A/N: Hello again! Yes, this update is nearly two months late. Apologies. It's that time of year again where we are currently at the beginning of a heatwave, so you can imagine how difficult it's been for me to concentrate on my writing. And that's without including the writer's block I've endured for some of my other fanfics. Yet, finally, after much rewriting and mental debate over how this chapter was going to end, we have officially reached the conclusion for Episode 2 of BBC Ghosts! Huzzah! XD This chapter is a little longer than I intended for it to be, but considering the conclusion was nearly 800 extra words long, I saw it as unnecessary to dump it into yet another chapter. Plus, not much happens in the last few scenes of the episode anyways, and while I could have thrown something in to tie up Cordelia's recent ghostly abilities reveal... I decided not to. You can find out more about the reasons behind that decision at the bottom of the chapter, for anyone who is interested. But with Episode 2 out of the way, I expect Episodes 3, 4 and possibly 5 to be a little shorter in chapter length, primarily because the events that occur in those episodes mean there is less for Cordelia to be involved in. I might try and throw in some original content here and there to expand a bit more on Cordelia's 'mysterious past', but we'll have to see how it goes. Still, I suppose that's good news for anyone who wants these episodes concluded quicker. XD
But anyways, thank you to everyone who has been reading and recently followed this fic. The latter was a nice surprise considering it has been a while since anything changed there. XD I don't know when I will have Chapter 19 completed by, but do expect it to kickstart the third episode.
Chapter 18: Muddled Middle Ground
Normally, when one aimed to enact a ripple effect of any kind, it was a trickle, a droplet that caused just enough movement to shift the water without it being noticeable. It was the smart thing to do, after all. Change takes time, and the best way to make an impact is to move slowly, allowing those involved to alter their perceptions at a steady pace and properly soak things in. Of course, Cordelia had not done that. Rather, instead of a trickle of water, she'd chosen to cast a stone upon the still surface. And, as predicated, it plunged straight in and created noticeable waves, moving the water a little further than most would have liked. Perhaps if she'd played her cards right early on, she could have gone about her actions much slyer, more gradual, making them almost undetectable. Alas, the Victorian woman had made her bed, and she was mature enough to accept that and lay in it if it meant preventing further escalation. Thus, the fallout of her actions went exactly how Cordelia expected it would: chaotically.
Upon regaining his composure from watching the once upright vase topple over onto its side (seemingly by itself, as far as Mike was aware), Mike promptly excused himself from the ballroom in a fashion that Cordelia could only think to describe as a cross between a shuffle and a stagger. He was, indeed, spooked by what he'd witnessed, but now partially comprehending the revelation that there were invisible people who'd watched him fall into the wall from fright a few seconds ago, was trying to retain the remainder of his dignity by failing to not make his fear obvious. Alison's reaction was calmer in comparison to her husband's, perhaps because her previous interactions with the ghosts had left her grappling with the possibility that they were as real as they'd originally claimed to be. She'd stood as still as a statue for a while, locking eyes with Mike like she was a deer caught in the headlights of his car. However, once Mike found the will to move and made his strange beeline out of the ballroom, Alison unthawed and speedwalked after him, loudly proclaiming to the ghosts left behind that they'd be popping out for a while and ordering no one to follow them under any circumstances.
The ten upstairs ghosts of Button House frozenly watched the living husband and wife make their hurried exit down the west wing corridor, with the eight who Cordelia would have expected to disobey the given order surprisingly complying. Whether it was due to the shock Cordelia had sprung upon them just now, she didn't know. Yet the second Alison's back disappeared round the corner of the wall at the corridor's end, Cordelia closed her eyes, breathed in sharply through her nose, counted to 'five' inside of her head, and then dared to turn around to face her ghostly housemates with an exhale through her mouth, bracing herself for when all hell broke loose.
