Richenda Cardew

Richenda Cardew

Portrayed by Natasha Little
Full Name	Richenda Cardew
Title	Madame R
Associated Noble House(s)	None
Date of Birth	5th November 1785
Father	Frederick Rice
Father's Rank	Army Officer
Mother	Laura Moss
Mother's Rank	Opera dancer
Town Residence	1 Welbeck Street
School	{{{school}}}
University	{{{university}}}
Profession	Courtesan
Income	Variable

Richenda Cardew (nee Moss) is a courtesan, the natural daughter of an opera dancer and a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army - a man she has never met. She is a retired character played by Sharpie.

Family

Father: Frederick Rice (58)
Mother: Laura Moss (46)

History

Portrait of Richenda Cardew, noted courtesan

The natural daughter of Colonel Frederick Rice, Richenda was born two years after her father returned home from the war in the Americas. Not wishing to be burdened with a daughter whose mother he could not marry, and yet wishing to do his best for the child, the Colonel found a place in the country where mother and child could live in relative obscurity.

From there, Richenda went to a small select school in order to learn various accomplishments and skills with an eye to becoming a school-teacher or a governess. Her first position she got was governess to the two young daughters of a French émigré, Édouard Lefévre and his wife Marie, when she was just sixteen. This position led to a position as companion to Héloïse de Parigné, the elderly widowed aunt of Marie Lefévre when she went to take the waters at Cheltenham.

While at Cheltenham, Richenda met the handsome and debonair Captain Forsythe, becoming his mistress when Madame de Parigné died. Moving to London with the Captain, Richenda quickly found herself a favourite of the demi-mondaine Madame Casaubon, becoming her protégée and eventually, with her patroness' blessing and a list of potential clients, striking out on her own, thanks to a small legacy from Madame de Parigné and some generous gifts from Captain Forsythe and other clients taken during her time with Madame Casaubon.