Caroline Thibideaux
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Background[edit]
The Thibideaux family is one of the oldest families in Natchez. Long, long ago, well before the War of Northern Aggression, there were Thibideauxs here. They originally came with French settlers and they were great friends with the local Indian tribes. Down through the generations, the men of the household invested wisely and that included in the railroad. That's how grandmama Aurelie Thibideaux met Joshua Hardin, who was a railroad man. They married just before the War and when he shipped off Aurelie was already with child. After Joshua was killed, his brother James stepped up. The family doesn't talk much of James in light of the fact that he came by his fortune as a riverboat gambler. But for all that, he was a great man. He married Aurelie and they had a passel of children, but the plantation passed into the hands of Joshua's son, Joshua Thibideaux Hardin. On down through the generations the plantation remained in the family under the Hardin name with Thibideaux remaining the middle name of the firstborn two children (just in case the first one up and died). Until it finally came into possession of Cecilia (Cici) Grace Thibideaux Devereaux Hardin, Caroline's grandmama.
To whom Mary Alice Thibideaux Hardin was born -- and then had the good sense to meet and marry Jason Thibideaux. So finally the family hasn't got to worry about the last name anymore. Mary Alice dropped all the crazy middle names and became Mary Alice Thibideaux, the end.
And that, darlings, is where the story begins. To Jason and Mary Alice was born their one and only daughter Caroline Jeanne Aurelie Hardin Thibideaux. And she was cherished because she was the only child Mary Alice would carry to term. Doted on by parents and grandparents alike, Caroline could have been extremely spoiled. But Mary Alice was also a practical woman who refused to allow it. Pampered, yes. But it just isn't mannerly for a young woman to act like a brat or flaunt her wealth and such things. To that end, Caroline was brought up with good values and a solid foundation. Private schools, a lovely boarding school for her last two years of high school, and then Wesleyan College over in Atlanta, where there were cousins and family to keep an eye on her so as to not let her go too wild. Her entire life was one of privilege, the only true dark spot happening the summer before she gradated college when her father passed away of a heart attack. She was devastated.
After college she and three of her sorority sisters decided to take a 'tour of the Continent.' This trip was an eye-opener on many levels. Caroline wanted to use the opportunity to do some research for books -- she had the idea she wanted to write novels. The young women, once free of the sheltering influence of Atlanta, began to learn a lot about the world and spent the summer learning to see through the eyes of others. Toward the end of the trip, Belfast was on their itinerary and it was here that life was irrevocably altered for all three. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tensions between the north and south had heated up again -- a state of affairs that the young women were intrigued by -- and they were sitting in a cafe when a car bomb detonated just yards from their table.
When she woke in the hospital a day later, Caroline found her roommate Beth sitting with her. Heather was in the hospital bed next door suffering a broken arm and some cracked ribs. Beth had gotten off with a mild concussion and bruising. But for Caroline the world was silent. Her eardrums had been blown out and she was profoundly deaf.
Going home was not the celebration that they had hoped. Caroline fought with her mother and grandmother to stay in Atlanta, taking advantage of local family connections and the resources in the area to learn to deal with her handicap and live alone with a working dog for a companion, a beautiful golden retriever by the name of Maggie. She began her writing career there in Atlanta, and she surprised herself by very quickly selling her first novel and gaining a contract to write several more. Apparently there were a number of women out there intrigued by military men turned private security or black ops -- it's a lucrative business. She's even made the New York Times best sellers list with her most recent two books... and Mary Alice oh-so-politely doesn't mention that she knows about it. At least not yet. She's very proud of her daughter, but some of those scenes are quite racy.
Finally, a woman in her own right, Caroline decided it was time to move home. She could write anywhere, but her grandmama was getting up in age and her mama really wanted her closer, and she finally agreed. She purchased a townhouse near the Natchez historical district -- and yes, it was a home that had been in her family for quite a long time, but Grandmama was happy to part with it. Caroline had it refitted before she moved in with all the doodads and gadgets that would make her life simple. Internet was a must in the entire house, along with wiring it for specialized fire alarms and phones and such. In addition, Caroline had one of the third floor rooms kitted out to be a painting studio to allow her to pursue her other passion.
Now as the game begins, she has only recently moved back to town and is renewing her ties to the community.
Psychological Profile[edit]
Caroline is the epitome of a Southern Lady. Pampered, polite to a fault, she can gut you with a few well-chosen words. There's a very distinct difference, you understand, between a Southern belle and a Southern Lady. A belle is just very well off, it does not mean that she is in any way the beneficiary of good breedin'. A Southern Lady is bred from the cradle.
She is fiercely independent but like all Southern Ladies this streak of stubbornness is hidden behind her polite demeanor. It's all too easy to mistake that politeness for being meek at times, but one would be sorely mistaken in that judgment. Caroline doesn't take guff. She's a woman grown with her own ideas about how she's going to live and what she's going to do -- and contrary to what her mama might wish for her, she's not looking for a husband. Or at least, it's not the driving goal of her life. If one falls in her lap, well... that's just the way it goes. But if she marries, it will be for love not security.
Character Sheet[edit]
Links[edit]
Return to Vampire: Natchez By Night
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