Little was said during the car ride home. I could tell that Oswald was still vexed with me, but the fact that I was able to accomplish my mission kept my spirits high. But I maintained the body language of being ashamed in order to keep him from being suspicious. Now I have to find a way to play the tape…once I do that, things will be much easier. Finally, the silence was broken when the car pulled into the manor's driveway. "Please get changed for dinner. We'll talk then." I was glad to leave the tense space and have a little time to myself. When I closed the door behind me, I gave a sigh of relief and started dancing with excitement. I took the tape out of the purse and examined it closely, fortunately it didn't look damaged or to warped so I was confident that whatever was on the tape would be easily understood.

A thought crossed my mind before long, Oswald can't find this…. it'll ruin everything. So, I walked around the room to try to find a good hiding spot. I now knew that he wasn't one to respect privacy, so I had to take extra care. I noticed that there was a tissue box in the restroom that was very plain compared to the rest of the décor in the room. I took out some tissues and stuck the tape inside, then I replaced the tissues and returned it to its place. With a satisfied sigh, I walked toward the closet to pick out a dress for dinner when there was a knock on the door. I opened it to find several boxes in front of me. I stepped back and the boxes moved inside, followed by another stack. They were carried by a couple of Oswald's men. They placed the boxes on the bed and each of the men muttered, "Ms. J…" as they left the room. Once I was alone again, I opened one of the boxes and saw a familiar piece of fabric. I smiled and opened other boxes.

An hour later

The dress that I chose was a forest green floor length gown with thin straps crossing in the back. Despite the price tag, I felt quite nice in it, especially in shoes. I still felt a little dread in the upcoming encounter, but now there was hope and the dress gave confidence for some reason. Music was permeating the house as I descended the stairs, it gave me a sense of calm despite my situation. I walked into the dining room and much like the night before, there was a generous spread of food on the table and the room was lit by the fire in the hearth at the far side of the room. I saw the source of the music was a gramophone in the corner of the room. The instrument fascinated me, so I went over to it and examined it closely. The large golden horn reminded me of a flower that I saw in a book once, the large hole surrounded by metallic petals tempted me to touch it.

"It's nice isn't it?" Oswald's voice made me jump like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I stepped away from it as he limped toward me. "A member of my clientele heard that you had returned and sent it as a gift. They saw you at the benefit and were quite moved." Benefit? He chuckled a little under his breath, "I hope that you get your voice back soon so that you can sing for me again." So I was a singer… "Now…let's eat and we can discuss matters." I felt like a teenager about to get lectured by their parent, and this annoyed me. We both sat and began to eat. This meal reminded me of the previous, but this time Oswald wasn't speaking. After a few bites, he finally asked, "So…It looks like Meredith did her job well. Your gown is lovely, Fee."

I nodded as I took another bite. I looked up and saw him examining me, his look caused me to feel exposed and I wanted to hide for some reason. "You're blushing again…" this made him chuckle again and annoyed me even more. He must have noticed this and apologized. We finally finished the meal and he popped up quickly to walk to my side of the table. He offered his hand and said, "Shall we dance?" This phrase was familiar and gave me a feeling of delight for some reason. I took his hand and he led me to the open space of the room next to the gramophone. Oswald placed his other hand on my waist gently and we started to sway to the music.

After a few moments, he cleared his throat and started to speak again, "Fee…why did you go to Arkham after I told you not to?" His blue eyes pierced mine and I again wanted to hide, but with him holding me there was nowhere I could go. "You may not understand, but I only want what's best for you…I already lost you once." With this phrase, he squeezed my hand. "I can't lose you again, Fee…" This statement was endearing, but it also felt constricting; like a cage was closing in on me and the man in my arms had the key. This was not comforting, so I decided to speak. I croaked, "Oswald…thank you, but I am an adult." "Of course you are!" he said quickly to back track, "It's just that, you have no idea how dangerous this city is…I mean, just look at what happened to you within just a few months! Kidnapped three times…assaulted…" As he spoke, my mind started being bombarded with flashes of memories. A jumble of fear, anger, pain, and confusion flooded me all at once.

This caused an acute pain to pierce me from behind my eyes making me wince unconsciously. "Fee? What's wrong?" "I'm fine…" I croaked as I shook my head to try to re-focus on the moment. "You're lying, something's wrong…Sit down…" he led me to one of the cushioned chairs nearby and despite my efforts, I couldn't stop the carnival ride that was in full swing in my skull. Next thing I knew, darkness washed over me.