Miss Stockbridge

[SunlessNick]

Since Reverend Trask shares his plan with Josette, she also tells him of her premonition.

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria has no family of her own and had little opportunity to attend weddings, but she is familiar with the roles of flower girl and ring bearer. When she sees that others are not, she has to wonder if Miss Stockbridge is from the same place she is, especially given her resemblance to Laura. She seeks out Miss Stockbridge when she can speak to her in private, either by herself or with Jeremiah, who already knows her secret.

[Mr. Handy]

"God does sometimes send visions to His faithful to warn of things to come," says Reverend Trask. "We must hope He will hear our prayers and prevent any tragedy."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"I am glad that you have come to consult with me, ma petite," the Countess says.

She deals out the Tarot cards.

"Curious, most curious," she says, as she observes the results. "All wands, nothing but wands! That is most unusual." She points to the card in the center.



"The Queen of Wands. That is Mademoiselle Stockbridge -- such names these English have! -- I believe. Yes, calm and proud, and bearing a symbol of the sun. What do cats have to do with it, I wonder? And look at what surrounds her."



"The Four of Wands. A ceremony of celebration. The wedding, no doubt."



"The Five of Wands. A battle! Perhaps not with arms, but some form of strife, to be sure."



"The Seven of Wands, reversed. One stands alone against enemies, and is defeated."



"The Ten of Wands. One who carries a burden too heavy to bear. There is to be sorrow ahead for someone, I am afraid."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Despite any forebodings, plans continue for the wedding. If there had been any doubt as to the resources of Miss Stockbridge, they are entirely removed when that lady produces a large quantity of finest Chinese silk, to be transformed into gowns for all the female attendants by the best tailors and seamstresses to be found in Collinsport. A question of propriety arises when the material is seen to be bright red in color. Those persons who labor at creating clothing from the fabric wonder if the ladies for whom it is intended will be persuaded to wear such a shade during a marriage ceremony.

[SunlessNick]

Josette breathes a little easier after her Aunt's reading - if one is stand alone against enemies and be defeated, well the Reverend is not alone, not with Miss Winters, Mr Forbes, and herself ready to give him what aid they can. For the time, she involves herself in the wedding preparations, making whatever observations she can.
She is startled at the colour of the dresses, but suggests that it is well to have a bright and strong colour to bring good cheer to Collinswood after so much strife.

--------------------

Millicent does not share the Reverend's suspicions. "Such a beautiful lady as Miss Stockbridge can surely mean no ill." However, since he has shared his misgivings in confidence, she will reluctantly promise not to reveal them to the lady herself - and "to do so would mar this happy time for her."

--------------------

Nathan undertakes a similar mission as Josette, making himself available for work as Jeremiah Collins requires.

[Mr. Handy]

"All I ask is that you pray along with me at the wedding," says Reverend Trask to Millicent. "If she truly means no harm, then no harm will come. If she does mean harm, our prayers may prevent it."

[Mr. Handy]

"The silk is beautiful," says Victoria to Miss Stockbridge when she gets a chance to speak to her. "Wherever did you get it? Red is an unusual color for a wedding, but I suppose it is what we have. Sarah will make a wonderful flower girl. I also know of flower girls and ring bearers where I come from. Where did you come from, by the way?"

[SunlessNick]

Millicent agrees to the Reverend's request.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Please, dear, you must refer to me by my Christian name, which is Laura," Miss Stockbridge responds to Victoria's inquiries, displaying a remarkable degree of informality to a person of lesser station. "As to my origins, I am from west of here." She waves a hand vaguely in that direction. "Perhaps we are not so civilized in that part of our young nation," she continues, although judging by her elegance of speech and manner, as well as fine dress, this can hardly be true. "The silk comes from some close friends of mine on the other side of the world," she explains, without further elaboration.

As plans for the wedding continue, Miss Stockbridge reveals even great eccentricity than has been shown heretofore, as she insists that the ceremony be performed late in the evening, the nuptials to be sealed at the stroke of midnight.

"So that the candlelight may reign in its glory to best effect," she explains to the natural inquiries of the curious.

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria realizes that Laura must be the same woman she knew before somehow, but Laura didn't seem to recognize her. Did she come from the future, or had she simply not gotten there yet? Would she rise from the ashes like the phoenix she seemed to be?

"Miss Stockbridge strikes me as something of a phoenix," she tells Reverend Trask. "She is obsessed with fire, and I fear she means to start one at the wedding. We must be prepared in advance. We can position buckets of sand and of water strategically to put out any flames."

"A good suggestion," says Reverend Trask. "Nathan Forbes and I can make the preparations."

[SunlessNick]

Nathan also sees the merit in Miss Winters's suggestion. He also recommends secreting a few weapons near the buckets.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

The day -- or, one might better say, the night -- of the wedding arrives. The ceremony draws a great amount of attention from the villagers, novelty always being of interest to those who infrequently experience it. Arrangement is made to secure the use of the local Congregationalist facility, this being the church to which the Collins belong, as is common among those who can trace their lineage in New England to the earliest days of colonization. Miss Stockbridge herself expresses no particular preference as to sect.

