Play@YSDC

Queensway, Bayswater- London, England
9:00 AM - Sunday, September 8, 1940

Having gotten directions from Anna and Rufus, Phyllis and Maggie took the Central Line to Queensway. From there it was a short walk to Mrs. Steadman's street. The house in question, part of a row of similar houses on the left side of the street, near the head of the block, had the blackout curtains over its front windows drawn aside, tape crisscrossing the panes with Xs. There were no lights visible within.

OOC,How does the house look compared to the others in the street? Is it run down? Is the front garden/steps tidy? Phyllis takes great store in keeping up appearances; even the poor should take pride in cleanliness. Is there any signs of life in the other houses?

"Well, Maggie. Let's begin by asking the neighbours; I've never met one yet who doesn't like a good gossip." Phyllis rummages around in her bag for a collecting tin and then straightens her hat, she starts walking purposely.

The house looked much like the others on this block. There were of course no metal railings, all of them having been salvaged months ago, but they were otherwise in good shape. This looked to be a respectable, well-to-do neighborhood. The steps and the victory garden were well kept, both for the house in question and for the others nearby. Phyllis and Maggie approached the front door of a neighboring house.

OOC,[b]Phyllis[/b], please roll Luck. This will determine whether or not there are signs of life in the other houses.

"Shall we try the neighbours first?" Phyllis walks up the steps and bangs the door knocker.

Luck,(65%) roll: 03%

The house on the left of the Steadman house had lights on and the curtains spread wide. When Phyllis knocked on the door, it was opened by a short lady of about fifty years old, with curly gray hair and a friendly smile. "Good morning," she said. "How can I help you, ma'am?"

"Good morning, Ma'am, sorry to trouble you this early on a Sunday; we are collecting for the Women's Institute. Rather a rough one, last night; that raid simply went on and on didn't it? I hope you and yours are all recovered?" Phyllis puts on her best smile.

"Oh, yes, very frightful!" said the woman in sympathy. "It was lucky none of the bombs fell round here. I do have some knitting I've been doing that I can spare. Finished a sweater while I was waiting out the air raid. Come in useful once the weather starts to turn. Won't you come in? I'm Doris Spangler."

"Woollens are always most welcome," says Phyllis stepping through the door. "I'm Phyllis Cruikshank and this is Maggie Duncan. I like a bit of knitting myself, although it's getting harder to find the Wool these days. My niece, Jane, brings me a dozen skeins when she visits from Manchester but that's not so often now. This is a nice, tidy street Mrs Spangler; is it a good neighbourhood to live in?"

"Oh, yes, it's very nice here, Mrs. Cruckshank," said Doris, closing the door after Maggie followed Phyllis inside. "Good people too, for the most part."

Phyllis stands in the hallway and looks around. "Yes, it's so important to have neighbours one can rely on in times like these. You are lucky. One of my neighbours went a bit queer and it made all so much harder when it came to discussing hedge trimming and such."

"Oh, I know what you mean," said Doris. "Now I'm not one to gossip," she continued, lowering her voice before proceeding to do exactly that, "but Mrs. Steadman next door is just that sort. Her parents were both crazy, you know, and I think it's rubbed off on her."

Phyllis's eyes widen in sympathetic appreciation, "They often say it's heriditary and it gets worse with age you know. It's not so bad when there's family around, to act as a buffer, but as the neighbour you often have to deal with all sorts of weirdness. It must be very difficult for you. Shall we have a cup of tea?"

"Oh, of course," said Doris. "Let me put the kettle on. Back in a bit." She puttered off to the kitchen.

Phyllis follows her into the kitchen. "My, what a lovely service; Willow Pattern? What's your neighbour like then?"

"Why, yes, that's right," said Doris, taking out the kettle and filling it. "Mrs. Steadman is...just a bit off. I can't put my finger on exactly what's wrong with her, but she's...odd. Her husband seems a decent enough bloke, I suppose. He's an RAF officer, you know. After last night, I'm even gladder he's about. Of course, he hasn't flown in weeks, ever since he got shot down and lost his leg, poor man. He's recovering nicely, though, and he's walking about. He's got a limp, he does, but he can still get around. I can't imagine what he sees in her. Maybe he married her because she's pretty, or maybe he took pity on her, but he must know about her parents. They did something horrible years ago, and people died. Her father was killed too, but her mother survived and was committed. Except I think she must be out now. This morning I saw Mrs. Steadman leave her house with an older woman who looked rather like her."

Phyllis's jaw dropped, metaphorically, 'I wonder if it's the same man; it must be!' she thought. "Is he the sort of man to dally, would you say, Doris? I only ask because he sounds rather like a man that a young lady I knew was seeing. Her chap's name was Jim. What a coincidence it would be if it was him!" She takes an appreciative sip of tea.

