You're listening to Twisted Tropes. Familiar
settings. Wild new tales. Now, on with the story.
Scandals and Scavengers, a post -apocalyptic
Regency romance. Episode 8, Rumors and Recriminations,
or Fortuitous is the theme of the day. Last time
on Scandals and Scavengers, our protagonists
were still getting down at Lady Godwallow's ball.
Samuel came face to face with Desmond Gammabloom,
Henry's conniving former assistant, and found
that he had not changed in the intervening months.
After her dance with Major Corny, Edgewater ran
into Gladstone and Nigella, who were having a
lovely time together as usual. And that's when
the excitement ratcheted up. With a royal fanfare,
Queen Mara arrived at her first event of the
season. Not wasting any time, Nathaniel Drake
immediately took the opportunity to provide his
brother-in-law an introduction, and Queen Mara
welcomed Samuel into the ton. Unfortunately,
it seemed that Nathaniel would be heading back
into the Wildlands soon. Thoughts returning to
the secret nursery, Ruby solicited the advice
of Mr. Salt on the disturbing situation of the
dolls, and not knowing how to refuse, Salt agreed
to repair the damaged doll's arm the next day.
When invitations were delivered to Ruby, Samuel,
and the Clarence family to attend a seance in
Lady Gadwallow's library, Ruby dragged Salt and
Lefroy along as her guests. Mary's con, as spiritual
medium Madame Belladonna, rolled along swimmingly
until she was overtaken by an actual spirit,
the ghost of Henry Drake, who delivered a frightful
warning to Samuel to beware the third sons, and
left poor Nicodemus unconscious inside the idol.
Samuel, shaken by the interaction with his dead
husband, ran out of the seance and the ball,
but was followed by Salt, who extended the hand
of friendship and an invitation to meet him at
the Seltzer residence the next day. Meanwhile,
fully convinced of Madame Belladonna's spiritual
prowess and fearing for Ruby's safety, Ruby and
Edgewater invited Madame Belladonna to conduct
a seance in the nursery the very next day. When
the room was finally cleared of spectators, Mary
rescued Nicodemus from inside the idol, and he
confessed to having an unwelcome and uncontrolled
ability to channel the actual spirits of the
dead. Eventually recovered from the shock, Samuel
returned to the ball to fulfill his two dances
with Edgewater, and the night rounded out with
Ruby dancing with Ruben until he was, once again,
called away by Second Lieutenant Gammabloom.
Now, we return to Neo Britannia to see if morning
has shed some light on the previous evening's
events. All right, and welcome back. We have
just a little bit of the night to finish out
with after a very... eventful ball at Lady Gadwallows.
You all return home to largely quiet homes. Except
one. And it's not so much a sound that gets you,
it's the smell. The smell of something burning,
or that was burning. Following the smell, Ruby,
you go up to Richard's room. Why are you looking
at me? Your dad's room is dimly lit, and on the
floor, you see a pillow that has the center burned
and smoldering. The room reeks of burning feathers.
Your dad... make a medicine check. All right. All
right, okay. Please be good to me. Oh, oh, that's
a 13. Help! Your dad... Hey, that's not bad.
It's not bad. Honestly. A 16 minus three. Great.
Ruby, your dad is, his head is at a slightly
different angle than when you left. He is, he's
sweating. And there is the slightest amount of
bruising up around his, like the bridge of his
nose and like down under his eyes. I go up to
him and I cup his... Is the fire out before I
do anything? It seems to be just sort of that
last stage of smoldering, like a campfire that
hasn't been tended a while. Oh, right. But yeah,
ooh, man, whatever feathers they stuff these
pillows with do not mix well with fire. Just the
smell in here is god awful. Alright, I go up.
First I'm going to open a window and I'm going
to try and get some of the smoke out and then
I'm going to go up and I'm going to cup his head
and give him a little, some slaps and be like,
Daddy, are you alright? What's happening? Rosamund.
God damn it, man. And his eyes roll back and
he goes fully into a coma. No. Again. Oh, Rosamund.
I'm going to run out and I'm just going to shout
into the hall. Help, I need somebody. Somebody,
there was a fire. Okay, cool. There is some staff
members come up that have been awoken. Were you,
did somebody come in here? There was a fire in
this room. Oh, no, Miss Rhinelander, there was
no one that came to visit us tonight. Everything
was locked down. We'll take care of things immediately.
All right. Remind me to call the doctor tomorrow.
I've been meaning to check in with him about
my daddy, and he woke up from his coma, and then
he went back into it, I think. As you wish, Miss
Rhinelander. All right. Make me a visual-based
perception check. That is a 16. Fantastic. So
as the servants are bustling around, they're
venting the room. One of them is disposing of
the pillow. You're looking around and it's just
so very overwhelming. There is no one that should
have been in here. Why would they have lit one
pillow on fire? What happened to your dad? You
just you throw your hands in the air. And as
you look to the sky. Why is the ceiling scorched?
Right above your father's head, there is a scorch
mark on the ceiling. Like flame hit and then
expanded. Oh, boy. What room is right above my
daddy's? Or is he, are we on the top floor? You're
on the top floor. So, I mean, technically, attic?
Yeah. Don't go into the attic. I swear to God.
Invite Ruben. Get out of here. Get out, voices
in my head. Oh, Ruben. I should talk to him.
Anyway, so the flame is just right above him.
Is there a way I can go up and see if it's coming
from somewhere above there? Just to be very clear,
there isn't a flame. There is a scorch mark of
a singular blast of flame. Oh. Nothing is still
on fire. So, like, something, like, exploded
or something, maybe? Maybe. Do I know anybody
in this high society who deals with explosives?
Or, like, besides the military, I guess? Ooh,
make me a... Oh, golly. Let's call this a make
a charisma save because I'm going to say this
is going to represent you mingling and just knowing
things about people. It's the Henson's in public
works. Only those are accidents. That is an 18.
Oh, an 18. You say, well, people that might have
some knowledge of explosives. There is. I mean,
there are the Coghills. They have sort of controlling
interest in Ironworks, so lots of flame there.
There are the Gearboxes. They have basically
a controlling interest in an artifice firm, but
you're on great terms with them, so I don't know
why they would be an interest. There are the
Gammablooms, who actually specifically deal
in firearm manufacture, so black powder, that
might be a thing. We're avoiding purely military
folks. If you're looking for explosives, Lord
Philip Wolverton. He has controlling interest
in a blacksmithing firm, so again, fire. They're
the Bloodaxes who do metal reclamation, so sometimes
they do have to do some blasting. And the Flints,
they also would do blasting. All right. So there
are plenty of folks out there. Salvage and Reclamation,
the Blakelys, they're firm. may have some controlled
explosives for excavation. At least half the
ton knows how to blow things up. A quarter. Yeah.
Maybe a fifth. But maybe have some kind of tangential
connection to explosives in some form or another.
All right. I have my suspect list. As you're
thinking of this, the servants... make their
way out. They've cleared. And are you staying
in your father's room? Are you going to your
room? Are you going to the other room? I'm going
to make sure, first of all, that the servants
clean up the room a little bit, get the flaming
pillow or the cinder and pillow out of there.
And then I'm going to go and I'm going to have
to peek in the room with the dolls because I
haven't been in there all day or for a few hours.
And I'm just curious, you know? So I got to go.
I mean, it's a logical thing to be curious about.
You walk in and there's only, do you bring in
a lamp or are you just walking in in the dark?
