Daisy Fanning Whitlock

by Alice Duke

**Daisy Fanning Whitlock**, later known as **Marguerite Belbalm**, was born in the 19th century with the ability to see and commune with Grays. She kept her powers and status as a Wheelwalker a secret. She was the fiancee to Bertram Boyce North "The Bridegroom" who allegedly killed her in 1854. In reality, after a wild spirit took hold of Daisy, she accidentally pushed the spirit into North, which lead to the spirit reaching for North's gun and killing both of them.

Daisy then took hold of her maid Gladys O'Donaghue's body in effort to continue living even as her original body died. Daisy occupied Gladys' body well into the 21st century. Daisy had consumed Gladys' soul and continued to consume the souls of New Haven residents in order to sustain herself.

## Biography

### Early Life

Daisy Fanning Whitlock was born sometime in the 1830s to the Whitlocks, a respectable, rich family of New Haven, Connecticut. Daisy was a Wheelwalker, born with the innate magical ability to see Grays. She secretly fostered her power, communicating with the dead, harnessing their strength and using their knowledge. She was a favorite of the local society columns, many of which described her as flirtatious, bold, and sometimes inappropriate.

### 1854

At some point, Daisy met Bertram Boyce North. The pair got engaged in 1854, with North proposing with an emerald ring. Daisy was most excited by the prospect of going to Paris, France for their honeymoon, and was exasperated and displeased by North's notion that they might go to Maine instead. One day, the pair visited the new North & Sons Carriage Factory while Daisy's maid and chaperone Gladys O'Donaghue waited outside. In the office, Daisy skillfully convinced North that the Paris trip would be worth it.

In that factory office, Daisy was suddenly possessed by a desperate soul who died from a botched Skull & Bones prognostication ritual. That soul was drawn to the power Daisy had. Panicked, Daisy shoved the soul into North, though at the time she was unaware she had that ability. North, who didn't have the power Daisy had to control the soul and its anger, was overcome by the spirit. The spirit, sensing that Daisy was not fully human, got scared and pulled out North's gun. Despite Daisy's pleas to reason with Bertram, she was shot dead.

Daisy's family had her body interred in their family mausoleum in Grove Street Cemetery. To the public, the mysterious motives of the perceived murder-suicide made Daisy's death a thing of urban legend, especially as North's spirit became known as 'the Bridegroom.' Even in the 21st century, he haunts Daisy's mausoleum as penance for not protecting her from her death.

In actuality, in order to save herself, Daisy's spirit clung to her maid's body, causing Gladys to run screaming up Chapel Street. While at first it was a simple possession, Daisy consumed Gladys' living soul in order to make Daisy the sole owner of the body. She thought Gladys' soul tasted sweet. That violence created a nexus on the corner of Chapel and High Street, on which the tomb of Skull and Bones would be constructed upon later in the year. Once the cops questioned her, Daisy-as-Gladys lied and said that she stumbled upon the murder scene and had no idea what happened.

Daisy knew that she had to sustain her body regularly with living souls, which had more vitality that simply harnessing some Gray's strength. Once she began relying on souls to live, however, Daisy could never venture out of New Haven without starting to decay. She relied on New Haven's large concentration of magic.

### Pre-Series

Daisy would have to feed again in 1869, consuming Paoletta DeLauro's soul. This created the nexus for Scroll and Key. A few years later in 1883 with Zuzanna Mazurski and again in 1898 with Effie White, both of which correlate with Book and Snake and Wolf's Head's nexuses respectively.

In 1902, she came across Sophie Mishkan and, like the other girls, consumed her soul. Daisy described it as "wild and gamey, bitter as yew, lightning in the blood." Although she didn't know what Sophie was when she ate her soul, Daisy deduced that Sophie was a Wheelwalker like herself. Sophie's death led to the nexus where St. Elmo's first tomb was constructed. Her soul sustained Daisy for 50 years before she came across Colina Tillman in 1952. By then, Daisy was able to smell Colina's power and sense that she too was gifted—a Wheelwalker. Daisy ate her living soul at the corner of Park and Elm Street, on a church parking lot, where Manuscript built their tomb.

### Ninth House

At some point, Daisy would take on the name and persona Marguerite Belbalm, as she hated how common and provincial the name Daisy was. She allowed others to think herself French, but that she spoke fluent English. She would become one of the 'youngest' professors to achieve tenure at Yale University. As Marguerite Belbalm, she would serve as the head of Johnathan Edwards College and as a Women Studies professor. To avoid the presence of Grays in her spaces, Belbalm warded her office with protective plants such as mint and marjoram. Her two-story house on Ronan St, New Haven was similarly warded. Belbalm would feign ignorance at the arcane activities of the secret societies, claiming they were run-of-the-mill patriarchal elitist structures to her assistants, Isabel Andrews and Colin Khatri.

It was in her role as head of JE college that she likely first sensed Alex Stern and her status as a Wheelwalker at the JE college orientation. In any case, she took on a mentorship role with Alex, intending on 'washing off the common' around her before consuming her soul. At the end of the fall semester, Belbalm informed Alex that she was on academic probation, expressing sympathy for her presumed dyslexia.

