Mr. Blaylock Is Unwell (Alicia)

[Dr. Bloodworth]

Alicia hails a carriage and rides into Kensington, and the site of the home of Peter Blaylock's mother and father, probably the best lead she has at the moment. She reads The Times as the carriage trundles along, through the East End, through the City, and finally through more and more respectable streets until it passes the lengthy green expanse of Hyde Park. It turns into Kensington Square and up to the Blaylocks' house.

[yockenthwaite]

Alicia looks in her handbag for her card which she uses on occasions like this. It lists her name, but neglects to mention she is a journalist. Nice and anonymous for times like this. She pays the driver and dismounts, before walking up to the front door of the house and knocking on it.

[Dr. Bloodworth]

A few moments pass, and just as Alicia is getting ready to knock again the door is opened by a tall, thin man, slightly stooped and somewhere in the range of years between middle aged and elderly. A pair of spectacles is perched precariously on his angular nose.

"Good morning, ma'am," he says in a cultured accent, taking the card from Alicia's grasp and holding it in front of his face. "Miss Douglas, is it, then? What can I help you with?"

[yockenthwaite]

"Would it be possible for me to speak to Mrs Blaylock please?" asks Alicia. "It is in connection with her son Peter."

[Dr. Bloodworth]

The man silently nods and holds a hand up to Alicia. "Just a moment, ma'am, let me see how she is feeling." He disappears into a back room, and after a few moments he returns and beckons. He opens a door into a hastily made-up bedroom where a woman in late middle age sits on a window sill. She turns her head to look at the door.

"Thank you, George." The man nods and leaves, closing the door behind him. The woman addresses Alicia. "Oh, one of Peter's friends, how wonderful. What news have you brought, miss?"

[yockenthwaite]

"Thank you for seeing me, Mrs Blaylock," says Alicia. "Some associates and I are investigating the disappearance of Arthur Sommers, Peter's friend, who vanished not long after seeing your son. I gather that Peter has also not been seen around town lately. We were hoping that he might have been able to help shed light on what has happened to Arthur."

OOC,Can I try a Psychology roll or similar? Mrs Blaylock seems remarkably cheery.

[Dr. Bloodworth]

"Arthur's missing? I'll have to ask Peter if he knows where he has gotten himself to when next I speak with him," she says, not getting up to greet Alicia. "Or you could ask him. He's with the doctor at the moment, but I'm certain he'll be glad that a friend's here to see him. He's been so frightfully depressed as of late."

OOC,Sure, go ahead.

[yockenthwaite]

"If I could speak to him that would be wonderful," says Alicia, concealing her surprise that Peter is there in the house, given what Travisham had suggested. "We have a number of leads on Arthur, and are trying to follow them up to find him. It's possible Peter might be able to help with information he knows."

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3291860/]Psychology roll (stat 35%) wondering about Mrs Blaylock's state of mind (1d100=45)[/url]

[Dr. Bloodworth]

"George!" Mrs. Blaylock calls. After a moment the thin man who greeted Alicia at the door appears again. "Show this young lady to Peter's rooms, would you?" George nods -- he seems to be vaguely reluctant to do so, for some reason -- and motions for Alicia to follow him. He leads her to the second floor of the house and raps on a closed door.

"Just a moment!" a voice calls. Then, after a short time, "Enter."

The door is opened and George announces Alicia, and then leaves -- once again, it seems he can't leave fast enough. A middle-aged, jowly man, who's presumably a doctor, is gathering medical instruments and a large roll of gauze and putting them away in a medical bag. "Miss Douglas," he greets Alicia as he works. But what really draws Alicia's attention is a person -- presumably Peter -- who sits in an easy chair, a blanket over his knees, dressed in pajamas, and his entire head completely swathed in bandages except for three tiny holes for eyes and nostrils and a larger one for his mouth. Another maid, once again looking rather haggard and distressed, dabs blood from beneath his mouth.

