5′6″, and she has a slender figure, and small, beautiful feet.



Her choice in clothing is considered no less than flamboyant.  She wears a garden's worth of colors in every gown and usually wears a styled wig with feathers, jewels, or other bits of ornament piled within. Her gowns are part of her charm and though large are light and tend to be quite flirtatious especially in the decolletage.  Marie wears minimal jewelry but when she chooses to wear something it is attention getting.

She has an impressive array of shoes that are built to match each outfit.  A good portion of them are created through pressed paper so they are light, but rarely last more than one wearing.

HISTORY

Personality:
Marie as the only daughter of the House over... worldly pleasures, is used to gathering attention.  She is truly kind and funny with a wit and a disarming nature.  Most of her advances into court have been filled with speculation, but are filled with games and sport.

To know Marie is to never be bored.  She surrounds herself with comfort, good food, music, and merriment.  This is the way of her family.  She collects artists and musicians like flowers in a bouquet and always arrives with some amusement.

There is rumor that Marie is connected to highway men and some brigands.  When asked about this, she gives a simple shrug and replies that she has many lovers- "It is so hard to tell which are Kings and which steal from Kings.  They are all dashing no?  When they hand me a pretty flower, all thoughts of such things flit from my head. Poof!"

Sexual Preferences: Hetero

House (Major or Minor House): Minor House "LaCour"

The House of LaCour is not a Noble house due to land ownership.  Most of the Noble houses would be reluctant to admit, even though they do, that the LaCour family knows their houses intimately.  The LaCours is a house built by Courtesans.  Upon retiring from service- Courtesans ultimately retire and take on the name LaCour under the understanding that there is not a Bastard in the entire genealogy.  Because of this, and their trade, the LaCour house is one of the wealthiest houses in all the Kingdom.

The LaCour household is primarily responsible for providing diversions and merriment for the crown and other dignitaries.  They create banquets, weddings, tournaments, provide circuses and other frivolities.  If the Noble Houses wish to be entertained- LaCour is there.  Their connections reach to far off countries where they find acrobats, musicians, dancers, chefs, designers, and other artists of intimacy that are clean, safe, and most of all adept at all acts of pleasure.

The head of the household is Grande Dame Josephine LaCour, who created the house over eighty years ago, when a ruler of great import needed to silently put her away.  Josephine, of course, complied and used the proceeds for her retirement to create the House LaCour, saving Courtesans ever since from the drudgery of the nunneries and the insecurity of the streets.  Her granddaughter, Marie, has been raised as a noble woman.  She has not gone into the family profession- instead she has been her grandmother's jewel.  Now the King's game plans to take the jewel from her jewelry box- or there is something more going on?

About Your character:



The granddaughter of Josephine LaCour, and daughter of Danelle LaCour- Marie LaCour was born in the spring.  From the moment that her first cries touched the ears of the Grande Dame the old woman took her under her wing.  She saw to it that young Marie had the best tutors, the best dress makers, and she was surrounded with the finest of all things.  When Josephine first created the House of LaCour, she was fine with being a retired lover, but years pass and with Marie she planned to give the house a strong lineage and a name that doesn't need to be whispered.

Marie has been tutored and trained in both the ways of House LaCour and in the ways of the traditional nobles.  She is the ultimate Courtesan and even at her coming out she received many offers.  Josephine declined them all and Marie followed her grandmother's decisions.  Josephine made it known that Marie's hand would be taken properly, but the stigma of the House of LaCour has stopped any offers or betrothals from taking place.

When Grande Dame Josephine heard of the King's game, she was delighted.  It took time to procure an invitation- but as soon as she had it- she has packed up Marie and sent her to Rosemont.  The Noble Houses would be hard pressed to deny Marie a title now.

There are rumors that Marie has come with her own agenda.  When the last of the attempted betrothals fell through it is said that Marie took up with a Highwayman- James Hinde otherwise known as "Swift Nick"  Other's claim that she is the lover of a known rebel against the crown William Going.  Marie will confirm or deny any of these rumors depending on her mood.

She currently travels with an entourage.  She will arrive with several musicians, a hair dresser, a dress designer, a wiggier, a cobbler (of course) an acrobat, and her latest bit of merriment Larke. A street urchin she caught robbing her and has taken in as a companion. There are rumors that the child is actually the bastard daughter of someone in the high court, but as Marie will remind such a scandalous speaker- there are no bastards in the House of LaCour.  Those are for other houses who do not know how to be discrete.