I'm going to walk in. I mean, I don't think I
have a lamp. So I think I'm just, I'm going to...
if the curtains aren't drawn, I'm just going
to go up in the darkness and open the curtains
so that the moonlight can come in. That is a
great thought. You're about two steps into the
room. Oh, all right. And you just. You hear something
and you feel something. You just hear... And
you feel the slightest hint of fingers pushing
the hair back over your ears. Hello? And the
room's lit up. No, wait, no, I'm sorry. The room's
not lit up, but... You can see perfectly fine.
What? As you're saying that, your voice doesn't
sound right. Your voice isn't yours. Do I recognize
the voice? No, it's just, it's your voice and
something. It's making it somewhat indecipherable.
Oh, right. And it's then you notice your face.
You weren't wearing your mask when you walked
in, but you are wearing one now. What does it
look like? Oh, I'm glad you asked. I'm not. It's
got to be better than the weird bird beak thing
she was wearing before. This is an improvement.
But it nestled so perfectly in her breasts. I
think you should check your phone. Oh, good.
Oh, my. All right. Daniel's looking relaxed and
normal. I grasp my face and I definitely feel
like there's something there. Can I remove it
from my face? The minute you think about it,
it just discorporates. That's handy. I think
about putting it back on. It reassembles and
it doesn't just reappear. You actually feel and
hear. as it reassembles on your face. Doesn't
hurt. Doesn't seem it's going to fall off. But
it's there. And as soon as you willed it off,
the room got dark. You willed it back on, you
could see fine. Oh. I guess these are like some
sort of... I don't know. I don't know what's
going on in this room. If you can hear me...
Talk to me sometime, maybe. I don't know. If
this is a gift, I appreciate it. I look in the
mirror. Where are the dolls that I left in the
crib? Are they still there? They're still there.
All right. Make a perception check. Ten. Visual.
That was with advantage. That is with advantage.
Okay. Yeah, not exactly positioned right, but
what's different you can't really tell. All right.
I look at them and I say, if you two gave me
this mask, I appreciate it. It's a little creepy.
I'm not going to lie, though. But thank you.
I appreciate it. And I will curtsy. And I will
turn and I walk out the door and I go to turn
and close the door and realize that I can't close
it because there's not there. And I say, that's
what I forgot. I got to talk to Samuel about
fixing the door he broke. Yep, that was completely
his fault. All right. And unless you have something
else you want to do, maybe it's time for everyone
to get some sleep. Who's sleeping after that?
Before we cut to the morning, I think Saltz has
some trouble sleeping that night. I think he
was stressed going into the evening and then
hearing Henry's voice and kind of his exchange
with Sam has him kind of rattling. So before
he actually falls asleep, I think he gets up
from his bed. He goes over to that desk and he
pulls out the letter with the kind of governmental
seal on it and the twin letter that came with
it that when he puts it on his desk, you can
see it's signed from Henry Drake. And then kind
of mulls it over, looks it back a bit, and then
begins drafting a letter of his own. Excellent.
Very intrigued by what's going to happen here.
All right. Anyone else have anything they want
to do when they get home? And the next day dawns.
And it's a beautiful day. Full of possibilities.
And I feel like there's a lot of correspondence
that has to happen because... There's a seance
that's going to occur at some point in time with
guests that may or may not know when. You know
what? Let's give Ruby a little bit of time to
get unshell -shocked. Thanks. Let's start over
at the Drake place and see what Samuel is up
to for the morning. Yeah, because I'm not shell
-shocked after having the ghost of my husband...
First thing, bright and early, I need to find
Lucas. I'm just going to be asking him if Henry
ever in the past mentioned third sons or anything
of that sort. In what context, sir? That's a
good question. I'm not quite sure. Was he ever
overly concerned about a third son? Oh, no, before
he met you, sir, he had determined that he was
going to be a lifelong bachelor. We were honestly
all quite taken aback that he had finally found
his someone. That's really nice. Yeah, just like
a pained sigh escapes my lips. Just trying to
get this morning started and just not
catching a fucking break. Just instant reminders.
Thank you, Lucas. I'm sorry. Last night was a
bit of an event, to say the least. Lucas, I have
a plan, and I might need your assistance with
it. That's what I'm here for, sir. Good man.
So, Evan, I know the rest of the players haven't
heard about this plan yet, but so I need to start
drafting two sets of invites. And as well, this
morning, so I'm going to have a full morning.
So it's going to be drafting two sets of invites
for a ball. That will be happening in about five
days time. Should give me enough time. I will
also be writing to the cartographers. Now that
I have a connection through Nathaniel Drake,
I need a message. It's a correspondence sent to
the Wildlands and I think that's where I'll
leave it for now. So that's my morning. Oh, dear
listeners, if you could only see the looks on
the faces of the other players. There's going
to be a ball at Affle House? The best parties
happen at Affle House. I just really hope
it doesn't live up to its reputation after 9
p.m. I hope it does. But yeah, that's my morning
is all. I knew you had a secret plan. I knew
it. Well, oh, that is one thing. I will be sending
out a calling card if I have time, because I
don't know about the damn seance that's happening
tonight, to Mary Smith and to Edgewater again.
Oh, no. Yes. The weirdest non-love triangle.
And then one more letter drafted to Immortan
Salt to make sure we're still on for tonight.
All right. Fantastic. you'll probably get the
response back from the cartographers just at
the beginning of calling hours. Mary, how are
you feeling this morning? You had a pretty low
-key night. I think Mary's a little hungover.
I think she hit up Trudy after she got back from
the ball and they drank a bunch of whiskey out
of some teacups. Just didn't talk about what
was going on, but clearly both needed to have
a drink. You don't have to explain yourself.
We've all had those days. Trudy, Mary's wasted.
Trudy, have you ever been to a ball? I don't
know if that's rude to ask. Our social stratta
doesn't go to balls, my dear. I mean, we can
be staff at them, but it's not a thing we do.
Such a waste, because I feel like you'd be like
so, you'd have such a good time, and even though
they suck. I mean, before my hip went, I was
quite a dancer. Girl, I can tell. Absolutely.
Oh, my. The rhythm. The rhythm on you. Oh, I
could gut a rug. You could gut a rug. That's
crazy. Are we sure Emily's not wasted? It's Mary,
not Emily. I'm going to ask her if the Sparks
ever throw balls and if she's ever been a staff
at a ball at this house. Much to your... No,
not mother, much to Lady Marguerite's chagrin.
I swear to God, Trudy you know how I feel about
that. I know. The lord of the house is, between
you, me, and the china, a wee bit of a cheapskate.
Yeah, yeah. So he's perfectly happy to entertain
on someone else's tab. That's the impression
I got, yeah. But you didn't hear it from me.
I've never heard anything from you, Trudy. We
shush each other drunkenly. And then I go to
bed. So yeah, I wake up that morning. feeling
a little you know rugged but I'm sure that Trudy
has you know laid out a hangover breakfast for
me because she's an angel and I love her and
I think that I will mostly spend the day or the
morning preparing for an impromptu seance for
what I I'm gonna assume is just a normal one
because last night was the weird one where an
actual ghost showed up and I feel like this... so
thank God that That was probably a once-in-a
-lifetime situation. Definitely. Unless Nick
has another weird spirit situation. But I can't
imagine it's that common. So I'm just going to
show up to this rich girl's house and snoop around
and scare her and get some money. Pretty low
juice. Yeah, low juice on this one. So is Nicodemus
getting the afternoon evening off, or is he going
to be with you to do minor shenanigans? What
are we talking here? Maybe I'll send him a note
and ask if he's feeling up to it, because the
last time I saw him, he was half unconscious
under a bush. So Mary's trying to like... She
had an intense experience last night, and she's
trying to be a little bit more mindful about
how she's conducting herself, perhaps. Mostly
just with Nick, because she needs him for her
scam business. So I'll send a note asking if
he's feeling up to assisting with the seance,
and if he'd like to either disguise himself or
hide himself there, or if he needs the day off.
