MBTI Type: ESTJ

Eliza has a shrewd nose for business. She is always bargaining to get paid for what she is worth, and to have her name in the paper whenever she is consulted on a police case, because she knows the positive publicity will drive more clients to her door. Unlike other women, she does not faint or cringe away from the sight of dead bodies. When the men in her life try to shoo her away from seeing them, she argues that she ‘ought to have some experience.’ Though she loves being a detective, she also argues to her maid that she must take over her father’s practice out of ‘financial necessity,’ since his drinking caused them to fall into debt, and if she cannot earn a living, they will be forced out of their home. She often will not take no for an answer, and has little sympathy for Duke complaining that he faces persecution at Scotland Yard, because she continually deals with it daily. Knowing that having a woman’s name above the door might drive away clients, she pretends to be taking notes for her father, and then gains a financial backer and investor. Eliza intends to pay him back in installments. She will take cases she has minor qualms about, if it will pay the bills, such as when she agrees to investigate a suffragette group, despite agreeing with their demand that women should be allowed the vote. Eliza will sometimes tangle with Duke on ethical matters, and prefers a more straightforward approach that leaves no room for doubt (she tells a distraught business partner faced with a marriage proposal he does not want to decline and “leave no room for doubt”). Eliza is meticulous and detailed. She will follow clues to the last, and often reads things at such a surface value, the twists and turns of cases catch her off guard. She never suspects a man has hired her under false pretenses to find his wife, whom he intends to throw into an asylum so he can steal her money (but she then thwarts him, by proving him a bigamist with no legal right to her inheritance). Eliza notices the state of bodies, their fingernails, and the clues in their immediate environment, drawing attention to some things that Duke has missed in the morgue. She supplements her knowledge through extensive reading, and often imagines conversations with her father, to help guide her in her decisions. “You always said that,” she tells him in her imagination, “and there always was [supper].”

Enneagram: 3w2 so/sp

Eliza is a highly assertive woman who goes after what she wants, in her case, a detective agency in which she can surpass the expectations set for her by her father. She has no qualms about taking on cases or going to dangerous parts of town (she insists that she will be fine, under the assumption that she can look after herself), sometimes endangering herself in the process. Eliza cares a great deal about appearances, but is also hard-working and determined to succeed. She isn’t about to turn down even people she dislikes if there’s money involved, but expects a high return for her investment. She is also not inclined to share her feelings, even though they run deep for the Duke, and shies away from telling him that she loves him when she thinks he’s about to leave London for Scotland. Her “can-do” attitude and arrogance sometimes prove to be her undoing, but also make her an effective  businesswoman (who isn’t above letting a few birds free, if their owner doesn’t want to pay her fee on time). She isn’t about to let her sex get in the way of making it as a professional, but tolerates slights and insults with good grace and always manages to come out looking confident, competent, and successful. Eliza feels she must earn others’ approval through being helpful to them, solving their cases, and providing assistance to the police. She is considerate enough to one of her female clients to help her style her hair before she sees her uncle. But it’s no use telling her no. She just won’t listen, and will do her own thing, confident she’s right.