Josette Collins is a petite young woman, standing at 5'2", with soft, chestnut brown curls that frame her face in gentle waves. Her eyes are a striking shade of blue, like a clear sky after the rain, often reflecting the warmth of her kind nature despite the hardships she has endured. Her fair skin carries the delicate marks of her past in the form of various scars, subtle but ever-present reminders of the challenges she has faced.
Josette Collins is a young woman with a gentle and thoughtful nature, but beneath her calm exterior, she carries a number of endearing quirks. She often hums softly to herself when lost in thought or to calm her nerves, a soothing habit that has become second nature. Josette is also an avid collector of wildflowers, which she presses between the pages of her favorite books, creating a secret garden of memories within her personal library.
When she’s anxious or deep in conversation, she tends to twirl a strand of her hair or fidget with a piece of jewelry, like a locket or ring, as if seeking comfort in the small, familiar motions. Her love for beauty and order is reflected in her habit of organizing things by color, whether it’s her wardrobe or her bookshelf, finding a sense of peace in the visual harmony it creates.
Despite her resilience, Josette has a habit of over-apologizing, even when something isn’t her fault—an unconscious effort to avoid conflict and maintain peace. She often gets lost in daydreams, particularly during dull or overwhelming social events, and when she needs to focus, she taps out the rhythms of her favorite melodies on nearby surfaces.
A rose in the bush of thorns...
Family Life
Josette Collins is the oldest of nine siblings. She has eight half sisters, all younger than her, Beatrice Collins, Evelyn Collins, Felicity Collins, Georgiana Collins, Helena Collins, Charlotte Collins, Violet Collins, & Dorothea Collins. She also has one half brother, the youngest of the bunch, Nathaniel Collins. Her father is Vicount Henry Collins, and her late mother Geneviève Collins (née Beaumont) is eldest and only daughter of Duke Louis Beaumont of France cousin to the King. She also has stepmother, Eleanora Collins (née Pembroke). She has spent a great deal of time raising her younger siblings, and avoided and hated by her father and step mother. While she has not seen her grandfather since her mother's death, she thinks he has abandoned her.
"When I am king, dilly, dilly, You shall be queen"
Connection Two
To be explored..
"Roses are red, dilly, dilly
Voilets are blue"
Connection Three
To be found...
"Because you love me, dilly, dilly
I will love you"
Connection Four
To be written..
"We shall be safe, dilly, dilly
Out of harm's way"
Connection Five
To be written...
Josette ❀ Collins
"The pearl of Collinswood... Beautiful as she is kind.."
The Past
Josette Collins is a graceful young woman from the distinguished Collins family. Her father is Vicount Henry Collins, and her late mother Geneviève is eldest and only daughter of Duke Louis Beaumont of France. Josette is the eldest of eight half sisters and one half brother. Despite her gentle spirit, her life at home is far from easy. When she was just of three years of age, her mother died giving birth to another child. Both her and the boy she was carrying were lost. The kind and gentle father she had once knew, now became distant and cruel. As she looked the spitting image of the woman he loved, now gone. Just under a year later he remarried to Eleanora. Eleanora has always treated her with cold indifference and unfair harshness despite Josette only being four when they first met. It was then the life Josette had known began to change in more ways than one.
Her step-mother began having children almost as quickly as she married Josette's father. Soon the pearl of Collinswood was no longer the beloved daughter, but just the eldest. She was charged with watching them, teaching them. These duties began to evolve as more daughters were born to the family. Even though they were one of the wealthiest families, Josette's father was haunted by the looks of his eldest. To keep her out of his sight, she was forced to cook, clean, and garden as the servants of the house were. Of course Josette still had to manage her education as well, but untop of all of the other things now thrust in her life. She took solice in piano, her books and the flowers in the garden. As well as the joy of watching her siblings grow. Even if they began to treat her a bit different as they grew older and more like their parents.
Josette did her best to instill the kindness into her sisters as her mother had instilled it into her. Or what little she now remembered of her. However everything in the Collins house changed when Eleanora gave birth to her ninth and final child, Nathaniel. The son Josette's father had always wanted. While the Vicount had loved his other eight daughters and considered them the pride and reason to live. His son became his whole world, the heir to his title, his estate. The Vicount took the young Lord on trips all over the world, taking some of his daughters at the time. However this lead to more time where Eleanora was left alone in charge of Josette. What had just been mental torement, coldness and harshness became abuse. But never in a spot where anyone could see. Josette became very good at hiding bruises, and cuts, and tending to wounds given to her by her step mother.
The Present
When Josette was old enough to be on the marriage market, and her father has took a bit of interest in her. To use her to marry off to make a better name for himself, and to set the standard high for the many daughters to come after her. However, despite a good education, Josette hadn't left the Collinswood Manor, or the house in town since she was a young girl. Society, other than close friends of the family had no idea what she looked like now. Her father was using this to his advantage.
With it being her "first season in society" even though she was now two and twenty, she is sure to draw attention. Even if its unwanted. Especially with how softspoken, kind, gentle and beautiful Josette is.
"Life after my mother was a cold, dark and endless night... one that never seemed to end. The darkness of night became my solice.."
All of my life I have wondered... was I truly not worthy of love?
"Experts on romance say for a happy marriage there has to be more than a passionate love. For a lasting union, they insist, there must be a genuine liking for each other. Which, in my book, is a good definition for friendship."
To Be loved.. is to be seen. I want someone to see me as I am.. without seeing me for my past.