Post by Morrigan on Dec 12, 2012 16:33:50 GMT -5
site premise
kingsgate: december 1906
Kingsgate House has always been a hub of high-class living and aristocratic vibrancy. Noblemen and and women come and go regularly on business with the the Penrose family, who have lived comfortably and luxuriously in Kingsgate House for decades. Lord Charles Penrose, eighth Earl of Carmarthen, has done much to modernise the running of the estate and has made it secure for generations to come with its steady income and employing of efficient staff. Dukes, Marquesses, Earls and Viscounts are regular visitors here at the great country house, and while everyone keeps up a facade of gentility and good manners, scheming, trickery and intrigue go hand-in-hand with the social politics of the Edwardian upper class.
The Penroses are reasonably settled, as the birth of the Viscount Edward fourteen years ago secured the line of succession. Though the Earl and Countess never had further sons, there will continue to be Penroses on the estate as long as Edward lives. It is well known that Lord Carmarthen runs a very tight ship in Kingsgate, but not that because of this his family is under a lot of strain. In private Lady Frances is a shadow of the vibrant young woman she used to be, though she keeps up a show of amiability in polite company, even if her relationship with the earl is on the rocks.
Their daughters Elizabeth and Kate are also constantly at each other's throats and Elizabeth has staunchly refused to marry her father's choice for her, the young Earl of Dalry, while Kate's determination to outdo her sister in everything means she is set to throw herself and the family into scandal with her promiscuous behaviour. Edward, on the other hand, is well-behaved and polite, but so daunted by his father that he thinks he'll never be able to run Kingsgate and is retreating into his shell. And little dreamer Annie has her head so far in the clouds she is barely aware of reality. While she is sweet and golden-hearted, she is also innocent, naive and trusting to the extent where she could be put in real danger by any who wish her ill.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes the servants of the house lead their own lives of intrigue and machination, the rise and fall of may a valet or footman linked to the schemes of those who envy him. But with Lady Frances' odd moods of late, no one's position seems secure as she only recently dismissed her lady's maid and insisted Lord Carmarthen remove the first footman for seemingly no reason at all. As a result, Kingsgate is hiring, and new members of the household staff always bring new games downstairs in the big house...
[/div]