Chapter 8: Elisa

[Starspawn338]

"I'm sorry we startled you. I don't think I was introduced but I'm Harrison Matthews." Harrison interrupts. "You say that Margaret spoke of the pattern? Did she, by chance, confide anything else about the house with you? Anything about hearing sounds in the walls or other odd things that would belong more in stories than reality?

[HoneyDog]

Elisa nods, an uncomfortable look on her face.

“She mentioned the pattern early on after they moved into the house, when she showed me it. But the last time I saw her was a couple of months before… you know. She looked terrible, pale and wan. She hardly spoke and then she could only mumble at me. She did say one really strange thing though, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. She asked me if I had seen ‘her’ in the house. I tried to ask her who she meant as it was clear she didn’t mean Beth, because when I suggested that she laughed and said “No, the woman who creeps around the house when Thomas isn’t looking. The woman who is very angry with me for trying to stop her from coming back.” I tried to find out more but Thomas arrived soon afterward and insisted that it was time for her meal.”

Elisa begins to sob. “She had snapped, poor thing. I wish I could have done more.” She covers her face and cries.

[Mr. Handy]

"It wasn't your fault, Elisa," says Alice. "Nobody could have foreseen what would happen. I wonder how Margaret thought she could stop this 'woman' from coming back."

[HoneyDog]

Elisa gets herself under control. “I don’t know” she says as she shakes her head.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you again," says Alice. "Maybe we'll be able to find out more once she's allowed visitors."

[Starspawn338]

"One last thing." Harrison says. "How would you describe Thomas' demeanor towards Margaret from what you saw. Was he kind to her or did he treat her harshly as he kept her isolated in their home."

[HoneyDog]

“Oh, he was never harsh to her” replies Elisa. “He genuinely loved and cared for her. Beth would never have stood for it anyway. But what good is it to keep someone isolated from their friends if they are feeling low? I hardly saw Margaret after Tabitha was born. The last time I saw her, I told him quite directly that he was making a mistake, but he was pretty rude to me and said that it was probably my visit which had upset her!”

Elisa’s cheeks colour as she relates this. It is obvious that she is still angry.

“He was a very arrogant man in some ways, and Margaret suffered for that.”

[HoneyDog]

OOC,Does no-one have anything to add? Shall we move on?

[evil_scientist]

Isadora Carmichael

Isadora mumbles something, that might be taken as an apology for her behavior. Or it might be something else. She grabs the basket with Margaret's works, and storms out of the house.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,I'm ready to move on from here.

[HoneyDog]

OOC,I'll move things on to the next day and the visit to the hall of records. Let's assume that Alice takes a bit of time off work if she wants to come too. Isadora can read some of Margaret's writings this evening, or perhaps you can share them around.

[evil_scientist]

OOC,Let's share the writing, we can cover more.

[Starspawn338]

OOC,I'm good to move on.

[HoneyDog]

The companions share the writings between them, and after they part they spend the evening poring through the journals and manuscripts, reading the poems and stories that Elisa has collected. The work is imaginative, even quite vivid, but has a melancholy air. It is often tinged with dream-logic, but there are no mentions of mysterious cities or women in walls.

Overall, the writings show Margaret to be quite a skilled story-teller who is capable of conjuring highly-descriptive dream-like mysteries.

OOC:   I will begin the next chapter tomorrow, and you will be able to discuss any thoughts you have.