Daniel Rossington
More puppy than man, most days.
Daniel James Rossington, born Lord Daniel Rossington, is the second son to Theodore and Miranda Rossington, 6th Duke and Duchess of Welby. He is the younger brother of Hugh Rossington, the 7th Duke of the Welby, and the heir to the Dukedom of Welby. He is played by Izzie.
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| Portrayed by Jared Padalecki | |
| Full Name | Daniel James Rossington |
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| Associated Noble House(s) | Dukedom of Welby, Marquessate of Easton, Marquessate of Raulings |
| Date of Birth | January 5, 1781 |
| Father | Theodore Rossington |
| Father's Rank | 6th Duke of Welby |
| Mother | Miranda Rossington |
| Mother's Rank | Dowager Duchess of Welby |
| Town Residence | {{{residence}}} |
| School | {{{school}}} |
| University | {{{university}}} |
| Profession | {{{prof}}} |
Family
Neil is the heir apparent to the Dukedom of Welby. He is the second son of Theodore Rossington and Miranda Rossington. His elder brother, Hugh Rossington, is the current Duke, but is dying of consumption. Hugh is already widowed, his wife Jane Rossington dying while giving birth to their daughter, Madalene Rossington.
He is also cousin to Katharine Steele and Julianne Grafton (played by Liz).
Childhood (1781-1792)
As the second son of the Duke of Welby, Neil grew up knowing that he would have very few responsibilities in life. All of the pressure of inheritance fell on his elder brother, Hugh Rossington, who always seemed quite happy to be locked up in the library with his books. Neil, on the other hand, spent the vast majority of his childhood out of doors, always getting into mischief and exploring the Welby estate. At the age of 10, he met his best friend, Patrick Grove. The two boys became inseparable, despite the distance between their houses, and soon Patrick's sister, Penelope Grove, would join the boys, though she was more of a tag-along than a welcomed addition. Neil would routinely make the journey to Pendleston Court for a few months a year, before starting school.
Schooling (1792-1803)
Neil reluctantly tottered off to Eton in 1792, where his extremely social personality ensured that he collected a large amount of new friends, while his studies certainly suffered. Graduating near the bottom of his class, it was with great reluctance that Neil pursued an education at Cambridge, starting in 1799 in Magdalene College. He studied modern history, hoping that he would be able to skim through his program, and he just barely managed to graduate in 1802.
Post-Graduation (1803-1806)
Following his graduation, Neil took the opportunity to travel around the Continent for a year, enjoying the sights, sounds and pleasure of France, Germany, Italy and Greece. He returned at the beginning of 1805, and spent a few months at Pendleston Court with Patrick, Penny and the Marquess. He then traveled to London to witness the 1805 Season with Hugh, causing a variety of problems with his rakish behaviour for his older brother. Following the Season, he then returned once more to Pendleston Court. He was called back to Surrey in February of 1806, as his father had passed away. Hugh was now the Duke of Welby, a position that he had been trained for very well by their father. Neil stayed at home for a month before returning to Cambridge for a while, visiting old friends. In June of 1806, he was called back to Welby once more, this time to stand as witness for Hugh's marriage to Jane Rossington.
Jane (1806-1809)
Neil's meeting with Jane was not conventional - he had not heard of the lady, nor seen her, prior to Hugh's wedding day (despite being in London for her first Season). His first glimpse of her was of her walking down the aisle to meet Hugh at the altar, and much to Neil's surprise, found her to be quite beautiful. It had always been Neil's opinion that Hugh would marry a rather plain lady, perhaps with a large dowry. Hugh had never been eloquent with women, and found more comfort in his books than socializing. It was quite beyond Neil's comprehension how a lady such as Jane would have wanted to marry his brother, and following the ceremony, Neil made it his business to get to know his new sister-in-law. It was with great shock to both Neil and Jane as they discovered how perfectly they seemed to be made to compliment the other. They both enjoyed things the outdoors (a place that Hugh had never developed a love for), and the two found seclusion on the grounds of Welby, enjoying their time together. To Neil, it was if he and Jane were married, though their physical relationship never went past a few stolen kisses around Welby.
This all changed in 1808, when Jane told Neil that she was pregnant with Hugh's child. This was joyful news to Hugh, who was beginning to worry, as Jane had not been pregnant once in the three years they had been married. The two traveled to the Marquessate of Easton following the news, but had to return to Welby before Jane gave birth. She claimed it was due to homesickness, and wanting to give birth in the same home that Hugh and his ancestors had been born in, but she also longed to see Neil again.
On March 22, 1809, Jane went into labour and gave birth to a daughter, Madalene Rossington. While Madalene survived her birth, Jane did not, and succumbed to a fever. She passed away on March 24, 1809.
Paris (1809-1811)
The shock of Jane's death shook Neil more than he was allowed to show. In all things, Hugh should have been the one completely devastated by his wife's sudden death. And while Hugh was certainly upset at his wife's passing, he had never really loved her, at least not in the way that Neil had. Forced to hide his true feelings regarding Jane along with his grief, Neil only stayed in England for her funeral, leaving the day after for Paris.
Paris had been one of Neil's favourite places on his European tour; there was just the right level of debauchery that Neil sought at the time, and now he flung himself head first into the seedier districts of Paris. Spending his nights drinking, playing highly illegal card games (meeting Marcus Fairmont along the way) and sleeping with what seemed to be the majority of women in Paris, Neil tried to rid his mind of Jane, love and everything that had transpired between them.
It was on a cold February morning in 1811 when Miranda Rossington finally tracked down her son, passed out in the front hallway of his rented rooms. While Miranda had never been overly harsh with Daniel, forgiving many of his past exploits and concentrating more on Hugh's education, she needed to find Neil before he killed himself.
With a heavy heart, she told her youngest son of the consumption that plagued Hugh's life. Shut away in Welby, Hugh was still running the estate, but was slowly dying. Neil had to prepare himself for inheriting a Dukedom that was never meant to be his, and had to prepare himself for taking on his three year old niece, Madalene, as his ward once Hugh died.
The enormity of the situation shocked Neil, and as much as he wanted to delve right back into his life of debauchery, he pulled himself out of his metaphorical gutter and sought to right things in his family. Returning to England at the beginning of March, he and his mother spent the month at Welby, watching over Hugh and Madalene. The young girl quickly found a place in Neil's heart, and he has doted upon her ever since.
Present Day (1811)
On Hugh's orders, Neil left Welby for London in April of 1811, in order to attend the Season and find a wife. While Miranda has stayed behind to take care of Hugh and Madalene, she has eyes and ears around London who report on what Neil is up to. One of these 'spies' has jokingly been named as Patrick Grove, though Neil doubts Patrick's claim to such a position.
Friendships
Patrick Grove - Neil's best friend in the whole world. They've known each other for years (25, to be exact), born almost five years apart to the day. Patrick is the only one who knows of Jane, and why Neil disappeared to Paris. Would trust the man with his life. They have an epic bromance.
Penelope Grove - despite the fact that Penny flat-out refuses to treat Daniel as a friend, Neil would call her a friend (if only because he's known her for her entire life). Likes to try to illicit less-than-polite responses out of Penny, and has spent many happy hours teasing the poor girl when they were younger. Now that she's older he respects her a bit more, teases her less often, but she will always be his best friend's younger sister. He does have some suspicions regarding any romantically inclined feelings she has towards him, and the point isn't helped by Patrick egging Neil on into believing that Penny is in love with him. All the better for Patrick if they did marry; at least then Neil would officially be a member of his family.