The Mystery of the Mystery House!

[The Tenth Doctor]

Tyler frowned at Mrs. Winchester. He opened his mouth and started telling her exactly what he thought of the occult and communication with the spirits.

"Look, the spirit things that you talk to aren't the spirits of dead people; these are demons. There's an injured man here, and he needs medical attention. He needs a doctor. I'll ask this again...is there a doctor that we can call upon?"

Tyler looked at the Doctor in surprise. "Did you just say you were a doctor? Why didn't you say that before? Or maybe you did...but you're not acting much like a doctor. Do you have your medical tools here?"

Annoyed once again by Mrs. Winchester's babbling, Tyler spoke again. "Look, what your house needs is an exorcism or something of that nature....to get rid of these demons."

[Charley Pollard]

(OOC: Again, I'm soooo sorry. The last few weeks have been hectic! I tried to go off a few things to place what Charley had been up to. Hope the last bit works. Wanted to give her a bit something of her own to do.)


Everything seemed to move much more quickly anytime someone got hurt. Charley tried to stay out of the way, aware that her role was to get out of the way. Though roles were something that she had been trying to escape in her own time period, she realized the necessity of keeping to them when she and the Doctor were travelling a good deal of the time. She didn’t want to draw pointless attention to herself if she could help it; that is, if her mouth didn’t do that for her at other times.

When the Doctor mentioned the helpfulness of towels and water, Charley made a nod and quick dash to get them. She thought she could easily remember the route that they had taken on the way there, but it seemed that in the excitement of getting the injured butler help, she had mistaken a turn. She rushed back the other direction, for she had come to an empty hallway that was certainly the wrong way. She eventually heard voices, but couldn’t quite make them out. She could tell they were two women, and they were most definitely not happy. She made it to the kitchen in time for one of them to come out with the needed towels and water. She moved out of the way – and apparently out of sight, for the other didn’t seem to notice her.

Charley watched the other woman for a moment, who seemed to be greatly distraught. She didn’t want to interrupt, but her heart went out to the woman. Something was wrong, that much was obvious. She was about to speak, but the young woman rushed out past her. Charley turned on her heel and tried to catch up. She soon found herself back near the same room as they had been in. The woman had already left it however and was now in another empty room. Charley glanced inside the room with the butler, nodding at the Doctor to show that she had made it back, but turned to go to the room in which the girl had gone. The other woman had already been back with the water, apparently, so they at least had that.

Charley knocked lightly on the door that led to the room with the crying maid. She entered hesitantly, looking inside. “Hello,” she called out softly towards the crying form. “My name’s Charley. Can I help you somehow?” She took a few steps forward, wondering if her sobbing had anything to do with the butler’s injuries, the screams, or anything else with this seemingly insane house.

[The Eighth Doctor]

(That's ok, that's why we said you were lost:) Very easy to do in that place!)

"I didn't? Oh, sorry, I guess I didn't hear you," the Doctor murmured to Tyler. "I'm a bit distracted for the moment. I'm not just a medical docotr, I'm pretty much a doctor in just about everything but no, I don't happen to have any of my instruments handy."

He too frowned a bit when Mrs Winchester once again insisted they get back and 'allow the spirits to speak'.

"My dear woman, if I just did nothing here this man is going to join the spirits rather than speak for them! Do you really want to lose the services of a good butler?"

"Hmph, they will find a way." was the sully reply. "They always do. They will have their way!"

"Just what we need, pushy ghosts," the Doctor said as he wrung out a cloth from the basin of hot water the servant girl had brought and gently began cleaning away the blood.

[The Tenth Doctor]

Tyler grunted in frustration. "Well...then...maybe someone needs to call the doctor of this location...one that is on duty and has the necessary tools."

He then looked right at Mrs. Winchester. "Where is the nearest doctor? And I don't want to hear anything about the spirit nonsense."

"Or do you have enough tools here?" he asked the Doctor again. "It's a good thing that you are here, or that poor man would have bled to death...."

