Jean-Laurent d'Aubin
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| Portrayed by Oscar Isaac | |
| Full Name | Jean-Laurent François Gauvain Pierre René d’Aubin |
|---|---|
| Title | Vicomte d'Aubin |
| Associated Noble House(s) | Comté d'Aubin |
| Date of Birth | 24th October, 1785 |
| Father | François Jean-Laurent Baptiste d’Aubin |
| Father's Rank | Comte |
| Mother | Marie-Claire d’Aubin, née de Razillac |
| Mother's Rank | Comtesse |
| Town Residence | 20 Grosvenor Street |
| Income | - |
| School | Eton |
| University | - |
| Year Attained Title | 1785 |
Jeannot d'Aubin is the heir to a title created by a government that has been dismantled via guillotine, but he doesn't let that keep him down. He is uncommonly close to his best friend Rawdon Montgomery, and is currently in town raising well-bred high-spirited hell.
Jeannot is played by Micaela
Family
- François Jean-Laurent Baptiste d’Aubin, Comte d’Aubin b. 1750 - father
- Marie-Claire d’Aubin, née de Razillac, Comtesse d'Aubin b. 1760 - mother
- Lady Lunete Eugénie d'Aubin, b. 1795 - sister
Background
Jean-Laurent was born to a icily pleased François and Marie-Claire on 24 October, 1785, on a dreary day at their home in Normandy. His father was a politician--in fact, a deputy of the Second Estate in the Estates General. Sensing upheaval, he and his family fled France for England in the summer of 1791, after the deposition of King Louis, having had approximately 2 years to get their assets together and plan. After that hiccup, Jeannot's upbringing was generally uneventful at their rented Cheshire estate, Wilcombe, and François invested what money they had brought wisely, increasing their funds yearly. The neighborhood was initially hesitant about a French family, but the comte’s continual disavowal of all Republican thought eased the path eventually. Despite several offers to purchase Wilcombe, the owners have been rather reluctant to sell, despite their own reduced circumstances and the prosperity of the comte and his family.
François and Marie-Claire always gave the impression of being happily married; in reality, they had begun to realize they were not well-suited not long after their son was born. Despite these differences, they hung in a strange sort of well-bred stasis, trying to be happy for both their own and their son's sake. After Jeannot went to school, Marie-Claire discovered she was expecting their second child, and when the child was an unnecessary girl, the rift grew wider until they barely spoke to one another.
Jeannot, fearing his parents would become distant towards him as they had towards on another, began to withdraw his affection from both parents. What affection he can be said to have has been focused on his baby sister, Lunete, for whom he always had time and plenty of patience, and who always had an adoring smile for him. An indifferent student, he certainly gleaned from his Eton education a great circle of similar-minded friends, including one Rawdon Montgomery, called Monty. It was with Monty that he made his Grand Tour instead of attending Univeristy--somewhat truncated as a result of the war, but altogether very…. educational.
He knows his French heritage and lack of a proper English title might put some off in the current political climate, but Jeannot himself is hesitant to involve himself in politics at all and considers himself very much loyal to England's cause, inasmuch as he cares for politics at all--he has become very adept at changing the subject and steering the conversation toward less controversial topics. Moreover, should anyone doubt his family's loyalties, a brief conversation with the comte, whose favorite name for Napoleon is "that fat, delusional Corsican," will set them straight.
Since his Tour he has gone wherever he pleases, from friend's homes to house parties to his own home to London with wild abandon. He is in for the Season to make eyes at the new debs and frighten some matrons, which is always good fun. His family was meant to remain in Cheshire, but has recently shown up on his doorstep.
Personality
Jeannot is, in a word, a rake. He has no taste for family life, prefers to forget the terrifying flight from France, and makes an immense effort not to take any thing seriously. What pleasures life has to offer take first priority for him, with those selected few he considers real friends coming in soon after. He has the capacity for immense charm, and his French heritage is nearly imperceptible in speech, but obvious in manner; there is a practiced ease to his conversation and manner that catches him out, a nonchalant elegance and insouciance that come naturally. He could sell water to a drowning man and the man would walk away thinking he got the better deal.
For all this he does bear a great amount of affection for those closest to him. Most associates are the sort of friends with whom one is expected to have and raise hell, but Monty at least he does genuinely like. The only family member for whom he bears any real affection is his sister. He is not particularly close to either parent, but is very fond of Lunete, who has not yet made her debut. She is perhaps the only young lady he respects, which may stem from her similarly wicked tongue and uniquely French temperament, despite being raised in England.
Having observed his parents’ marriage and learned that love is fleeting, much of his distaste for matrimonial felicity is rooted in the fact that he knows it can be destroyed or eroded. One day he supposes he will have to marry, but it is not anytime soon. Perhaps France will not be so very tumultuous by then, and he can return to the country that, in some deep-hidden part of his sentimental soul, he does consider home. That very Frenchness allows him to joke about his heritage, but he does wish he could return to the few uninhibitedly happy days he has known. It is perhaps in response to this that he intends to make the most of England.
The experience of leaving was a true trauma, and between that and his parents’ estrangement he fights against any deeper emotion fiercely. He has to try very hard not to care, and in the case of those closest to them, he does not always succeed. Though he does have a conception of his own honor, he is unlikely to be affected by passing insult or injury; should something affect him, it does so very deeply, and he will not easily forget it.
Much smarter than he seems, but absolutely unwilling to use it, Jeannot (naturally) speaks fluent French and English, excellent German and Italian, and knows his Latin and Greek as passably as any young gentleman can be expected to. He is a talented swordsman with a knack for words (of all languages), and a keen horseman to boot. In addition to being set to inherit the title of 'Comte' upon his father's death, Jeannot is a man of more than generous means, and willing to embrace the advantages those means offer him. For the time being, he intends to make merry hell for as long as it is remotely permissible.