Excellent. That, too, will be responded to right
about the beginning of calling hours. Edgewater,
let's bounce over here. I don't think Edgewater
has any plans other than helping Ruby today.
So she's going to send a note to Ruby just asking
what time about she should arrive. Because, of
course, she can't just pop over there because
there won't be a chaperone. And unless she could
bring Gladstone again, what should we do? And
that's what the note is, basically. And she just
sends that off. Okay. Ruby, feel free to respond.
You basically get a response that says, please
arrive. This is going to be a late night seance.
And please arrive at my place at 9:33 on the
dot and the seance will start at 10:03 on the
dot. So specific. Perfect. That's exactly what
I expected. And in that it will say basically
the list of people that I'm inviting just so
you know. It's going to be very small. Bella-
donna. I'm going to invite Lord Samuel Drake.
I'm going to invite you. Oh good. I'm getting
this letter and I just thought oh dear. That
would have been really awkward. And I'm going
to also invite, what is your title? I'm sorry.
Mister. Mister, all right. If that. If that.
Mister Salt. And in parentheses it says, because
he's going to fix one of the dolls. And also
P .S. Samuel is going to fix the door as well.
And also maybe little Lord Lefroy. That's what
it says. Oh. Oh. All right. Well. At least Lord
Drake will be there. You're bringing the upgrade.
All right. Does Edgewater have anything else
she wants to do with the morning? I think she's
going to go over to Axel's and getting a little fencing
practice in because it's been a while. On your
way out to the practice area that you've established
in the garden, Axel has got... some coffee and
a light breakfast laid out because he believes
you should always snack in breaks and keep your
energy up. You pass your dad's study and Gladstone
is kind of bustling out of it in an excited hurry.
And you look in and you see Albion with a very
satisfied half grin on his face. Father? Yes,
Edgewater? How are you doing? Oh, I'm doing well,
but you look like you're doing even better. Well,
I would say that as the Clarence men go, I am
doing second best this morning. But wait, that
would mean she's already said yes. Oh, we're
not going to put the cart before the horse there,
Edgewater. But he is going to do a little shopping,
so he is prepared when and if the time comes.
that it is appropriate to ask a particular question.
I can think of a wonderful... No, Ruby said he
wasn't invited. Okay, never mind. There are times
I have absolutely no idea what you're talking
about. It's all right, Father. All right, well,
that's one down. Wow, and it's Nigella, right?
I just want to be clear. I don't believe he's
been courting two young ladies at the same time.
That would be highly improper, wouldn't it? Well,
to be officially courting them, yes, of course,
but not to be... I mean, I danced with two men
at the ball last night. Yeah, I had meant to
ask you about that. So, uh, I know that Major
Corny was very effusive in his way about enjoying
your time. But you were dancing with the new
lord, Lord Stark. Lord Drake. It's all right,
Father. Yes. Honestly, it's very hard for me
to keep track. There are so many changing titles
these days. That's very true. You just need to
read the Debretts I gave you. You know it's a
very long book. Well, that's because there are
so many lords and ladies. That's not my fault.
Couldn't you put, like, I don't know, bullet
points or something in there? Anyway, so you
and Lord Drake seem to be taking the maximum
acceptable amount of your time. Indeed. Emphasis
on the acceptable. And what is... How are you
feeling about that? Oh, Father, I'm so... I'm
so happy. Oh, I, you, this is first, you, wow.
Yeah, yeah, I, it's been going on for maybe three
days and I am really very excited about it. I
think, oh, I think he might be my person. Oh,
really? Wow. I think so. That is, Oh, that is
a lot for an early morning. Well, you didn't
see him break down Ruby's door. What? Edgewater!
Excuse me. What? Oh, it was. No, no, no, no.
It was a thing. Ruby needed to get into a room.
It was fine. He was helping her out. It was nothing
improper, Father, of course. For a gentleman
to break down a lady's door, that is. Well, who
was supposed to do it? Ruby and I? Have you seen
us, Father? It's not like we can lean against
a door and knock it over. You know, I'm not going
to ask questions. I just, Edgewater, I want you
to maybe take a step back and think a little
more practically about things. You know, you've
got time. You've got time. I'm just going to,
forgive me for being somewhat mercenary about
this, but Lord Drake is a recent widower and
would be a, let's say, a lateral move. Whereas
Major Corny would be quite a step up, and you
do have... sort of a common love of protocol, a
certain gift for physical altercation, you
could be quite the striking couple in more ways
than one. What do you mean, physical altercation?
Oh, well, he is an accomplished military man,
and I mean... So is Lord Drake. Well, not military,
exactly. Well, what I'm saying is that you've
been training and are quite an accomplished fighter
with that there chainsword thing that... You
mean my fencing lessons, of course, yes. Well,
I'm just saying that it wouldn't be a terrible
match. And maybe just sort of three days is not
exactly the foundation for a lifetime. So, you
know, take a step back and maybe think about
it a little bit. You are right, Father. I should
spend more time with Lord Drake to see if that's
going to work out. You're right. Thank you, Father.
Love you. Bye. Well played. You know, I might
be biased in this. I'm pretty sure Gladstone
started courting Nigella at the same time. Absolutely.
I was quite shocked that you didn't throw that
in his face. Too worried about listening to what
he said. Fantastic. All right, anything else
for Edgewater other than making her way to Ruby's
at some point? Is Alistair just happened to be
around the house while she's leaving? Alistair
is here. He is bustling about. He is trying to
get a number of papers together. Now, here is
something you know. At the beginning of the season,
there is usually a few social events, but...
This also marks sort of the intellectual harvest.
And this is a time for all of the various firms
and foundries and academic institutions to show
off what they've been working on. So Alistair,
who has been attending a University of Applied
Arcanum, is going to be presenting this year
at the Carnival of Progress that is going to
be happening in the Great Park tomorrow. And
he is diligently working on his presentation.
Hope the presentation is coming along well, Airhead.
See you later. Darn it, Drips. It'd be going
better if you didn't interrupt me. Now I gotta
start my whole spiel all over again. Toodaloo!
And then she'll leave. Classic sister. Mr. Salt,
do we have anything we would like to do this
morning? Yes. I think probably since he hasn't
received it yet, at some point during the day,
he will also send correspondence to Lord Drake,
also confirming whenever you're available this
evening, if you'd like to come over, I'm happy
to talk things over, whenever is convenient for
you. So I will send that off and presumably we'll...
trading them back and forth okay fantastic and
the major thing he wants to do in the morning
is he's gonna have Lefroy come in for his morning
sparring lessons and kind of go through and uh
i think as before he comes in he's gonna go... Bad
news today Mr, Mr Lefroy our pads and he holds
up he's got a baseball glove that's been wrapped
in bubble wrap that's what he uses for his boxing
pads uh and he's kind of ripped them apart a
little bit they've come undone but i think we'll
still be able to get through with our lesson
and he just kind of holds his hands up for him
to to hit back and forth. Oh Certainly, Mr. Thalt.
