Beautiful People--Rella Torley

This month’s Beautiful People was a challenge for the authors—invent or select your own questions for your character! I chose 10 questions from the archives of Beautiful People, as well as a few suggested by friends. (Thank you, Mirriam and Sky!)

Without further ado, I introduce to you, the heroine of Eye of the Beholder, Rella Torley.

1. Does he or she think inside themselves more than they talk out loud to their friends? (more importantly, does he or she actually have friends?) Rella is one to keep her thoughts inside, hidden away from the scrutiny of the world. This tendency was birthed from the fact that she has no true friends aside from her maid, and also from her brother’s abuse. She carries a significant amount of self-blame, and generally considers herself the initiator of any trouble, even when it is not her fault. She would keep these things close, rather than risk causing anyone else inconvenience by confessing her pain. It is both a strength and weakness, for it causes quite a rift between her and Gavin, as she cannot bring herself to truly open her heart to him.

2. Does he/she have any siblings? How many? Where does he/she fit in? She has one older brother, Welford, her elder by 15 years, making him 36 years of age to her 21 at the beginning of Eye of the Beholder.

3. Favorite kind of weather? The drizzly gray time before a heavy rain, when the clouds begin to gather, their ombre tones darkening from white to black as they pile up and tumble over each other in the dulled sky. And yes, she would probably describe it in such terms.

4. Is he/she independent, or needs others to help out? She’s had a rather interesting situation. She’s never had someone on whom she can depend for help, so she’s been rather forced to be somewhat independent. Yet Welford has always controlled her life with an iron fist, so she never truly had to make her own decisions. If given the option, she would greatly prefer to let someone else make the choices, because it’s all she’s really known.

5. What colour are his/her eyes? Hair? Her eyes are a light, icy-pale blue, strikingly so. Her hair is silky, long, straight, and a pure dark black.

6. What do they like to wear? Jewel tones and pastel colors, but not garishly bright ones. She likes white, as well. She prefers simple dresses—and as she lives in the Victorian Era, gowns are truly her only option. She dresses modestly, at least, relatively so for the period. She doesn’t mind a few feminine touches on her clothing—bits of lace or ribbon. She generally wears her hair down and loose about her face, as to better conceal the birthmark on her cheek. As she is most often staying within her home, it causes no real issue. Her favorite dress is a pinstriped light pink with gray accent.

7. What is their backstory and how does it affect them now? Rella’s parents died before she can remember. She and Welford were raised by family members until he came to his majority when she was six years old. He was always bitter about the fact that he was expected to support her, and it turned into anger and hate toward her as she grew. By the time she was eight, his abuse had turned from verbal to physical. She hardly remembers a time when he went more than three days without hurting her in some way. Her fear of him overpowers any other feelings she might have toward her brother, and it makes it nearly impossible for her to trust a man.

8. How do they feel about people in general? In general, Rella would like to believe the best about people—she really would—but her skittishness, born from years of abuse, makes it difficult for her to trust or interact with people.

9. Night owl or morning person? (Optional: What time do they usually wake up? Go to bed?) Morning person, utterly and completely. Rella would prefer to go to bed at dusk and wake at dawn, while Welford often stays awake until all hours of the night and sleeps late.

10. How do they show love? Her love is most often expressed through acts of service. She would be one to clean and sew and mend in order to show her devotion.

Bonus questions:

When she's feeling low, what does she do? Does she talk to anyone, journal, pray, etc.? (From Mirriam) She would be most likely to secrete herself in a corner of her bed and sit in silence, delving into her thoughts. At a later date, she might pray, but in a rather informal, intimate way. She often has moments where she feels low, so her routine is similar throughout them. Sometimes, her maid might come and brush her hair—something that always soothes her. After her marriage, she would likely try to hide her sorrow from her husband by finding a quiet spot and staying away from him.

What is your personal opinion of Garland Orford? Gavin Orford? (From Sky) Her opinion of both young men is favorable. When she first met Garland, she was surprised at his jovial manner, but quickly grew to like him. She likes his pleasant chattering, for it keeps her from having to make polite conversation. With Gavin, her relationship is a bit more awkward. From the moment she meets him, she’s in a sort of weak-at-the-knees state, having never met a man who was as kind toward her as he is, but she knows that there could never be anything between them, due to his uncle’s disapproval and her brother’s cruelty.

Every time I write about Rella, I discover a new facet of her character. I cannot wait to truly begin to pen her story. I hope that you enjoyed this introduction to her sweet personality!