The Grand Entrance

[Elinor Caldiera]

For anyone who would be in the Caldiera home.
@'Ursula Black' @'Thom Pettigrew' @'Cassius Lestrange' @'Tristan Michaud'

Otavio had been lucky he hadn't received a howler. He had one
job — one — and he'd managed to fail at it. He hadn't specified how hopeless the cause was, but it certainly hadn't sounded as if he'd made any progress. Elinor couldn't imagine what the difficulyt was. Their daughter was beautiful and thanks to her brother, entirely malleable. The fact was, Otavio simply wasn't trying hard enough.

After being let into the entryway, she surveyed the area with disdain. One hand clasped Sergio's tightly as she dragged him toward the card table. Empty. Not a single calling card. She swiped a finger across the surface and crinkled her nose as it came away dusty.

"Disgusting," She declared, "Utterly disgusting."

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   Ellory Pendergast, Ophelia Dippet, Rupert Bingham, Ursula Black

[Otavio Caldiera]

Otavio hadn't been entirely sure when she would be arriving. Elinor had not bothered to share the details of her travel arrangements with him, only that she was en route. He knew that she probably wouldn't waste much time, but he was still rather surprised when the servant announced that she was here. Merlin, this was far too soon. He wasn't at all ready to face his wife again. It wasn't as though England had been a vacation, separated from his company and his studies and everything he loved about his home country and forced to play the socialite for a daughter who was, depending on the day, either damaged or daft. Difficult as the summer had been, however, and difficult as the last two weeks had been in particular, he had at least not had to contend with Elinor.

Otavio took a deep breath where he was sitting, mentally putting on his armor. The battle would begin as soon as he saw her.

When he felt he could manage it, he went down the stairs to the entryway. "Elinor," he greeted with a show of at least affection, if he could not quite manage enthusiasm. "Darling. I hope your journey was--" It was not until this point that he noticed the boy clinging to her side. Oh. His other son was here, too, then. Wasn't this just a lovely little family reunion?

"... And Sergio," he said, unable to hide his surprise. "How delightful."

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   Elinor Caldiera

[Thiago Caldiera]

There were very few things that could make the Caldiera's situation worse, but his mother was certainly one of them. Thiago was very distinctly his father's son, and knew that Elinor could be - difficult. And she had not handled the original portrait incident very well, so there was very little evidence that she would take this well, either.

He came down the stairs from his room, where he had been working on a batch of Effy's potion, shortly after Otavio. "I hope that the journey treated you well," Thiago said in a mild voice, masking his dread.

Similarly to Otavio, he had also forgotten that Sergio existed, and was suddenly rather wishing that he had stayed in hiding.

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   Elinor Caldiera, Otavio Caldiera

[Elinor Caldiera]

Her disappointment hovered about her, an invisible cloud full of deliberate resentment. The welcome couldn't have been described as a warm one, but it was a welcome nonetheless. Elinor raised a thin brow at her husband's feigned nonchalance. Did he truly thing she would have left Sergio all alone in Brazil? Certainly not! The boy muttered an appropriate: 'Hello, Father.. and Thiago' before he busied himself with shyly peeking about the entryway from behind his mother's skirts.

"Our journey was far too long and dust-ridden, much like this house it would appear. Thank you for asking, Thiago," Her tone was clipped, her intonation that her husband had not finished his question to be rather rude. They all knew why she was there. There was no sense for niceties. "How is she?" She looked between both of the men, bracing for the worst. For all she knew, the girl could have run off to marry a kettle during her mother's journey over.

@'URSULA BLACK' @'THOM PETTIGREW' @'CASSIUS LESTRANGE' @'TRISTAN MICHAUD'

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   Otavio Caldiera

[Otavio Caldiera]

Tav managed a smile for his youngest son, though it was one without much real affection. Luckily, the boy had come to expect nothing more, and so did not seem particularly perturbed. He considered replying to Elinor's comment about the dust but decided there was nothing that he could say, and nothing she wanted to hear; she was being contrary for the sake of things, which was her way, he supposed.

He glanced uneasily at Thiago when his wife asked about Efigenia. He honestly didn't know what to say, but if his son had any ideas, he wasn't immediately forthcoming with them. "She's upstairs," was what he came up with, rather awkwardly. Elinor didn't know about the portrait-in-the-museum debacle, and Tav would just as soon she never found out. She also didn't know (and hopefully never would) that the offending portrait was currently in the attic of this very house, wrapped in careful brown paper.

"Why don't I show you to your room, first, and then you can see her?" he suggested diplomatically. He still needed to break the news to her that they had a house guest she wouldn't be expecting, and wasn't keen on having that conversation in front of his son -- er, two of his sons.

Oh, shit. Where was Sergio supposed to sleep, with Sebastiano occupying the only extra room? Did this mean that for the rest of the time they were here Otavio was going to have to share a bedroom with his wife?

Ugh.

  

[Thiago Caldiera]

Thiago saw an excellent opportunity to escape this situation.

"I'll tell her you've arrived while you settle in," he said cheerfully, although he knew better than to escape without approval. His mother could be touchy, at times, especially where Efigenia and her situation were concerned. God help them all if she found out about the museum. Or - and Thiago realized this with a panic - his father's mysterious friend.

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   Otavio Caldiera