The blonde-haired ghost barely crossed gazes with the group of eight before they all hurriedly marched or strode towards her, either with deepened scowls and jutted chins or bulging eyes. They were reminiscent to Cordelia as a pack of mouth-watering lions, so much so that she hunched her shoulders and closed an eye when they surrounded her on all sides. The content of their combined yells was incoherent and lost within the mixture of taut, tremulous and stentorian tones assaulting Cordelia's eardrums, to the point where had she still been alive, she would have considered physically ripping them out just to get some peace and quiet from this wretched cacophony!
The only one who wasn't yelling at her (outside of Humphrey, whom Cordelia could just about see over the sea of ghostly heads was still on the window ledge where she'd left him—curse her short, Victorian stature!) was Pat. He let the shouting match prolong itself for a straight minute, and then, upon ascertaining that Cordelia wasn't going to say anything, he awkwardly positioned himself in front of the shorter, Victorian woman, faced the other ghosts, took a long and deep breath in through his nostrils, and bellowed his next words in the loudest, shrillest and thickest Yorkshire accent Cordelia had ever heard.
"Everyone, shut up!"
The seven ghosts instantly stopped yelling, their mouths snapping shut as swiftly as a group of alligators trapping their prey inside of their pointy maws. Cordelia's weariness evaporated with a wide blink as she stared in surprise and disbelief, watching Pat take another sharp inhale and exhale and then raised a loose fist close to his lips to clear his throat.
"Sorry, sorry," Pat hastily and quietly apologised and roughly patted a palm at his sternum a couple of times, puffing out a short breath. He straightened up and rolled his shoulders back and forth a bit in attempt to loosen his ghostly muscles, surveying the group of ghosts to ensure they were paying attention. "Now, look," he resumed sternly. "I know everything is a bit of a muddle right now, but trying to shout over each other is getting us nowhere." Pat partially peeked back at Cordelia. "So, let's all just take a deep breath, calm down and ask our questions to Cordelia one at a time, okay?"
When the seven ghosts shared short sideways glances with one another, Pat weakly smiled at Cordelia and slyly gave her a thumbs-up in what assumed was a show of support, which she gratefully acknowledged with a curt nod and a mouthed 'thank you'. The help was unexpected, but she welcomed it while she hoped to still receive it.
'Alas, I fear that aid will end swiftly upon my interrogation.'
And, as if Cordelia had internally jinxed herself, the Captain shattered the moment of respite by marching his way to the front of the group, twisting his lips and briefly fiddling with the knot of his tie.
"Yes, thank you, Patrick. I shall take it from here."
Cordelia saw Pat roll his eyes a little at the Captain's less-than-subtle attempt to seize control of the situation again. Yet the scoutmaster said nothing in objection and gladly stepped off to the left to rejoin the group, granting the World War 2 veteran the floor.
"Right then, Cordelia!" he barked, prompting multiple ghosts (Cordelia included) to flinch a little at the sudden shift in demeanour. "No more games. We demand an explanation."
Cordelia purposely delayed responding to the former commanding officer, presuming he was taking a dramatic pause and then planned to elaborate further on his 'demand'. When the Captain expectantly stared back in silence for a while, however, the blonde-haired ghost sighed heavily in defeat and shook her head.
"And what is it you would like an explanation for, Captain?" she queried wearily.
The Captain harshly whipped his baton to the side and pointed it at the toppled vase on the table. "That."
Cordelia's eyes followed the Captain's baton to the still intact vase, faking a look of surprise with a forced blink and the raise of her brows.
"Ah, yes, my treachery." Cordelia ignored the Captain's suspicious squint at her nonchalant attitude (and terrible joke) with an open-armed shrug. "Well, I believe that should be obvious to you all. It is as I explained earlier: I attempted to levitate the vase and instead I knocked it over."
"Yes, we've already gathered that," the Captain replied through a slight and exasperated huff. "But up until today, we have been under the presumption that you do not possess any ghostly powers."
"That is correct."
"Then what the bally hell is going on?! How long have you been able to do this?!"
