Melanie de Rolo

Melanie von Musel de Rolo was a member of the de Rolo family and a former Lady of Whitestone. She was responsible for the creation of the gardens at Whitestone Castle until she was suspected of necromancy.

Background
Lady Melanie was part of the third generation of de Rolos to be born in Whitestone.

She had an arranged marriage with her cousin in which she became the Lady of Whitestone. However in around the 730s PD, she created the back gardens of Whitestone Castle, where she grew poisonous plants from Wildemount with which she planned to murder her husband, slowly poisoning him to take over the city. She was eventually removed from her position for suspected witchcraft and raising of the undead.

This conflict with Lord de Rolo was the reason his family acquired the third house of Whitestone.

Legacy
The gardens were reconstructed after the Briarwoods' occupation to include some rose gardens, a small hedge maze, and a pond, as well as a revival of the walled poison garden by Percival de Rolo and Keyleth, who named it the Widow's Garden. Melanie's surname has been passed through generations, with several of the de Rolo children carrying it, the most recent of which is Percival's youngest daughter, Gwendolyn Zahra Melanie von Musel de Rolo, who also bears Melanie's first name.

Trivia

 * Her name derives from the Greek word melania, meaning "blackness". It's possible that the name itself is a reference to her rumored deals with black magic.
 * Since her garden was renamed as "Widow's Garden", she most likely survived her husband, possibly because of the poisoning.
 * Melanie is considered part of the third generation of de Rolos born in Whitestone, which means that one of her parents was a de Rolo, and through them she was related to the main line of the family.