Soul Sisters

[Elizabeth Davenport]

There was nothing Elizabeth looked forward to less than the upcoming season. It was just another season for men to try to gain her favor when in reality they just wanted her father's title, money and power. It was one unauthentic interaction after another. Fortunately, she was well versed in being polite while also ignoring these advances. It was difficult for someone to get close to Elizabeth and she preferred it that way. Of course, she knew the time would come for her to take a husband and she wasn't opposed to it. Elizabeth just liked her life the way it was. She loved her family and loved the freedom that she currently had. It wasn't something Elizabeth cared to change or give up.

Knowing that her sister, Emily, was about to enter her first season gave Elizabeth some anxiety. Emily was her favorite sibling and therefore, she was closest to her. She loved that Emily was a romantic and wanted all the good things out of life, but Elizabeth didn't know how to handle it. Their entire life, she had entertained her sister's desires, not having the heart to crush the notions. But Elizabeth knew they needed to discuss the expectations for the season and she needed to offer her advice on how to handle everything.

Walking down the hall, she peeked into the library to see if Emily was there. Once she spotted her sister, she walked inside and smiled, her hands clutched behind her back. "What are you doing in here?" She asked, looking to see if her sister had her nose in a book or was just trying to escape their step-mother. 

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Tag: Emily Davenport

credit to Laura of Adox

[Emily Davenport]

Source tagged Elizabeth Davenport words 413 notes Sisters!!!

Sometimes it was nice to spend time with family, and others it was better to be left alone. Emily quite enjoyed talking with her father, when he had a spare minute and didn't mind her rambling about the latest crisis currently taking over her life. It was when her step-mother made an appearance that Emily was forced to make herself scarce. The alternative was to sit and pretend to listen to Helen's attempts to talk about dress fittings, that simply had to take place before the first event of the season. Emily couldn't stomach those topics of conversation, not with that woman who seemed to be trying so desperately to fill this role of mother in her life. She had a mother. She did not require someone else to fill that role, just because her father had decided to take another wife. Emily was excited for her first season, but that was one person who seemed capable of sucking out the excitement in a single sentence. So Emily had excused herself and sought out a quiet corner in which to tuck herself, where she was unlikely to be disturbed. The library was her first choice, it was quiet and you could easily become lost in there for hours before anyone came to check in on you. Emily had found an interesting book and was pouring over the pages when the voice of her sister roused her from her reverie. Glancing up from her book, she smiled and stretched out her arms- the act of being hunched over the book for so long making her feel ten years older than she was. "Trying to disappear" she could be up front with Elizabeth. Her sister was one of the only people she felt that way about. "And reading..." she gestured to the book that she still held in one hand, it provided a good cover had someone else found her first, as well as providing some entertainment.  "Were you looking for me?" she discarded the book onto a nearby table and stood to face her older sister. "Has something happened?" had she truly been hidden away for so long that an opportunity for disaster had arisen. She was getting ahead of herself, obviously and before Lizzie had even had a chance to state her reason for tracking her down. "Why so serious Lizzie? You'll get frown lines" she gestured to her own brow, a teasing gesture in an attempt to ease her own rising nerves.

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[Elizabeth Davenport]

She could not help the chuckle that escaped her lips at her sister's comment about wanting to disappear. Elizabeth knew that feeling all too well and would guess that it was all due to people fussing over her for her first season. More specifically, Helen. Elizabeth thought that the woman would be far too busy being a mother to her own daughter, Hannah, but instead had decided to focus all of her attention on Emily and Elizabeth. "Helen again?" She guessed. Elizabeth had only narrowly avoided Helen earlier, knowing she would want to talk about dresses and the suitors she believed Elizabeth should pursue with the upcoming season. Nothing Helen said would ever resonate with Elizabeth and she just wished the woman would realize it by now. There was nothing she could say or do to make her thrilled to discuss her season with her.

Elizabeth shrugged, glancing around the room she had committed to memory years ago. If she admitted to looking for Emily then her sister would assume something was wrong. It wasn't what she wanted and instead had wanted to talk to her about her season in a more natural way. She also understood that it was likely Emily was tired of talking of her season, probably ruined by Helen. "Can't I wish to spend time with my favorite sister?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at Emily. 

Rolling her eyes, she chuckled and shook her head. "Nothing is wrong," she assured her. Elizabeth scoffed at Emily's comment, not taking it seriously but instead in sisterly fun. "I believe you are the one with the worry lines," Elizabeth pointed out, reaching over and pressing her fingers against Emily's brow. Chuckling, Emily walked to sit down on one of the chairs in the library. Falling in a quite unladylike fashion onto the seat, Elizabeth played with the fabric on her dress. "I suppose I just wanted to spend some time with you."

It wasn't a lie; Elizabeth always enjoyed spending time with Emily. They were the closest out of the Davenport children and the two that got along the best. "And," she began, "I wanted to see if you had any questions about your season. You know, questions you would not be able to ask anyone else." She glanced up at Emily to see what sort of reaction she might have. Elizabeth did not wish to ruin her sister's excitement about the upcoming season, if there was even any left, but she wanted to make sure she was prepared. 