Cordelia broke her gaze away to scan the expectant stares of the other ghosts, with some like Thomas and Kitty leaning forward on their tiptoes out of anticipation. After at least ten seconds of staring had passed, the blonde-haired ghost lowered her head and closed her eyes.
"For a little under a century and a half, I believe."
Cordelia ignored the quiet gasps and shocked murmurs from the other ghosts (whether because of her honesty or her answer, she'd never know).
The Captain lifted a sceptical brow and tilted his head a bit. "You believe?"
"Yes." Opening her eyes again, Cordelia furrowed her brows and raised her finger to her chin with a couple of taps, her gaze wandering to the toppled vase. "According to young Jemima, the initial—and accidental—discovery occurred shortly after I was reborn a ghost, so my recollection of the event is unreliable."
"But you have used it since then?"
"Occasionally, yes."
"And you didn't tell anyone outside of Jemima?"
Cordelia scowled at the Captain and tilted her nose to the air. "I told no one, sir. It just so happened that on the day of the discovery, I was in the kitchen and Jemima was in the pantry. She witnessed the incident and then relayed it to myself at a later date."
"Then why didn't Jemima inform anyone?"
"Because it is not anyone's business aside from my own, sir," Cordelia answered strictly.
A pig-like snort sounded from behind the Captain, prompting attention to momentarily turn to Julian when he looked away and failed to muffle his amusement behind his palm. The former PM stopped his sniggering at realising everyone's eyes were now on him, the glare the Captain sent him causing Julian to awkwardly clear his throat and fiddle with the knot of his tie.
"D-Don't mind me," he stuttered a bit, making Cordelia roll her eyes out of annoyance.
'Julian cannot help finding amusement in my interactions with the Captain, can he not?'
"But Cordelia does have a point, Cap," Pat said, taking this opportunity to step up to the Captain's side and insert himself into the conversation. "Everyone else's powers are likely linked to how they died. Cordelia's is likely no different."
"That does not excuse her obvious betrayal, Patrick!" the Captain loudly argued, raising his chin to the ceiling and briefly bouncing on his toes as he matched the shorter Victorian woman's scowl. "This is vital information that could have secured our victory during our very first operation against the enemy insurgents, information Cordelia deliberately withheld from her commanding officer and the other members of the Button House unit!" The Captain whipped his baton in Cordelia's direction, making the Victorian ghost lean back at the tip lingering close to her face. "I demand to know why she never participated in 'Operation Haunt' when she was clearly capable of doing so!"
"Because if I did, Captain, I would have scared Alison out of her wits, which I did not want at the time," Cordelia replied calmly, ignoring the surprised brow raises from some of the other ghosts as she glanced down at her palms. "It was a decision I have come to regret, but I now realise it was for the best."
"For the best?!" Fanny repeated aghast and recoiled in horror, placing her hand to her chest like she'd just been shot. "Did you not hear the lady and her buffoon of a husband?! They want to turn Button House into a tawdry boarding house!"
"And do you honestly believe they are the only people who possess that desire, Lady Button?" Cordelia crossed her arms in front of her chest and lowered her head a little, her blue eyes gaining a faraway glint. "I have watched over Lady Heather for all ninety-years she lived on this earth. I saw many visitors come and go from these grounds during that time, most of whom offered to purchase Button House from her for a wealthy sum with the intention of turning it into something else. And now, because Lady Heather has passed on and she has no other family to bequeath Button House to, who could stop such a reality from occurring?"
When her rhetorical question was met with silence, Cordelia looked up to the sight of pondering frowns and averted gazes, all seven ghosts looking off in separate directions and actually appearing to be giving her words some serious thought, the Captain especially. His eyes were downcast and he was twisting the ends of his baton between his hands, clearly lost in thought.
