All The World's A Stage (Maud)

[aine]

"Mr Chapman said we could talk. Here, come and sit down for a few minutes." Maud leads the way to some steps, brushes the steps with her glove and sits down. "My name's Maud and I'm trying to find a friend of mine who has gone missing. He's a nice young man and I'm very worried about him. I was hoping you may be able to help me, Lily." Maud takes out the portrait and shows it to Lily. "Now I have a feeling you don't want to see this picture but I'm really hoping you can tell me who this woman is or something about her. Could you take a quick look at it as I think she has something to do with my friend Arthur's disappearance."

OCC,I'm wondering if the others may be heading to Mr. Maurice's for tea and don't want to hold them up; so I've bundled all my sentences together in one post. As it looks like Lily is traumatized Maud would normally try a softly-softly approach. But as time is running out she's going for shock-treatment instead.

[Dr. Bloodworth]

Lily sits on the step next to Maud and as she sits looks at the picture. She puts her hand to her mouth. "Oh my." She touches her hand, the one with the missing fingers. She turns her head to look at Maud. "Arthur Sommers? I remember Arthur... so charming he was, so bright. He and Peter and Max... all three courted," she points towards the drawing, "that lady. She took him? Poor Arthur... poor, poor Arthur... that house...

OOC,No worries, nobody else is there yet.

[aine]

"Arthur is very nice isn't he. I expect he was very kind to you. Was the lady kind to you Lily? Do you remember the name the gentlemen called her by?"

[Dr. Bloodworth]

"Oh yes, Arthur is a fine gentleman, a fine gentleman indeed." Lily shakes her head several times in quick succession. "The lady's not nice, not at all. Oh, she seems so at first, but she's really not. Do you think that anyone who would do this could be so nice?" She holds her hand up in front of her face. "And over time, she makes other folk be not so nice, either. Max, he was such a dear at first... but by the end, I was sort of afraid of him. I... I don't know her name..."

OOC,Psychology roll.

[aine]

Maud quietly feels more optimistic on hearing the present tense used to describe Arthur. She looks more closely at the hands"Your poor hands Lily! How did this happen? Why did the lady do this?"

Psychology,psychology (5%), roll=13 % (rolled by hand as I can't access invisible Castle)

[Dr. Bloodworth]

Lily wraps her arms around herself. "Last I remember is going to the house where she said she lived, the house in Camden Town, myself and several others from the theater. It was the first I'd ever been there, she was having a party for us after one of the shows... Max was there... We were drinking too much. Last I recall clearly was her raising a curtain and there was -- oh, it was horrible -- a man's arm... but withered, dry, like one of the mummies at the Museum! Reaching for the sky... then... everyone was... doing things with each other... but I'm not that kind of girl, so I tried to leave. She stopped me at the door, asked where I was going... then she tries to kiss me... only bits after that." She covers her face with her hands and when she looks up, tears cover her face. "I remember being held down... she had a knife... feeling her cut. Hearing things crawl... horrible things. The stink..." She shudders with the memory. "Then I awaken on another wooden floor. Not her house, another... in the train yards at King's Cross and St. Pancras. And... this had happened," she says, gesturing to her hand. "And my eye..." She turns towards Maud and raises her voice. "Most frightening thing is... I'm afraid... I'm afraid that she can make me go back... even if I don't want to... help me!" She buries her face in her hands again and begins to sob more loudly.

[aine]

Maud feels a bit sick. "Can you see out of that eye?" She puts her arm round Lily's shoulders. "Lily, you have been exceptionally brave, I wonder you can even talk about your experiences. But everything you can tell me is helpful. You see, my friends and I are determined to stop this woman and rescue Arthur and the others. Now, from what you've told me it sounds like it's going to be very dangerous but at least we know and can take precautions." Maud murmurs to herself," i wonder if she uses hypnotism like they do in magic shows." Then she looks at Lily."You may be right about her influence over you. Is there anywhere outside London you can go to stay for a while, with family maybe? If you were far away you may be safer. If you do go, send me your address and I'll let you know when it's safe to return." Maud grimaces to herself, Hopefully.

"It's time for me to go Lily, is there anything else at all you can think of which will help my friends and me? Do you remember the address of the house in Campden or something near it like a Landmark? Did you go by private or hired carriage? And the house at the train yards, it must have been a rough place, can you tell me anything about it; the colour of the front door, was it in the middle of the terrace, who you saw there? Please think hard Lily; anything you can tell me will help."

ooc,Which fingers are missing on the left hand?

