May Carroll
May Carroll (1764 – 1788) was a member of the British Rite of the Templar Order, and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carroll, a family of high-ranking Templars.
Biography[edit | edit source]
In 1774, while the Carrolls were visiting the de la Serres to discuss the foreign rites' concern regarding the Parisian Rite's plans for the future of France, May spoke with and taunted Élise de la Serre. As a ten-year-old, May had already been told of her Templar destiny and, upon learning Élise was still oblivious to her family's Templar ties, took the opportunity to mock the younger girl.[1]
In 1788, Élise came to London, asking the Carrolls for help in order to investigate the assassination attempt on her mother a decade before. Oblivious to the fact that it was the Carrolls who had hired Bernard Ruddock to try and kill Julie, who was a moderate reformist but had the ears of her husband, Élise accepted their bargain: the Carrolls would search for Ruddock while she tried to obtain Haytham Kenway's letters from his sister, Jennifer Scott.[1]
Élise obtained the letters and, after reading them, decided that the Assassins and Templars needed to work together. She found Ruddock by herself, allowing him to flee because she thought the Carrolls were trying to silence him. Soon afterwards, Élise handed Mr. Carroll a pack of decoy letters, and he passed them onto May, who swiftly burned them without realizing the ploy. Mr. Carroll then said that, even though Haytham had been a great Grand Master, his ideas about the Assassins were blasphemous.[1]
Upon hearing Élise defending Haytham's views, Mr. Carroll said that she was too dangerous to be left alive, and the Carrolls, along with their men, readied themselves to kill her. Élise was given a chance to duel May, who began to taunt her opponent. Making the first move, Élise stabbed May through the back of the neck, and used the Carrolls' shock at their daughter's death to flee.[1]
Élise's actions attracted the hatred of the Carrolls on herself, and by extension, the mistrust of the British Rite. Over the following years, various individuals would be hired to kill Élise, her guardian Frederick Weatherall, and even her handmaiden Hélène as revenge for May's death, but they would all fail.[1]
Personality and traits[edit | edit source]
May was an extremely nasty and unpleasant person, which likely stemmed from her parents. Even at the age of ten, she was conceited, arrogant, cruel and snobbish. Despite being fellow soon-to-be Templars, she belittled and insulted Élise de la Serre, giving her the nickname 'Smellbag'.[1]
This behavior continued well into May's adulthood, where she plainly told Élise that the dress she had lent her was considered out of fashion and no London woman would wear it. This arrogance cost May her life, however; when she turned her back on Élise while taunting her, Élise seized the opportunity to stab her with her sword from behind.[1]