Episode 13:
Slideshow
Elizabeth walks down the staircase glancing around The Great Hall.
She stops and looks at Jacques portrait.
"You like." Jacques asks, he is lying on the couch. "Mr. Desmond. You startled me. I thought
I was alone." Jacques stands and
walks over to Elizabeth. "In this house? Never, or there would be the devil to
pay." "It's the only way to keep
the household help in line. I was drawn to that portrait. Jacques Eloi Des
Mondes." she reads. "He looks amazingly like you." Elizabeth turns around and
looks at Jean Paul. "The genes jump
around through the ages." Jacques tells her. "It could be the same man." Elizabeth
says. "You're dead right. Well,
have you had any breakfast yet?" Jacques walks to the cord that would summon
Raxl. "No but suddenly I'm famished
for it. Are you joining me?" Elizabeth asks. "No, I have already had my second cup of
coffee. I think it's because I rise so early. I can never get enough fresh air,”
he tells her. Raxl quietly walks
into the Great Hall. "Mrs. Marshal
would like some breakfast Raxl."
"And you?" Raxl asks him.
"Not right away, I think I will have a coffee later. I didn't want to
disturb you. After all your days of late have been disturbing ones." Jacques
says with a quiet laugh. "I'm
indebted for Msieu's concern." Raxl tells him. "We are equally indebted Raxl. I to you
and you to me." Jacques says, then shows Elizabeth to the dining room, seating
her. "Now may I recommend our specialty, something indigenous to Maljardin?
Sliced papayas with lime juice."
"Would old fashioned orange juice seem unappreciative?" Elizabeth
asks. "Oh no as long as you permit
me to make certain you are well taken care of." "Mr. Desmond you are so gallant, you
should be that cavalier in that portrait."
"You know sometimes I think I am." Jacques says crossing his arms. "Well
now if you'll excuse me I will see to it that Raxl tends to you." Raxl is watching Jean Paul from across
the room. "Raxl would you ask my
daughter to join me." Elizabeth asks.
"I'm not sure she is awake." Raxl says placing a glass of juice in front
of Elizabeth. "I don't question
that. Just tell Holly she is going to have breakfast with her mother." Elizabeth
says. Raxl bows, then leaves the room. Elizabeth stands and walks to the
end of the table picking up the bell. "Someday when I ring..." she had rung the
bell Quito walks in. "It was a
mistake Quito, you may go."
He still stands looking at her.
"Didn't you hear me?" Quito
finally turns and leaves. Elizabeth
walks into the Great Hall. Raxl comes down the staircase from the bedrooms. "Miss Holly will be with you shortly
madame." Raxl tells her. "Thank you
Raxl, I think I would like some toast with my coffee." "And your daughter?" "I haven't the slightest idea what her
tastes are. Nor any respect for them."
As Raxl walks away Elizabeth asks. "Will Mrs. Desmond be down soon?" "There is no Madame Desmond." Raxl
replies, she has her back to Elizabeth.
"There was one, has there been a separation or divorce?" "No divorce and they never will be
separated." Raxl turns and tells her.
Holly comes down the staircase.
"May I bring you some breakfast now Mademoiselle Holly?" Raxl asks. "Okay, thanks." Holly sits in a chair in
the Great Hall. "Sleep well dear?"
Elizabeth asks. "Why the big act?
No one is around." "It seems even a
little courtesy is beyond you." says Elizabeth as she walks over to Holly. "Yea like consideration is beyond
you." "You may not realize it Holly
but you do need my help." "You!
Help me! Ha, you’re too wrapped up in yourself." "When your twenty-one you are going to
inherit an enormous responsibility."
"You mean an enormous lot of money don't you?" Holly says. "Well isn't that a responsibility?"
Elizabeth asks. "You deprived me of
both, how would I know?" "A small
fortune does not belong in the hands of a minor." "Well when I'm of age I'm going to spend
what dad left me on the best lawyer to make sure it's not in your hands." Holly
tells her. I shouldn't think you
would be interested in all that litigation dear." "I could care less about them." Holly
answers. "Even about grand
larceny?" "Grand larceny? Mother, I
think you have flipped!" Holly says sitting up straighter. "Item one, a diamond and emerald clasp.