The day after Tara Hutchins was murdered, Marguerite went to the JE dining hall to greet Alex—calling her as 'Alexandra'— and inviting Alex to talk. Alex obliged and followed Belbalm to her office where Colin was manning the assistant's desk outside. Settled into their chairs, Belbalm tries to ask Alex what she is dreaming for, if only to motivate Alex in her academics. Alex had nothing to say, so Belbalm offers her a job as a assistant and suggests her attendance at a writing composition program during the summer. Alex asks what she has to do and Belbalm tells her to end the year strong and perhaps attend her salon next week, to which Alex readily agrees.

The next week on Monday night, Belbalm hosted her salon, talking to guests, and when she spotted Alex, directed her to the kitchen. As she entered the kitchen, Belbalm answered Alex's question, confirming Sandow's presence at her salon last Thursday. She invites Colin to do a reading, much to his excitement.

Later, Belbalm attended the university president's welcome back party for Dean Elliot Sandow. Right as Sandow was attempting to enchant Alex with a coin of compulsion, Belbalm enters the office and, to the confusion of Sandow and Alex, is able to resist magical compulsion. Belbalm reveals that she can see North within Alex and further reveals that she has the same powers as Alex, as both she and Belbalm are Wheelwalkers. Her familiarity with North clues Alex in to the fact that Belbalm is actually Daisy Fanning Whitlock. She reveals what actually happened that day at the factory and how she survived by eating Gladys' soul. Belbalm expresses her sour discontent at North who continued to ignore the existence of Gladys O'Donaghue and her body even as lifetimes passed. Alex realizes that Belbalm was the one who killed all those girls and how they were related to the societies' nexuses. Sandow realizes that the reason why Tara's death didn't create a nexus was because Belbalm was planning to consume Alex's soul.

Disliking Sandow's smug tone, Belbalm consumed Sandow's soul first, resistant to Sandow's futile attempt to banish her with death words. Belbalm does the same to Alex, magically hooking herself to Alex and creating a ring or a wheel of blue fire around them, almost possessing her in a way that consumed Alex's memories from her soul. Belbalm felt Alex begin to resist and warningly said '*Alexandra.*'

Alex was able to summon Grays across New Haven to come to her aid, making herself a beacon of strong emotion and life to summon them. Confused, Belbalm witnessed as Alex called out the names of the girls she consumed: “*Sophie Mishkan! Colina Tillman! Zuzanna Mazurski! Paoletta DeLauro! Effie White! Gladys O’Donaghue*!” and as the Grays surrounding them did the same. Harnessing their energy, Alex pulled them one by one from Daisy and as a result, the body was already decaying. Despite North's protests, Alex pulled Daisy's soul out of the body, casting the soul out. Doing so left Daisy as a Gray, with her chest blown open by a gunshot and her mouth was stretched in a scream. In a second, the Grays surged towards Daisy and as the Wheel of fire spun around them, all the spirits excepting North had vanished from the office.

### Post-Mortem

Without a body to be found, Marguerite Belbalm had been declared missing. The official report recounted that Belbalm was last seen with Dean Elliot Sandow at the same party after having entering the president’s office to speak to him. Although Sandow's death was ruled a massive heart attack, people were concerned she had come to harm somehow, as the New Haven PD had opened an investigation into her disappearance.

Alex kept Belbalm's involvement in her confrontation to herself. As a result, the Lethe board had no idea what Belbalm had been or how she was connected to Sandow’s death.

## Physical Description

Daisy Fanning-Whitlock was a known beauty. She had dark hair that fell in curls, parted in the middle, pale skin, a sharp nose and thin lips.

After taking over Gladys O'Donaghue's body, however, she was less noticed for her looks. With sleek, almost-white, blonde hair, Daisy-as-Marguerite Belbalm looked an indescribable age between 40 and 50 during the events of *Ninth House*.

## Powers & Abilities

Daisy had the ability to see "Grays" (ghosts or spirits) without any magical aid. As a young girl, Daisy was able to learn from Gray's memories and harness their power. This aid includes increased physical strength and the ability to resist magical compulsion. After she learned to consume souls, Daisy was

## Quotes

* “Calamity comes too easily to women. Our lives can come apart in a single gesture, a rogue wave. And money? Money is the rock we cling to when the current would seize us”
* "You know what it is to carve out a place in the world, to have to fight for your life at every turn. You can’t imagine how much worse it was in my time."
* “Women were sent to madhouses because they read too many books or because their husbands tired of them. There were so few paths open to us. And mine was stolen from me. So I forged a new one.”

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 *Ninth House* Chapter 31 (Early Spring)
2. ↑ Ninth House Chapter 14 (Winter)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 *Ninth House* Chapter 21 (Winter)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 *Ninth House* Chapter 5 (Winter)
5. ↑ *Ninth House* Chapter 23 (Winter)
6. ↑ *Ninth House* Chapter 30 (Winter)
7. ↑ Ninth House Chapter 32 (Spring)