I don't want to unleash the thunder on you, though,
so be careful. Unleash what you have, little
lord. And as I kind of catch him and practice
with him, I'm going to use, as a Goliath, I have
an ability called Stone's Endurance, which usually
lets me reduce damage on a hit. I would like
to use it here to kind of toughen up my palms
a little bit so that when he walks away... Nothing
major, nothing huge, but just a little bruise
or scrape on the knuckle that'd really only be
noticeable to a particularly shrewd observer.
Oh, wow. You know what? I'm going to say make
an attack roll. Okay. This is... My stats? Yeah,
your stats. This isn't really performance. This
isn't really persuasion. This is your mastery
of hand-to-hand combat. Cool. So, yeah, this
is an interesting way to go about this. I like
it. That's an 11 plus 6...17. Okay, fantastic. We're
going to call that the DC for an observer to
notice. Okay. the the scrapes and also it's going
to be your standing sort of passive persuasion
for them to understand what you want about them
okay gotcha so they will they will make insight
against that and if they don't beat it they're
gonna understand that uh he has been uh a little
rough and tumble yeah he's been he's been you
know scrapping it up a little. Cool. All right
fantastic. uh and then kind of over the course
of training um Mr. Lefroy I apologize but i haven't
received word yet but Miss Rhinelander did request
my presence something about a doll that needs
to be fixed i might suggest you spend the afternoon
calling on Lady Blightwind without me. I think
you'll do wonderful. I'm sure Miss Sweetly would
be happy to chaperone you and probably all the
happier to do it without me there, so I might
suggest you write to her and I'll meet you this
afternoon. Do you think I'm ready to do this on
my own? uh and I kind of hold up my hand for him
to hit again, go absolutely little lord and let
him. He's the best. He just snaps a little straight
punch into it. Hell yeah. I imagine him being
the ultimate tiny karate kid. He's so rigid.
He's been taking karate at the Y. He's got a
little homemade headband that he ties on. It's
made of bubble wrap. Yep. Doubles as protection.
He gets a bubble wrap headgear. All right, fantastic.
So he's going to go and set to that, and we'll
swing over to Rhinelander Hall. Yeah. Because
you've got some stuff happening. Yeah, there's
a couple things that I need to do. First of all,
I need to send a letter to the doctor to be like,
hey, what's up with the blood? Where's that blood?
Also, he woke up from his coma last night and
there was a fire in his room. Thoughts? Medically
relevant? You decide. Then what I need to do
is I'm going to send in that letter to Edgewater.
I would also say feel free to come earlier if
you want. There will be staff around. I'll have
updates for you. I will also then send separate
invitations to Samuel, Mr. Salt, and to Bella-
donna, because I think Belladonna gave me a
location to send the card to. My office. Great.
Okay. And I'm just going to, I will send in Bella-
donna's letter. It will basically say like, I
would love to start at 10:03 on the dot. People
will arrive at 9:33. So arrive when you need to.
I'll be home all day. And then to everybody else,
I will send... into the gentleman's letters, it
will basically say, you're invited to an impromptu
seance. Also, the doll needs to be fixed. If
you can do it in one go while you're at the seance,
great. And that goes to Mr. Salt. And then to
Samuel goes, the door needs some fixing. Do you
know how? Send help. Come by for the seance.
Yes, those are what I need to send today. This
morning, that's what I'm going to do. Okay, fantastic.
So those all go out. We're going to zip to the
sort of the... Door needs fixing. Send help.
it's not actually a sending spell you can use
more words. Meanwhile, I should say while she's
writing these invitations because she's writing
them which I think... Yeah, she'll write them. But
she's in the mirror in the doll room going like
just thinking about something appearing and her
mask appears and disappears. So she's speaking
and her language is very divided, I think, because
she's like just looking at herself while the
mask is appearing and disappearing. Hey, stop.
You need to stop doing that. All right, so we're
going to head to the end of the morning hours
because as letters are being sent out, Lucas
comes in. Sir, a few things, sir. You have some
correspondence that I'm sure you'll have to deal
with, and you do have a caller. Oh, I wasn't
expecting anybody this early. Who is it? The
small gentleman from a few days ago. Of course.
His timing is impeccable. Have him meet me in
the sitting room. I'll be down shortly. Thank
you, Lucas. As you wish, sir. I will take a little
more time getting ready, make him sweat a little
bit waiting for me, but also make sure I look
as lordly as possible. So no big like opening.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Shirts on. My fur
kilt is safely in the closet. And yeah, yeah.
Going down preened and proper. So you get to the
sitting room and as soon as you enter, he stands
respectfully. Lord Drake, Mr. Rubbleroy, if
you have forgotten. So how is the search for
the marriage certificate going? I'll bow my head
respectfully, Mr. Rubbleroy. Thank you for
coming. Yes, unfortunately, it took some time
for my husband's effects to make their way over
from his estate outside of the city. I have begun
looking through them. So far, I've just gone
through one box, unfortunately. Understandable.
Understandable, my lord. So I will continue that
search and get that to you as soon as possible.
Actually, my brother-in-law has recently come
in town. He'll be going through some of my brother's
effects as well. So hopefully this search will
go quicker. Convenient that you've arrived. I
did have a question. Oh, I do enjoy being fortuitous.
Not usually something that is an adjective that
is ascribed to me, so I will take it. Very fortuitous
indeed. You did mention, I believe, the first
day you came to visit my estate, that you did
have the sworn statement from the officiator
of the wedding, correct? Oh, yes, yes. And mostly
this was to ensure that my... husband had signed
off stating that he was of right mind, and
et cetera, et cetera. Oh, yes, yes. Okay. Should,
as I continue searching, in case that document
did wind up being missed somehow or it somehow
left his possessions at some time, would there
be any recourse in this way to officiate my title?
Oh, well, it would be, it would, probably just
be time consuming, assuming there were no challenges.
But we would just probably get the witnesses
together and get the get the officiant to come
back and get a notarized affidavit swearing
his statement. And yeah, it would be it would
take some time. But honestly, the marriage certificate
would go a long way to get that taken care of.
Absolutely. It would be much simpler. I will
continue, as I said, most diligently looking
for that. You mentioned the word challenge. I
just want to clear my understanding. I come from
a different land, different customs. Challenges
have a certain connotation. What would that look
like? Oh. Oh, well, we haven't really done one
in a while. Well, it could take many forms. Most,
it would be a written challenge to the legitimacy
of your claim. And then that challenge would
be researched and investigated and would be adjudicated
by people that are quite honestly above my pay
grade. Understood. Thank you. I think that answers
my questions. I will continue searching for that
marriage certificate. It would be, um, not to
speak out of school, uh, your lordship, but,
um, given some whispers that I've been hearing,
it might not be, um, it might not be a bad idea
to expedite that in any way you can. Evan, can
I use an action right now to trace, uh, to hear
a rumor? You are currently in a room with a person.
This is not a rumor action. This is just a one
-on-one. You got one dude here. I'm sorry. Whispers?
What's being said? Oh, it would be wildly inappropriate
in my official capacity to repeat unfounded gossip
to you, my lord. Get out of my head. Beat him
up. Beat him up. She's a little pennant that
just says, go manners. How to phrase this. I
understand you want to maintain your professional
integrity. You've already made this known to
me, however. And I think it only right for a
man in my position to be able to defend his honor
against any baseless claims. Yeah. Uh -huh. Throw
me an intimidation check. Hell yeah. And he's
gonna... Cocked. Damn it, that was a 17 on the
die. I'll take a 15 on the die, though. That's
a total of 19. Okay, he did well. He did well,
but he only got a 16. Your Lordship, not to go
into any specifics, but there are whispers that
are calling into question the... and I apologize,
the circumstances of your late husband's passing.
