#isobel devane

"I can't believe we're drinking wine in a haunted house," Marcus remarked as Isobel joined him. "Living on the edge here!"

"A little alcohol helps me think. I was thinking, what if there are tunnels in this place? I mean, it was built sometime after WWII and the French had a need for secrecy during that time. It wouldn't surprise me if whoever built it had had hid some secret entryway here."

"For example, in that spot under our balcony?" he followed.

"Yeah! It's not that much of a reach, is it?"

"You alright?" Kevin asked as Ashton slumped next to him, exhausted.

"Yeah... our hunch just didn't pan out. No secret tunnel under here," Ashton sighed. "I'm sleepy."

"Rest up, we're all here, bro," Candace told him. "What's got you down, Anna?"

Thanks for the tag @bool-prop!

I'll pick Isobel.

What uncommon/common fear do they have?

I don't know if this is uncommon or not, but she sometimes fears that she's wasting her life.

Do they have any pet peeves?

Incompetence. And when she has to solve the messes caused by said incompetence.

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

Perfume, random cat toys, lotion.

What do they notice first in a person?

Body language and eyes.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance?

Maybe 4-5.

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure?

Fight, but not physically. She's more likely to take someone down with her words and arguments than with fists.

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

She's an only child.

What animal represents them best?

A cat.

What is a smell that they dislike?

Hay - because if she smells it, a sneezing fit is guaranteed.

Have they broken any bones?

Not yet and she hopes and she never does.

How would a stranger likely describe them?

Stylish, but also aloof and kind of high-maintenance. She isn't really like that, but without knowing her, some would think she is.

Are they a night owl or a morning bird?

Morning bird.

What is a flavor they hate and a flavor they love?

She loves citrus-flavored things. She thinks that whoever decided coffee and olive oil go well together should get their head and taste buds checked.

Do they have any hobbies?

Gaming and yoga.

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprises?

As long as she isn't surprised while she's naked, all's good and she'd love a good get-together.

Do they like to wear jewelry?

Oh yes! She sometimes jokes she should not be allowed near jewelry stores without a parental lock on her cards.

Do they have neat or messy handwriting?

It's neat and legible.

What are two emotions they feel the most?

Curiosity and competitiveness.

Do they have a favorite fabric?

Whatever really comfortable pjs are made of.

What kind of accent do they have?

It's kind of uptown. She's not sure how she picked it up, probably from hanging around coworkers who speak that way.

Georgette later joined the others as they enjoyed the warm outdoors.

"I'm glad Henrietta's troubles are resolved," Anna told her and the other. "Can't help but feel like something is missing, though."

"Well, traditionally speaking, if something ends with death, it's a tragedy. No one died today, though," Jasper mused.

"Don't curse it into existence," Rachel chided from where she was suntanning.

"Yeah, we've had enough of morbid stuff already," Candace agreed.

As if on cue, Clarice and Mario arrived.

"Bonjour! We have an announcement to make. Mario and I have been talking and... we're engaged!" Clarice announced.

"Is that so?" Georgette got up and turned around to take a good look at the beaming couple. "Mario, do you promise to take good care of my granddaughter?"

"Wouldn't dream of anything else, madame. She makes me want to be a better person."

"In that case, I can only give approval."

"And I believe, now this story is officially a comedy?" Isobel asked, half joking.

"You know what? I'll take it," Marcus agreed.

The next morning, the group was woken up somewhat early by the sounds of something heavy being moved and by directions given in French.

As it turned out, as soon as it opened, Georgette called the museum and told them she had something for them at the villa.

The museum instantly sent people over. It wasn't every day that they were told there were ancient relics discovered in town!

Waking up earlier didn't bother the group. They all actually slept pretty sweetly tonight. No scary dreams, no strange presence in their rooms, no one got locked out...

"You think she's happy now?" Isobel wondered.

"I think so," Ashton nodded. "Come to think of it, I think I understand why we, the men, were having such a bad time staying in Henrietta's home. If you think about it, the men in her life let her down. Her husband took credit for her actions. Her best friend didn't do enough to investigate her death. Even the worst thing she did, trying to poison her husband, was blamed on some old man."

"I get it. I'd become a misandrist too, if I had to go through that," Rachel agreed.

"Same," Jasper agreed. "And I am a man."

"How can we help you?" Georgette asked.

"Those relics downstairs. Can you turn them in? Take them to the museum or to the police. Tell them the truth of what happened." Henrietta should have done that decades ago.

"I can do that. I will."

"Your brother, how is he?"

"He's alright. Getting up there a bit. You know how he is - he's always been a worrier. And it's been taking a toll on him for the past few years."

"That's too bad. I think I may have scared him, too. He stopped by some time ago. When that young man was setting the place up."