He hoped that the Doctor was able to help the redhead. Although the redhead scared him for reasons he couldn't explain, he didn't want to see this man die. It was as if he were connected to him in some way, but had no idea how.

Tyler stood back and watched the Doctor work. "Let me know if you need me for anything...oh...and I hope your friend is all right...the woman who was with you."

[The Mentalist]

(OOC: Thanks Charley, that works out perfect! Ooh, look, long post...)

As the gentle call from the guest wafted in the room, the maid curled up on the chair kept crying. She was just a figure in the dark, all the lights blown out, but her position was clear from her outline. Lily had her feet on the seat, her arms wrapped around her folded legs and her head buried into her thighs. The tears kept rolling down her cheeks in the darkness, dripping onto her dress. The room was cold and it felt like ice running down the maid's face.

The warmth of the words from the guest finally registered in her head, the maid uncurled herself and let her legs fall to the group. Picking herself up, she rubbed away tears from her face and tried to stop her sobbing, trying to act professional around the guest. The maid had already slipped up in front of her lady, she couldn't do it again because she'd fired. As the maid tried to stand, she felt her right arm shake and the rest of her follow soon after. She held her arms together and was very unsteady on her feet as she walked toward Charley. It was clear all the events of the night had gotten to the fragile servant who was trying not to let it show.
"Hello... terribly sorry for this... no, I'm in no need of help, thank you... Can I offer you any help...sorry again..."

The maid tried to keep it together as she waited for her guest's reply, but kept shaking with nerves. It was surprising she could even form words... As she waited patiently, the maid heard footsteps come down the corridor and tried not to let it get to her.

As the footsteps stopped, the door was edged open by another maid. She had black hair and dark eyes, it was the same one that had brought Nicholas's water and cloth and the one that had tipped Lily over the edge. She walked in arrogantly, until she saw the guest in the room and greeted her kindly. The black haired maid, Ellie, then went to Lily and looked at her fellow servant with hate, talking to her like she was dirt.
"Stop it! Stupid cry baby! You're embarrassing everyone."

Lily shied away at this point, taking the telling off in the same way a scolded puppy would. The maid continued to talk to her foully,
"Ugh, you're such an idiot. anyway. Nicholas wants to see you. He says you can explain how he got that cut on his neck."
The black haired maid turned away, apologized to Charley then talked to Lily again as she left, full of spite,
"I think you did it, personally. You can't share him, you can't stand to see him around anyone else... See you."

Lily fell totally silent, the tears welling up her eyes again. How could Ellie accuse her of such a thing!? Having feelings for him was one thing but slitting his neck was something totally different! Lily's teeth started to knock off of one another as she almost burst out into tears. As the black haired maid reached the door, she left with a snicker and laughed a little as she turned left and walked away from the room.