The doctor closes his bag and withdraws a metal flask from his shirt pocket and takes a quick drink from it. "Quite a sight, isn't he? Oh, don't fret about bedside manner, his mind is too far gone."

[yockenthwaite]

"Oh my goodness," says Alicia, bringing her hands to her mouth in utter shock. She turns to the doctor. "What happened to him, how did he come to be like this?"

[Dr. Bloodworth]

"Well, that's just the issue," says the doctor. "Can't say that I really know. We found Peter lying in an alley near Marylebone Station a few weeks ago. He was... well, I don't know that a lady needs to know exactly what injuries he suffered. Suffice it to say, I've no idea what could've possibly even inflicted the injuries Peter's suffered. His mind was completely gone when we found him, and once we brought him back here... we need to keep him heavily drugged against the pain, so... he does really have brief moments of lucidity in which it's possible to communicate with him on a rudimentary level." He momentarily glances towards the door. "His mother hasn't taken it well at all, I fear. She's in a state of denial. When Peter was found, I made it known that the best thing for him was to be sent to the hospital, but she insisted that we keep him here."

[yockenthwaite]

"This is appalling. Will he recover?" asks Alicia.

[Dr. Bloodworth]

"Possibly. Over time the pain will of course be less, but I fear that he will likely be wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life," says the doctor. "And such a pity, too, I've heard that he was quite the amateur athlete. As to his mental faculties, it's difficult to say, but there isn't anything wrong with his brain, physiologically anyway, so we can hold out hope I suppose."

[yockenthwaite]

"Such a shame," says Alicia. "I pray he will recover in part. You mentioned that he communicates occasionally. Has he given any clues to what might have happened to him?"

[Dr. Bloodworth]

"Even when he's lucid, his words are disjointed and rarely make complete sense. We gather that just after leaving the police station the night of Peter and Arthur's dust-up, he took a carriage a brief way home and then walked the rest of the way. We've never been able to get him to tell us exactly what happened -- for now, we're assuming he was attacked by something or other escaped from the Regent's Park zoo. He's usually lucid after he eats -- he'll be done in a few moments. You're welcome to try communicating with him if you like."

[yockenthwaite]

"Alright," says Alicia, nodding to the doctor. She waits while Peter eats, and then kneels down, so she is at his eye level. Gently she says: "Peter, can you hear me? I've come from Arthur's friends. They're worried about both of you. What happened to you?"

[Dr. Bloodworth]

Peter speaks quietly, rocking slightly, seeming to be trying to find his voice again. "Arrrr..." he mutters. "Try Arthur... help. Green... blood... She laugh... Hello, boy... Teeth, teeth, tongue... Hit... bite... teeth! She... not same... Max, why?"

[yockenthwaite]

Alicia looks at the doctor with concern, wondering whether to push this further. Then she turns back to Peter. "Who is she? Who is Max?"

[Dr. Bloodworth]

"Bard Max... ell... paint. Bad, bad." The maid wipes a bit of spittle from Peter's lower lip. "She... Byogdin. Shurnog. Hammer, hands, mouth, teeth. She take... take..." he paws at his face with his hand, which aside from a few cuts and scratches is unhurt. "Teeth... take face..."

"Don't worry, dear," says the doctor. "He actually seems a bit more lucid than he usually is. I can almost make out some complex words."

Peter weakly nods his bandaged head and grasps at Alicia's hand. "Max... she... be careful. Bad two..." He gestures towards his face with his other hand. "No let... she... take face. She... woman... not. Arm... dest... ry arm..."

[yockenthwaite]

"We will be careful, I promise," says Alicia. "Thank you so much. Please rest now." She could have asked more, but feels uncomfortable about putting Peter through more stress. He has helped so much already, and is so very weak.

With that she stands, ready to leave. She intends to give her thanks to the doctor, and then the butler and Mrs Blaylock, before heading outside. She will get a taxi to Mr Maurice's manor, to arrive at sunset.

OOC,Do I recognise any of the names, specifically "Bard Maxwell" presumably an artist, and Byogdin?