"I apologise for deceiving you about my capabilities and my true feelings on the situation at present," Cordelia resumed through a slight huff, her brows knitting together as she placed her gaze primarily on the Captain. "I acknowledge that it was wrong. But I can assure you my secrecy was not done with ill intent. Alison is the only descendant related to Lady Heather. And she is the first living owner of Button House who has been granted the ability to perceive and communicate with us, despite the terrible circumstances those abilities were born from."
Cordelia directed the last part through gritted teeth at Julian before continuing, who thickly gulped and looked up at the ceiling while tugging at his shirt collar.
"Unlike others interested in purchasing Button House, we have the potential to coexist with Alison and her husband in a way that is agreeable to both parties involved, while allowing Button House to remain in the hands of the Button bloodline. Why waste such an ample opportunity by sending them away, Captain?"
A short silence descended upon the group of ghosts in the ballroom then, all eyes turning to the Captain with his brows deeply knitted together. For a moment, Cordelia swore the World War 2 veteran was actually carefully considering her words, making her wonder if the Captain was finally being reasonable.
Until she saw him snap his head upright again and clasp his baton behind his back with a stern frown, his upper lip twitching out of irritation.
"Because we were here first," he answered strictly, rocking back and forth on his heels a bit and then briefly closing his eyes. Cordelia clenched her jaw a little to prevent herself from visibly rolling her eyes at his (expected) response. "The new living lady of the house, alongside her husband, are enemy insurgents. They are encroaching on our territory. And after enduring the twenty-four-hour assault our unit has collectively carried out, it is highly doubtful that she will agree to a negotiation, let alone remain at Button House." The Captain leaned forward until he was on eye level with Cordelia, his own eyes narrowing. "After all, who wants to stay in a house they know is inhabited by ghosts, hm? Your operation has likely made ours a success."
Cordelia couldn't deny that the Captain was correct. It was certainly an outcome she had acknowledged and was concerned about causing. Had she been more proactive in voicing her objections earlier and involved herself sooner, perhaps such a scenario could have been prevented. But Cordelia was well aware she'd intervened into the situation too late. Alison willingly staying at Button House after discovering she'd been harassed by multiple ghosts over the last twenty-four-hours was unlikely, Cordelia sullenly acknowledged, with a quick sweep of her gaze over Thomas, Kitty, Robin and Pat proving the others seemed to be thinking the same thing—Thomas attempting to hide the quivering of his lips behind his palm; Kitty's own lips quivering as she hunched her shoulders and looked down at her shoes; Robin awkwardly scratching at the back of his head while allowing his eyes to aimlessly wander the ballroom, and Pat furrowing his brows and sighing quietly in defeat.
Had this conversation happened yesterday, Cordelia would have expected a visit from her 'old friend' Guilt, reviving that all-too familiar emptiness in her chest. Yet surprisingly, during this very moment… it never came. Instead, she stood a little taller and tilted her chin up so that her blue eyes looked down at the Captain, her face becoming stoic.
"I cannot deny the possibility that you are correct, Captain," Cordelia solemnly mumbled. "Perhaps my actions were implemented too late to salvage Patrick's plan."
"Then I'm glad we've cleared that up," the Captain replied out of satisfaction and then stood up straight once more, clearing his throat and rolling his shoulders. "Now then—"
"However," Cordelia swiftly interrupted and raised her voice a little, prompting multiple ghosts (the Captain included) to blink widely out of shock. "I think it is better that I made an attempt to do so at all than regret it later." Within her peripheral vision, Cordelia saw Pat smile proudly in her direction, a clear indication he understood what she was getting at. "Besides, the initial reason for my interference was to relieve Alison of the main cause for her stress, which I have succeeded with." Cordelia gave the group of ghosts a short bow of the head and curtesy to match. "So, if you all will kindly excuse me, I shall be taking my leave to recover the rest of my strength. Do enjoy the rest of your day."
Cordelia didn't stick around to gauge the reactions from her ghostly acquaintances. Upon righting herself and clasping her hands in the folds of her skirt, the blonde-haired ghost strode straight for the landing to the east wing stairs, sparing no one a glance as she passed them by.
