A Family Reunion

[Elizabeth Davenport]

The Davenport Estate was quiet which was, these days, a rare affair. If their step-mother, Helen, was not shouting at someone for doing something incorrectly then it was certainly the cries of their baby sister, Hannah, that filled the halls. Elizabeth usually hid away in the music study or the library with her sister, Emily, if the weather did not permit her to escape to the gardens. Instead of spending the morning playing the piano, Elizabeth had decided to let the quiet nature of the household rest and instead had spent the day reading. It was her favorite past-time aside from music and Elizabeth found that she could get lost within a book for hours and hours. It was the best escape she could ask for, especially when she was hardly keen to think of her current problems.

Perhaps they were not necessarily problems, but they were not things she was eager to deal with. There was the ever-growing need for her to find a husband and settle down and with this being Emily's first season, it was more important than before. It was wonderful, and rare, that her father had decided to let her take her time and find someone she could get along with. But Elizabeth was not naive enough to believe her father's patience would last forever. Soon enough this would come to be viewed in a different light and while Elizabeth wished for her own happiness, she knew she would never do anything that could jeopardize her family's reputation or something that might inhibit Emily's chances of marrying well. She was fairly certain her sister wouldn't mind but that was not a chance Elizabeth could take.

Marriage was apart of life and Elizabeth knew it would come for her sooner rather than later. Although, it was not that she dreaded it entirely. Her parents had a wonderful marriage filled with love and she'd adored watching them as she grew and before her mother's untimely death, but she could not help but to think they were the exception to the rule. Most marriages Elizabeth knew were made out of convenience and to elevate status. Some were fine with this and others were miserable. Elizabeth did not wish to live a miserable life nor did she wish to spend it with someone that did not hold affections towards her. 

She found herself wondering if her brother Noah would ever find a wife, though she felt he would rather spend his time doing other things than participating in the social season. Elizabeth was pleased that her brother, Adam, had found a wife and from what she saw, it seemed like a happy marriage. It was enough to give her a sliver of hope at times. Thinking of Adam, she wondered when she would see him again. He had his own family and his own businesses to attend to, but Elizabeth found that she did miss him and spending time with him.

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Tag: Adam Davenport

credit to Laura of Adox | Gif

[Adam Davenport]

Elizabeth Davenport Outfit As of late, Adam had been spending an unhealthy amount of time working. His ambitions for international expansion (or “world domination” as his wife had nicknamed it) had grown into an obsession. An obsession that had been rapidly sapping his energy, consuming his time, and left Adam feeling as though he had spent the last few weeks sailing down the river Styx. It had gotten to a point where flesh and bone would be present wherever he was physically, but the rest of him would be unaccounted for. So, in an attempt to free himself from his work-centric state of mind, Adam had made arrangements to spend the weekend with his entire family at the Davenport estate in London. The timing for this weekend off seemed perfect as it would allow Adam to check in with each of his siblings. He wondered if Lizzie was ready to deal with the ton again after losing her fiancé, or if Emily the young romantic of the family would keep her romanticized world view after the reality of the season settled in. Event though he knew his sisters could fend for themselves, he couldn't help but worry. Both his sisters were romantics, even though Elizabeth tried to hide it and he just didn’t want that character trait to be taken advantage of. All of these thoughts ran through the mind of the eldest davenport while he sat in the back of his black barouche with crimson rims. His face was buried in a newspaper, but the rhythmic clip-clop from the hooves of the large shires that pulled his carriage announced his arrival to the staff that had already been awaiting his arrival. As the gates swung open, Adam lowered his newspaper and offered an effortless smile to the member of staff that had opened the gate for him, then his carriage came to a halt. ” Thank you, James. My wife and son will also be arriving shortly, please alert me of their arrival so that I might help you with their bags” Immediately after Adam had spoken, the two large shires that had been pulling his barouche huffed and grunted impatiently. Standing still didn’t seem enjoyable to the large warhorses that pulled his carriage, so he gave the sign for the driver to proceed past the gates and into the estate. The moment the carriage was parked in front of the house and the carriage door opened, two Doberman sprung out of the carriage like bullets. The dogs immediately started running and playing around the property while Adam walked into the house. The man strode into the house with a nonchalant strut. To his surprise, the house was silent which felt completely unnatural. Usually, the soothing sounds of a piano would welcome you into the home if you had arrived during one of his sisters' practice sessions, if not you would be welcomed by laughter or at least the sounds of his half-sister Hannah. But today, there was nothing. Adam shrugged off the odd silence and continued calmly strolling through the silent house. Since there was no music playing, he figured the music room would be empty. So, the next best place to check was the library. Upon entering the library, he noticed his younger sister Elizabeth, reading as usual. So, Adam proceeded to slowly walk up behind her as silently as possible. Then without warning, he covered her eyes with his hands while remaining quiet just to see if she could tell who had covered her eyes without hearing his voice. Notes

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[Elizabeth Davenport]

Getting lost in a good book was something Elizabeth did often. It was no surprise that she was caught up in her own world that she did not hear the door to the library opening and someone walking inside. She should have been more aware of her surroundings. She should have heard the sound of footsteps coming down the long corridor before they entered the library. Instead, Elizabeth stood in the middle of the room with her nose in the book, distracted by the words before she could even find her seat.

Elizabeth nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone cover her eyes. She felt like her heart would beat out of her chest and she felt her fingers fumble to hold onto the book in her hand. One hand closed the book and the other flew to her chest, as if that might prevent her heart from exploding. There were only so many people that would do something like this and Elizabeth knew that it was not her father. Benedict could be considered a likely culprit but they did not have plans to spend time together today, so it was certainly not her dear friend. 

It took a moment longer than she was proud to admit, but Elizabeth grinned when the realization dawned on her that this was her brother. Well, it was the brother that she enjoyed spending time with. Dropped her book on the ground, Elizabeth turned around, grin evident on her features, and tossed her arms around Adam's neck. "I did not think we would see you again so soon!" She exclaimed. Elizabeth pulled back and sent him a playful glare. "You nearly scared me half to death," Elizabeth pointed out. "Oh, do tell me about your travels! How have you been?" She asked, dragging her brother across the room so the two could sit on one of the several couches in the library.

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Tag: Adam Davenport

credit to Laura of Adox | Gif