Claude Duval
Name Given at Birth: Claude Du Vall, or Duval in your English tongue.
Nicknames: Monsieur Du Vall, "The Gallant Highwayman" and my favorite "An eternal feather in the cap of highway gentility."
Hometown or where you were born: Far away in France, worry not your pretty English mind on the details.
Current Residence: England's Countryside, along your Highways and Coachways, where coin and countess may be found and fought for.
Age: Old enough to know the meaning and understanding of Wisdom, young enough to be the quickest to the draw and trigger. And myhaps in my time, held as immortal in the stories of time.
Class: Oh fair gent, I have plenty of class. And in the social notion, my own, Highwayman. Scum and Villiany to those that withhold for those below him. A saint to those in need. And to the ladies, the soft hand of romantics that captivates their hearts.
What do you do, your main function in life/society: I rob by horseback, with pistol and steel at my side. For I am a highway robber, a Highwayman as coined far back. A gentleman of the road.
Have you ever gone skinny-dipping / do you know how to swim: Born at the bottom of this great chain of life, and swimming sure makes the waits of rains to bathe in alot shorter. But alas, even with wealth and infamy to my name, I still love a good swim or to stand out in the rain, regardless of my gentlemanly training.
Do you make fun of people: Are there people out there that do not? A quick wit can sure save one from a bloody end in my line of work, or help lead to in some aspects.
Favorite Color: Black and Red. For the expense of the costly dyes. One for hiding ones identity, the other for hiding the blood.
Have you ever committed or been convicted of a crime: All of them, and convicted on many. Yet no hangmans noose has met this neck here yet.
Closest friends/How did you meet: I honestly have not one, not something that really agrees with my profession dear gents. The closest they come are my brothers at arms, the fellow Highwaymen that work together from time to time.
One Pillow or two: As always, depends on the night, the place where I lay my head for the moment, and the company.
Pets: I have not the time nor the energy, nor the ability, to keep a pet.
Favorite Type of Music: A slow and mournful drum beat. You know, the ones they play at executions. Somewhat of a sweet melancholy sadness to it.
Hobbies/Pastimes: Armed Robbery, Horseback chases, outwitting public officials, cunning and successful robbery attempts while outnumbered, and Dancing.
Personal Hygiene: Clean, profession.
Favorite Food: The best available in the house, that money may acquire of course.
Are your parents alive, do you get along with them: Both have past.
If your parents are dead, when and how did they die: I remember not, the shadows of the past are so long past, and that is so very long past, for the road home is a journey that I am not prepared to make again.
Favorite place to relax: There is this wonderful lone tree on hilltop between Islington and Highgate, can see anyone approaching; on foot, horseback, or carriage; making my relaxation the perfect time to plan the next job.
Favorite Holy Day / Why: An Answer I have not for this, for most are a happy time, where one as myself may find a chance to leave my typical affairs and relax.
Favorite Drink: Whiskey.
What's your bedtime: When I find suitable lodgings,whether it be room or oak tree.
What, if anything, do you usually wear on your feet: Riding Boots with spurs.
Are you married or single: Single, I am my own man, on my own, on my own time. Easier that way, less complicated.
Do you have a family / who are they: The loose brotherhood of Highwaymen is the closest I have to that.
Favorite Entertainment: Dancing, in the pale moonlight.
Favorite Subject in School or Chore growing up: Learning to fight, and learning the fine craft of being a gentleman.
Least Favorite Subject in School or Chore growing up: There was no least favorite, if it interested me not, than I would simply leave it behind.
Favorite Sport: Armed Robbery.
Most Humiliating Moment: Early Jobs, after I was out of the service, and found this path, things then were still rugged and I was still defining my craft.
Proudest Moment: Well now, if I started to drop names, that could surely leave me in a delicate place. Yet for the reader of this, just let it be known, that one very prominent member of the English Court has not once, but thrice, lost his purse to my sword.
Craziest Person or silliest you know: The poor souls that fear not my name, and still think that they can hold on to their purse and coin.
What do you look for in the opposite sex: Beautiful eyes, for in the eyes I can read a woman, like the books that I have been learned on, for they are the pathway into ones soul, into the truth of emotion and actions, for the eyes lie not to one that knows what they are looking for.
In our Hierarchical Society everybody has somebody "over" them, Who is your immediate "overlord" I pay no tribute to a King, or leader, I have no master to report to, so I must say Destiny. For it is the one that is always over me.
Favorite Sport to watch: Royal Court Progress, such a lively parade of money and importance, and the most ideal time to document where they wear sword and coin.
Do you remember your first kiss: No, but many that followed, and definently the last. Look for the woman that blushes from some distance away with just a smile and a wink, with or without my mask on.
Do you keep in touch with your childhood friends: Far from... for I am far from them, in both time and place.
Where is your favorite "Vacation" spot: In the arms of a lovely woman, that is in no hurry.
Have you ever been overseas: I am overseas...
Do you have Dirt/Mud floors or Stone: The English Roadsides are a delightful mix of both.
What is your bed made of: Varies by location.
How many people sleep in your bed: Depends on the nights celebration.
10 Things Everybody Should Know About Me:
1. I am a gentleman, first and foremost.
2. North travelways to and from London... Holloway, between Islington and Highgate. You travel those ways, and you will, or perhaps already do fear my name.
3. The thousands of coin, purse, and pride I have stolen from the English Gentleman and Courtiers are but nothing in light of the hearts I have stolen of the Beauty of England's finest females.
4. Sword, Pistol, always ready in the case that I need them, but many a times, England's "Finest" sure do throw down their gold before either are even drawn.
5. Highwaymen, Soloist by nature, do band together from time to time for large jobs and heists.
6. On the not of large jobs... I do believer there is the grandest of professional robberies is coming this fall, and I just so happen to know the when, where, and Crown Jewel to keep my aim on.
7. Romantics are in many ways superior to weapons... when a lady swoons at my name, the company rarely puts up any fight to me.
8. To steal coin takes skill, to steal a heart takes talent, to steal a kiss takes good timing.
9. Yes, I am French by birth; know French language spoken and written but cannot hardly speak it; but worry not, Mastery of the French Tongue is still part of my list of talents.
10. Torn between a legacy of Highway Robbery, and that of a true romantic weighs heavy on my mind. For I dream of the splendid remembrance of both long past my time.