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| The Palmeira Household has undergone some dramatic changes in the last few year, primarily due to the death of Lord Palmeira in a duel. Rather than permit her son Oswald to take over the running of the household when he came of age, Lady Palmeira declared that she herself would remain as the head of the Noble Household of Palmeira.
Since then the Household has turned itself around, and is considered to be a powerful contender against the Preston Household as being the most influential family in Brighton Below The History of the Palmeira Household The Palmeira�s first appearance came with the arrival of Lord Clarence Palmeira in Brighton Below, shortly after Lord Preston. Lord Palmeira at that time was a drunkard who could barely stand or speak most of the time. He had been the second son of Lord Palmeira in Brighton Above, and his older brother was due to inherit that. Estranged from his own family due to his inability to control his licentious drinking, he declared himself to be the rightful Lord Palmeira of Brighton Below. He lack of sobriety meant that few considered his claims or rambling however a young woman called Madeleine took pity on this shambling wreck of a man, and helped him sober up. They apparently shared a common history in that they were both rejected by their world above families. Madeleine had already spent time talking to others about the great qualities of this man, and had made deals and favours to ensure that he would consider her as a potential spouse. Not too long afterwards, she became his wife, and is the Lady Palmeira who runs the Household today Now sober stated again, Lord Palmeira made a claim to territory of Brighton Below and this time people listened. Lord Palmeira had made a number of good friends in the World Below, and with the efforts of his wife in making secret arrangements and alliances, the city agreed to provide the Palmeira�s with their own lands to the west of Brighton, the area called Hove in the World Above. Lord Preston respected Palmeira�s dedication getting sober and staking a claim in Brighton Below. They were considered to be good friends as well as close allies for a long time. The Palmeira Household took time to establish itself more firmly and reached quite grand heights Lord and Lady Palmeira gave birth to a son, Oswald shortly after their marriage, and others have followed. The house was thriving, though things were not as they seemed and the initial success of the Household was to be short-lived Lady Palmeira�s story Lady Palmeira was a young woman in the Victorian era of the World Above. She was the youngest daughter of a local shipping exporter and was from fairly well to do background. When she wasn�t taking time with her studies she spent much of her time socialising with friends. Madeleine (as she was at the time) met a young man called Henry Wickett who came from a wealthy American cotton plantation owners family. Whilst they were close, Madeleine�s feeling towards Henry were considerably more intense than Henry�s. He was a young man exploring the world for the first time and he had no intentions of settling down with just the one woman. Henry had a number of other young women who he was �courting�, and enjoyed the company of many others. It was at this time that Madeleine fell pregnant. Henry immediately disowned Madeleine, claiming that the child was not his. Fearing the responsibility of parenthood and the wrath of his father, Henry made a hasty exit from Brighton and was never heard from again Madeleine�s father also shunned her, shutting her out and ignoring her pleas for forgiveness and assistance. He was from a strict religious background and Madeleine�s �sin� was too much for him to bear. He declared that she was no longer his daughter, and forbade any other member of the family from even acknowledging her existence. Other friends gradually distanced themselves from her until she had no-one left. Madeleine found some sanctuary in a home for �fallen woman�. She gave birth to her child, a young son, but it had been agreed that the child would be given to a local family for adoption. She never saw her baby after she had given birth, and never discovered to whom he was given Madeleine sank further into depression following the birth, and was soon made to leave the home. She had nowhere to go and no-one to turn to, then Brighton Below found her and it was there that she met her late husband Lord Clarence Palmeira The death of Lord Clarence Palmeira The downfall of House Palmeira had been predicted for some time. With the arrival of Lord Kemp and his entourage, Lord Palmeira began to slowly submit to his old habits. Whilst he�d been sober for almost two decades this desire for fun meant that he spent more and more time with the Kemps, and eventually began to drink again. They say that old habits die hard, and before long Lord Palmeira reverted to his old ways. His management of the estates and territories began to wane, the Floating Markets held in their territories were less successful and the family was losing power This didn�t seem to bother Lord Palmeira at all, and whilst his wife tried to maintain control, he was busy pursuing the hedonistic lifestyle that he so envied Lord Kemp for having. Several years ago Lord Clarence Palmeira had been drinking with Lord Kemp for a number of days when an altercation broke out between Lord Palmeira and an unknown Bravo. Lord Palmeira challenged the youngster to a duel, believing that his abilities were enhanced by his somewhat inebriated state. The fight lasted a merely few seconds, Lord Palmeira was stabbed through the heart, and died immediately. The Bravo left without a word, though no-one can quite remember his face or name Lady Palmeira was quite naturally devastated at her husband�s death, as were her children. The greater tragedy was that vengeance is not something easily taken. Not only was the unknown Bravo able to conceal his identity, but reports state that it was Lord Palmeira who suggested the duel, and that he was the aggressor; the Bravo merely accepted and bested him. Since the death of Lord Palmeira though, his wife Madeleine has taken over as the head of the household. This is an unusual arrangement, as although Oswald her eldest son was not of age when his father died, Lady Palmeira has since refused to hand over control of the Household now that Oswald has reached adulthood In that time Lady Palmeira has brought the Household to even greater levels than it had ever attained with her late husband in command. Lady Palmeira is known as being the information broker, advisor and politician of Brighton Below. There is no piece of information she does not know or cannot obtain, there is no favour that she cannot do, and there is no person she cannot bring to her side. Whether through seduction, bribery, blackmail or simple offerings of friendship or alliance, Lady Palmeira�s business acumen is matched only by her political cunning. This ability has served her well. The Palmeira�s have reclaimed much of the territory which was lost to the Fishers and their devices. Her Household continues to grow, and her influence strengthens daily. The Palmeira have power through information, and the exchange of secrets. It is believed that they have an extensive network of information gatherers, and it is this network that provides them with the tools to control others |
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| The Noble Household of Lady Madeleine Palmeira |