Carol Mercier

Carol Elaine Mercier is Catherine's grandmother, and guardian. They have lived together in a small flat, as she has raised her granddaughter since she was a baby.

Physical Description
Carol has grey hair which she often wears in a loose bun. Many years before, her hair had been a shiny blonde. Her eyes are almond-shaped, a light blue in colour. She has a round face, pale with a number of lines and wrinkles, and a petite, short figure, standing at 5'3".

She dresses frequently in light colours, often adding a silk scarf to her attire. Though she is without wealth, she dresses properly in a manner which differs greatly from the rest of the population of Old Selby.

Personality
Carol is very kind and gentle towards most people. She is the sole reason her granddaughter Catherine is not as bad as most of the scandalers in Old Selby. She very rarely becomes angry, but has a habit of venting about things that bother her. Though she is ignorant of Catherine's involvement in crime, she is aware of her attitude, and blames herself for what happened.

Early Life
Carol O'Rourke was born in Dublin, Ireland, on April 23rd, 1921, to Rose and Patrick. She was the eldest of three children, having two younger brothers, Reg and Arnie. Carol's family was somewhat wealthy, and her father was focussed on finding her a rich husband. When Carol was seventeen years old, she felt independent enough to travel on her own. In 1938 she travelled around Europe. It was in Germany that she met Henrik Fischer, a German pilot who spoke fluent English, a few years older than she was. Carol lengthened her stay, and within a few months, Carol was engaged to him.

Although Henrik wasn't as wealthy as her father had hoped for, he moved to Ireland with her, where they developed and planned their future together over the following year, until the War began in 1939. Carol felt betrayed when Henrik insisted on returning to Germany to fight for his country. She begged him not to go, and ended their engagement when he did so.

At the beginning of 1940, Carol's father Patrick moved the family to London, England. Carol was still upset over the following months, though she developed friendships with some of the women near where they lived, including Barbara McQueen. However, months later, her father and youngest brother Arnie were killed in the Blitz, while their home and belongings were destroyed, leaving Carol and her mother with little money. Carol knew Henrik had become a Luftwaffe pilot - she couldn't help believe he was involved in the bombing of London.

By 1944, Rose O'Rourke wanted to move back to Ireland, finding London to be too painful to stay in, in memory of her husband and son. Reg stayed behind while Carol and her mother once again moved back to Ireland. They were both quite poor, but Carol felt as though some of her problems had disappeared in 1946.

She met Lawrence Mercier, and Englishman who was temporarily living in Ireland as he worked as a builder. They married the following year, and in December, 1948, their only child Patrick was born. In the following months, Lawrence made arrangements to move his family back to London, where he found decent accomodation in the Borough of Rosewick. They managed to get hold of a council flat easily, due to the fact they had a small child.

In the building they lived in, Lawrence became friends with a man named William de Burgh, who was the husband of Barbara McQueen, the woman she was friends with years before. Barbara had already left William for another man, leaving their daughter Donna with him. Carol wanted to give the girl proper attention, and treated her as though she was her own daughter, and raised her as she did with Patrick.

Lawrence began drinking heavily, and soon began hitting his wife and treating her like a slave, which made her very miserable in turn. In 1967, he left without notice one night, moving overseas without a hint as to where. Carol felt a sense of release, and her life improved slightly over the next two years as she was allowed to work as secretary for the current mayor of Selby, Austin Kingsley.

Due to certain complications, Patrick had a child with Barbara McQueen's daughter, Victoria Penworth. As they had no relationship, Patrick brought his daughter, Catherine, back to live with them, until he moved into a small house he had bought in Avon Sands. It was there that on the 5th of August, 1971, Patrick was murdered without explanation. Carol was left heartbroken, and worked her hardest to win custody of her granddaughter.

With the money she had received from Catherine's mother, she saved it to allow her to attend a school in Ashdale, bettering her chances of moving on from Selby and living a better life one day; better than the misery Carol had to live through. Catherine was never easy for Carol to deal with, what with the influence of Selby, but stuck to her word nevertheless.

Between Two Thorns
Main article: Between Two Thorns

Carol is furious when she learns of Mayor Mortimer's plans for the future of Old Selby. She watches Catherine become involved in the activities, and her attitude as she becomes even more moody. When Donna de Burgh returns after many years, she begins to understand what has happened, with them meeting and immediately clashing.

However, after a struggle with money, Donna gives Carol money in return for her helping herself to the crystal ball. After seeing Catherine begin to change her ways, she uses some of the money to buy her a puppy for Christmas. She is happy as she sees the change, but still hides many things from her, mainly about Donna. When Catherine learns that her parents never had any sort of relationship, she shows a lot of frustration towards her.

After many months, Catherine finally shows an interest in Carol's crystal ball, where she finally shows emotion when seeing her father for the first time. Carol shows more affection than usual, and when Catherine returns from her incident with Alfie Sage, she believes it is time to shed some light onto the past.

Catherine Mercier
Main article: Catherine Mercier

Carol's relationship with her granddaughter was often difficult. Catherine was very sarcastic and indifferent to her nan at times, but Carol knew it was due to Old Selby's influence. After Catherine decided to change her attitude, they became a lot closer.

Lawrence Mercier
Main article: Lawrence Mercier

Carol's relationship with her husband was never particularly romantic. In the early days of their marriage, they were on fairly neutral terms, until years later when Lawrence developed a habit of hitting Carol and treating her poorly.

Donna de Burgh
Main article: Donna de Burgh

Years before, Carol and Donna were very close. After certain events that occurred, Carol became annoyed at Donna, and when she returned after meeting Catherine many years later, she slowly began to rebuild their relationship.

Hendra Brooks
Main article: Hendra Brooks

Carol first met Hendra when she lived in London in the early 1940s. Years later they met again, and became best friends. They grew even closer when Hendra moved down to Rosewick from London.

Appearances

 * Between Two Thorns (first appearance)