"Oh, I can't imagine he'd do that," said Doris. "He's utterly devoted to his wife, and besides, there'd be hell to pay if he ever strayed. I've never seen any strange women around here, except the one with Mrs. Steadman this morning, that is. He doesn't go by Jim, either, it's always James. Major James Steadman."

"Oh, I see." says Phyllis but secretly she's thinking, 'James...Jim; it still could be him. And Mrs Steadman's mother could be back home if she's escaped- but surely this would be the first place the Asylym would look.'

"I heard that a dangerous patient had escaped the asylym last night but I suppose it couldn't be Mrs Steadman's mother if she's walking about in broad daylight. I tell you, Doris, it makes a body shiver to think of what's lurking about the streets at night; as if we hadn't got enough on our plates with the raids. It must be a great comfort to you knowing Major Steadman is next door, even if he has only one leg."

"It's nice to know he lives there, yes," said Doris, "though he hasn't been home much lately. He was in hospital for most of the last few weeks, after he lost his leg. He's out now, but he wasn't home last night or this morning. Must be busy at the RAF base, especially now."

"yes of course. And you say Mrs Steadman is out? What a shame; I was so hoping to see everyone on this street for collection. I guess we'll have to come back later. Now, about that knitting Doris, what can we have?" Phyllis finishes her tea with a ladylike slurp and puts the cup down.

"Yes, she left earlier this morning," said Doris. "It was shortly after she received a visit from a gentleman and a woman. I've never seen them before, but the bloke was quite posh. I've only got the one sweater, I'm afraid, wool being in short supply. If you'll excuse me, I'll go fetch it for you."

Phyllis gets ready and waits for Doris to come back. "What a super sweater, Doris, it"s a lovely shade of mauve. Can you remember what the lady was like? Nice clothes?"

"Nice enough," said Doris when she returned with the sweater. She went on to describe them both. The woman's description matched that of Anna Jerkins, and the gentleman could only have been Lord Rufus Colville.

Phyllis gives Maggie a knowing look. "Well, thank you very much, Doris; you've been so kind. I do so hope that Mrs Steadman senior isn't the dangerous escaped patient that the authorities are looking for; that would be very worrying for you, living next door." She heads towards the front door adjusting her hat. "If you need us for anything please don't hesitate to send a message to the W.I or the church at ..... (She gives the addresses of both places) and we'll come as soon as we can." Phyllis places the mauve sweater carefully in her bag and shakes hands with Doris.

"You're quite welcome," said Doris, returning the handshake. "It isn't Major Steadman's mother, though, it's his wife's. Her name's not Steadman, it's Exeter, same as the daughter's maiden name. Catherine Exeter." She gasps when she realizes something. "Wait, did you say dangerous escaped patient? You mean she could be on the loose? That might have been her I saw this morning?"

Phyllis looks grave. "Well, I'm not sure but I spoke to one of the hospital staff last night who said that she had escaped. She was in hospital for a good reason; she's not a stable lady and it's not good news if you saw her around here. I think it's best if we alert the authorities straight away, quietly so as not to cause alarm of course. Maybe you could stay vigilant, Doris, and Maggie and I will return as soon as we can to check everything is alright still."

She heads out the door but turns just before walking down the steps. "So she didn't change her name to Steadman when she married the major? How odd. And the daughter took her name, not her father's? Odder still. How old would you say the major and his daughter are?"

ooc,I'm a bit confused about the family relations of the Steadmans/Exeters. Is it of relevence that the women keep the maiden name? Is Catherine the mother and the escaped looney? I know it was discussed back at the church but I can't find the details in the thread. Thanks!

"Oh, dear!" gasped Doris when Phyllis told her about the escape. "Yes, you're quite right. The authorities must be told. I think you misunderstood. Madeline is the one who married the major, and she changed her name from Exeter to Steadman. Her mother is Catherine Exeter. She never remarried after her husband died."

OOC,[b]Madeline Steadman nee Exeter[/b] is the daughter, who is married to [b]Major James Steadman[/b]. [b]Catherine Exeter[/b], the escaped loony, is her mother.

ooc,All is revealed! Thank you.

Phyllis and Maggie bid farewell and hurry down the steps. Phyllis is about to trot down the street when she turns, "It can't do any harm; let's just knock, I'm sure there's nobody in though." And she walks quickly up to the Steadmans' door and raps the knocker whilst scanning the front of the house.

There was no response to the knock and no sign of anyone within the house.

Phyllis waits for a moment and then says, "lets go down to the main road and hopefully catch a No.43 back to the church, see if anyone is there and then continue to the hospital and let them know about Mrs Steadman." She bustles quickly down the street.

Phyllis and Maggie, having finished their survey of the neighborhood, made their way back to St. James's Church. At several of the other houses, there had been no answer to their knocks, and when there had been people home, nobody else had been able to tell them anything they hadn't already learned from Doris.

OOC,[b]Phyllis[/b] is moving to the thread linked below:

Tea Time