I don't have any specifics, but your proximity
was noted. I understand. So sorry, I do have
one additional question. You work for the Crown,
correct? Yes. Again. Unfamiliar with this land's
customs, I apologize, but you being a member
of the administration, duels to maintain one's
honor. Fuck yes. Are those common and/or do they
stand on official ground here? Oh, yes. You may
have passed the honor dome at some point in time
in your travels. That's where it was. Any official
question of a duel of honor is settled in there.
Sometimes it is a singular combat to the death.
Sometimes there are other stipulations. And in
rare instances, we have had factions that needed
to settle a grievance agree to settling their
differences in the Honor Dome. Yes! I will give
a deep bow. You've been very kind to someone
new to your land, and I do appreciate your professionalism.
You are incredibly scary, sir. And your fortuitousness.
Again, I will make it my priority to find that
marriage certificate. You have yourself a nice
day, sir. You as well, your lordship. Oh, I gotta
go. And he exits. Lucas? Yes, sir? How are those
invites going? Oh, very well, sir. So, I've had
you working on the official ones. Lucas, I do
need to give you one of these. Am I reading this
correctly, sir? Yes, Lucas. I would like you
and two other members of the staff of your choosing
to attend the ball in five days. I will put this
to the rest of the household, sir. And we will
be hosting out at... Affle House. Yes! Understood,
sir. Oh, by the way, sir, this came for you.
It is a response from the Cartographers Guild.
Oh. And it simply says that they have been made
aware by your brother-in-law that you are considered
his guest and are afforded any of the amenities
that members are allowed to enjoy, including
some of their more esoteric communication services.
Hmm. If you would care to drop by for a tour
and to make use of any of these facilities, drop
by at your convenience. Excellent. Just checking.
Do they give like hours of operation or anything?
They seem to be sort of like a gentleman's club,
so it will probably be sort of like a two to
midnight kind of. Have I gotten the other correspondence
going around? Oh, yeah. Everyone has received
all of the random notes that have been going
back and forth. Perfect. Excellent. I'll have
time. I will spend some of my promenade hours
handling that. Things are going as smoothly as
they can. Okay. So we are now up to calling hours.
Everyone has gotten all of their varying and
sundry correspondence delivered to them. Responses
are coming in. Dr. Brinley writes back to you.
Miss Rhinelander, understand that you're not
the only blood sample I've had to test, but that's
really probably more information than you needed.
So your father's blood showed nothing out of
the ordinary except for traces of a powerful
barbiturate. Naturally occurring, isolated it
down to a particular flower. Daniel knew it.
Ruby didn't. I'm really interested to know what...
Ruby knows because you all seem to think you
know something. And if you know exactly the thing
that actually happened, I'd be amazed. No, no,
no. Daniel. No, no, no. Ruby doesn't know. Daniel
suspected the flowers, the flower family. The
Blightwinds. Yes, the Blightwinds. I suspect everybody.
All right. No, you don't. You are carousing with
the most toxic man in New Britainnia. All right.
Bullshit. I suspect everybody. Hey, new guy,
come break down my door. So firstly, I read this
letter and I go, weird that other people are
getting their blood tested, but I guess so. Is
everyone's dad in a coma? Weird, probably. Okay,
I'm going to make note of that and I'm going
to take a red quill or dip it in red ink and
I circle the barbiturate. in the letter and I'm
like, I'm going to show Edgewater this. She'll
know what to do with it. I don't know how to
respond to this. I guess I'll send another response
and just say, well, please hurry. The man is
setting fires to his own pillows in his coma.
There's another thing in the envelope. Fires
make no sense. Well, I already wrote it. I'm
too... I'm too stressed to rewrite the letter,
so you're getting that anyway, and I write that.
I write that all the way out, and I send that
one. I am distraught. Almost in hysterics, even.
I believe vapors are happening. Careful, those
are flammable. Depending on the... Nicodemus
responds, no worries. Probably fine. We'll keep
it real, real low-key. I forgot you were Australian.
Drifting more New Zealand. Yeah, I like that.
That's why I like you more now. I'll be there
as your spiritual guardian. We'll sell it that
way. Okay. Fantastic. And low juice. Low juice.
Low juice. Keep it real easy breezy. Dry. Yeah.
Mary thinks to herself, how do I do this with
low juice? I know that's what I said last night
when I was freaked out, but I forget how to do
this without juice. And then I remember how reactive
Ruby was, and I was like, oh, she'll bring the
juice. Okay, so I don't need to bring any. This
is not a BYOJ. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. J provided.
I'm shaking my head at myself for that. I just,
I will own that. I loved it. I loved it. All
right. So during calling hours, Edgewater, are
you heading to Ruby's or do you have other plans?
I'm sorry. I just want to check back in. A calling
card was sent to her from Lord Drake. Yes. Yeah.
I sent one to Mary Smith and one to Edgewater.
So I'm going over to Lord Drake's first. Okay.
So you sending the calling card is saying that,
like asking. Are you coming to visit us or are
we going to visit you? I'm sending it to you
to please come visit me today. Oh, okay. And
I should have specified I would have done the
same situation. Mary Smith, earlier time appointment,
Edgewater near the end. Okay. So I'm sure it
won't happen again. No, it can't. It can't possibly.
No comedic possibility that that could occur.
Mary, you are on your way out. to keep this appointment
and it's the carnival of progress tomorrow. Edwin's
firm has got you know their own little, little
stall basically showing their new uh psymac crystal
technology. He is currently having a... an angry
discussion with his lead engineers about how
he doesn't particularly care if they aren't entirely
ready make it work. Make it work And at that time,
your favorite not-quite-in-law shows up. Marguerite.
No, no, no. Her brother. Oh. Yes. Connor Carson
enters with a walking stick clacking loudly on
the hall, on the floor of the hall. And Edison
looks at the engineers like, nope, it's just,
get. Get it ready. It has to work tomorrow. I
don't care what you have to do. Just make it
function. All right? Understand? Fantastic. This
is what I pay you people for. Now get out, out,
out. Be busy. Elsewhere. Not here. Go. Can I
kind of step in to sort of usher them out and
either... Yes, yes. Mary, make yourself useful.
Show them out. I want to either find a way of hiding or
of eavesdropping. Scope out a good situation
to overhear what these two... bozos are about
to talk about. You're not going to be able to
hide in the office. You will be able to eavesdrop
outside the door, though. I will say, gentlemen
and ladies, you know, Mary's not good at talking
to people, but she's going to be like, Lord Sparks
has an appointment. Please, I'm sure you have
much, much engineering and such to do. Science!
For science gentlemen! For science! They they they
harumph out. Yes I harumph with them uh and uh
Connor closes the door behind him. Does he look
at me or- No. Like pointedly no. Okay I make another
mental note to myself about how much I hate that
guy. So noted. And I lurk. Okay uh the door closes.
You and your hate-filled heart lurk outside
the door. So you want to make a perception check
to see if you can hear what they're talking about
inside. They are speaking very quietly, so you're
looking at 17 or higher. I have a plus 9 now.
Wow. That is not going to be difficult. Wow.
I swear to God. Don't look at me. It's a 17 on
the die. Plus 9. So it is, it's quiet and they
seem both very charged. And not in a good way.
Not in a sexual way. No, no, unless, no. Unless?
No. There is, there is anger, thinly veiled anger.
And Connor lays into Edison with like, I don't
know exactly what you think you're doing, but
I know that you were the one that started that
little rumor. Now, you are not going to start
making trouble. If you had kept your nerve beforehand,
I wouldn't have to have gone to plan B. Look,
look, it was a bad idea, and I honestly am quite
shocked that you even attempted it again alone.