[Dr. Bloodworth]

"My Aunt Sophie lives in Margate, it's not all that far from London, but I'm sure I could go there." She shakes her head. "No, I can't see out of this eye. Makes it a bit hard to do my work, but... Please do whatever you can for any caught there at the house. I know that I'd feel better..." She looks grim. "And I'm certain they would too, though unfortunately I don't know how they might be when you find them.

"The house was in Camden Square. The door was a dark colour... a dark red? Maybe even black? I'm not sure on the number, though... Pete Blaylock was one of those there, he just hired a carriage. The house in the train yard, so far as I could tell, was vacant, I don't think anyone lived there. Anyhow, it's the only house in the yard."

OOC,It's her little finger, index finger and middle finger that are missing.

[aine]

Maud presses Lily's good hand. "You have a good memory and, thanks to you, some leads that we can follow to track down Arthur and your other friends. Now I want you to come with me and I'll put you in a cab who'll take you straight home to get your things and then onto the station." Maud stands up all business like, brushes down her skirt. "Come along and I'll clear it with Mr Chapman on the way out." She leads the way out past Mr. Chapman's office on the lookout for him. "Is Max the same as Bart Maxwell?" she asks Lily.

OOC,Maud thinks it's a bit odd that the lady should only appear while the [b]Duchess of Malfi[/b] is shown. She wonders if there is anything especial about the play that could be relevant or if it is just coincidence. Know (75%) Art (20%) [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3320033/]1d100=18[/url]

[Dr. Bloodworth]

"Thank you. I hope you can help them. And the more distance between myself and Madame, the better." Maud can hear Chapman's voice yelling nearby. As Maud and Lily walk across the stage towards where he stands, arms moving wildly as he barks orders at an employee, Lily nods when asked about Maxwell.

OOC,It's probably mostly coincidental, although [i][b]Duchess[/b][/i] has many murders, suicides, and depravity (one character is a grave-robbing cannibal) and seems to fit with the personality of this woman as you know it.

[aine]

Maud waits patiently until the manager has finished his harangue. Then she walks up to have a quiet word with him. "Mr Chapman, sorry to bother you again. I've been talking to Lily, you've got a bright girl there, worth hanging onto although you might want to employ her in something more administrative rather than cleaning because of her hand. I have reason to believe that the thugs which caused her harm may be tempted to do so again. Would you be kind enough to give her leave to go away for a couple of weeks to stay safe and recuperate? I'll pay for her fare and see her on her way."

[Dr. Bloodworth]

Mr Chapman thinks for a moment, letting this idea digest, then nods. "That's fine. Miss Foile can take as long as she needs to -- I know these last few weeks have been hard for her, and a vacation might be just what is needed to help her relax somewhat, anyway."

[aine]

"Thankyou very much Mr Chapman." Maud bows her head and then turns. "Come along Lily, lets get you on your way. Here, before you leave," Maud rummages in her bag and pulls out her purse. She gives Lily some money, "This should be enough for your fares. I'll send a message to the local postoffice when it's safe for you to return and here's my business card should you need to contact me. Okay let's find you a cab." She leads Lily out of the theatre, nods to Benjie, and walks along the cab stand looking for a driver she knows.

[Dr. Bloodworth]

"Thank you for your help, Miss Marrick," says Lily as she pockets the money Maud gives her and the card. Eventually, a cab is hailed and as Lily steps into the waiting cab she looks back towards Maud. "And good luck to you and your friends in helping Arthur and the others."

[aine]

Maud smiles and waves to Lily before shutting the door. "Thankyou Lily, I think we may need it. Have a good trip!" She looks up at the driver. "Afternoon John, how are you? Please can you drive Miss Foile home, wait for her while she picks up her luggage, then drive her to Charing Cross station. I'd be obliged if you can deter anyone speaking to her." Maud winks, "There may be some unsavory characters after her so it's the regular damsel-in-distress scenario. I'm sure you're up to the challenge; she's a nice girl despite her looks." She passes up a tip and then backs away looking for another cab to drive her to Richard's mansion. She's thirsty, looking forward to the tea, and also very worried about what they are getting in to. She's glad that Lily is out of it now.

[Dr. Bloodworth]

By the time Maud's carriage draws up to Richard's manor, she sees Alicia has also arrived and stands on the stoop waiting to be let in. She disembarks and hurries up towards the front door to meet with the reporter.

OOC,You can start posting back in The Investigation thread.