Etty is 27 years old, the only daughter after three boys. Her Daddy's a rich lawyer and her Momma's good looking. She always got (and still does) everything she ever wanted. She spent her younger years growing up in Evesham but moved to London when her father's business grew too large for Worcester. They have a Summer house in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Her two brothers Charles and George work in their father's firm (the middle one, Edward isn't talked about - he got in trouble with the law but Daddy got him out of it, gave him some money, and told him to leave and never come back). Etty went through several schools, boarding schools, and home tutors depending on her whim. She was even expelled from her Swiss finishing school for taking off one night to go hiking over the Alps with some local commoners from the nearby village. She was sent to Merriweather for tutoring after that when his love for ancient history and Egypt began to contaminate her.
She always loved adventure and competed with her brothers more than a young lady of such standing should. Because it was so amusing to them, they encouraged her. She took more interest in their adventure books than they ever did. So when Merriweather let slip there was an archaeological expedition going to Egypt, she knew she had to join it. She hung out at the university with the team a lot to get them used to her presence so that they almost didn't question her going with them. By the time they noticed, it was easy enough to talk them into it. She had since learned that she could get a lot more respect from ordinary people as Etty Smith. Most of them didn't even know who she was. So away she went after telling her family she was visiting an old friend in Evesham. Of course they found out, but by then it was too late. Her eldest brother was sent after her but by that stage the rest of the team weren't going to let him forcibly remove her. Luckily she has him wrapped around her finger almost as much as her father so she managed to convince him she was okay there and he should go home without her. She's been back to Egypt a few times since then, usually just taking off and sending a postcard from Cairo. There's always trouble on her return but it never lasts.
Fortunately it doesn't matter what she does, her father still adores her and spoils her rotten. He's under the impression she'll settle down soon enough once she gets married and has children. Although he's starting to wonder if that will ever happen. She's been engaged three times to acceptable gentlemen who could keep her in the manner to which she's accustomed. Two of those engagements were without her being consulted and none of them lasted longer then a few months when her fiance realised he wasn't going to be able to control her or stop her taking unannounced trips without adequate male accompaniment. Her social circle are now incredibly suspicious of her. Which explains why her mother doesn't like her. She loves her of course, but she doesn't like the way her daughter is bringing the family reputation down and casting such a bad light on her as a mother. It's bad enough that one of her sons turned criminal. What does she want to run off to a horrible dusty filthy place like Egypt for anyway, when everything she could ever want is right here and men queuing at the door (or at least they used to be) to court her? She doesn't like the way she befriends common folk either. Totally unbefitting for Lady Blessington Smythe.
There was one more engagement that her family don't know about. An American called Tim Holden who was on a neighbouring dig. They fell madly and passionately in love after a couple of months of bickering and playing hard to get. Then his team moved on and he broke off the engagement much to her annoyance. It turned into something of a cycle. They'd meet again and things would ultimately get intensely passionate. Then one of them would have to leave and they'd fight until they were gone from each other's lives. A year later they'd be on the same dig again. They'd talk and swear it's not going to happen again and really mean it too, right until they touch off one another. At least they had the sense not to get engaged more than twice. The separation fights get worse each time. He gets more callous, she gets more bitter.
To the casual observer she's something of a flirt, although she sees it as nothing more than being friendly. She realises women are not supposed to be that friendly with men who are not their husbands, and even then... but the rebellious tendencies are there. It evokes a reaction which is always fun. Despite appearances, it rarely goes beyond flirting. Tim's the only man she's ever actually slept with and there's been a couple more she's kissed, she did still have a very proper upbringing afterall.
She's as much a mystery to her brothers as she is her parents. Charles does his very best to protect her and can get quite angry when she disappears off, but ultimately he's as much a sucker for her feminine charms as her father is. All it takes is a couple of tears. Edward was always the malcontent, never happy with anything. But oddly enough, they got on well before he left. Some of the things he said made sense. She's the only one that knows he's laying pipes in Boston. George really doesn't like her. There's only a year between them and she got all the attention when she was born being the only girl. It infuriates him to see the control she has over their father and Charles when no one ever notices how hard he works, yada yada yada.
She does have goals. She wants to be one of the world's most renowned Egyptologists. But she has learned that 1890's England doesn't want to hear about women's goals beyond raising a family so keeps it to herself for the sake of getting along. Rebelling is one thing, but biting the hand that feeds you is sheer stupidity. She teethers on the edge of what society will accept but just about manages to stay within the limits. At least while in England. She has no title in Egypt and the lines are more blurred. It can get intoxicating - another reason to keep going back.
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