But you did, and now you... I hope you got what
you wanted. But look, I have cut ties with that
whole thing. Not entirely. I had to do something.
It was my fault, my responsibility. You know,
we could have taken care of it at the time. Yes,
we could have. But then we all would have been,
quite honestly, heartless assholes like you,
sir. Keep talking, Edison. You should know by
now, I am willing to do quite a bit to further
my interests. I have no problem getting rid of
obstacles. I am starting to consider... renegotiating
our little arrangement. Don't give me reason
to go down any further along that path. All right,
all right. But I just, I don't believe you're
so irresponsible to try it again. But this time
it worked. Fine, I will let it drop. I will let
it drop. I will, I will reverse course on this.
I just, look, I have work to do. So please just
take the money and just go. All right. If I catch
wind of any more of this nonsense, I will be
very upset. And you know what I am capable of
when I am upset. Yes. Yes, you have made that
abundantly clear. Now, just, please, just, I
have work to do. Please go. Good day. And he
starts clacking his walking stick back towards
the door. I barrel roll out of there. No,
I'm just kidding. That's because that would be
harder. I'm just going to walk briskly. It's
very difficult to barrel roll. Yeah. You're going
to need to make a stealth check. I get a 13.
He rolled a one. Oh, thank God. Thank God. Oh,
boy. My rolling curse has come back. Thank you
for taking it back. Yeah. Oh, boy. We're back,
baby. He is clearly far too riled up about whatever
it was they were talking about to pay you any
mind. Yeah. He just power walks out of the house.
So from what I was hearing, just that. I, Emily,
am clear. It sounded like Edison Sparks, he was
the one who was trying to do something and has
now worked? Or was it Connor? That was Connor.
Okay. And Edison was the one who seems to have
done something to anger Connor and was surprised
he tried again. Okay. Yeah. So he was surprised
that Connor had tried this thing again. Yes.
But it worked this time. But it worked this time.
Yes. Whatever it was. Okay. It's probably fine.
Yeah, it's probably nothing. Absolutely nothing.
When has a Con Edison ever caused anyone any
trouble? So you're going to hang around the house,
make your way over to Drake's? Yeah, I'll get
my outfit ready and kind of stare hauntedly out
of a window and the usual. Trudy, you can't do
that. Sorry. I swear to God, Trudy. I'm moving
a little slower today. Head's pounding. I know.
Honestly, me too. You can't sneak up on me like
that, Trudy. So sorry. Anyway, do you need anything?
Just answers, Trudy. Just answers. Ooh, what
are the questions? Spill the tea. Spill the tea,
girl. Trudy, I don't even know what the tea is
on this one. I think it is too piping hot for
any of us to really safely handle. I'm sorry,
I'm getting lost in the metaphor. Yeah, me too.
Me too, Trudy. Me too. Once it cools down, let
me know. I'll see if I can suss anything out.
Yeah, Trudy, you and I go way back. Yes, yes.
I may need... At some point. To trust you with
something that's not just juicy, petty bullshit.
Which is what you and I love the most. We do
good love. I love a good shit talk session. We
really do. But I've known you since you were
a little baby. Really? Yes, you've been here
quite a while. I guess when I was a kid I really
just thought that I was, you know. being adopted
into a loving family and then, you know, slowly
over time realized that they hated me and didn't
want me to be there. So I think that you didn't
really kind of land consciously in my mind until
after that. No offense, but it was just a complicated...
They kept you isolated for quite a while. They
really did. So when did I... Do you remember
when I got here? You were maybe two years old,
maybe? That's what I was told when the master
brought you in. Really? I'm sure he wouldn't
have mentioned it, but did you hear anything
about where they found me? Oh, Lord, no. Just
that you were adopted from a terrible situation
and he was going to give you a better life. Super
characteristic of them. Oh, yes. It smelled like
bullshit from there. But that's not my place.
There was a new little one to take care of. And
then, you know, eventually Clayton came along.
More of the attention was needed for him. What
an idiot. Not that I said that. No, no. Other
people said that, not me. I'm just repeating
what other people have said. Do you remember
what Marguerite, how she felt about it when I
showed up? Not that you would have known, but
maybe other people would have heard or seen something
and then they would have told you about it and
maybe then you could tell me about it. Lady Marguerite
takes some time to warm to people. She's a slow
burn. She was not as enthusiastic about your
adoption as one thought a childless lady of the
house might have been. Yeah, she's never been
particularly maternal. Well, not until your brother.
Heavy air quotes came along. Heavy air quotes,
yeah. And even then, it's a cold sort of motherly
instinct. It's not for me to judge. We're talking
quite a bit for the morning. Yeah, neither of
us have kids. We can't say. We can just say whatever.
We can say whatever the fuck we want. Just not
get heard. Yes, exactly. This is why I fuck with
you. That's why I fuck with you. But also, they're...
People milling about, so maybe we should put
a lid on it. Not so loud, Trudy. You're crazy.
But when you know a bit more and if there's anything
I can help you find out, just come get me. I'm
still a devious one. God bless you. If I didn't
have you here, Trudy, I don't know what I'd be
doing. Getting drunk alone. Yeah. Honestly, too
real, Trudy. All right, keep it moving. No idea
where that comes from. Trudy just emerged into
the void, fully formed. Okay, so you've had a
little one-on-one time with Trudy, and we're
going to be heading, we've got Mary heading off
to the Drake house. Mr. Salt has got some work
he wants to do. I don't think he has much going
on until it sounds like later this evening for
the seance. And I guess he'll look at the doll
then. So I think during calling hours, he'll
go talk to Ford just quickly and say, Mr. Ford,
I've been called to help out Miss Rhinelander.
Her father's sick and there's some going on.
Would you mind bringing Mr. Seltzer over to the
Blightwind Manor later? No problem. Thank you.
Remind him to strap himself in. He's tiny. He's
going to slip out. I will. I'll make sure he's
quite secure. Actually, now that I think about
it, I've been, I have no idea what Miss Rhinelander
said. Do you happen to know, do we have
any glue-, gloves? Do we have any gloves? And
he frantically shakes his gloves off his hands.
You know what, you wouldn't, your hands are so
much bigger than mine. You have large, forget
it. Could you just, and he reaches into his pocket
and he goes, while you're over there, would you
mind, and he pulls out a letter and goes, Could
you give this to Miss Sweetly? Oh. No problem.
Great. Thank you. I must be going and as quickly
as possible. Good day, Mr. Ford. Don't forget
your gloves. He's a weird one. That was incredibly
painfully awkward. Okay. So. We've got Edgewater
heading over a bit later during calling hours.
Ruby, you're staying in for calling hours? Yeah,
I am going to stay in for calling hours. Can
I send one letter during calling hours? Is that
weird? No, that's fine. Cool. I just want to
send a letter to Ruben to thank him for everything,
all the gifts he sent me, and for just being
such a gentleman over the past few days. Fantastic.
That will be... Sent out. Let's go to Mary at
the Drake residence. I'll head over after my
gossip sesh with Trudy. I'll go in the front,
but I may try to go out a side entrance when
I leave. To try and avoid what happened last
time. Although it honestly might be inevitable
and that might just be how my life goes now.
Could be. Lucas will meet you again. Ah, yeah, yes.
My lady, come this way. Thank you, Mr. Lucas.
Miss Smith. Lord Drake, Miss Smith has arrived.
