Mr Edward Rhodes
Name Edward John Rhodes
Position Valet to Louis Battersly
Rank Mr
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Age | 28 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 6'2" | |
| Weight | 185 | |
| Hair Color | Brown | |
| Eye Color | Green | |
| Physical Description | Philip is a tall gentleman with broad shoulders and an athletic build. He isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and does a lot of the heavy lifting downstairs--when it comes to opening heavy crates or taking up luggage, he's the guy. He is also tall, so he can reach most cabinets or hard to reach places. |
Family
| Father | Daniel Rhodes | |
| Mother | Elizabeth Rhodes | |
| Brother(s) | Aaron Rhodes, 23 Elijah Rhodes, 20 Earnest Rhodes, 14 |
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| Sister(s) | Abigail Rhodes, 17 |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Edward is, if nothing else, an honest man--he tells the truth, but at times can be rather blunt, which may hurt people. But the way he sees it, honesty is better than pretending or keeping up a lie--it's quicker and you don't have to have a good memory to tell the truth, either. He was raised on a farm, so from an early age he knew what it was to get up before the sun and go to bed long after it set. He is very hardworking and does his best to try to know what it is the people upstairs need from him before they ask for it--that is the job of a good valet, to take care of his master's needs before his master even realizes he needs something done. Learning from the butler and other valets the past ten years has helped him become really good at anticipating other people's needs. Edward can also be rather stubborn and impatient at times, when things don't go the way he envisions them. He will fight for what he thinks is best and often doesn't like to waste time explaining why his way is better--it just is. He believes himself to be right about most things because he has thought them through--he is meticulous and careful and he believes he knows what he is doing is the right thing. |
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| Hobbies & Interests | When he has time to pursue a hobby, he likes to learn about different plants, herbs and medicines that can help heal people. If he wasn't a valet, if he had the money to go to school, he would have liked to be a doctor, in another life. But having no education and no money to get one, being a valet is something he's resigned himself to do, and perhaps one day, he could learn to be the head butler of another wealthy household. |
| Personal History | Edward was born on November 27, 1873, and his parents were grateful that he was born--his mother especially happy that he was a boy. His father was a horse farmer in a town owned by a duke and duchess. They trained the best horses in the county. As early as he could walk, he learned how to behave around horses, how to care for them, and how to make sure the barns stayed clean. He also helped care for the goats his father also had on the farm as a way of a little extra side money to keep for the next baby that would come along. When he was ten years old, he went with his father to one of his first horse races. He loved watching the horses in action, speeding down the track, the jockeys each spurring their horse on to the finish line, everyone cheering. When their horse won, it made him happy to know that he had helped shape that horse into the champion that it had become. His mother ended up giving him four younger siblings and it was clear from the start it was his responsibility to also look after them and help them along, make sure they also learned what he had learned in helping to care for the animals on the farm, doing chores and all of that. As the oldest, his siblings were supposed to look up to him, and he was expected to set the standard, which put a lot of pressure on him to be the best that he could be. When he was eighteen, as much as he wanted to learn to be a jockey to race horses, he was much too tall. He knew he didn't want to keep working on his father's farm. A friend of his had told him that working as a servant for a wealthy family could pay him a lot more than working in a factory like his uncle did. He'd get to live somewhere else, he'd get at least two square meals a day, and he would learn a lot about what it took to make money--perhaps he could even save enough to get some kind of education. It was worth a shot. When he saw an advertisement in the newspaper for footmen at Thrushstone, he went and applied and was glad to start working there. Three years after he started working at Thrushstone Park, he received word from home that his second youngest brother had been riding a horse and had a horrible accident, and needed surgery. Edward sent home all of his savings, which wasn''t much, but it helped his parents be able to pay for his brother to have the operation. His dad asked him to come home, to help out on the farm while his brother was recovering, and Edward was torn, but ultimately decided to stay at Thrushstone Park. It made his father furious with him, but Edward continues to send half of what he makes back to his family, to help them. When it came time for Louis to have a proper valet, Edward respectfully put himself forward for the position, having done all he could to learn from the other footmen as well as the other valets and the butler. He knew he could rise to the occasion, and the extra money would help him to have a little more to set aside for his own future, whether that be an education, or perhaps with a little luck, a family of his own someday. |