Lockhart, Sally

[Sally Lockhart]

Lockhart, Sally



"We Are But the Players"

Name: Veronica Beatrice ‘Sally’ Lockhart (she hates Veronica and will introduce herself as Sally)
Age: 22
Story: The Sally Lockhart Mysteries by Phillip Pullman
Affiliation: Good
Occupation: Financial Consultant

"Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder"

[/i]

Hair: Honey Blonde
Eyes: Deep Brown
Height: 5’2”
Weight: 55kg
General Build: Sally is slender and pale and slight of build, but this is no reflection on her personality. She is hardy and there is a certain fierceness to her. She is described as ‘uncommonly pretty’ and her figure elicits multiple comments.

Play-by: Reese Witherspoon

"All of it is Elementry"

Personality:

Sally Lockhart is an intelligent and ambitious young woman who does not let perceptions about her age or gender prevent her from becoming exactly what she wants to be. She is optimistic and passionate about justice. Due to this, she is intensely loyal and will fight with all she has for those who need her. Sally wasn’t raised to be a victim, so an internal strength enables her to face overwhelming odds.

The events of her young life have left her emotionally unsure and, consequently, she is not always aware of her true feelings. Thus, her relationship with Frederick Garland is particularly complicated. While she is determined to be independent as she is used to, she is plagued by a deeper emotional connection. In a similar way, she is quite proud and finds it difficult to accept criticism or ask for help. This can be hard on her close friends.

She does, ultimately, have an unyielding optimism that is resolute in finding the solution to any problem and can always be counted on to do her best to achieve it.

Weapons: Sally owns a Belgian, pearl-handled pistol given to her by her adoptive father (Cpt. Matthew Lockhart) for her fourteenth birthday.

Skills: Sally never learned the usual household tasks taught a young girl. Raised by her father, she had a thorough grounding in:

- Military Tactics
- Book-keeping
- The affairs of the Stock Market
- Hindustani
- Horsemanship
- Shooting a Pistol

Mother: Mrs Marchbanks: a young, sickly woman who died when Sally was a baby.

Father: Major Marchbanks: while he is Sally’s real father, he sold her to Capt. Matthew Lockhart for The Ruby of Agrapur, a legendary Indian treasure. (Sally later learns of this, but views Capt. Lockhart as her real father.)

Siblings: None.

History:

In 1856, Sally Lockhart was born in India, her father Major George Arthur Marchbanks was there stationed with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, the 32nd Foot, in Agrapur in Oudh. He was one part of a small group of soldiers sent to conduct secret political discussions with the Maharajah of Agrapur and was part of the reason that lead the rebels to consider the Maharajah a collaborator with the British colonizers. On the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny, her father sold her to another member of the expedition, Captain Matthew Lockhart, for the famed Ruby of Agrapur that had been given to the Captain by the Maharajah in exchange for his protection during the mutiny. The Ruby was thought to possess magical power that induced a trance-like state, much like the effects of opium. It was clear that it would fetch a pretty sum that would enable Major Marchbanks to pay off his significant debts garnered through his addiction to the drug.

Lockhart returned to England and Sally was not to learn of her true birth until her sixteenth year. Her father started his own Shipping Agency with Mr Samuel Selby called Lockhart and Selby, Shipping Agents. Lockhart taught his young daughter verything he knew, leaving young Sally with some unusual talents, including the ability to balance books, read the stock market and shoot a pistol. Not to mention, a smattering of Hindustani.

When Sally turned sixteen, she lost the man she thought was her father to a tragic accident when his schooner, The Lavinia sank in the South China Sea. Three months later, Sally embarked on what would be a rapidly unraveling mystery leading to the discovery of the fact that her father had, in fact, been murdered by a legendary opium dealer and Seven Blessings member, Ah Ling. His life had been taken after he had discovered that Selby had been using the Agency to ship opium on Ah Ling’s behalf. In his attempt to put this to rights, his ship was scuttled off the Chinese Coast.

On this journey, she took leave of her old life and attempted to discover the world for herself, meeting several new acquaintances. The most dear to her were the Garlands, Frederick and Rosa and a local amateur detective and novelist Jim Taylor who had been an office boy in her father’s firm. The three were an integral part of helping Sally unravel her father’s murder. (Leading later to Jim and Frederick’s interest in local detection.)