The only exception was Humphrey, whom Cordelia made brief eye contact with partway towards the doorway. The Tudor head watched the Victorian woman go with a wide smile on his face, one so infectious that Cordelia couldn't help herself in returning it. The action ignited a calming warmth within her chest, simmering away around the area where her heart was once beating. Though unlike what she was used to, this warmth didn't burn or sting. Rather, it simply lingered there, like a candle flame softly flickering in the darkness.
And for the first time in over one-hundred-and-fifty years, Cordelia didn't shy away from it. She embraced it like an old friend, knowing that regardless of the outcome upon Alison's and Mike's return to Button House, at least she'd finally regained a piece of her old self.
It was over an hour later when Alison and Mike finally came home.
During their absence, Cordelia had been idling her time walking alone through the Button House grounds, basking in the all-too familiar countryside scenery she'd come to know by heart now while gradually regaining the energy she'd lost. But as soon as the blonde-haired ghost saw the couple's car driving through the gates and making its way down the pathway, the Victorian woman sauntered across the fields and to the wooden fence that separated the grass from the gravel, purposely taking her time. The same, however, couldn't be said for the other eight ghosts who haunted the grounds. They'd taken to lingering by the gate in a large group the entire time the couple were gone, split almost evenly on either side of the path while waiting for Alison and Mike. So, the second they saw the car pass them by, they were either running or briskly striding after the vehicle all the way up to the house, breathless panting filling the air.
Upon stopping by the fence, Cordelia watched the car pull up close to the ruined fountain before coming to a complete halt, deciding to keep her distance for the time being to avoid overwhelming Alison. This turned out to be a wise decision on the Victorian ghost's part, because by the time the other ghosts were speeding together through the gates and making a beeline for the car, the passenger side door was harshly swung open, with Alison (wearing a bright yellow coat over her current clothes) being the first of her and Mike to exit. As the other ghosts slowed down and surrounded Alison's side of the car, Alison shoved the car door closed with a loud slam, causing Cordelia to involuntarily flinch at the resounding bang that followed. Mike followed shortly behind her and then lingered on the driver's side of the car, though his movements were quieter and more cautious in comparison to Alison's, Cordelia noted.
"Okay! You win!" Alison shouted exasperatedly. She proceeded to point accusingly at the Captain loitering at the back of the ghostly cluster, causing the World War 2 veteran to frown and raise his baton in one hand like he was handling a sword. "I see you, Major-General Can't-Sing!" Robin started snickering at the nickname, only to fall quiet when Alison turned her finger towards him. "I see you too, Captain Cave-Prick!" She then threw her hands up in the air and scanned around everyone else. "I see all of you! I admit your existence! Happy now?"
No one amongst the group of nine dared to answer what was clearly a rhetorical question, refraining from doing so verbally and physically. And then there was Cordelia, who, despite the tense air of the current situation, struggled to suppress a small, triumphant smile from appearing on her face at receiving the confirmation of her earlier plan's success, one she resorted to hiding behind her palm for the moment as Alison ranted on.
"Great!" the living woman yelled sarcastically, only to spit the next words out of her mouth like each one was poison. "Now what. The hell. Do you all want from me?"
A short but tense silence followed, all eyes from the ghostly group expectantly turning to look at the Captain loitering at the back of the gathering. The Captain raised his brows sharply at the stares for a few seconds, then stepped closer to the front with his baton held in one hand, pointed as though he were handling a legendary sword.
"We want you out of this house!" he stated firmly, only to shoot Cordelia a sideways glance from where she was still standing behind the fence. "Well, everyone except our resident traitor over there."
Cordelia quietly tutted in disapproval at the Captain's intended insult, refraining from drawing attention to it as much as she could. The last thing Alison needed was the conversation being derailed, which was a common occurrence amongst their little ghostly menagerie. Though, the blonde-haired ghost did acknowledge Alison when the living woman spared her a glance, stiffly bowing her head as a form of greeting.
