Beverley Brook

Beverly Brook
Geographic Feature	River
Locality	Beverly Brook
Geographic Area	Southwest London
Reign	1990s-Current
Predecessor	Unknown son of Father Thames
Successor	None
Biographical Details
Born	1990s (estimated)
Parent Watershed	Mama Thames
Spouse	None
Siblings	Effra, Fleet, Tyburn,
Offspring	Taiwo, Kehinde
Career
Special Affinities	Thames Valley Automobiles
Occupation	Student
University	Queen Mary University
Notable Affiliations	The Folly
Notable Associates	Peter Grant, Molly

Beverley Brook is the current Genius loci of the London river with the same name.

She is a confident, intelligent woman who appears as a physically attractive woman in her mid-twenties with dreadlocks. She lives with Peter Grant in an inherited London townhouse on Beverly Avenue, and is a student at Queen Mary University reading Environmental Science. She is currently working on her dissertation, entitled ‘The Environmental Benefits of Waterway Reversion’. 

Early Life

Her original, human form was found floating in the brook by the Kingston Vale dual carriageway. It is unknown if she was conceived by the magic of Mama Thames like the river Chess, or through some other method.

Little is known about her childhood, except that during the events of Foxglove Summer she tells Peter she used to run away from her home and go to the river. It is likely her childhood was similar to that of the river Brent.

When she joined Peter Grant in the search for two missing girls she is estimated to be 20 years old. However her real age is unknown as genius loci can appear older or younger than their years. She does appear deferential to her older sisters: Tyburn, Fleet, and Effra.

Skills

She was half of the hostage exchange, after the events with Henry Pyke, made to ensure peace between Mother and Father Thames as Beverley went to live with Father Thames and Ash went to live in the city. The exchange took place on Midsummer's eve, at Runnymede.

During the Covent Garden riot she was able to summon river water and funnel it from nearby fire hydrants. The extent of her power is unknown, however she states she needs permission from The Folly (Organization) to be able to perform magic in greater London.

Personality

The shirt Beverley is wearing when Peter Grant meets her for the second time during the events of Rivers of London. 

Like Peter Grant she is of West African descent. She enjoys extremely spicy food and often appears wearing fashionable clothing or t-shirts with assorted sayings printed on them.

She has demonstrated an interest in cars — especially Nightingale’s Jaguar — and has had several of her own destroyed since meeting Peter Grant and being embroiled in his investigations.  

Due to her frequent trips underwater her mobile phone is carried in a waterproof case. She owns a purple neoprene wetsuit, among others, although Peter has also seen her swim in the nude. Peter states she has a propensity to leave her wetsuits drying around their shared residence. During her underwater trips she often wraps her hair in a Tesco or Sainsbury's bag.

She has an affinity for some types of people from the demi-monde, particularly Molly and Mellissa Oswald.

Relationships

Periculum novum! The following sections contain spoilers for Lies Sleeping, or later works.

Peter Grant

Beverly has been in an intimate relationship with Peter Grant since the events in Foxglove Summer. When she saves Peter Grant from the faerie queen of Herefordshire she goes so far as to declare 'Hands-off the boyfriend'. This relationship progresses such that during the events of The Hanging Tree she and Peter are shown to have a long-standing relationship, and that Peter Grant has relocated the majority of his belongings to her house, rather than his room in The Folly (Building).

At the end of Lies Sleeping she reveals to Peter Grant that she is pregnant by him, later in False Value further revealed to be with twin girls, and in MONDAY MONDAY named Taiwo and Kehinde.

Uncle Maksim

Uncle Maksim was a small-time ex-Russian gangster who tried to kidnap Beverley Brook to put pressure on Peter and the Folly during the events in Night Witch. Beverley easily subdued the gang with a glamour and had them do her housekeeping. Maksim seemed to be very susceptible to the Glamour, and has continued to the adore and serve Beverley, even after she released the remainder of his gang. He is now the administrator and sole employee of the Beverley Brook Conservation Improvement Trust.

Father Thames Version of Beverley Brook

When Peter enters the memory landscape of London during the events in Lies Sleeping, he encounters a fit blond man with a gold torc at his neck wearing a cloak of beaver pelts. Peter recognizes this person as the Beverley Brook, the son of Father Thames, during a surprise French kiss. As with Lady Ty and William of Tyburn this version of Beverley retains memories from the current time period despite appearing in historical dress.

Beaver Homage

The name of the river 'Beverley' is derived from 'Beaver Lea,’ a meadow where Beavers live. Beverley Brook was once a habitat for a species of Beaver that went extinct in the 16th century. It is likely that the Beaver cloak on the earlier version of Beverley Brook is a direct reference to this animal.