The Duke and Duchess For Tea (Part 1)

JP with Redsword, Jaxx, Lucian, Lasersexpanther, mdman and Cindy

May 18, 1889, Saturday
Elizabeth's home - Paris
4:00 PM

Elizabeth's parents had arrived late last night and today had been busy with preparations for the formal tea to be held in their honor.

Elizabeth hadn't gotten a chance to see them yet and the excitement for their visit was hard for the young Eldren to contain. She did however not show it as much around Lily, as she didn't want to upset the other woman.

The knock on the door could be heard. Harold opened the door. "Duke and Duchess Ellington, it is truly good to see you again."

Elizabeth heard the titles and before the rest of the greeting could even be said was in the hallway. A big smile brightened her face. "Father, Mother" It wasn't long before they embraced their daughter.

Harold stepped back from this family reunion. He knew how close knit the Ellington's were. The Duke and Duchess truly loved and adored their daughter, but raised her to be well aware of the world. Elizabeth, in turn, truly loved and admired her parents.

Once the brief reunion was over, the Duke spoke up. "Thank you, Harold. It is good to see you as well."

The Duke was an attractive man, he had turned 80 a few months ago, but like most older Eldren looked nowhere near that. If mistaken for a human, people thought he was in his early 40s, at best.

His brownish hair gave hints of red. He was always clean shaven, which seemed to bring out the strong jaw line. His eyes were the same blue as Elizabeth's.

Frederick Ellington was also a man of impeccable taste, as his clothing attested. He was usually calm, rarely raising his voice to anyone and preferred to treat everyone with kindness and not look down on anyone.

The Duchess smiled at her daughter, and said, "Yes, thank you Harold. And it is good to see you."

Duchess Caroline Ellington was a beautiful Eldren, with auburn hair and blue eyes. It has been said, on more that one occasion, that Elizabeth and her mother look very much alike.

The Duchess was a kind soul, she had the same ability to be too giving at times though with age had become better about it. Still, her charity work was her calling.

Harold took care of the hats of both visitors. Elizabeth, linked arms with both her parents. "Please come. Tea is almost set up and I sent some of the servants to retrieve the team members."

Elizabeth then escorted them to the large dining area where the tea would take place.

Sasha was the first to arrive, entering the room she gave a slight bow. "Greetings Duke and Duchess Ellington." She said. "It is a pleasure.”

Meanwhile back in Dr. Jackal's lab, the good doctor was cleaning up after running a few experiments and adding some notes to his journal. He was very detail oriented in his work. Then he heard the bell ring and the knock at the door. He put his rag down and opened the door to see Lily smiling at him. She had taken it upon herself to fetch the good doctor for tea time and notified him that the Duke and Duchess were special guests. Dr. Jackal was a bit nervous to attend but knew it would be in bad form so he agreed as he finished cleaning up and put on his coat before sorting his tie. Lily aided him in making him look proper before escorting him to the room they would have tea in. As they entered the dining room they gave a proper greeting and took their place at the table. They tried to be brief in order to not offend the guests and Lily was hoping to stay on the good side of the Duke.

With the late arrival of the Duke and Duchess, Vor could only hope his message had been delivered to Elizabeth but resolved nonetheless to join them out of a sense of due diligence. After all, it had been the Duke that had allowed Lady Elizabeth to form their team.

He had made sure to bathe for longer than usual, allowing his breathing to return to normal for a time and give him the chance to make a good impression, which started as he entered the room for tea and gave a well rehearsed and formal greeting before taking a seat.

Clean shaven and smelling flowery, thanks to Camille, Cronk dressed in the finest outfit he had. The shirt had a frilly front and Camille tied a bow tie for him. The pants seemed a bit tight, and Cronk had wondered if he would be able to sit. Camille wanted her man to look good for the duke and duchess.

Cronk would have enjoyed Cam to attend with him. However, Camille had to explain it would not be appropriate for a servant to attend the tea with a guest. She was totally satisfied with their quiet moments together.

Cronk sighed, still not understanding the concept of classes. With a hug and a peck on the cheek, Cronk headed to the tea party.

He was unable to hide a bottle on him. Hopefully there would be whiskey available for him. Boss Lady knew him and that he didn’t care much for tea. So, he assumed she would take care of him. He thought of going back and filling a teacup with bourbon. It was the same color, after all. But a tea cup just wouldn’t suffice for Cronk.

Less confident without the alcohol, Cronk arrived, bowing as gracefully as an orc can to Lady Elizabeth. He then turned to her parents. Attempting to bow to the duke and duchess, Cronk lost his balance, fell forward, and grabbed the duchess about the waist to keep his balance.

This was embarrassing indeed. His hands slipped to her backside as he pushed himself off of her and back upon his own two feet.

He turned to Boss Lady, then back to the Ellingtons, his face a darker shade. “Cronk sorry!”