Re: Chapter 2: Covens and Covers
Penny's eyes and ears took in all the details of Mrs Bently's circle of associates, from dresses fine and new and custom-made to those cheap and off-the-shelf, from the little looks to the flicking eyes. My, this was an interesting study in class and society. The genuinely wealthy carried themselves with superiority and arrogance, the less well-to-do and foreign were not reserved but jealous of their betters. It was a contest of wealth, class, and influence And though she'd place Emma Bently at upper-middle class, about fourth in the circle, she was clearly the most dominant personality, out of proportion with her actual wealth and class. That just left influence, and power.
Making polite conversation, Penny freely answered Emma's questions, answering with facts more general in scope than anything specific, and generally remaining discreet. Keeping her story truthful and and believable, she spoke more of the Darkmoors than their old rivals the Baskervilles, but cherry-picked what she needed from both clans and others in the moorlands. She doubted these people of New York could easily or quickly corroborate her story with the moors of far-off England. Holmes' Baskerville case — which Penny had consulted on — had only been last year, but Watson had not yet published and such incidents as had made it to the papers had surely not crossed the Atlantic.
As she spoke, she steered the conversation toward the matter of witchcraft, both to observe the reaction of those at the table and to tempt invitation as Kate had suggested. '...Why, the family dates back several centuries, surviving the Civil War and the Black Death, though the Inquisition was a particular thorn in our side. A few of my ancestors were even burned as witches! One old great-aunt for talking to her cat, of all things, and a family matriarch for apparently attempting to slay a rival lord with a hex-bag — a, uh, small bag filled with certain occult items. It's all quite fascinating.' The hex-bag was a far from commonly known item of witchcraft, so Penny had casually mentioned it to suggest her knowledge was somewhat beyond that of the lay-person.
Her eye was taken by the waiter with blood on his sleeve, and she observed the man's hands, dress, and composure. An accident with the kitchen knife or a fresh steak? But the waiter would not normally be involved in food preparation.
OOC: Scan the waiter: Investigate 17, Sense 18, Spot 23
21:27, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 17,18,23 using d20+13,d20+7,d20+9. scan: investigate, sense motive, spot.