Charlotte Manderly

Name: Charlotte Manderly
Meaning: “Free woman” // “Commanding”
Age: 25
Zodiac: Scorpio
Gender: Female
P.O.B: Brightwater Keep, Rhoynar
Residence: Isla de Juegas
Religion: None
Sexuality: Pansexual
Relationship status: Single
Family:

- William Manderly (father)
- Abigail Manderly née Ashe (mother)
- Edward “Ned” Manderly (brother, deceased)

+ Cool-headed No matter the situation, Charlotte is very good at keeping a level head and thinking her way out of most problems. Even in a distressing situation, she manages to detach from her immediate emotions and calculate the appropriate course of action to make sure she ends up in the most beneficiary position possible.
+ Self-sufficient Charlotte takes care of Charlotte. She doesn’t need anyone else and she doesn’t like to rely on anyone else. She’s slow to trust and even when she does trust someone, she prefers taking care of her own problems without asking for help. It’s always worked out for her – why should she change it when it does?
+ Loyal Once someone has won her trust, she’s theirs for life. There is nothing that will make Charlotte betray her friends or loved ones, no matter her own situation.
+ Cunning Charlotte has a good set of brains. She knows how to place the appropriate bribe, let the right touch linger, and when to flirt with someone to get what she wants. And at the end of the day, there is nothing that can be traced back to her. She’s a spider in the centre of a web.
- Secretive Charlotte has her secrets. Bucketsful of them, actually. There is very little she shows to the outside world: most of her deepest feelings and thoughts are kept well to herself. What you see is what she wants you to see.
- Egotistical Because it’s been a very long time since anyone has looked out for her, Charlotte has come to be fairly self-minded. She thinks of her own needs first and foremost; only among friends and her girls does she warm up a little and look out for someone else, too.
- Manipulative Look, she’s worked in a brothel for ten years. She knows what men – and some women – like and she knows how to get them to do what she wants. She thrives on controlling people; it’s why the position as madam suits her so much. She’s not always nice about it, but she is nothing if not subtle.



Charlotte was born as the only daughter in a family that already had one son, who was six years older than her. Their parents were merchants and had done quite well for themselves, so that the family lived in modest riches.

Charlotte grew into a happy child doted on by her parents. She adored her older brother, even though kept her at a distance because she was “just a baby.” He didn’t like to be seen with her and bullied her frequently whenever their parents weren’t looking. Regardless, Charlotte loved him more than anyone else within the family. Despite her smiling and demure character, she didn’t have many friends; she played with some of the children of her mother’s friends, but wouldn’t seek them out on her own. She didn’t mind. She was happiest on her own.

Even as a child, Charlotte was considered beautiful, and it was a running joke among her mother’s friends that she would marry young. Charlotte always beamed when she heard someone mention her marriage. She had always dreamed of starting her own family, of marrying a husband who would love her and adore her, of having a happily ever after. Edward would always scoff at her when she expressed those dreams. Poppycock, he called it. Happily ever afters didn’t exist.

As Charlotte grew older, Edward began to leave the house more and more often, returning late at night smelling of alcohol and perfume. At first, Charlotte didn’t know what it meant, but she later learned that Edward was an ardent gambler who could be found in a pub or brothel nearly every night. Sometimes, he would return in a good mood, usually whenever he was carrying a small sack of money; other times, his mood would be sour. Whenever his mood was sour, he snapped at Charlotte even more than he did usually. He would fetch some coin from his own stash and, when that ran out, his father’s and stomp out of the house again to try and win back his money. He rarely did.

When Charlotte was fifteen, Edward’s gambling had landed him in severe debt. This made him nervous, though Charlotte couldn’t understand why – Father had always paid off whatever debts Edward had accumulated, albeit reluctantly. He hadn’t this time, though. She watched Edward and William interact and concluded that Edward hadn’t told him of this particular debt, which made it all the more strange, especially because it genuinely seemed to land him in trouble; Charlotte had seen him about town one day, speaking with a group of men who loomed over him threateningly.

One night, several weeks after this particular conversation, Edward came into her room. He told her to be quiet and asked her if she could do him a favour. Charlotte, who by this time still worshipped her brother, said yes without even thinking about it. Edward told her to get her cloak and led her to the docks, where Charlotte was promptly seized by several men, who tied her hands behind her back and gagged her and dragged her towards a ship. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t get free. She looked toward Edward for help, but her brother wasn’t even looking at her. He was engaged in conversation with one of the men, who nodded at him and told him he could consider his debt repaid.

The men took her to Isla de Juegas and straight to the Blooming Rose, one of the brothels. She was exchanged for a hefty sum of money, checked by a doctor, and told in no uncertain terms what was expected of her. As she had been bought for a large amount of coin, she would work for free until she had paid off her debt – any money she made would go directly to the Madam. Before Charlotte could comprehend what was going on, she was shoved into a room and told to service anyone who came by and to bring the money to the Madam at the end of the day. She was given a tonic that would keep her from conceiving and that was that.

It took Charlotte five years of working in the brothel to pay off her buying sum. The first two years were the worst of her life and she hated every moment of it, but as she grew used to the work, she began taking joy in it. She began getting good at it, too. She had always thought she would leave the moment she had repaid her debt to exact her revenge on her brother, but even when the five years were up, she stayed at the Rose. As time went on, the Madam began to recognise her talents – not only those as a courtesan, but also the way she connected to the other girls, the way she managed her money, the way she managed to extract information from her clients. In time, when the Madam was looking to hand over her responsibilities, she approached Charlotte. The decision was made quickly: Charlotte gave her what money she had saved, and became the new Madam of the Blooming Rose.

Both Charlotte and the Rose thrived under the new management. The girls trusted Charlotte, confided in her in a way they hadn’t with the previous Madam. Charlotte slowly built up a steady network of clients, fences, and other contacts, which allowed the Blooming Rose to make a greater profit than it had in years. Life was, in short, wonderful – until one day Edward Manderly stepped into the brothel.

Charlotte recognised her brother immediately. She felt familiar rage surge in her; even though her life was a good one at the moment, she hadn’t forgotten the humiliations she had suffered in the early years of working in the brothel. She approached her brother with her chin held up high and a fake smile plastered firmly onto her face. She greeted him as if she was genuinely pleased to see him, offered him all the compliments of the house, and sent him upstairs with one of her best girls. While he was busy, though, she sent another of her girls for the Butcher, a man whose services Charlotte had employed before, when she needed to get rid of an unsavoury type.

By the time Edward came back downstairs, he was genuinely convinced Charlotte meant him no ill. He bade her goodbye and made his way out of the brothel. He didn’t notice he was being followed until the Butcher had already slit his throat.

As per Charlotte’s request, Edward was put on public display. There was nothing for the authorities to link the murder back to Charlotte or the Rose, but word among the clients of the Rose spread quickly. As Charlotte had intended, Edward’s body served a warning never to double-cross the Madam of the Blooming Rose. You wouldn’t live to tell the tale.



+ Though she’s no longer obligated to, she still has a small, select number of clients she takes to bed. They pay her handsomely for the privilege, often more than she would make in a week when she still worked the floor regularly.
+ Although she hols Edward responsible for all the harm that has befallen her, Charlotte doesn’t hate her brother, and she regrets that she had to kill him. She would do it again if the need arose, but she still mourns his death.
+ After paying off her debt and acquiring the brothel, she went back to see her parents. She writes to them occasionally, though it has been hard facing them after she had Edward killed. They don’t know that she did it, but she feels too awkward to be around them.