England has a way of getting under my skin
And my family has a way of getting under my skin
[...] Heart melts, yeah you meant so well
But your song's no good round here

4th April, 1890 — Emrys' House, Bristol

Emrys had not been expecting Christobal to stay this long, when he'd allowed him to take up residence in one of the guest rooms, but he had (remarkably), not yet managed to entirely disrupt Emrys' home life. Part of it, he supposed, was that the house was simply too big for two people — it was easy to avoid him, if he was in the mood to do so, which he frequently was.

It did mean that he'd had to rearrange some of his usual activities, however; instead of reading up in the 'study' with the full-wall painting of the pastoral scene, as he usually did, he'd had to take up residence in one of the downstairs lounges which he primarily used for company and whose windows were far too large and letting in too much light for this time of the morning. Christobal was, he thought, eating breakfast, and although Emrys had already read this Witch Weekly cover to cover, he was going to reread it until he heard his housemate leave the dining room. It wasn't that Christobal had done anything wrong, necessarily; Emrys just wasn't in the mood to talk to him over breakfast. In his defense, it would have taken quite a lot for Emrys to be in the mood to talk to anyone over breakfast.

So, retaking the which famous wizard would you marry quiz for the third time it was. He didn't take the quizzes for himself, usually; instead, he tried to pretend that he was someone else, like one of his brothers or some member of society that had irritated him recently, and took it on their behalf, then privately laughed over the answers they'd get.

He was distracted from this task by the sound, from the parlor next door, of the floo, and then a familiar voice. Shit. Emrys had not been planning for company, and he absolutely refused to let one of his family members find a strange man eating breakfast in his dining room. Rising from his chair hastily, Emrys tossed the issue of Witch Weekly to the floor and headed for the door. He immediately thought better of that and returned for it, instead stashing it beneath one of the throw pillows on the couch so that it was out of sight. From there, he nearly jogged to the dining room (thankfully avoiding his unexpected guest) and accosted Christobal.

"You've got to go," he said, grabbing the artist by the sleeve and pulling him up from where he'd been sat at the table. "Now. You can't be seen here."

His earrings were still in, he realized. Shit and damn — why hadn't anyone written him before dropping by unexpectedly? Who even did that? His family, apparently. Emrys let go of Christobal and started hurriedly removing one earring. "Go," he hissed, gesturing (with one elbow, which was all that he had available while his hands were otherwise occupied) to the far door.

Set over Easter break to allow for anyone to join; plus Christobal Vainart obvs

The following 1 user Likes Emrys Selwyn's post:1 user Likes Emrys Selwyn's post
   Ruby Urquart

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Lou made this! <3

Christobal hadn't expected to be given the priviledge of eating his meals at the dining room. Even he wasn't arrogant enough to overassume the allowed luxuries at Emrys' house. He had assumed that he would take his meals in his room and that one of the staff members would then take away the plates when he was gone and that would be about it where luxury was concerned.

Emrys had invited Christobal to eat with him at the dining room, the first day of Christobal's stay, so then Christobal took the liberty of showing up for breakfast every day, because Emrys hadn't exclusively told him that he couldn't do so. At some point, Emrys stopped showing up for breakfast, but Christobal didn't care much about it. He felt more comfortable eating when his wealthy friend wasn't present. He didn't have to try and guess what all those cutlery was supposed to be used for and he could use his hands, unless he had to apply some sort of butter with a knife.

He had been eating his breakfast slowly, so he would enjoy every piece of food that got into his mouth. Usually, Christobal didn't even eat breakfast, he skipped straight to a lunch time meal that consisted of whatever best he could afford at any given time. None of his food could ever taste so good, though. He couldn't afford to get so many flavours on his table.

Emrys' entrance alerted him. "Why?" Christobal inquired, his mouth still full with an egg he had been eating. He swallowed his bite before asking: "What's going on?"

Why was Emrys removing his earrings? Christobal had never seen him without them and he had always assumed that it was the sort of thing rich folks wore to showcase their wealth. He assumed that rich people walked around wearing heavy jewerly all the time. That's what Christobal would do if he was rich, anyway. He'd wear the most lavish and most fancy clothes he could find, probably an ermine fur too and he'd wear lots of jewerly. Gold rings and stones on his fingers.