Excellent. Thank you, Lucas. If you wouldn't
mind just standing outside the door, please.
Absolutely. Thank you. Good man. Miss Smith.
Lord Drake. Good to see you again. How are you?
I heard from other people that it was a long
night and a lot of other things happened with
other people. Words already getting out then.
I feared that. Not like in a crazy way, but just
I heard it from one other person. Anyway, here's
Gus. Do you want to hold him again? Well, I don't
think I have. I'll just set him loose. Don't
worry. Yeah, that's absolutely fine. There's
more cheese if you would like some. Yes, he would.
He's already eating it. Okay. This will be a
quick meeting, Mary. I need to ask you a favor.
Depends on the favor. Yes. I know before I was
asking if you ever heard anything from the Lord
Sparks to let me know, but you're going to be
getting an invitation. Wait. Soon here. Me? Like
Mary Smith me? What? Yeah. Yes. I will be throwing
a masquerade ball in just about five days time.
I've saved up enough wealth recently to invite
quite a few. And it's going to have an expanded
guest list. I'm hoping I can trust you with this.
And I will hand her three invites. Give one of
these to the most senior of your staff, or at
least someone you trust. And they are to invite
two other members of the staff who they feel
have been overworked and overlooked. You know,
your timing is incredible. Fortuitous has been
the theme of today. Absolutely. I know just the
lady. Okay. I don't want to make assumptions.
You do know this is unusual? Well, yes. Just
double-checking, because if you are talking
to Edgewater later, she will also mention it.
Sounds like you're assuming a lot there. I just
know that you danced two dances together. And
that's her limit, so that says a lot. Were those
also whispers from a single person? Yeah, from
other... Well, I don't know. they're just around
people people notice uh things. I didn't think you talked to a lot
of people. I don't know why you would say that
I talk to you. We're talking right now for example.
Yes we are. That is one example of someone I might
talk to. Yes um listen yep I'm going to be absolutely
frank with you. Okay bring it on. I'm already having
a lot of whispers about me. You've brought me
some news today. I had another visitor bring
me some ill news. I have a feeling things are
going to be crashing around me, and I'd like
to be the one who pulls out the first block.
But, recognizing that, I wouldn't think ill of
you if you'd rather not be in the area when that
happens. So, if you could just deliver that invite,
we never have to speak again. But my offer still
stands. No. My offer still stands. This is a
safe place. Let me rephrase that. You will never
find ill company with me. I was going to say
promising safety in this era is foolish. That
I can't promise. I can promise I'll put up
a fight. You've been honest with me. I'll be
honest with you. I have no interest in being
caught in a visible altercation. I have no problem.
with being involved in it behind the scenes.
You said once that we choose some family and
we are born into some families. I don't know
which family I was born into, but I know which
family I was placed into. There's a lot I have
to learn about them and a lot I have to learn
about you before I can decide who I would rather
be caught standing next to once the dust settles.
But on behalf of one person whose invite... we'll
be receiving later today, who would absolutely
love to get wild at a ball in about five days...
You've done a lot more to ensure my interest,
at least, than many other people have. Where
I come from, you have to have sharp instincts
in order to survive, and I don't think I've made
a wrong decision making you an ally. I hope you
wind up thinking the same about me. All right.
I won't assume that you'll be rumor free in your
time here, but some of us hear a good amount
of rumors and have very few started about us.
So I'll be happy to keep an eye out. And I won't
say too much right now, but it may be worth your
interest to watch the interaction of Lord Sparks
and his brother-in-law, Lord Connor Carson.
Noted. They're in informal business together.
Oh, this day keeps getting more and more interesting.
That's it for me, Mary. Also, Edgewater really
likes you. In a chill, proprietary way. Just
a chill, normal... This, I think, will be the
first time you or I think anybody here has seen
it... A little flush of purple will splash across
the blue scales. I love it. Can I help you with
anything else? Just some cheese for the road.
Please, you can take the rest. Thank you so much.
Shoving in my pocket. Which one? One of many.
All right. Is Edgewater on her way in, and are
we doing another stealth/perception? Sure. Or
is Mary just embracing the awkward? I'll try
going out the side door, and then we'll see if
we still run into each other. Oh, my gosh. You
son of a bitch. I mean, there's still a chance.
There's still a chance. Nope. 13. Nat 20. Okay.
So I very, very stealthily go out the side door.
I slink around the corner. Mary! You don't. need to
go in the side entrance! I'm sorry Miss Smith.
Whoa that was very you know... Very rude of me i'm
so sorry. So okay. You're my cousin you don't need
to go in the servant's entrance come in with
me and it's so kind of you to be the chaperone
again. Just beneficent or whatever the word is... And
really... Yeah... One of my closest and dearest friends
come come with me. This is wonderful. Yeah um have
I introduced you to Gus and I just plop the
mouse right in your hand. What's the cheese situation?
Oh, he's got both little hands, both little mouse
hands full of cheese. Mouth full of cheese. So
you got cheese and mouse in your hands. Oh, he
likes you. That's so nice. I probably should,
I mean, he might like me too much and I don't
want to take him away from you. I'll take him
back. I don't know why I expected that to work,
but... Okay. So you're here? With you, because...
With me, yes. You're going to chaperone again,
and of course, Lord Drake invited us over. God,
the universe is a cruel mistress. I don't know
what you mean. Oh, I was just talking to the
mouse. Okay, let's go in, I guess. Jesus. Well...
I just came just in case- stroke of genius- um
but i know last time you know, Lucas was very
willing to give to you know be your chaperone
and I just I didn't want to presume but also
you know I just in case it's good you know to
have you here Edgewater and I'll say this as
a friend suddenly I'm becoming southern because
I hope that that will you know be... You'll, you
know, relate to that. In what way? That's just
my internal dialogue. Don't worry about it. Oh,
all right. I can tell that you... This is me
using my mimicry feet to sound like Ruby. You
sound so familiar. Yeah, don't worry about it,
hon. I can tell that there is a connection. beteen
you and Lord Drake. No, it's alright. Ruby says
beteen. I'm really good at accents and voices,
as you can tell. You're writing down a note to
say beteen. I'm glad we all saw that. A spark,
if you will, between you and Lord Drake. I wouldn't
want to disrupt that. Really you think so? Absolutely.
Uh bless your heart and a half. Yeah absolutely.
Yeah and I if so if if it is a little bit uh
less chaperon-ey, uh for your chaperone still chaperon-ey
okay but less chaperon-ey for Lucas to be the chaperone...
It's still within the the tenets which Is very
important. But you know how there's like very
chaperon-ey? And then less chaperoney? You know.
But still chaperon-ey. I'm not sure I know what
you mean. Hmm. But. Perhaps if you started with
me. Like last time. You went in last time with
me and then you sort of made your own exit. I
mean, I don't want it to seem like you were ignoring
Lord Drake's invitation. Yeah. So if you could
perhaps come in with me and then maybe make your
excuses. Okay. I'll say, oh, I have a headache.
Perfect. Yes. That works. every time and we clasp
hands as if we were actually friends and i'm
like oh oh god we're bonding okay. All right so
we go we go we go in together. I guess and I'm
gonna try to like widen my eyes at Lord Drake
to be like keep it cool and don't say anything
Ah, Miss Smith, did you... Oh, Miss Clarence,
the Lord is expecting you. Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Yes, of course. Good, we're all in agreement.
May I escort you ladies to the sitting room while
I summon Lord Drake? Thank you. I am here, as
usual, to chaperone temporarily for a bit. Because
she's already said that she might have a bit
of a headache. Yes, I'm feeling faint. That too.