Value approximately three thousand -five hundred dollars." "That much? Holly says shocked. "All
they would loan me was two- hundred."
"I don't care what you got for it, you committed a crime." "Yea and you would rat on me wouldn't
you? Just to get me in trouble and yourself in control." "Holly you must understand, what I am
doing is for your own good." "Look,
I didn't take anything I didn't feel belonged to me. It was part of dad's estate
which is going to be mine anyway." Holly tells her mother. "When you are twenty-one, and you are
not!" "If I ever get to be like
you, I hope I don't make twenty-one." Holly stands and tries to rush past her
mother. Elizabeth grabs her. "At
the rate you're going perhaps that might be just as well!" "Oh you'd like that wouldn't you?" "I'd like for us to have a more
compatible relationship." Holly
pulls away from her mother. "Sure me in jail and you in clover. All right I
borrowed that clasp, the pawn ticket you can have. Now the two-hundred plus
interest, the day I get my inheritance."
"If you get it. Holly you must understand, you need protection from
yourself." "Oh no Mrs. Marshal, all
of you who come to this house are under my protection. Now neither of you have
had any breakfast." Jacques smiles. It's always better to argue on a full
stomach." He leads them towards the dining room. Holly and Elizabeth stop.
Jacques turns back around and faces them. "Well come, it's not poisoned." he
reaches for Holly's shoulder. They
precede him into the dining room Raxl enters with a silver tray with the coffee.
As Raxl is serving them Elizabeth notices the ring on Jean Paul's hand. "That's a fascinating ring you're
wearing Mr. Desmond. I can hardly keep my eyes from it." "Yes it is captivating isn't it?" "Is it a copy of the one in the portrait
of your ancestor?" asks Elizabeth.
"Copy? Oh no more than the portrait is a copy. They both are
originals." "Past through the
generations from, what was his name?" Holly asks. "Oh, Jacques Eloi Des Mondes. Why he and
I have many things in common of which the least is jewelry." "To my mother jewelry is the
most..." "Watch your manners
Holly." Elizabeth tells her. "Oh no
Mrs. Marshal I'm sure your lovely daughter isn't being offensive, after all for
a pendant, or a small broach kingdom's have fallen and fair ladies have been
won." Jacques tells her. "Why is it
the men in the Desmond family seem to marry so late in life?" Elizabeth
asks. Jacques raises his coffee cup
and answers. "Because perhaps first they want to live a rather full life. But
true happiness is not in all our destinies." "Raxl told me about your wife’s death.
I'm very sorry." Jacques puts his
coffee cup down, steeples his hands in front of his face and asks. "Is that how
Raxl put it? That Erica is dead."
"No, she said there was no Mrs. Desmond but the two of you were still
together so I drew my own conclusions. Do I proceed myself?" With a smile Jacques answers. "Perhaps
Mrs. Marshal. Oh well why talk of sadness on such a lovely day as this. Ladies
thank you for your company. I hope to see you a little later, perhaps we can
take a tour of our gardens." Jacques says standing. "I'd love to." Elizabeth replies. Jacques stands next to Elizabeth's
chair. "There are plants here that grow nowhere else in the world. You wouldn't
believe what the natives claim they do.”
With a smile he leaves the room.
Elizabeth looks over her shoulder at the empty doorway. Turning back to
Holly. "You seem to know what is going on here. Tell me, is Erica Desmond alive
or dead?" "Why, are you after his
money too?" Holly replies standing up and leaving the room. Walking to the staircase she meets Raxl
who is coming down. She rushes past her.