  

Everyone had to make today the day to drive Liliana crazy. Cad was being an obnoxious prick, as per usual. The step-monster was being just that. Father was too busy. And everyone else was either busy as well, or being stupid and useless. After arguing with Ambrosia, Liliana had decided to storm off to one of her uncle's homes. Uncle Emrys was more likely to have no one else around to annoy her.

Taking the floo network, Liliana was busy brushing herself off when her uncle ran around like a chicken with his head cut off. Afterward, she looked around. It wasn't the worst of places to spend a few hours.

"Uncle Emrys? Hello?" She called out as she made her way into the halls and continued to glance around. Ugh, was anyone going to answer?

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Magic by Athena

"My family is here," Emrys explained hastily, still trying to shoo Christobal towards the door — though since he was having trouble getting his second earring unlatched, he was still doing this with only his elbows. He didn't actually know who was here, exactly, because he assumed that the niece he'd heard wouldn't have come alone — but it seemed equally unlikely that his brother had dropped by with his entire household in tow, without so much as sending a letter beforehand. Not having a wide amount of experience with children, he wasn't sure which was more likely. How autonomous were teenaged girls?

(Well, considering he'd slept with a few of them as a teenager himself, he knew the answer was at least moreso than their families would like them to be, but it seemed unlikely that his niece would have run off to his house to accomplish that particular goal, so he had no idea what she was doing here).

The sound of her voice in the hallway prompted him to change his plans for Christobal — he couldn't leave through either door, now, without risking being seen. "Hide," he instructed instead. He had no idea where Christobal would accomplish this, in the dining room, but cast a quick glance around the room and said the first thing that seemed suitable: "Under the table."

To his niece (was she his niece, or one of those other fuzzy relations that occupied his brother's house? he neither knew nor cared), he called, "What a pleasant surprise!"

(Surprise it was; pleasant, it was not).

  

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Lou made this! <3

Christobal didn't have time to think and slid under the table. Only when he was under it and the door opened and the carpeted floor was brushed by some woman's skirt, did Christobal have the peace to register what had happened.

Why was Emrys so insistant upon hiding him? It wasn't as though he was in an unpresentable state! He had been abusing Emrys' hospitality to have prolonged baths almost every night, so he was much cleaner than you would normally find him and he was wearing nice clothes, as he always did!

Wasn't this Emrys' house, besides? Why was he so anxious about what his family would think about his visitors? Unless this wasn't Emrys' house and all this time he had been lying to them about it!

Christobal quickly brushed away that theory, because then how would Emrys invite him over in the first place?

In any case! Christobal felt disrespected, but he also liked staying at Emrys' house, so he'd have to comply to whatever his friend asked him to do.

  

While Liliana could not care less as to what her uncle's secrets were, she certainly was the type to gossip. Not that she would admit to that. But why would a friend need to be hidden away? Liliana would ask herself this if she knew how bizarre her uncle was acting.

Blissfully unaware as she was, she followed the sound of his voice and entered the room promptly. Her arrival being called pleasant did turn her mood more agreeable than it had been moments before.

"I'm sorry I did not write. It was a sudden decision to come here. Mommy dearest was being... disagreeable." Ambrosia would likely claw her eyes out at being called 'mommy' by any means if it was from Liliana's lips. Which made it all the more amusing to say.

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Magic by Athena

Emrys was so relieved that Christobal was following his direction that he nearly forgot to grab his wand and vanish the holes in his earlobes left by the now pocketed earrings. He managed to get it clear just in time for his niece (or whoever) to waltz in, as though she owned the place. What he had ever done to make this house seem hospitable, he had no idea. If he ever figured it out, he'd make sure none of her younger siblings/cousins/half-siblings/whatevers got the same impression, that was for sure. What sort of life did they think he was leading, that they thought he would apparently be open to sudden intrusions by teenagers?

