Deathly Defiance

Chapter 1- Elizabeth

"You are absolutely stark ravingly bonkers!" Joe said ."Bloody hell! Get down from there before you break a leg or something!"
Childishly, I stuck my tongue out at him in reply and continued walking along the wall, ignoring him.

"Oh, very mature." Joe snorted, rolling his eyes. "At this rate no one will ever want to marry you."

My head turned sharply at that comment. "Who said i wanted to get married?" I asked, flipping my hair away from my face.

"It is not a matter of what you want, Ella, it is a matter of having a choice ?" Joe answered back, battling his own hair as it flew around his face from a sudden gust of wind.

Frowning, I jumped off the wall, landing in front of him defiantly. "Well then, it looks like I just have to find someone who can handle me and my 'stark ravingly bonkers' way." I said cheekily.

Joe snorted again. "I don't think there is a man alive that can accomplish that." he answered in a mockingly grave tone.

"You seem to handle me just fine." I said to him, offended.

"That's because I'm your older brother, and I'd like to think I know you better than you know yourself.

I laughed, placing my hand on his shoulder. "Lies."

"And how, pray tell, am I lying?"

"Well, for a start, you're not even my brother." It was a low blow, I knew.

Joe was the one that looked offended this time. "Ouch, you wound me deeply." he said dryly, clutching his chest in a dramatic fashion.

"Well, the truth hurts." I said, flinging a careless smile at him. He grinned back at me, knowing that I was only joking.

As we both began to walk towards Normanby Hall, we argued  back and forth. It was a familiar routine, one we went through almost every day.
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As the only daughter of  the Duke of Buckingham, it was incumbent upon me that I had to be chaperoned everywhere; hence Joe's presence.
Although not directly related to me, Joe was the one person - apart from my family -that I could rely on. As the son of my now retired governess, Joe was like my older brother.

Sometimes, my real brother Charles, would get jealous of our close relationship. He had never had the time to  build that kind of relationship with me, so we were not that close. Charles was often busy helping Father, while I spent my days avoiding any type of ladylike work.

When we were younger, Charles would often foil Joe and I's plans of mischief by telling on us to the nearest chaperone. I shook my head, remembering the amount of ridiculous pranks Joe and I had pulled on Charles together.

Entering the estate, I saw my maid, Martha, rushing towards me. "Miss Elizabeth! Miss Elizabeth!" she repeated my name breathlessly, probably from the running she'd had to do. Her hair was unravelling out of its neat cap. "Your father requests your immediate presence in his study."

I paused to digest this.

"Do you know why?" I asked her.

She shook her head "I do not know the reason, Miss," she replied. Not a surprise really.

Joe and I shared a look with one another.
My father was a very busy man and it was unusual for him to request my presence. Unless I'd done something ridiculous I couldn't remember. Joe looked just as confused as me.

I smiled at him reassuringly before bidding him goodbye before rushing towards my fathers study.

Knocking, I waited impatiently until I heard a faint voice saying "Come in."