Raxl walks down to the crypt. Quito is looking at his bird. Raxl
brings the bird a treat. Quito bows thanking Raxl and puts it in the cage. "There is a price for my gift." Raxl
tells Quito. "I must know why she is here?" Quito rocks his arms like he is holding
a baby. "No the mother not
the daughter. I know why she is here, because of a whim of Msieu Desmond. If it
was Msieu Desmond when the whim took him over? Why did the mother follow the
daughter? Just to be near her, you can sense her hatred." Quito tries talking with his hands, then
he points to a small sans box. Quito draws in it. "The child will have money very soon. I
know that. Even so, only Msieu Forrest isn't allowed to visit Maljardin. Yet now
we have Doctor Alison Carr, and that artist that is going to paint Madame
Desmond’s portrait in death with a very much alive Miss Holly Marshal as a
substitute model. If that cryonics capsule is ever opened or that portrait
completed, our Mistress will still be dead. How do we get our Master to
understand that?" Quito reaches for
the sand; Raxl puts her hand over his.
"It's no use, nothing is ever that simple Quito. You must go the Mainland
and find the Conjure Man." Quito
raises his hands shaking his head no. He backs away. "Why are you afraid? His magic is ours.
He will not turn against you. He will help us." Quito is still backing away telling her
no with a shake of his head. "The
curse of evil is loose on Maljardin. To crush it we need the strength of the
ever-powerful Serpent. And you must go Quito." Quito sits on his bed crying
soundlessly.
Tim is standing at his easel working on the picture of Erica using
Holly for his model. Holly is sitting in a chair trying to hold a pose for him.
Tim rubs his eyes. "Tired?" Holly
asks. "Painting a dead woman is not
my specialty,” he tells Holly.
"Sitting for one isn't exactly mine either." "I just don't know how much longer I can
stand this." Tim says. "You just
got started. Look do we take five or do I just sit here trying to look like a
woman I never saw dead or alive?"
"Let's take five." Tim says tiredly, he walks over to Holly and sits on
the floor. "Or forever." "Sorry you
came?" "If I didn't I might be dead
too from the loan shark remember. But what gets me is why you stowed away to
come here?" Tim says. "It wasn't
exactly a sentimental journey, now that my mother has found me. It sure wasn't a
useful one." "Right back
where you started." Tim says.
"Eventually I'm afraid." Holly replies. "You know life’s funny, just a bad
imitation of art. There's one consolation anyway, even the best fake is exposed
in time." "Yea but how much time?"
Holly asks. "Sometimes
centuries." "All have are a couple
days, then my sainted mother will begin to weld her magic broom again." Holly
says as she starts walking around the room. Tim comes to his feet and stands
behind Holly. "Why is she doing this to you Holly?" "Money, money, money." Holly answers
him. "Because of that you hate
her?" "Because of that she hates
me! Oh Tim that's why I had to burst out of Wesley House. When I came here I
thought I found paradise. If I know my mother she will give it the old college
try, to get me back under lock and key again." "Don't count on it." Tim walks over to
the window and calls Holly over after opening it. "Take a look. Is your mother a
nature lover?" "Mr. Desmond has
money, that's why my mother is walking in the garden with him." "More than enough money to keep he here
wouldn't you say." "If he goes for
her he's out of his mind. Sometimes I think he is." Holly tells Tim. Tim glances at Holly, she walks away.
Tim closes the window. "Anyway he
has enough money, more than she would get from me out of my dad's will." Holly
tells Tim. "Then you wouldn't be
surprised if she hung around here for a while?" "Tim if my mother is on a hot scent I
would be surprised if she didn't."
"So for the time being at least you don't have to worry about Wesley
House." Tim says standing next to her.
"Big consultation." Holly says turning from Tim. "Can the self-pity Holly. There are
people here that are in a lot worse predicament than you are." "Who? Name one." "Doctor Alison Carr for one, she wants
to leave this Island and can't."