The brunette maid in front of the guest, stood in a stunned silence. she had no idea what to think, her emotions on the edge of spilling out. After a few seconds, the facade of being functional around the guest snapped and the servant burst into tears, right in front of her. Everything was just too much for her to handle.

~~~~~~~

Meanwhile...

In the other room, the butler lay on the bed, quietly and calmly. Even though so much was being said around him, again, not much was registering. The people talking made sense, but the words they spoke didn't. His lady had been talking, the pilot had been saying something, even the eccentric man seemed to want to talk. It was a strange way to be, to not understood what was being said, the butler thought.

He felt someone cleaning his wound but he had no energy to try and ask to do it himself. Nicholas felt the cloth wiping the blood away, the cool water a real treat. It took away all the stickiness, which was to his to liking. The butler was in no state to judge whoever was cleaning his wound, he could barely keep himself conscious. But he could remember something that had been asked of him, something that hadn't been explained yet. He muttered quietly,
"where...where is Lily... "
The butler wanted his actions explained, so the guests could understand what had happened, but in his heart, the butler wanted her there. To have her in the room would be a huge comfort for him, he really wanted her there, beside him. He knew, if she was there, then he could maybe just hold on for bit longer and stay with this world.

[The Tenth Doctor]

Tyler heard Nicholas' question and responded with one of his own, "Lily? Is that...is that the maid.....?"

He had seen the way the maid had acted as she had run off, and now...it seemed that there was a distinct possibility that this butler cared for his maid. Smiling at the thought of that, he still awaited an answer from both the Doctor and Mrs. Winchester.

[The Eighth Doctor]

"If it is it probably would be a good idea to get her over here. It might get him to explain a few things. Hmm, seems the blade didn't cut too deeply, just enough to slit the skin but it did nick the thyroid cartilage. It could be just a bit too painful for him to talk. Perhaps he could write instead. Is there paper and a pencil handy?" He rummaged through his own pockets but only came up with candle stubs, a reciept from a London book store, two pennies and a yo-yo. "I thought surely I had at least a serviceable pen." he murmured during his search.

He stopped and stared at what he had dug out, a small round ball made entirely up of entwined and turning gears. "So that's where that went! Oh well, I don't need it now." Absently he handed it to Tyler and turned his attention back to the butler.

Mrs Winchester turned to another nearby servant girl. "Go to the drawing room and get the paper and pen. Careful, don't spill the inkwell!" The girl gave a slight nod and moved off.

The Doctor leaned back to whisper to Tyler "I'm half surprised she didn't order a Ouija board!"

[The Tenth Doctor]

Tyler stared at the ball that the Doctor handed him. "What is this thing?" Tyler asked, completely fascinated by what he now held in his hand. It was a ball -- but it was made of gears. "What's it for?" he asked, studying it carefully.

As the Doctor leaned in to whisper to him, Tyler's eyes went wide as he heard the Doctor.

"Yeah, I would hope not.....I.....I'm not sure what I would do if she had ordered one. I've....I've heard stories about weird things happening...evil things...bad things...when someone consults one," Tyler whispered back to the Doctor.

[The Eighth Doctor]

"Oh, something I was going to use to repair something with sometime or other. Let's see, was it a part of Big Ben? No, no, that's not it. A patch from the Eiffel Tower? No, that required bigger gears. It wasn't the Titanic either. I can't remember. Oh well, keep it. You might find a use for it somewhere."

The servant girl brought back the items Mrs Winchester had ordered along with a small desktop made for use on a lap. She carefully set it down on the bed besides the Doctor. "Thank you, my dear. Perhaps when he comes to and feels like writing we may get some answers."

"Try putting the pen in his hand now," The lady of the house ordered.

"Can't do that, he's barely conscious. Might spill the ink over this lovely quilt here," the Doctor protested.

"The spirits will guide his hand! Haven't you ever heard of spirit writing?" she snapped. "I thought you knew something!"

The Doctor did not reply but he did sit back, not moving toward the desk as a protest. She snorted then moved it on the man's lap and put the pen in his limp hand. The time lord watched with an upraised eyebrow, fully expecting nothing to happen.

[The Mentalist]

(Waiting on Charley to reply before moving Lily, trying to keep her involved.)

Under the cosy quilt of the bed, the butler had almost fallen asleep. Everyones voices had seemed to have faded away into a lullaby, none of their words registering or being understood. The butler was snoozing, patiently waiting for his friend, the maid, to come into the room and tell the guests everything they could ask about the event. The experience had been tiring on him and Nicholas had already started dreaming of the stars outside. The man had nothing to fear, he was well looked after and taken care of by the kind guests around him and that reflected in the butlers peaceful state.

He stirred when the desk was put onto his lap and pen shoved into his hand. A cold fist closed his own, the temperature startling. He found himself semi-awake, sleepily gazing down at the wood desk on him. The pen too was freezing and the paper didn't look any warmer. The butler stared at it, starting to understand some words and eventually, the questions asked to him by the guests and his lady.
"She wants me to explain how I got this wound... but I have already said that Lily will explain it for me... my lady will just have to exercise some patience... Lily will not be long, I'm sure..."
The sleepy butler then gently moved the pen in his grasp to the paper and let it go there, refusing to write.

He didn't want to write, nor did he want to explain, Lily could do both very well. Huddling back under the quilt, he tucked his cold hand in a warm spot underneath and tried to drift back off into his dreams.
"My lady, please.... be patient... I am sure the maid will explain...for now...am I allowed to rest? I'm extremely tired..."

Even though he'd asked, Nicholas did not wait for a reply. The red-head fell back into his dreamland, taking another tour of all the stars his imagination could create.

[Charley Pollard]

The maid seemed all out of sorts, tears streaming down her face. However, Charley could tell that she was doing her best to bring herself out of it, if anything to look calm before one of the house guests. Charley felt bad – she didn’t want the maid to go out of her way to look better from her. She just wanted to help…

