Everything you want to know about Selena

 

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(Well almost everything. Some things are best kept a secret.)

I decided to put a page that tells more about Selena. She is a bit of a mystery herself. Her character continues to grow and change throughout Trial and Error. This book is more about the trial and error in her life. I hope this page helps to give a better feel of who Selena is, as a person, and why she does or says what she does. A lot of this will be explained in the first book and more in the second book.

When was she born?  Selena was born in the year of 1866. The book starts out in 1898.

Who are her parents? She is the daughter of Marcelina Duprey and Lord Fredrick Nathanael Jones (as far as she knows), Earl of Croydon. Her mother died when she was around the age of six and her father died when she was around the age of eighteen. 

What happened to her parents? Her mother had become ill after a fire destroyed their first house. It was not long that she lived after the move. Her father died of natural causes.

Does she have any siblings? As far as Selena knows, she is an only child. She has never come across any photos or writings mentioning any other children. She had several playmates as a child but does not recall who they were or why one of the boys stayed at the house frequently. She does not recall a lot of her childhood around the time of the fire. She never saw the boy after the fire, and his whereabouts  is unknown. She was rather fond of this particular boy. 

Where does she live? She lives in Duprey Manor just outside of Forest Row in Sussex. The old manor belonged to her grandparents and was passed down to her. Her grandparents moved from France and built the manor sometime before Selena's mother married. 

What does Selena look like? She is a slender woman standing at five feet five inches. She has light blond hair and remarkable grey eyes that are very pronounced. Her features are well defined. She has thin eyebrows, her  nose is of average size and slightly thin, and her lips are of average size. (more towards the thin side). 

How does she dress? She is very picky with the fitting of her cloths. She prefers to be dressed very sophisticated when in public. She wears tailed  and jacket bodices with a shirt-waist, on most occasions, and walking suits. At home she can be found in a walking suit or skirt, shirt-waist with belt,  and sometimes a waistcoat. On some occasions she even wears custom trousers, which her maid detest since it is unheard of for women to wear trousers. Selena finds it rather amusing. She does wear hats when she is out but prefers smaller fitted hats. When she is in a lazy mood, she flaunts a tea gown or summer gown. At night she can be found in her dressing gown and slippers by the fire.

What about her schooling? She attended Cheltenham Ladies College and did quite a bit of traveling to further her knowledge in music, theatre, voice, and the arts. She specializes in music. She is a pianist and a mezzo-soprano. She plays a little violin but not much. It was frowned upon for women to play the violin at that time. Her father played and she persisted on learning a little of the instrument. She is always wishing to learn. She thrives from adventure and furthering her knowledge. 

What is her personality like? She is very abrupt in her manner and persistent when she wants something or has her mind set. She lets people know she is well educated and is not ashamed to admit she steps outside of what most women do. She speaks her mind when she feels she needs to. She may come across as rude on occasions, but she does not mean to do so. Selena loves to step outside the lines and go beyond the normal. She enjoys helping others when needed and sharing her love of music. Even though she loves to help others and performs with her music, she prefers to remain a secluded person and live alone. She has trouble showing her softer emotions and tends to keep them bottled inside and not show them at all. This could be due to the trauma she went through when her first house burned  down and she lost her mother. She may also feel she has to hide emotions since she grew up with her father and grandfather who were from military backgrounds. She did not have other girls or women around in her life. This also plays a part in why she is not married. Most men during that time did not like a woman who was so well educated and outspoken as Selena. She is also very spontaneous. When she has her mind on something, she will do it no matter what time it is or how she has to go about doing it. Although she has no true friends, with the exception of the one that got murdered, she will go out of her way to protect and care for the ones she love. She may give Mrs. Baker, her maid, a hard time, but she does care for her greatly and has known her since she was a child. She is the closest person Selena has to a mother, and Mrs. Baker treats her as if she is a daughter. 

What are her hobbies?  Selena is an odd creature for her time. Not many were like her in those days. Because of her household being mostly men, she had become attracted to some of their hobbies. She took up fencing and horseback riding. She also does a little painting, of course singing and performing on piano, some violin at times, traveling, and reading. One of her rare, or odd habits, is she tends to pay attention to what is going on around her and not always what is involving her at the time. She thrives on trying to understand why things are the way they are and what others don't notice or understand. In a way, it is a bit of a curse for her. She doesn't always have the intentions of noticing and commenting on everything, but she often does and a lot of men frown upon her demonstrating this.

Anything else to share about her?  She is a very picky eater and normally eats light. She is a light sleeper and at times goes to bed at odd hours. She enjoys being outdoors and loves the country. She finds it very mysterious and attracting. Selena also finds it hard to interact with other women that are very sensitive or emotional. She hides a lot of herself inside and only shows her feelings on rare occasions.