The text used for the ceremony is the familiar one from the Book of Common Prayer. With the addition of cheerful hymns provided by Miss Collins, accompanying herself on the pianoforte as the light of nearly hundred candles fills the church with dancing golden phantoms, the scene is one of sublime beauty. Of equal interest to most, although not entirely to the approval of some, are the various novelties introduced by Miss Stockbridge; viz., the bearing of fresh blossoms by a girl-child, and that of the wedding rings by a lad. If the ceremony is new in many ways, it is also traditional in others

Laura, will you have this man to be your husband; to live
together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him,
comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health;
and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you
both shall live?

I will.

Jeremiah, will you have this woman to be your wife; to live
together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her,
comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health;
and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you
both shall live?

I will.

At the moment these words are spoken -- perhaps the very moment when matrimony becomes a matter of fact rather than of anticipation -- there arises a human cry from without the church.

"Fire! Fire at the stables!"

Many persons present, particularly those of the male sex, rush outside. Notably, young Daniel, overly bold for a mere boy, joins his elders in their eagerness to deal with the disaster.

[Mr. Handy]

"This may be a diversion," says Reverend Trask to his team, "but we must still go fight the fire. You ladies will have to stay here. If anything does happen while we're gone, you know where the buckets have been placed. We'll take some with us, but we'll leave the rest for you."

Victoria nods. "We'll be ready," she says. "I'm concerned about all those candles."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

d20

As all persons of the male sex who are not elderly or infirm rush out of the church to aid in controlling the stable fire, it is notable that Miss Stockbridge -- or, perhaps, it would now be more proper to refer to her as Mrs. Collins -- attempts to keep Jeremiah from joining them.

"Stay with me always, husband," she is heard to say.

Nonetheless, that gentlemen, after a moment when he seems to be undecided, takes leave of his bride, perhaps fearing in particular for the safety of young Daniel; blood being, as they say, thicker than water (or another of the four elements one might name.)

Laura is observed snuffing out the myriad candles one by one, with her bare fingers; a feat sometimes performed by those of bold resolution and having little fear of pain, but rarely by a lady, and not so many times so quickly. She appears to savor the sensation of flame upon flesh.

The fire at the stables is raging, causing the poor dumb beasts within to panic, beating their hooves upon their stalls.2d612d20 The stable is of good construction, it seems, as only four of the dozen horses currently present within are able to burst out of restraint, running wild amongst the crowd. Men do what they can to quell the flames, keeping at a safe distance from both fire and maddened animal. However, young Daniel is observed rushing toward the inferno, despite the warnings of those present.

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria is relieved that Laura is putting out the candles, though a little disturbed by how she is doing it.

[Mr. Handy]

"Daniel, stay back from the flames and the horses!" calls Reverend Trask. "It's not safe!" If the boy doesn't listen, he will move forward to protect him, carrying a bucket.

[SunlessNick]

Seeing Daniel rush outside, Millicent followed him, and joins the Reverend in screaming for him to stay away from the fire. (She will spend her grace point in aid of efforts to protect him).

Nathan doesn't bother with words and attempts to physically restrain Daniel from running toward the fire (perhaps remembering the previous time the lad was beguiled into danger).

----

Josette remains in the Church. She whispers to Victoria, "Remain ready - I fear she may mean to put the candles out only to kindle a greater fire."
(Again, if the new Mrs Collins tries anything, Josette will offer her Grace point to anyone attempting to thwart her).

Given Josette's suspicion of the newcomer equalling that of the others and the way she has been sneaking around with Amos, would Josette be in danger of falling from Innocence, or at least an increase in perversity?

Sorry my replies are terse at the moment - there's a family crisis happening, so I don't have a lot of time.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Four horses attacking blindly; each has dex = 154d20Three hit their targets. 1 = Daniel, 2 = Trask, 3 = Forbes, 4 = Jeremiah 3d4Let's spend the faith points from Millicent to see if we can spare Daniel from one of the attacks; Victoria and Josette not present at the stables at this time Reroll one of the horse's attacksd20 Still two attacks on Daniel, one on Forbes. Damage3d6 Daniel is severely wounded, Forbes moderately so.

One cannot miss the fact that, as each candle is snuffed out, the light within the church grows stronger, until the interior of the building closely resembles the conflagration at the stables in color and brightness.

A man comes running from the stables to the church, bearing the bad news of which those present at the fire are already aware; namely, that, driven to madness, the escaped horses have attacked Nathan Forbes and young Daniel Collins. The brave Forbes suffers an injured arm. Sad to say, Daniel was struck upon the head by the hooves of the crazed beasts, and lies near death.

Upon hearing this news, Mrs. Collins says, in a strangely calm voice, "I will go to him. Only I can save him." She makes her way to the stables, a nimbus of ruddy light surrounding her in eerie fashion.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Given Josette's suspicion of the newcomer equalling that of the others and the way she has been sneaking around with Amos, would Josette be in danger of falling from Innocence, or at least an increase in perversity?

Not necessarily; it depends on whether you might consider, perhaps not really seriously, running off with the fellow.

Sorry my replies are terse at the moment - there's a family crisis happening, so I don't have a lot of time.

Spoiler:

No apology necessary. You have my very best wishes as you deal with this difficult situation.

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria rushes out of the church as well, heading for the stables, knowing that she may be Daniel's best chance for survival.