A couple of apologies began tripping from the maid’s mouth. Before she could properly respond and offer the young woman her help, another maid entered the room – the same one that she had seen being rude to her before. She was nice to Charley, but the other maid, not so much. Charley was about to make an indignant remark, but because of some seemingly delicate balance that seemed to be about this house, she restrained herself. She merely crossed her arms, annoyed, wondering what could possibly be in this woman’s head to make her feel so superior to this other poor maid.

The maid made an ill-remark about the crying maid being the one to wound the butler. Charley’s mouth dropped open. She hardly knew this woman, but she couldn’t help feeling protective over her. It was a good thing the rude maid left the room – Charley was hardly able to hold herself back from making things quite possibly worse. She turned towards the maid that was left crying again, apparently hurt from so harsh and cruel a statement. “How horrid!” Charley said, just in time for the maid before her to burst into tears. She apparently could hold herself back no longer. Charley could hardly blame her. “Of all the things to say!”

Before she realized it, Charley reached her arms around the girl and pulled her into a light but comforting embrace. “There, there,” she murmured, patting the other’s head slightly. She was apparently distraught, and for good reason! She glanced at the door where the maid had left moments before, wondering what her issue was. She removed herself somewhat from the maid, still leaving a reassuring arm around her but leaning back enough she could look the other in the face. “Now what on earth could she be talking about?” she asked soothingly, hoping that conversation would help her calm down.

[The Tenth Doctor]

Tyler stared at the Doctor as he explained that the ball of gears may have been part of Big Ben or something like that. "Well, it sounds like you were looking for it earlier or....or...you at least thought of it.....but if you're sure you don't want it....thanks!"

He quickly pocketed the unusual gift.

"It sounds like you've done some traveling, " Tyler commented. "I've been to Paris and London myself....never did a cruise ship, though......wait....I didn't think that the ship Titanic was built yet....I've heard of it, though. I try to keep up to date on ships that are to be built. I've heard that it will be a ship of great magnitude. I'm not really much of a boat person, though."

As Mrs. Winchester suggested putting the pen in Nicholas' hand, Tyler glared at the woman. "Will you stop spouting the occult stuff already? I'm not interested in automatic writing.....besides, this man is severely injured. If you want to be of help, call the local doctor."

[The Mentalist]

The maid was a little frightened when the guest had lightly hugged her at first, it had made her jump. She didn't expect such kindness from this woman, after all, the maid was in a social position lower than her. Social position was everything around this place, yet, this guest seemed to totally ignore it. For once, the maid was glad someone had broken the 'rules'. She had really needed that hug.

As the guest let go a little, the maid felt some tears run off of her face and she tried desperately to stop sobbing. Holding her breath for a bit and trying her best to calm down, the maid wiped up her face with her apron. As she did, the guest asked her a question, quite soothingly.
“Now what on earth could she be talking about?”

Lily glanced back down at the floor, her vision going all fuzzy again, more tears forming. A vision of the terrifying event in the basement came into her head and the maid felt terribly sick. Her stomach twisted and churned at the thought of the two butler's she'd seen. Such madness had lurked in the spirits form, it worried her and made her feel scared, even now. Spirits had frightened her before, but this time, it had came a little closer to home. Holding her sobs back, she replied to Charley,
"I-I'm.. I'm afraid one of our staff members was assaulted earlier on. Our head butler..."

The maid then just nervously blurted out with information about the event, it pouring out of her like water. She had to get it off of her chest, she couldn't keep what had happened a secret. This woman seemed very kind and trustworthy, the maid felt she could safely confide in her. It was just scary putting it all into words.
"He was attacked by one of the spirits that haunt this house... It took his form, manifested itself as a direct copy of our butler.. I'm not sure what happened exactly but when I saw the two fighting, the spirit had somehow managed to get a hold of a blade... it cut our butler's throat and would've..... probably killed him if I hadn't stepped in... I threw something at it and it went away... though ...it said it would be back..."
She paused, her gaze moving to the guest directly. The maids eyes were red and wet, her cheeks puffy and soggy from her crying.
"and I'm very scared that it will come back and get someone else..."

Rubbing her cheeks with her apron, the maid looked away, still teary and talking quickly because of nerves.
"But it's okay if you don't believe me. I can hardly believe what I saw... I doubt if the woman who just shouted at me will believe me either..."
Playing with the hem on her skirt, the maid kept speaking, unable to stop the words coming out. She was unloading a lot of things she'd kept secret, some a good few years old.
"But please don't get angry with Ellie... she's never really liked me, she's always like that with me...especially when it comes to Nicholas... He's the head butler here you see... she's awfully fond of him and I think she's jealous of how close Nicholas and I are... we were both employed here at the same time, we came from the same house... I've known him for years... but Ellie doesn't take that well... she's like that to anyone who gets even remotely close to Nicholas. She's like a angry dog, protecting what she calls her own... even though he's not really hers, by any means..."

Lily then stopped talking, again wiping up more tears. She knew exactly what Ellie had made her feel like, these last few months had caused the maid to do this. The rude woman was making her bottle everything up, instead of really expressing how she felt. She really hated Ellie. Wanting everything that wasn't hers; men, money, better clothes. It made Lily upset that someone who was employed in this house would need to want such things, so many of her friends would be more than happy with the benefits of a job here. Plus, Nicholas was his own person, he could do whatever he wanted- Lily realized that she'd kept the guest waiting for too long and kept back tears.
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have told you all of that, you probably don't want to know. Anyway, it's not my place to say anything like that, please forget what I said and, if you see fit, pardon my actions..."

The maid nervously waited for a pardon, starting to try and go back to professional state. After all, she had a bit of explaining to do about Nicholas's neck wound at some point during this night. Lily would have to be on her best behavior.