She later took up residence with the Garlands after agreeing to do the accounts of their Uncle, Webster Garland’s, failing photographic business. Thus began Sally’s complicated relationship with Frederick Garland. Very frank about his feelings for her as she grew older, Frederick had declared his intentions to marry her. Whilst being convinced that he was the only man she could ever marry, she was simultaneously determined not to be dependent on a man as a matter of principle. (Feminist as she was.)

Under her capable financial direction, the Garland’s business soon took off and became successful, changing its name to Garland and Lockhart to recognize her contribution. However, it was soon clear that her assistance was no longer vital and Sally longed to venture out on her own. As such, she began her own Financial Consulting business and began to aid others in their financial decisions.

She is now quite comfortably independent, with her successful business and her dog Chaka, mixture of bloodhound, Great Dane and possibly ‘werewolf’… She is still unsure about her feelings for Frederick, resulting in his frustration and their not speaking for several weeks. She has recently begun investigating the loss of a client’s investment in the Anglo-Baltic shipping company, with particular interest in a man called Axel Bellman.

"But All the World is a Stage"

Name: Leah
Years Roleplaying: Actually, this is my first RP.
How did you find us?: My cousin.

RP Example:


Sally Lockhart, with a hand clutching one of her newspaper clipping books to her chest and the other hurriedly turning a key in the office door, was running over the day’s events in her mind. The appointment with Mrs. Walsh still carried a slight sting. Although she had finished berating herself over her inattention of the movements of the Anglo-Baltic shipping company, the fact she had failed one of her clients was an unsettling blow. Sally was determined to do all she could to get dear Mrs. Walsh’s money back. But first she would have to figure out how Axel Bellman, the richest man in Europe, and the sinking of the Ingrid Linde were connected. That was why she had chosen to bring her clipping book home with her. It contained information about the recent collapsing and mergers of the North Atlantic shipping companies. Surely she would find some clue as to Bellman’s involvement in the vast collection of articles.

A chilly evening breeze was blowing as she made her way onto the busy London street with her dog Chaka trotting along beside her. She drew her coat tighter around her and cast a quick glance over her shoulder at her office. ’Sally Lockhart, Financial Consultant’. Her heart still flickered with pride when she remembered all she had overcome to reach this point. The business was doing well, excepting this minor hiccup, and she was glad to be able to apply her not-so-normal knowledge to the improvement of quite a few clients.

There was only one thing that kept her from total contentment. If only Fred would stop being so stubborn and speak to her, she might be able to chat this Anglo-Baltic situation over with him. They had fought again about her refusal to accept his marriage proposal. His persistence was wearing her patience thin. Yes, she cared for him and a truer soul she knew not, but she just could not settle with a man who was wasting his time and talent chasing idle dreams, like amateur detecting. He was a photographer, not a sleuth or a boxer. She found herself growing more and more frustrated as she thought of this facetious man. Chaka gave a yelp and she realized that she was pulling his lead a bit too tightly due to her annoyance.

”Sorry boy. It’s all Fred’s fault really. I think you should take it up with him the next time you see him.”

She turned to smile at him, but frowned instead as he had stopped walking and was staring worriedly into the darkening night ahead. He gave a short whine, as the wind picked up. She called him to come, but he remained still.

”What is the matter, boy? We’ve no time for dawdling. It is getting dark and we need to be getting home.”

Suddenly, her hat was yanked from her head by a steady gust of wind. Dropping her clippings, she tried desperately to grasp it, but her hands met nothing but air. In her hurry she had also let go of Chaka’s lead. Before she had the chance to retrieve it, another gust of wind met her with force. It seemed to bring with it a dark fog, for Sally found herself unable to see the cobbled stones beneath her feet. The darkness was oppressive and she began to panic. She tried to call for Chaka but she could not hear her own voice above the gale that was now blowing. Her foot caught on something, causing her to lose her footing and fall to the pavement below. She wrapped her arms around her head and closed her eyes to shield them from the wind.

It seemed a lifetime before the violent noise died down almost as suddenly as it had arrived. Startled, Sally opened her eyes. She was overcome by the midday sun and gasped as she used her hands to block out the confusing light. After a moment to adjust to the change, she cautiously looked around her. The landscape she now saw was drastically different to the one she had just been walking down. Stores she had seen everyday had new shop fronts. She instinctively turned towards her office and felt her breath catch in her throat.

’Mrs. Corry’s Gingerbread Shop’ read a bold and colourful sign. Sally stared in horror. She staggered to her feet and turned for that familiar figure of her canine companion. He was nowhere to be seen.

”Chaka?” she whispered. [/blockquote]