And a bit under the weather. All of those things.
And some headache. At once. Starting. All right.
Do you need me to fetch a-? Nope. All right.
I will go and alert Lord Drake that you are here.
Thank you very much, Lucas. Sir, Miss Clarence
is here as well as Miss Smith again, though she
has a headache and is feeling... I'm honestly
not sure. Again? You keep doing this! I really
need to change the order. I mean... Permission
to speak freely, Your Lordship, perhaps. Any time,
Lucas. Honestly, a bit more of a space between
the two would be just... For our sakes. I always
expect the meetings with Miss Smith to be much
faster. Well, we seem to have learned now, haven't
we, sir? Fool me once. Well, anyway, they are
waiting in the sitting room, though I do not
believe Miss Smith will be here long. Excellent.
If you wouldn't mind being prepared in case we
do need a proper chaperone. I will be inattentive
outside the door, as is always the case. You
are the best. I'll make my way down into the
sitting room. Good afternoon, Mr. Drake. Lord
Drake. Miss Smith. I'm clasping my forehead.
You're looking quite under the weather. She has
a headache. I have a headache. Lord Drake, it
was so kind of you to invite me and remember,
you know, my dear friend's propriety. Yeah, dear
friend. Oh, yes. The headache's becoming real.
I feel so terrible, but I may have to step away
and allow your staff to take over the chaperoning.
Miss Smith, you... You've done me a kindness
already by accepting my invite while feeling
so ill. Please do not feel you're obligated to
stay here. Thank you. That's why I have such
good staff, such as Lucas, who can chaperone
for us. That's what I was... Absolutely, yes.
Yes, thank you. And that's what I was saying.
Yes, she was very proper and made sure that I
would have proper supervision before she... resigned
to her own home. Yes. As long as you're comfortable.
I am very. Thank you. I'm going to look between
them kind of like grinning and then I'm going
to just kind of demurely walk back. Be like,
well, until next time. Right. Miss Smith, may
I see you out? I thank you. Yes, please do. Perhaps
I'll see you tomorrow. Bye. Same time, same place.
All right. Oh gosh, that was just yesterday,
wasn't it? Oh no. Yeah, it's a busy season, really.
Yeah, I'll walk out with Lucas. Miss Clarence,
first off, thank you for those lovely dances
last night. I know I was in a bit of a state,
but... You were so kind to continue the evening
with me, despite everything that had happened
for you. I think you were the one who did the
kindness, but I appreciate the sentiment all
the same. I won't lie to you, Ms. Clarence. I did
have, I don't know if business is the right word
to phrase this. Could I ask a small favor of
you? Oh, certainly. Two, actually. First, a little
bit of trust on your end. And I will take out
three more of the invites from the sitting room
desk and hand those over to you. Those are not
for you. Let me... Let me start off from the
beginning here. I will be throwing a masquerade
ball in five days. Oh, that's wonderful. Of course,
you, your family. Honestly, I believe I will
have enough staff to have quite the party. So
mass invites will be going out. Those three specifically...
If there are members of the staff who you feel...
are overworked, overlooked, and could use a night
of revelry...they should be given those in a discreet
manner. Oh. So you are inviting some of the members
of different household staff to your ball? With
everyone wearing masks, who's to say who will
be in attendance? So... No. No one will be recognized
as who they are at the ball. I'm sure there will
be members who specifically tailor their outfits
to be recognized. By everyone? Perhaps. I figure
this gives a chance for a bit of anonymity, a
way to escape, and the theme of the evening will
be embracing the wild. My stars and garters. Mr.
Drake, I feel perhaps that I understand what
you are trying to tell me. And I would be happy
to deliver these to Mr. Mortimer. And if you
don't mind, my maid, Clarabelle. I am sorry.
I think you said two favors. I am... Immediately
finding myself in very immediate hurry to get
to Ruby's place. Um, can I help you with that
other favor? Um, this was less of a help me and
more of a... As you can surmise, I'm towing a
line. And there's quite a few murmurs I've been
hearing about myself already. I... Looks down,
flush of purple. Miss Clarence, I think I've only
ever known how to approach problems forwardly
and bluntly, so let me just come out and say
this. I have quite enjoyed the few last days
with you. You have been, honestly, a ray of sunshine
in what I thought would be a storm-filled new
environment. Yes? I would... quite enjoy to
spend more time with you, perhaps in a more official
courting manner. However, I am opening myself
up to a lot of danger, for lack of a better word,
and I would not want to besmirch your reputation
solely because of my selfishness. So my favor
is... What do you mean, danger? Miss Clarence,
I think you, out of anyone knows, throwing this
kind of... inviting staff, the things I've already
done. But you've so cleverly thought of a ploy
in which no one will know that the servants are
there and anyone can do whatever they want because
they're masked and no one will know whether they're
of the working classes or the upper classes.
So anyone can really just get away with any...
I gotta talk to Ruby right now. Wait, what was
that again? Um... Miss Clarence, you're the first
to hear about this. There's already murmurs that
I may have played a part in my husband's death.
What? Of course not. Thank you for your immediate
trust, but... That can only be the beginning
of what I imagine to be an avalanche of what
this society will do to me if things should go
wrong and anyone near me. So, the favor I ask
of you is simply this. Think of this as a proposal...
to continue seeing me. This guy right over here.
Son of a bitch. This guy. Oh, man. Edgewater's
heart sinks. Okay. Take your time to consider.
That is my favor I ask of you. Think this through
and think what would be best for you and not
me. Lord Drake, I say this as the utmost Bridger-
tenet scholar in this society. There are ways
to get around such scandals. Don't you worry.
I'll be back. And she exits. She just gets up
and leaves. I think... Samuel starts fanning
himself. Christ alive. Wow, mama. Okay. Wow.
Holy cannoli. I knew she was a freak. Lucas? I think I'm
going to need a cold bath. I heard everything,
my lord. I'm on it. At this point, we're going
to prepare ourselves to flash forward. unless
anyone has anything super pressing, but we do
have yet another seance to engage in. And we're
going to wrap for the time being right here.
We're going to come back next time with a little
pregame with, I'm sure Edgewater may have a few
things to discuss with Ruby. And then... into
a low -juice seance. Low -juice, guys. Low -juice
on this one. No real ghosts, just fake scant
ones. I don't know if we're naming titles or
naming episodes, but low -juice seance feels
pretty good. That may be next time. All right,
fantastic. Well, again, thanks, everybody, for
listening, and we will catch you next time. Bye.
Bye. Bye. What could the exploding pillow mean?
Should Ruby inspect her other pillows? What is
going on with Sparks and Connor Carson and can
Mary turn it to her advantage? What was in Salt's
secret letter to Beadere? What rumors are circulating
about Samuel and how exactly did Henry die? Will
Edgewater be able to hold in her excitement now
that she and Samuel are officially courting?
I truly hope we start getting some answers on
the next episode of Scandals and Scavengers.
Thank you for listening to Scandals and Scavengers,
a Post-Apocalyptic Regency romance with Daniel
Began as Ruby Grace Rhinelander, MattstheLast
as Lord Samuel Drake, Johnny McEIearney as Second
Lieutenant Immortan Salt, Emily Carmen Welden
as Mary Smith, Bo Powell as Edgewater Clarence,
and Evan Kelly as the Game Master. Produced by
Evan Kelly, Trope Warden, Bo Powell. Hey, this
is Daniel. Thanks for listening. If you're enjoying
what you're hearing, consider supporting us on
Patreon where we release episodes early and you'll
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