Your Name: Liz
Age: 20
Where'd You Find Us: Made the board, yada yada yada.
____________________
Name: Elizabeth Clarice Dunford
Nickname (if applicable): Lizzie, to the point where some even think it is her Christian name.
Age: 18
Date of Birth: January 24, 1793
Title: Lady
FAMILY
Geoffrey, 10th Duke of Claitonborough (father, born 1751, died September 1809)
Jane (neé Agnew), Duchess of Claitonborough (mother, born 1759)
George "Pangbourne", 11th Duke of Claitonborough (brother, born 1782, died October 1809)
Anthony, 12th Duke of Claitonborough (brother, born 1784)
Alice Agnew, Marchioness of Abingdon (maternal aunt)
Louis Agnew, Marquess of Abingdon (cousin)Lady Phillipa Agnew (cousin)
BACKGROUND
Because their graces already had two healthy sons, they were quite content to stop at two and had managed to stay third-child-free for nearly ten years following their son Anthony's birth. The Fates, however, apparently had something else in mind - Elizabeth Clarice Dunford, to be specific.
A late Christmas gift for the year of 1792, Lizzie, as she has been known since birth, was born on a snowy afternoon in the following January. Her mother was quite finished with being a mother and would have been content to relegate the girl to a nursemaid. Lizzie, however, would not have any of it. At every opportunity, she was at her mother's side, under her mother's feet, and generally in the way. This would have been beyond annoying, yet one grin and a bat of her blue eyes melted away irritation her mother felt. Over time, the pair's bond grew, surrounded as they were by strapping menfolk, and was only strengthened by the loss of the duke and the heir apparent.
Lizzie had the typical noblewoman's upbringing. Nursemaids were followed by governesses which were then followed by a brief stint at Miss Eamont's School for Girls. Due to an unfortunate gluing incident involving a singularly boring German tutor and an impressive quantity of goose feathers, however, she was requested to return home by the school. Thanks to her speedy return to Claitonborough Hall, and a generous donation by the duke, this particular episode never made it beyond the school's hallowed halls. In her two years at the seminary, however, Lizzie solidified her grasp on French verbs and Italian pronouns and may be considered fluent in both. She can't carry a tune in a bucket, and her talents on the pianoforte are nonexistent. She can't be trusted to embroider anything without stabbing herself with the needle, and her artistic skills are somewhat lacking (her brothers once confused a portrait of their mother with a portrait of their father's favorite hound). Lizzie does, however, have a fair talent with the violin, a skill her brothers attributed to many years of practice in moving her "abnormally pointy elbows" quickly (most often into their ribs upon mention of said elbows). She is also quite fond of fox hunting and other equestrian activities.
Following the deaths of her father and brother, Lizzie has thrown herself into socializing and shopping and preparing for her debut. With her dowry of £27,000 and her connections to a duke, Lizzie would not be surprised if she received an offer of marriage this Season, however she does not intend to wed until at least next summer. After all, London is such fun! Privately, and perhaps even without her realizing it, she seeks a gentleman like her brother Anthony, who loves her despite her faults and doesn't wish to change her into the model Englishwoman.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Tall and willowy, Lizzie was very awkward looking as a child – all legs and arms with very little in between. Following a growth spurt during her fourteenth year, however, she quickly grew into her limbs with her final stature measuring at approximately five-feet, seven-inches. She is, in her opinion, absurdly tall and has been known to stoop on occasion, much to her mother's chagrin. Her grey-blue eyes and luxuriously curly blonde hair improve her appearance and her pert, aristocratic nose gives her the overall appearance of a wellbred young lady. Many see a pretty face and fail to realize there is substance behind it, something which Lizzie is grateful for - it is far easier to get away with things when people are convinced one is a complete baconbrain.
PERSONALITY
Lizzie is very intelligent, sometimes too intelligent for her own good. She's terribly curious and once something intrigues her, she can be quite terrier-like in her pursuit for answers. Her verbal sparring matches with her brother can be quite comical, though not according to her mother. The pair love to tease one another and in fact, Lizzie just loves to tease. She is often sarcastic with deadpan delivery, though she regularly ruins it at the last minute by grinning at her audience. She has been described as frank at times, and she is not one to with hold her opinion. It is very easy to decipher what Lizzie thinks on a subject because she regularly states her opinion on each and every subject under the sun. Lizzie does not, however, care if people disagree with her on a subject. Her mother is, quite naturally, horrified by this characteristic and has tried her very best to curb it, with little progress.
Very outgoing and sociable, Lizzie must be forced to remain at Dunford House during the day. She would much prefer to be shopping with her friends, dining with her friends, or simply chatting with her friends. In short, her friends mean the world to her, and she has many. While some young ladies disapprove of her occasionally hoydenish behavior, others find her refreshing. Her circle of friends often include ladies who do not deal well with one another, but who enjoy Lizzie's company. Her easy-going attitude, much like that of her brother Anthony, make her a perennial favorite among the daughters of the ton. Furthermore, her connection to a very eligible duke makes her a perennial favorite among the mothers of the ton desirous of their daughters befriending her on the way to the duke. Not that she minds this. In fact, she had made many of her closest friends from those ladies whose dreams of marrying first Pangbourne and then Tony were dashed by both boys' complete lack of interest.
In her younger days, Lizzie quite enjoyed playing the practical joke. The incident at the seminary, however, lessened her parents' tolerance of that sort of behavior, and while she is for the most part well behaved these days, she has been known to pulling a prank or two. Always good natured and never malicious, they mostly cause an eyeroll from their victims and nothing more. Should someone take offense, however, Lizzie will go to India and back in an attempt to make amends.
She took the death of her brother rather well, more in the style of the duchess than Tony. Pangbourne was a ten years older than she was and though she loved him as a sister should, she was not his friend, like Tony was. Her personality was far more similar to that of the middle Dunford child; if it had been Tony who had died rather than Pangbourne, the outgoing Lizzie that most see would likely ceased to have existed. She misses her father a great deal, of course, as he was friendly, kind, and truly listened when she spoke to him, but she has mourned and, if not moved on, then certainly healed.
