Eva Dewulf

## Eva Dewulf, 7th Baroness Brancrug

**Eva Dewulf, 7th Baroness Brancrug**, also known as The Pale Lady, was the first and last Baroness of Brancrug and the last of the Brancrug Dewulfs. During her time as Baroness she was known as a satirist, salonnière, and herpetologist.

## Biography

### Early Life

Eva was born to Valentine Dewulf sometime in the 17th Century when the Hush House was in its baronial period. As a young girl she was engaged to be married to Abraham Wheelock. However, on the day of their marriage, she was left at the altar and Abraham was later found dead.

Her relationship with her father was tenuous, and she often spent time at the front of the house in the Watchman's tower to get away from memories of him.

When her father died in 1721, her brother Eales was in no fit state to become Baron, so Eva inherited the Barony at age nineteen, becoming the first Baroness Brancrug.

### Life as Baroness

Whilst as Baroness she continued to spend much of her time in the Watchman's tower, getting a magnificent desk commissioned for the first floor study. She also made extensive renovations to the Pale Room, getting it decorated entirely in black either as a tribute of mourning to her father, or to set off her own paleness for her lovers. She would sometimes lounge on the sofa in her room and satisfy her secret cravings for sentimental novels.

Eva furnished the Hall of Division in Hush House as a place where she could host her Salons, who's guests were chosen by unusual and exacting criteria.

### Death and Legacy

She had one son, Sebastian Dewulf, who pre-deceased her when he died at Quiberon Bay, and possibly had a daughter who was adopted by the Southeys.

She committed suicide by drowning, along with her two grandchildren, effectively ending the line of Dewulfs and rendering the family extinct. The reasons why she drowned herself and her grandchildren are unknown, though the former Dewulf family chaplain, Father Theo, believes she was trying to rid herself and her grandchildren of a curse. He also says there are rumours that the grandchildren survived and live 'beyond the sea'.

Her death marked the end of the baronial period of Hush House. Her successor, the Librarian Ambrose Wescott, was the first Librarian of Hush House and the harbinger of the curia period of Hush house.

As was tradition for the Barons of Brancrug, there was a bust of Eva made of scolecite. The bust's place was on the first floor of the Grand Ascent.

## Relationships

### Abraham Wheelock

Abraham and Eva were engaged to be married when Eva was young and their wedding was organised in 1724, however Abraham left Eva at the altar which humiliated her so much that she never visited London ever again. A week after he abandoned her at the altar, Abraham was found dead and washed up near Gravesend. His face was so badly pecked by birds that he could only be identified by his belongings. There was incriminating evidence found on him that seemed to show he was a spy for the Austrians, although later investigations suggested that this might have been a forgery.

There was an oil painting made of him and Eva at some time before 1724, but after the wedding Abraham's face was obscured by a dark and corrosive substance.

### Franklin Bancroft

When she was forty-nine Lord Franklin Bancroft made a series of visits to Hush House. It was during this time working together on an opera that Franklin started to fall heavily in love with Eva, writing a substantial amount of erotic poetry to her along with pleading letters.

At one point Franklin caused a scandal by writing a speech called *Thy Throne Malachite*, which was dedicated to the sea-green sofa Eva had in her bedroom. This outraged Eva so much that she withdrew Franklin's invitation to the Christmas ball, but allowed him to attend the Spring ball, provided he wear only green.

Franklin Gifted Eva a bookwheel which was placed in the reading-room and was considered a Dewulf family heirloom by the time of the Curia.

Their relationship was well known enough that the mystic Garcia Sauri wrote a picaresque account of the adventures of Franklin Bancroft, 'Prince of Wines', and Eva Dewulf, 'the Pale Lady', on their way to the hidden island of Noon, called The Crossing to Noon.

Rumours of a Dewulf-Bancroft heir persisted for years and were so well known that Eva's biographer claimed that the unknown Dewulf-Bancroft child was adopted by the Southeys, who were friends of Eva, and that the child became the younger sister of Robert Southey, Abra Southey. However, as noted by the Librarian, there is no evidence for this. However, should Bancroft visit during Numa, he alludes to "our daughter", and the Librarian may note the similarity between Abra Southey and Eva Dewulf by examining the Pale Bust.

## Works

### Written by Her

* **Eva's Treasury** - In this book Eva discusses the occult and aesthetic properties of various precious minerals
* **One Hundred And Eight** - In this book, Eva discusses the Fifth House
* **Ettery After** (possibly) - Authored anonymously, at least two duels took place as a result of people thinking that Eva was the author

### Written about her

* **A Pale Lady and a Prince of Wines** - An anonymously authored biography of Eva, focusing on her personal troubles and intrigues.
* **The Crossing to Noon** - A fictionalised account of the relationship between Franklin and Eva. Written by Garcia Sauri.
* **Lady Eva's Repose** - A treatise on the death of Eva. Written by the former Dewulf family chaplain, Father Theo.