Mommy dearest would be Ambrosia, he supposed, and given what he knew of the woman he had no difficulty believing that she might have been disagreeable at the moment — though given what he knew of the general situation of that household, suspected that she likely had very good reason to be.

"Well, then," he said, not sure how to comment on that. "I was just... finishing breakfast," he said, gesturing vaguely at Christobal's plate. The chair was still pulled out and it occurred to him that the girl might, possibly, be able to see the man hidden below the table if she chanced to look down, or maybe not — he wasn't sure of the angle. Either way, he didn't want that, so he sat at the table and pulled the chair back in, effectively blocking her view — and accidentally kicking Christobal as he did so.

The following 1 user Likes Emrys Selwyn's post:1 user Likes Emrys Selwyn's post
   Acacia Darlington

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Lou made this! <3

Judging by her voice, she had to be a young woman. The conversation between her and Emrys didn't give Christobal enough clues for him to pinpoint what sort of relationship she had with Christobal's friends. Emrys said she was family, but he could be lying. This young girl could be one of Emrys' lovers, for all that Christobal knew!

Christobal kind of hoped that if that was the case, Emrys would take her on the table, so at least he would get some entertainment out of being under the table.

So far, he was only receiving kicks from Emrys. He grunted, but thankfully the sound was concealed by the young woman's voice.

The following 1 user Likes Christobal Vainart's post:1 user Likes Christobal Vainart's post
   Emrys Selwyn

Liliana was one to have a talent of acting like a place was hers to simply be in. Unless she hated where she was going. It really did depend on her mood. At the moment, it was sizzling down from irritable to intrigued as she watched her uncle act stranger and stranger.

No one could argue that Liliana and Ambrosia had every right to hate each other. Liliana was a walking reminder of her father's inability to keep it in his pants. Ambrosia was constantly reminding Liliana that she didn't belong, in the eyes of various members of their family at least. But instead of trying to understand each other, both women seemed to make it a sport to make each other the most miserable.

Watching her uncle quickly sit at the table, she raised an eyebrow slightly. "It would seem so. Well, may I stay here until father can come fetch me? I can't stand being around that woman when he's busy." She pleaded.

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Magic by Athena

If she didn't need a parent's involvement to get herself here, Emrys had no idea why she wanted her father as an escort to take her home. Wasn't their house big enough for her to just avoid Ambrosia for an hour or so? He'd been avoiding Christobal the majority of the time and he didn't think his house was quite so large as his brother's, since it had the distinction of being the Selwyn family estate. On the other hand, it was full of children and bastards, so it might have felt much smaller than Emrys' spacious Bristol manor. That didn't given anyone from his brother's house the right to come and use his like an extension of their parlor, however.

"Well, you know I do enjoy your visits," Emrys lied; he was still not even entirely sure whether this was one of his legitimate nieces or not, but was leaning towards not based on her description of his sister-in-law. "But how long do you think that will be? I do have another engagement in... well, by now it must be less than an hour," he said, fishing his pocket watch out of his pocket so that he could check the time. He didn't have anything coming up, but he would gladly create something just to get his unexpected visitor out of the house (and poor Christobal out from under the table).

  

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Lou made this! <3

Apparently, the young woman had run away from home because she had troubles with her mother. Christobal felt some sympathy for her before it dawned on him that he might have to stay hidden under the table until her father came to fetch her. And what if they decided to stay for dinner? He'd have to quietly return to his room and hide as if he was a rat or a criminal.

Suddenly, he felt really annoyed with this girl. What a brat! Because she had had a fight with her Mama, she was disturbing Christobal and Emrys' peace! His friend didn't seem very enthusiastic about her visit, either. Didn't she have anywhere else to go? A married sister, or a female friend? Couldn't she go shopping for a new dress? Why did she have to come to Emrys' house of all places?

  

To her reasoning, if her father came to fetch her then he had time to protect her from Ambrosia. And because Liliana craved attention from her father. Being treated like the golden child and whatnot. That didn't happen when father was busy. And she didn't fancy being in a house full of other, judgy, people.