~~~~

The butler lying in the bed was still dreaming, cosy and safe. His mind hadn't moved away from thinking about stars, so he felt a good bit calmer. His mind had stayed well away from thoughts of spirits and 'Rippers', so he didn't stir at all. All the voices around him seemed to blend into background noise too.

He looked rather peaceful as he slept in the bed.

[The Eighth Doctor]

(Sorry for the long absence)

As the pen remained motionless in the man's fingers the Doctor couldn't help but feel a bit triumphant. "There, you see? Now let's just let this poor man sleep and forget all about this 'spirits talking' nonsense." He removed the pen and paper, handing them over to Tyler and pulled the bed quilt up around the man's chin.

Mrs Winchester narrowed her eyes. "Do not mock the spirits, Enigma! If they did not repsond it was because they didn't feel the time is right. They -will- communicate You will see!" In a shuffle of her long skirts she snatched up a candle and left.

The Doctor made a face. "I do wish she would stop calling me 'Enigma' already! I told her my name!"

[The Tenth Doctor]

Tyler quickly grabbed the pen and paper from the Doctor, setting them on a bookshelf on the other side of the room. He watched the woman leave. Once she was gone, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, that's at least one good thing -- we have peace and quiet. But, unfortunately, that leaves us with a doctor who is without his tools. I would suggest that someone calls for the doctor of this area...so this man can be treated."

Tyler nodded to Nicholas. "Well....sir...you actually didn't tell her your name....at least that I can recall. Didn't you just say that your name was the Doctor? But you never gave us your last name..."