Focusing back on the Captain, Alison clasped her palms together and pressed their sides to her lips, inhaling loudly through her nose with the brief squeeze of her eyelids.
"Hm, well, that's a tough one," she replied sarcastically. "See, I did want to leave. Still do want to, in fact."
Cordelia felt her stomach sink at this revelation, though she wasn't too surprised. After all, it was an expected outcome. But that feeling quickly dissipated when Alison scowled over her shoulder at Mike standing on the other side of the car.
"But thanks to my resident mortgage advisor, who gave the contract of the loan he took out for the work on the house a brief skim, we can't do that," she resumed in a taut tone. "Because we'll go bankrupt if we try to get out of it now. Meaning we're officially stuck here."
Mike said nothing to Alison's explanation, the poor fellow awkwardly averting his gaze to the house and twiddling his thumbs at his front like a naughty child being scolded by their mother. That didn't stop Cordelia from frowning between the couple in dismay, though.
'Ah, so due to a poor financial decision, it appears Alison and Michael are staying after all, albeit reluctantly.'
Alison returned her attention to the ghosts and held out her palms towards them. "So, seeing as you don't want us here and we can't leave, how about you guys leave instead?"
Julian snorted and shook his head in amusement. "Do you think we'd still be here if we could leave, love?"
Alison's brows sharply raised with a shocked blink to match. "Pardon?"
The Captain let out an irritated huff. "We can't leave."
"That's rights," Mary confirmed as she fiddled with the front of her apron. "Yous sorts of just stays where you dies."
"And how you dies—" Thomas added and gestured to the dried bloodstains on his abdomen, only to cut himself off with a visible cringe and then hastily correct his grammar error; Cordelia had to bite the inside of her lip and momentarily look away so she didn't laugh out loud. "I-I mean, died! How you died!"
"It's like your classic haunted house," Pat elaborated a little more, the familiar analogy seeming to register with Alison based on the gape she gave them.
"Whoa— whoa— whoa— wait," Alison stammered out, pausing to hold her palms up and scan around the eight ghosts in front of her. "You all died here?"
The ghosts all mumbled their confirmation, a couple of them nodding. Forcing a blink out of disbelief, Alison turned her gaze to Cordelia. "Really?"
Cordelia stiffly nodded as well; words were redundant when she was too far away to be heard without shouting, after all.
"So,"—Alison pointed to her own chest—"I can't go,"—and then pointed both of her index fingers at Cordelia and the other ghosts—"and neither can you?"
Cordelia nodded again. A dazed look entered Alison's eyes then. For a minute or two, she didn't speak a word, turning her gaze up to the cloudless sky and cupping her cheeks in both palms. And much to Cordelia's surprise, her invisible acquaintances left her be, granting her the moment she clearly needed to process these new revelations.
Finally, after what had felt like a suffocating couple of minutes, Alison blew an exaggerated breath past her lips and gave her cheeks two gentle pats, dropping her hands to her sides again.
"Right. Then I guess there's only one thing for it, isn't there?" Before anyone could say anything, Alison swivelled on her heels to face the house and started stomping over to the front doors, forcing Mary, Robin and Julian (who were standing on the far-right side of the group) to panickily stagger backwards to get out of the way before they were walked through. "Come with me, all of you."
All of the ghosts either cocked a brow or blinked in confusion at Alison's actions, delaying following the living woman out of uncertainty. But that quickly changed when Mike swiftly strode after his wife, asking a question the ghosts of Button House were collectively thinking right at this very moment.
"Where are you going, Ally?"
And without halting her stride, Alison shouted her answer back to her husband. "To shut them all up!"