"You know, Fabian did say he thought something cold touched him when he looked at our old bedrooms. That was you, wasn't it?" Georgette recalled how she told her brother he was imagining things. Oh, how wrong she was! "Anything else we can do?"

"Yes," Henrietta looked upwards. It always took a lot of effort for her to appear like this, and she was exerting more of it now. She was beginning to fade.

"I understand, Mom. I'll take care of that, too. I know you've never liked it."

"Thank you. Thank you..."

And then she was gone, leaving only a tearful Georgette and a fading purple fire in her stead.

"That thing upstairs?" Isobel asked, while the others were trying to process witnessing such a major haunting.

No sooner did she say that the room was cold, the lights in the whole house went out and the flames in the fireplace turned a cold purple color.

"Does this usually happen here?" Georgette asked.

"We did tell you this place is haunted," Clarice told her.

"I'm a little confused, though," Candace chimed in a little too nonchalantly. "Why are we being haunted now? Didn't she want people to find out what happened? Wasn't that the whole point of haunting this place?"

"My mother did always have a flair for dramatics," Georgette admitted. "Isn't that right, Mom? You're here, aren't you?"

And she was.

Georgette was always the first one to tell people that ghosts weren't real and were simply easily explained phenomenons of scientific factors.

Well, that won't work anymore, she thought. Because, clearly ghosts were real and her mother was one.

"Mom?"

"Georgie?"

Could ghosts cry? Because it certainly looked like Henrietta was crying.

"It's ok, Mom. It's ok," Georgette reassured her.

"No it's not. I was angry. And I wasn't thinking clearly. And I hurt all of you."

"And you've paid for it dearly," Georgette told her. "How long have you been here like this?"

"Since that cursed day," Henrietta admitted. "I should have poured that stupid wine out."

"Things were a mess after Mom's death," Georgette concluded her tale. "Dad was desolate and we were pretty lucky that Etienne, Antoine, and Samantha were there to hep us. After they brought us back from boarding school, we stayed in Paris with them. In fact, we never moved back here to this house."

"There was a small investigation. I now think it was so small because the wine that contained the poison was the same sort as the one the Mayor brought over that day, maybe he wanted to distance his name from a potential murder?"

"Dad ended up showing those threatening letters to the police," Georgette chuckled. "And I guess they didn't have reason to believe they were fake. But of course, they didn't see Mom's diary, they wouldn't have had reason to suspect foul play from the victim herself! It was concluded that it really was an old military enemy who brought the poison into the house. After all, Mom and Dad were well-known as wine aficionados, so it made sense for someone to come at them from that direction. It probably didn't help that Etienne felt so guilty over publishing that damn book - he really thought he brought that misfortune upon us. And he blamed himself for it publicly, even stopped more copies from being published."

"That was great uncle Etienne, right?" Clarice clarified. "Didn't he and great-grandpa Pierre have a falling out?"

"They did."

"After Mom's death, Etienne and Antoine were worried about us. If an old enemy killed Mom, what was stopping him from coming after us? So, they did their best to find that old Nazi man who was suspected of poisoning the wine." Georgette paused and her expression became painful.

"And?" Clarice urged.

"And they found him. Or rather, what happened to him - the man died shortly before my brother was born, due to natural causes and plain old age. He could not have been the one terrorizing my family even if he really wanted to! So, naturally, Etienne became suspicious of Dad. So was I. I was in my late teens at that time. I was not supposed to hear the conversation between them, but I did. Etienne straight up asked if Dad faked the whole thing to kill Mom. Of course, Dad denied it and called Etienne crazy. Ever since then, I wasn't sure what to believe. After all, their relationship was on the rocks before it all happened..."

"I'm so sorry it all went that way," Jasper told her quietly.

"It was a mess, indeed," Isobel nodded.

"You didn't have anything to do with those events. In fact, thank you for finding this diary. It answered so many questions."

Georgette stood up, trying to warm herself up a little bit. There was a fire burning, but she felt so cold.

The two women entered the living room and Clarice introduced them all.

"Hello, this is my grandma, Georgette. Henrietta was her mother."

"Bonjour, I take it you are interested in hearing about my family's history?" she asked. "And what's all this about ghosts? You all look old enough to be more scientifically-minded."

"The ghost is very real," Jasper was the first one to state it. "Just one, though. We saw her and it's your mother."

"Jas! Please, be gentler with such things," Anna nudged his leg. This woman looked to be fairly old, they didn't want to accidentally cause a death while solving another one.

"She does deserve to know, though," Marcus shrugged, while Isobel nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry on my account, my heart is quite strong," Georgette chuckled. Then her eyes landed on the notebook that was next to the couch. "Is that my mother's diary? Where in the world did you find it?"