"Tim, are you trying to say she is a prisoner here?" "I wouldn't be surprised if we all
are." "Your either psychic or
psychotic. He wanted to take me back to the Main Island. I had to plead with him
not to." "AH, there we are. Is the
canvas all finished Tim?" Jacques walks in. "We were just taking a break
sir." "Oh well back to position
Holly. I would like to see the portrait of Erica in this life time." "Sure I'm only a model working for room
and board." Holly says as she walks back to her chair. "Holly can't you show some graciousness
to our host?" Turning to Jacques. "I didn't exaggerate as you must
realize." "Well the little bird is
now back on her perch." Jacques says crossing his arms. "She can't be that
rebellious.” "She's not a very good
model either. I can't use her for anything but position and play of light. The
rest I have to do by memory and that sketch I did at the cafe of your
wife." "Well that may not be
necessary Tim. Perhaps we can refresh your memory." Jacque tells him standing
next to the canvas. They all give
Jean Paul a stunned look. "I don't
understand sir." "Well a refresher
course in the dearly departed." "I
barely knew your wife." "That's all
right photographs, even snapshot description. I'll fill you in." "No thank you. But photographs to oils
really never come to life." He covers his canvas. "At least I don't know how to
do it." "You don't know until
you've tried. Believe me it can happen." Jacques tells him. "I love your confidence Mr. Desmond,
your drive and determination." Elizabeth says. "Your wife was a very lucky
woman." Jacques laughs. "I am a
very lucky man just to be standing here." He turns to Tim. "Death is always a
tragedy Tim, it's an unfortunate phase but a truism." "May I see the results of Tim's first
days labor?" Elizabeth asks. "Ah,
ah, ah not until it's completed." Jacques says. "I may not be here that long." "Well perhaps I can persuade you."
Jacques says with a smile. "Well
I'm afraid that's all for today." Tim tells them. He asks Holly to join him in
going for a swim. They head upstairs to change. "Wouldn't it be wonderful to be twenty
again and have nothing more to worry about except the prospect of becoming
twenty-five?” Elizabeth tells
Jacques as she walks through the Great Hall to the couch. "Even though I'm much older I still feel
young." Jacques grins. "You don't
look a day over two-hundred." Elizabeth jokes as she sits down. "You're close. You know you nearly
guessed my true age. Would it be presumptuous of me to say that you bring out
the devil in me?” Jacques takes Elizabeth's hand and kisses
it.
Quito is sitting on his bed. Raxl is in the room with him. "That settles it Quito you will go to
Mainland and seek out the Conjure Man. You will go to the French Leaf Cafe.
Vangie Abbott will tell you where to find her father." Quito stands, he is holding a mouse that
he is petting. He shows it to his bird.
"It's a little early in the day Mr. Desmond for brandy." Elizabeth
tells Jacques. Jacques walks over
with two glasses of brandy. He hands one to Elizabeth. "I want you to call me by my first
name." "Jean or Paul? You have two
you know." He squats behind the
couch in back of Elizabeth. "Well now that is true, lets say Jean Paul. That way
we don't slight either name." "And
you must call me Elizabeth." "Thank
you Elizabeth." he stands with a smile.
"It's been a delightful afternoon. It's the first time in ages I've had a
few moments to relax." "I like to
cherish all my moments." Jacques says sitting next to Elizabeth. "And I the memory of my happier ones.
That was selfish, your loss was even more recent than mine." Elizabeth puts her
hand over Jacques. "Your husband
Elizabeth?" She nods. "I feel so
sorry for men. They feel grief but they are not allowed to weep." Jacques reaches for Elizabeth's hand. "A
hand like that, as beautiful as that should never wipe away a tear." He bend
down and kisses her hand. "You're
so kind." she says with a smile. Jacques clinks their glasses. "Until
later." He stands and takes a drink facing Elizabeth, then smiling he walks
away. Elizabeth is sitting holding
her brandy. Holly walks down the stairs clapping her hands. "Beautiful act but
so completely phony." Holly says. Elizabeth looks away.
Jean Paul is himself again. He is walking around the crypt.
"Erica, what is he doing to me? What am I doing when he enters my soul and
possesses it? Jacques Eloi Des Mondes! Oh God, my darling I pray that you know
when he is in my being. And it is he not I that poisons the air! Did I say pray?
I that denied God by denying you a Christian burial. Oh Erica I can't bear to
hurt you but more and more of the time, I am not my own life but a camouflage
for the devil." Jean Paul lowers his head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Summaries written by Debby
Graham . The slide
presentation is the work of Ron Janick.
~Ron/Bella~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
