Viscountess Hailsham was not satisfied to say the least by the interruption of her business with Ellen, but still Elle had managed to leave without the usual conclusion of their negotiations and with the information she was after in hand, so to speak. That meant of course she'd had to pay the Viscountess her usual monetary fee and had left her a very sour lady. Something El actively tried to avoid when dealing with nobility. Most were sour by default, to do something to further that natural state spelled unpleasantness all round.

	Still even the Viscountess could not begrudge Elle a summons from Baron Thomas Carnock and had reluctantly agreed to not hold this incident against her. Thus, information in hand El made her way back home where she took the time to clue her father in on what she'd found out from Viscountess Hailsham, as well as about the summons from the Baron. The two of them had a very pleasant discussion, speculating on the prospects for both jobs. The Earl had been very intrigued and somewhat saddened that he could no longer accompany his daughter out on the field since his advancing age, coupled with his usually frail disposition had permanently sequestered him to the confines of their family home.

	Richard had sent his little girl off to her next adventure with a tight hug and a mist of tears covering his eyes. As the car rushed by the landscape and her eyes flickered over it fleetingly Elle remembered the scene with a mixture of sadness and warmth. Her dad was her best friend in the whole world and for many years the two of them had been partners in crime, for lack of a better term. Now it was up to her to carry the family mantle and do right by lost or misplaced artifacts and go bravely forth in the search of ancient lost or forgotten civilizations! El let her mind wonder as Preston Jr was driving her toward her destination. The son of their family butler knew better than to interrupt his lady when she was deep in thought, so when a soft clearing of the throat disturbed her ears, Elle knew it was not unwarranted.

	"We're a minute out, milady." Preston Jr announced in a subdued voice. He was nearly Elle's age and the two of them had grown up together as close friends but when Jr was near her in his official capacity he insisted on maintaining that irritating servant/master distance. Elle had tried time and again to shake him out of it, but Junior insisted it was a sign of respect towards her and what she'd accomplished more than her lineage, of which they both knew well, she had none. Of course to that she would often, when in the mood to argue, counter Jr's own accomplishments in finance and business administration, but the man would not budge.

	Elle sighed softly, for once not in the mood to argue with Preston's weird butler sensibilities. "Thanks for the ride, Pres." The Countess said hastily attempting to open the door of the car and exit before Jr had the time to get out himself and open it for her, but of course she was too late and found herself face to face with the smirking Preston Jr offering her his hand. "Oh, fine, you weird man!" Elle grumbled and allowed him to extricate her from the coupe of the car. Preston winked at her, surely allowing himself such liberties as they were the only two people to stand in the spacious driveway of the Baron's manor. He handed her the duffle bag she used for her travels and sent her off towards the front door of the mansion with the words: "Try not to get yourself into too much trouble [i]this time[/i]!" El twisted around to shoot back a retort, but he was already inside the car and backing up, grinning. [i]He'll never let me live that one time down, will he![/i] Elle thought as she approached the door.

	The cold weather had been completely lost on her. She'd lived through far worse as a child. True, she was wearing her winter leathers, lined with wool and other isolating and warming fabrics, but she still showed a blatant disregard for the biting wind with her open collar and easy grin as a stately servant opened the door and ushered her inside the manor. "Good evening, Lady Pelham, the Baron is expecting you. Most of your companions have already arrived. I am Bertram, the Baron's  head butler, may I escort you to where the others await?"

	Elle's grin got even wider. [i]Must be a butler thing.[/i] She thought, remembering Junior's insistence of interacting with her a certain way when in official capacity. "Lead the way, my good man!" El nodded to the butler in a jolly manner. Her eyes only briefly scanned the interior of the mansion. Growing up as the Earl's daughter she'd quickly become desensitized with the posh and glam of England's high society. She cared little for the pomp that came with being nobility and only bore it for the sake of her dad, who'd saved her from a life of misery. As soon as she was lead in to the extravagant banquet hall, she noticed a couple of familiar faces. Seeing Alcander there was a pleasant surprise, but not much of a surprise. If the Baron had summoned her it wasn't a great leap to make that he would seek out other specialists with the same area of expertise. A more... well... pleasant was not the word she'd use when faced with the presence of Lysandra von Brennenburg, since the two of them had this friendly rivals/rivaling friends vibe going on... So a more intriguing surprise was seeing Lady Brennenburg, seated among the gathered in the hall.

	El nodded at Al, tossing a wink in his direction, while accosting the Lady Brennenburg. "Why, Lys, fancy meeting you here!" Elle grinned roguishly.