Upon leading everyone into the common room, Alison had gone around each of the eight ghosts and directly asked them what it is they wanted from her to get them out of her face. Some of the responses Alison received Cordelia was already privy to, such as Thomas flat out asking for Alison to divorce Mike, become a ghost and then marry him (Alison, of course, said 'no' to all of that), Fanny requesting her husband's portrait to be removed from her sight and for Mike to fix the hole he'd made in her bedroom wall, Julian wanting Alison to contact the people at 'Goggle' (according to Alison, he actually meant 'Google', furthering Cordelia's confusion) and amend the slanderous newspaper articles written about him, and so on. Others Cordelia had been a little taken aback by, like the Captain asking to watch 'documentaries' on 'tanks' and 'superweapons' (she didn't know what any of the quoted words meant), Pat just wanting to say 'hello' to Alison, Mary demanding Alison 'renounce Satan', etc. It took some time for Alison to figure out how to appease everybody, especially in cases where some of the requests were a little… strange; apparently, Cordelia had missed a lot during the two days the ghosts spent harassing her. But in the end, much to the Victorian woman's surprise, Alison's efforts had resulted in the current scene Cordelia was observing.
Pat, the Captain and Julian were seated on the white sofa and looking at Mike's silver, rectangular device (a 'laptop', Alison called it) open on the table, with Julian loudly complaining to the Captain about how long whatever it was they were looking at was going to be on for so he could contact 'Vickipedia'. Cordelia didn't have the foggiest idea what Julian was talking about, nor what the three gentlemen were looking at, though she assumed it was related to the Captain's 'documentaries' by the way the World War 2 veteran lifted his finger to promptly shush him. Mary was standing idly beside Pat, but occasionally she did peek at the laptop whenever she heard any loud noises. Kitty was merrily skipping around the common room and excitedly rambling to the air about a 'sleepover' she and Alison were going to have on March 8th (it was currently June, Cordelia recalled, so it was still quite a way off yet); however, she did eventually stop behind the sofa to also look at the laptop. Thomas was sat on a stool by the fireplace next to the armchair Alison currently occupied while she played chess with Robin sitting in the other one. There was a music stand in front of him with a book open on it, and while Cordelia couldn't see the front cover to gauge the book's title, Thomas' 'soft' recital of one of William Shakespeare's most famous lines, 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?', quickly clued her in as to the book's contents. And then last but not least there was Fanny, who was nowhere to be found, yet Cordelia suspected she was probably supervising Mike while he tended to her bedroom wall at Alison's request.
As for Cordelia herself, she'd purposely excluded herself from the current activities, currently sat on the farthest seat of the sofa close to the breakfast room to keep a decent distance from the seating area. Originally, she'd planned on departing and returning to her room after ensuring Alison didn't require her assistance in wrangling her rowdy acquaintances. But seeing Alison mimicking the smile Robin gave her as she moved one of his chess pieces for him ultimately kept her there. Compared to this morning, Cordelia could see that Alison's face had regained its colour, the bags under her eyelids not seeming as prominent as before. Witnessing the living woman in higher spirits brought forth a warm flutter to Cordelia's chest that she didn't feel often these days, causing the blonde-haired ghost to close her eyes with a blissful sigh.
Approaching footsteps prompted Cordelia's eyes open again. Alison stood just to the left of her, arms folded across her abdomen, her head cocked to the side a bit.
"You alright?" she asked, a hint of concern lacing her tone.
"Are you?" Cordelia returned the question, causing Alison to smile in amusement and sit down on the empty seat beside her.
"I am, now that I know I'm not mad." Cordelia faintly smiled at the joke, only for it to fade when Alison subtly tilted her head at the other ghosts. "Aren't you going to join the others?"
Cordelia shook her head, instinctively rolling her shoulders at the faint prickling of her wound between her shoulder blades. "I am one who prefers their own company."
"Then is there anything that you want? Everyone else has gotten something, so it's only fair you do too."
The crumpled bedsheets in Cordelia's room came to mind, yet she once again shook her head to rid herself of the thought immediately. As much as it irked her to leave the bed a mess, perhaps she could get some use out of it where practicing with her ghostly abilities were concerned. She had no reason to hide them anymore, after all.
