Revelations and a Strange Visitor (Victoria Winters)

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Perhaps surprisingly, Buzz just shrugs at this news.

"Rich kooks aren't really my style anyway. Now, on the other hand, you two look like a pair of swinging chicks."

He grabs Maggie with one hand and Victoria with the other, pulling them to him in an awkward embrace. Joe can't help but notice that Carolyn is not in the best of conditions, and that the other two women are struggling against Buzz's unwanted advances.

[Mr. Handy]

"You can't dance with two girls at the same time," says Victoria. "Why don't you let her sit down?"

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Whatever you say, hon."

Buzz lets Maggie slip away, while forcing Victoria into a slow, close dance, without much grace. Maggie rushes to Carolyn's side, trying to make the two of them as inconspicuous as possible.

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria tries to make eye contact with Joe, hoping that he'll cut in on Buzz.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

At this point, a tall, dark-haired, ruggedly handsome man walks in, then stops and stares at what's going on.

"I just wanted a cup of coffee. Looks like I walked into a party. What's the occasion?"

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm glad you came," says Victoria with relief. "I could use some help."

[SunlessNick]

[OOC: Sorry, I've been snowed the last couple of days] Joe would indeed try to cut into the dance "between" Buzz and Victoria.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"I'm glad you came," says Victoria with relief. "I could use some help."

"Oh, I didn't expect you here, Miss Winters," the man says, although he's a stranger. "I thought you'd be up at the Collins place by now."

For the moment, he just stands back and watches the other two men tussle.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

start with a battle of dex; buzz = 9, I'll give Joe 10 for profession requiring extra dexterity. In that order.2d20

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

start with a battle of dex; buzz = 9, I'll give Joe 10 for profession requiring extra dexterity. In that order.2d20

Joe easily pushes away Buzz, who sees that he's outnumbered -- the new man grinning at him -- and beats a hasty retreat.

"All the chicks in this town are nuts," he mumbles as he heads out.

"Nice work," remarks the new man. "Say, aren't you Joe Haskell, the kid who used to hang around the docks? I haven't seen you since you were half your size."

"Hi, Joe," Carolyn says, giving him a big hug. "Still like me?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, Joe," says Victoria with a smile. "I'm glad for your intervention." To the other man she says. "Thank you, I'll meet you back at the inn in a little while. I need to get my stuff and maybe change my clothes." She doesn't want to leave the younger Victoria stranded waiting for her ride or cause other problems, and this is the simplest way she can think of to prevent that.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Will do," says the stranger, smiling at Victoria as he leaves. "Remember what I said about keeping me informed."

After a moment, Joe remembers the man as Burke Devlin, who left town about ten years ago, because of some kind of trouble.

While trying to make up with Joe, Carolyn casually asks, "Who's the good-looking guy, Vicki? He seems to know you. Anybody I should meet?"

[Mr. Handy]

"That's Burke Devlin," says Victoria. "I can explain everything, but I think we should get back to Mother first. Then I can tell you both at the same time."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Carolyn is agreeable. In her present condition, she seems hardly likely to argue with anyone. She hangs on to Joe, who may be a bit embarrassed by her overt signs of affection. Paradoxically, she also continues to make teasing remarks about Burke Devlin.

"Handsome devil Delvin," she mutters, then giggles at her own joke.

When Joe and Victoria finally get her to the mansion, Roger raises his eyebrows at Carolyn's condition, while seeming to stifle his amusement, but Elizabeth is not at all pleased.

"What is the meaning of this?"

[Mr. Handy]

"I found Carolyn and brought her back," says Victoria. "She's safe and unharmed, which is the most important thing. As to what happened, I think that is a family matter best discussed in private."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"I suppose you are right. Thank you for bringing her back, Mister Haskell." Mrs. Stoddard is well acquainted with Joe as both former packing plant employee turned independent fisherman, and as Carolyn's sometime escort. She apparently assumes he played the most important part in returning her home. "I believe that Carolyn needs to get some rest."

Seeing this as more of a command than a request, Carolyn meekly goes upstairs.

As Elizabeth takes Victoria into the drawing room for a private conversation, Roger brings Joe a glass of whiskey and takes him aside.

"Man to man, Joe; what are your intentions concerning my niece? I've no objection to a healthy young fellow sowing some wild oats, and heaven knows my marriage was less than blissful, but where do things stand?"
"

[Mr. Handy]

"There were some bikers at the bar," says Victoria to Elizabeth. "Fortunately, I was able to extricate Carolyn before anything awful happened. One of them later showed up at the diner where I had taken her, but Mr. Haskell was very helpful in sending him packing. There's something else, though. The other Victoria, the younger one, has arrived in Collinsport. I saw her going into the inn. Burke Devlin is back too, and he's apparently met her and is going to give her a ride. He mistook her for me, and I told him I'd meet him at the inn to delay him, and to not leave her stranded. She'll be on her way here, no doubt. It could be awkward having two of us in the same place, so perhaps I should try to find a way back to my own place. Professor Stokes may be able to help. He knows about how this sort of thing works."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Elizabeth seems bewildered by this explanation, still having difficulty understanding how there can be two parallel times.

"Yes, I suppose you must see him. He is a strange fellow . . .

"This . . . other Victoria Winters; she does not know, then, that she is my daughter? Or the daughter of my other self? Oh, dear, I just can't make sense of all this."

She embraces Victoria for a long moment, then says "Do what you must, my own. At least I shall always have one of you, it seems."

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria hugs Elizabeth in return. "I think you should be honest with the other Victoria from the start," she says, "and tell her that you're her mother. She wouldn't know yet, as I didn't when I first came to Collinwood. I belong with the other you where I come from, and I'll have to let her know that I know she's my mother. She needs me with her. Since she is essentially you, how should I best tell her?"

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"That is a problem, as I -- she -- oh, this is so confusing! Both of us were so careful to keep this hidden from everyone. No touch of scandal must be allowed to sully the name of Collins," she says, with obvious bitterness. "I suppose you must make up some story about discovering records at the orphanage, or hiring a private detective, or some such nonsense. If this other Elizabeth Stoddard is as trusting of you as I am, she will believe you. Now go to Professor Stokes, before I start crying. Good luck!"