Laura

[SunlessNick]

"But everyone recognized her," says Victoria. "What if, somehow, it is her? What if she did die in a fire - or seemed to have - and then rose from the ashes like the Phoenix?"

"Daddy finished the painting. I guess it's not much of a surprise that it's David he added. But I don't think he's ever seen David Collins. He doesn't know where he chose that face from." [She refrains from mentioning the drinking] "Something really creepy is going on here."

[Mr. Handy]

"I can talk," Victoria tells David. "Maybe I can help you decide what to do. What are your choices?"

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Startled, David quickly turns away from gazing at the painting over the old fireplace.

"Uh, I wasn't talkin' to nobody. I don't know nothin' about no choices." His grammar isn't usually this bad.

Instead of being dragged away from the old house, as normal, he dashes past Victoria and heads for the Rose Cottage.

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria follows David to the Rose Cottage.

[SunlessNick]

Maggie keeps taking care of Sam as best she can. Knowing that Burke is visiting Laura, one time when he's in the diner, she asks him out of the blue how Laura is doing,

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Victoria follows David to the Rose Cottage.

She sees him rushes into the cottage and slam the door shut behind himself.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Maggie keeps taking care of Sam as best she can. Knowing that Burke is visiting Laura, one time when he's in the diner, she asks him out of the blue how Laura is doing,

Burke sighs. "She was always kind of an oddball. You know, sort of a beatnik. Really interested in astrology and all that stuff. But now she's even more of a kook. I keep trying to ask her what she remembers about . . . well, about what happened a long time ago. But she just keeps saying she's a different person now, and doesn't want to talk about it. I have to admit that she's a real good mother, though. David means the world to her."

[SunlessNick]

"She was nice when I met her. Better than the rest of them."

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria approaches the cottage door, wondering if she can hear anything going on within.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

unexplained die roll[dice]0[/dice]

Victoria,You can hear Laura saying "Don't be afraid, David. See how warm and friendly and beautiful it is? That's it. Come closer. Closer."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"She was nice when I met her. Better than the rest of them."

"Yeah, I guess so. David's an OK kid. I can't blame him for being a little odd, living in that gloomy old mansion with no other kids around. I see him in town once in a while, looking at comic books or baseball cards. Buy him a malt, talk about the Red Sox. But the rest of the Collins think they're royalty. You know what they say around here. 'The Astors talk only to the Collins, and the Collins talk only to God.'" He chuckles a bit and sips his coffee.

Unknown to him, Carolyn Stoddard has just walked in and overheard his last statement. She flips her long blonde hair back fiercely.

"I didn't know you thought so highly of us, Mister Devlin." She ignores Burke's mumbled apologies and talks to Maggie.

"I just came by to see if you wanted to come over tomorrow night. We're going to have a séance. It's Laura's idea. She believes in all that hocus pocus stuff. I figure it's going to be pretty boring, so I thought I'd invite some folks over and have some giggles. Bring a date, if you like."

[SunlessNick]

Maggie feels slightly guilty getting this invite right after her comment (especially since Burke was answering her when Carolyn overheard him). But a seance sounds petty cool, so she says yes.

[Mr. Handy]

Concerned for David's safety lest Laura have him get too close to the fire, Victoria looks in the window.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

die roll[dice]0[/dice]

Fortunately, there is enough of a gap in the curtains for Victoria to see David and Laura, huddled closely together near a roaring blaze in the fireplace. They don't seem to be near enough to it to be in any danger, but they're much closer than they need to be in mild weather, as if it were freezing outside.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Maggie feels slightly guilty getting this invite right after her comment (especially since Burke was answering her when Carolyn overheard him). But a séance sounds petty cool, so she says yes.

After Carolyn leaves, Burke says "Guess I'm, what-ya-call-it, persona non grata around these parts. But I'd like to keep my eye on what's going up at Collinwood. She said you could bring a date. Mind if I tag along? Besides," he adds with a smile, "it should be fun to hold hands in the dark."

[SunlessNick]

After Carolyn leaves, Burke says "Guess I'm, what-ya-call-it, persona non grata around these parts. But I'd like to keep my eye on what's going up at Collinwood. She said you could bring a date. Mind if I tag along? Besides," he adds with a smile, "it should be fun to hold hands in the dark."

"Sure," Maggie says before she can think better of it.

[Mr. Handy]

Relieved that David seems to be okay, Victoria returns to the house.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Things return to more or less normal at Collinwood. The séance, at Laura's urging, takes place at midnight, so David is, one hopes, sound asleep. A large round dining table is brought into the drawing room, to accommodate all present. There's Roger, who dismisses this all as so much nonsense, but has been persuaded to join in by his niece, who knows how to wrap him around her little finger. Next to him is his sister Elizabeth, not quite so skeptical but not terribly interested either. To her side is her daughter Carolyn, and next to her is her boyfriend Joe. (There are bits of conversation that suggest their relationship is on and off at this point, given his decision to work for Burke Devlin.) Speaking of Burke, he arrives with Maggie, and is allowed to join in with some grumbling from Roger. Laura arrives and sits on the other side of her husband. Victoria and Maggie may arrange themselves as they see fit. "Just as long as you put me between any two of the lovely ladies," Burke remarks. The lights are dimmed, and Laura lights a single candle in the middle of the table, staring at it for quite a while.

"Well, what are we supposed to do? Just sit here like fools?" Roger says.

"We must join hands and wait," Laura replies.

Everyone does so. Nothing happens for some time, then a very soft, barely detectable voice, apparently that of a little girl, is heard, coming from no particular part of the room.

london bridge is falling down
falling down
falling down
london bridge is falling down
my fair lady

[SunlessNick]

Maggie sits by Burke happily enough, which he may regret when her hand tightens convulsively at the sound of the voice.

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria sits on Maggie's other side. She looks around at the others when she hears the voice, wondering if someone is trying ventriloquism.