"Bah..." says the old fellow, "Food, yes, but water'll be fine for you... I want you sharp for remembering any details you might have heard this man say... I'll see to it right away..." He turns back and heads into the house. "Mrs. Malloy? Mrs. Malloy...!"

John Loomis stands awkwardly, looking like he's thinking nervously, probably about the idea that he has a double out there somewhere (who may or may not be involved with witchcraft)...

The Professor calmly follows Harry to a cozy place under the trees. Hopefully, there's a bench to sit on...

"Thank you for, well, clearing this mess up, at least slightly. I'm still confused... Who is Isabella?"

Harry lowers her voice in reply. "The first voice we heard during the séance said her name was Isabella," she murmurs to her companions. "Now we have only the second to identify, the one who brought us here."

Soon, a woman brings you food and water on a large tray... Her once-red hair is almost all silver, now... "Here you are... I... hope you like it..." She just puts the tray down amongst where you're sitting, since there's no table... "...Are you... enjoying your... visit? Mr. Collins didn't say much about... why you were here..." She's apparently curious for gossip.

"Thank you very much," the Professor smiles at the woman. "Say, do you work for the lady of the house? What can you tell us about her?" He tries to get some gossip out of her first.

"Oh, no, she has her own servants... I'm just the cook... ...Er, I presume you're asking after the elder Miz Collins? Or do you mean Miz Anne?"

The Prof. continues probing the soil.

"Well, I meant the elder Collins... But it seems the authority is shared by the two ladies! Does this make things complicated?"

"Mm, I can see how one might think it would, but they don't really seem to get in one another's way. There's Miz Sarah, who's the elder Mr. Collins' wife-- he's the one who told me to come bring you summat-- and there's Anne, who married Mr. Collins' oldest son, Leo. They're both in their middle-30s... me, I like both ladies." She thinks. "I suppose they don't get in each other's way because Miz Sarah was already the queen bee of the house when Miz Anne married into the family, so she's used to letting Miz Sarah's orders stand, unless something comes up that Miz Sarah ain't around to deal with right away. They like each other, and get along... makes things easy on us all." She glances back at the house and clucks her tongue. "Blessed sight easier than if Miz Abigail were in charge of everything..."

"What makes you say that? What would be different if Miss Abigail was in charge?"

"Pffffffft. You must not've met 'er. We'd all surely be at our prayers three times a day, or more, just fer a start. There'd be a huge reduction of brandy-drinkin' in this house, I can tell ye' that fer sure. There's nothin' wrong with prayers, mind, but... You'll understand if y' ever meet 'er."

Harry helps herself to some food as Mrs. Mallory and the Professor converse. "Was she always like this, your Miss Abigail?" she asks between mouthfuls. "Or did she seek God's comfort after some tragedy?"

"Mm, I haven't worked for the Collins family long enough to know first-hand... but they say she had her heart broken way back when she was a pretty young thing. Her love died at sea in a storm, they say..."

Harry bobs her head knowingly. "Sea don't care for a man what loves another more than her," she observes without irony. "A jealous mistress, she is. Sailor wanting to avoid a watery grave learns that quick."

Mrs. Malloy nods. "...Well, I suppose I should be getting back to the house... getting back to working on preparing lunch..." She seems slightly hesitant, however, in case the three of you might want to talk with her any further...

Harry fixes Mrs. Mallory with her gaze. "Lost at sea, you say. Somewhere along the coast?" She gestures in the direction of Widow's Hill. "Rocky hereabouts. Rough in a storm. Anyone survive, or did news 'come in with the tide' as the saying goes?"

"And what can you tell us about young Isabella?"

In reply to Prof. Everett Willoughby (msg # 36):

"Oh, Isabella? A pleasant girl... 14 years old, perfectly obedient, well-mannered enough, quiet..." Mrs. Malloy looks a bit nervous. "She... Isabella... um... she has... well she's got a bit of the sight, you know..."

The Professor is intrigued.

"The sight? Do you mean she... sees things before they happen? Or things that are not there?"

"Ah, more the second thing. She tries to keep quiet about it, but I remember when she was younger, she wouldn't sit in a certain chair because she said it was 'Amadeus' favorite chair, and he doesn't like other people sitting in it.' With Amadeus Collins dead now for almost 100 years! She hasn't mentioned anything that obvious these days... I'm sure she's afraid that her great-aunt Abigail might catch her saying summat like that... But I can tell she still knows more than she says about such things... there's a far-off look in her eyes..."

"Interesting... Does she have anybody around the house she can be more open with? Somebody she trusts?"

"Mm, no, not really. She's too afraid of Abigail, I suppose. One might think that her older brother Daniel and Isabella would be closer than they are-- he's always so interested in... unusual things... but perhaps their age difference gets in the way. He's 12 years older than she is, after all, and so has a grown-up's responsibilities to keep in mind..."

"What kind of unusual things is Daniel into? Makes you wonder... if he is older, he is probably more active and open in pursuing his interests? Even alongside his responsibilities?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:48, Wed 21 Mar 2018.

"Oh, I don't know... he likes collectin' ghost stories, and things from the far east, the orient... spooky things like that... I... I should really be gettin' inside now..."

"Sure, sure, I don't want to hold you up! Just one last thing: where does Daniel live, which house? Is there any place he goes to often, outside the houses? I have a couple of things he might be interested in."

In reply to Prof. Everett Willoughby (msg # 44):

Mrs. Malloy blanches at the implication that you might, yourself, be some sort of dealer in spooky merchandise. "He lives here for now, will live at Collinwood as soon as everything is all moved in... As for... When he wants to get out at night, I think he goes to The Blue Whale in town, like most people..."

She turns and heads back into the house.