The lie was painfully obvious, but Liliana was too caught up in herself to care. "I'm not entirely sure. But whatever work he was doing sounded awfully dull. Perhaps he'll come get me just to take his mind off of it." The idea of her father making her a higher priority over business did please her.

As she thought of such an ideal scenario, she decided to take a seat if she was going to have to plead her case any further, rather than busy herself at another part of the house. She didn't even think on it until she pulled the chair out and caught a glimps of... was that a man?! She let out a rather startled shriek.

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Magic by Athena

She did not seem at all fazed by the fact that Emrys might have had plans other than entertaining a spoiled child all morning, but he supposed that was fairly characteristic of spoiled children. It was quite in character for her to pull out a chair and sit without being invited, as though she owned the place, too — so much so that he didn't think to try and stop her until it was too late. She'd sighted Christobal, and was understandably alarmed to find a strange man lurking under the breakfast table. When she screamed Emrys could do little but fix a panicked gaze on the artist's face — but recovered quickly, as he knew he would have to do if there was any chance of salvaging the situation.

"Oh, Christobal, you've startled the poor girl," he said smoothly, pushing his own chair out from the table to give Christobal space to crawl out, if he so chose. "What were you doing down there? Cleaning, I suppose? You might have handled it just as well with a spell, I should think, though perhaps you know better than I do — you are the butler, after all," he said, hoping Christobal would just roll with the new charade using the clues Emrys was dropping for him. "But come on out now, won't you, and put it aside until after I've finished my breakfast, at least."

The following 1 user Likes Emrys Selwyn's post:1 user Likes Emrys Selwyn's post
   Seneca Lestrange

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Lou made this! <3

Christobal had been paying more attention to the carpet's design than whatever the young woman was talking about. As such, he had been just as alarmed when she pulled out the chair. He froze, looking at her, wide-eyed.

Then, Emrys started telling him something about cleaning the carpet. Christobal pieced it together quickly enough. He was supposed to pretend to be his butler.

Why couldn't they just perform a memory charm on the girl and be done with it? It'd be much more quick and effective than staging up an entire play for the brat!

(Who was a very beautiful woman.)

"I'm old fashioned, Mr. Selwyn," he replied, a hint of resentment in his voice. "I prefer to put myself through hard work, than use my wand." He slowly crawled from under the table, dusted off his clothes and smiled to the young woman. He was actually finding it easy to be cordial to her, she was so pretty. "I'm sorry that I scared you." Right, he was supposed to address her somehow. "Young Lady."

The following 1 user Likes Christobal Vainart's post:1 user Likes Christobal Vainart's post
   Emrys Selwyn

The - rightfully - startled young woman looked between the two men for a couple of moments as she tried to process what her uncle had just stated. It was such a shock to see a man under a table. Especially when she had been about to sit down! Didn't servants do those things earlier in the morning? Then again, uncle Emrys was a bit odd.

A polite tone towards her and Liliana was a bit quicker to calm. She always loved when people treated her like the proper lady she was. "Miss Selwyn." She corrected, though not in an outright mean way. Just so this one knew exactly who he was talking to. "Liliana Selwyn, to be specific." She clarified, not wanting to be mistaken for one of the more dull Miss Selwyns of the family.

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Magic by Athena

Merlin, introductions. There was no scenario in which Emrys ever wanted to see one of his friends introduced to one of his family members, but if there had been some acceptable version of that reality this would be quite far from it. The one upside was that since his niece had introduced herself with her full name, at least he was less likely to mistakenly call her by the wrong one later, if he couldn't convince her to leave.

His priority at the moment, however, was convincing Christobal to leave before he got any ideas into his head about giving her his name in return. The last thing he wanted was for Liliana to see a painting somewhere labeled Vainart and put together that this hadn't actually been his butler, after all. (Did Christobal even paint the sorts of things that a respectable young lady might encounter, or was his trade restricted to the sorts of things Emrys hung up in his societally-unacceptable entertaining spaces? He wasn't sure, but best not to risk it).

"Right, well, thank you," he said briskly to the artist. "But you'll have to return to it later."

  

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Lou made this! <3