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Tag: Emily Davenport

credit to Laura of Adox

[Emily Davenport]

Source tagged Elizabeth Davenport words 652 notes N/A

It was as though Elizabeth could read her mind. Though the more realistic assumption was that she was also a victim of their step-mother’s hounding. It had excited Emily, the approach of her first season, and she was desperately trying to hold on to that feeling. Helen made that difficult, constantly offering her opinion of things when it was neither asked for nor desired. “She seems to have more enthusiasm than even you or I,” she said, unable to keep the bitterness from her tone. “Her own life might be lacking, but that does not mean she may use us to live vicariously”. That was mean, but probably warranted. Or maybe Helen just hoped to marry them off as soon as possible so that they would be out of the house and out of her hair.  That was probably it. “But maybe that was out of line...” it definitely was, but Lizzie would tell no one of words exchanged in their own private conversations. She had made some vague attempt at liking the woman when she’d first walked into their lives, but she could not force herself to enjoy Helen’s company. She tolerated her purely because she valued her father’s happiness above her own distaste for the woman. “Can’t I wish to spend time with my favourite sister?” “You say that as if it’s a competition,” she teased. They both knew that it was not. “Maybe... If all you’re looking for is casual conversation,” though she suspected she knew her sister better than that. Unfortunately, she also found it too easy to let her guard down around Lizzie- something that was sure to be her undoing.  It had been an overreaction, to immediately jump to the worst conclusion. But reasonable, almost. It wasn’t the most absurd thing that one of their brothers had managed to get himself killed during her brief reprieve in the library.  Death snuck up on people like that. It was unpredictable. Emily relaxed after her nerves were put at ease. Once she was sure that this was an innocent and social visit- from her favourite sibling. She was about to relax back into the chair that she’d risen from when Lizzie took the moment to attack her in such a ruthless fashion. Emily recoiled at her sister’s touch upon her brow and reached to swat her hand away, letting out an overly dramatic sound at such an insult. “Lies! This is the face of perfection,” her voice lilted with clear amusement, fighting back the beginning of a laugh. “If company is all that you are looking for, then welcome to my sanctuary- if anybody asks, we’ve been here all morning” they were not hiding from anyone, those that sought them out were evidently just unobservant and perhaps incompetent.  Emily would not protest the opportunity to spend some time alone with her sister. It felt like recently they had had little opportunity to be left alone to talk- just the two of them, without prying eyes or ears.  “And,” There it was. She felt the grin fall from her face, because that one word opened the floodgates for unwanted conversation, topics that she did not want to entertain at that moment. Lizzie’s friendly demeanour and promise of company had lulled her into a false sense of security. She had been right to suspect that her sister had an ulterior motive for seeking her out and disturbing the sanctity of her undiscovered (but not at all secret) hideout. “I don’t even know what questions I would ask, even if I had them,” she muttered, reaching to retrieve her book as though that might aid in fending off Elizabeth’s imminent interrogation. “Helen has already made me aware of the important things. What more is there to know?” she tried to keep from sounding too annoyed, aware that Lizzie’s only intention was to help. Lizzie was definitely better company than their step-mother.

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[Elizabeth Davenport]

Elizabeth scoffed at the notion. Of course, Helen had the most enthusiasm between the two sisters. Marrying off a daughter, or in her case, a step-daughter, was a sign of accomplishment and success. Helen was not the worst of the mamas in the Ton but she certainly was different than their own mother had been. "I cannot be certain if she just wants us out of the house, or if she wishes to be able to boast about us finding a wonderful husband," Elizabeth mused. The thing was, Elizabeth did not think that Helen had a lackluster life. She was married to their wonderful father and wanted for nothing. She had a young child to take care of and fawn over yet she seemed to want to do nothing more than to focus on Emily and Elizabeth. It was absolutely maddening. Waving a hand in the air to dismiss Emily's comment, Elizabeth scoffed. "Hardly." The two knew they could say anything in front of one another without worrying of it getting back to anyone it should not.

"You must remember, you are not my only sister now," Elizabeth reminded her with a teasing tone. Hannah might only be their half-sister but she knew their father would not tolerate them treating her any differently. Fortunately, she was far too young to chase the girls around bothering them when they wished to be left alone. She found herself pursing her lips to hold back a sly grin at the mention of Emily saying it was fine so long as it was casual conversation. Elizabeth knew that was not entirely the case but she did not care to comment on it.

Elizabeth giggled and scrunched up her nose. "I think it's a face of delusion," she retorted quickly. To hear Emily state that she has been there all morning, it caused Elizabeth to quirk a brow. Was that meant to mean she was off somewhere else doing something she should not have been? Surely, Emily would have told her if that was the case. Either that, or her comment had been an invitation to ask more about it. Perhaps later, as Elizabeth found herself filing the thought away for a later time.

Emily seemed less than thrilled with the proposition to ask questions, which was fine with Elizabeth. She knew that she would rather have offered and to have it refused, than to not offer at all and leave her sister in the dark. "I was only offering," she pointed out, sending her sister a playful glare. "Would you prefer to ask all of your questions to Helen? I would think not." She glanced over at the table next to the chair she had unceremoniously flopped into and picked up a book that someone had failed to put away. She began to flip through the book, though hardly paying attention to the words. "I am fine to not discuss anything about the upcoming season. I was just trying to let you know that you can ask me anything if you wish it." There was nothing Elizabeth would not tell her sister to help her better prepare for her first season. 

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Tag: Emily Davenport

credit to Laura of Adox | Gif