"No, there isn't, thank you," Cordelia politely declined.
Alison straightened up out of surprise with a wide blink. "Are you sure? I still have to thank you properly for the help you've given me."
"I am sure. My only want was to help you, which I have done." She paused to glance in the direction of the common room's doorway. "Although, if you wish to offer someone else aid in my stead, I insist it go to your husband." At seeing Alison frown in confusion, Cordelia was more than ready to elaborate. "Have you, by chance, encountered the ghosts who inhabit the cellar?"
Alison visibly hunched her shoulders and shivered before giving Cordelia her answer, which already acted as a strong indicator that she had without the verbal confirmation. "… Yes."
"Well, they happen to be quite knowledgeable when it comes to the boiler. I suggest seeking their advice if you do not wish to spend money hiring a workman to look at it instead."
There was a slight delay on Alison's side in responding, likely because she was wondering how Cordelia knew Mike was having trouble with the boiler. Though after a moment of blank staring, she nodded in acknowledgement. "Right. Then thanks for the tip. I'll go find Mike while these lot are distracted." Alison began to walk away, but after several steps, she briefly paused to give Cordelia an over-the-shoulder glance. "But do let me know if you change your mind."
Cordelia was caught off guard by this, her mouth falling open a little with a shocked blink at Alison's insistence on including her. By that time, however, Alison had turned around, allowing Cordelia's reaction to go unnoticed. Cordelia watched Alison speedwalk from the common room in the direction of the foyer, bypassing the other ghosts now surrounding the laptop and trying to shout over each other. It was difficult for Cordelia to see what exactly was happening; however, based on the wide stance Julian had taken in front of the table with his right hand pointed downwards, she immediately assumed it was related to the former MP using his ghostly powers to mess with the laptop.
Once Alison was out of sight, Cordelia sighed heavily in dismay and turned away to glimpse the window behind her, blue eyes alighting in the sunlight streaming inside. This wasn't the conclusion Cordelia had envisioned, though compared to how things could have turned out, it was better than anything she could have hoped. Button House was in temporarily safe hands and the ghosts had gained a living acquaintance who could talk to them.
However, at the same time, Cordelia's already strained relationship with the other ghosts of Button House had become further strained because of her recent actions, a fact she grimly acknowledged upon rising from her seat and making her way towards the east wing stairs, slipping out of the common room unnoticed. What this meant for her going forward, Cordelia didn't know, but as she and the Captain locked eyes for several seconds before she disappeared behind the pillars, she suspected that today was merely the calm before the storm preparing to ensue.
Cordelia had won this battle, but the war between her and the World War 2 veteran was far from over. In fact, she was certain this was only just the beginning of it.
A/N: So, yeah, for those wondering why I summed up everything with Alison fairly quickly, I felt there was very little left to be done in that department considering what happened between her and Cordelia over the last three chapters. The ghosts are never told the outcome of Alison's trip to the hospital, nor that when they left the estate, she was heading to the hospital, so I didn't see the point in trying to shove that part in there. Especially because the majority of them wouldn't have understood modern medicine all that well anyways, even with Heather's elderly years on the estate having her tended to by doctors and nurses. The loan thing I felt needed to be established because it is the reason why Alison and Mike wind up stuck at the house, even though the ghosts initially aren't aware of it. There's also the fact that a lot of the conversations Mike and Alison have during the ending scenes of the episode were pretty much summed up over previous chapters, with the boiler thing being thrown in there to tie up loose ends from Chapter 13. And with Cordelia's issues being thrown into the plot, there was already a lot going on that needed to be focused on, thus I decided to restrict Alison's and Mike's side of things to what was important, especially where Alison and Cordelia were concerned. I felt they needed to have a 'concluding' conversation of sorts, but Alison has also had a very rough day and is running on little sleep, so I didn't think there was much the two of them needed to discuss in depth at this point. Last chapter in particular already accomplished that anyways. XD
And speaking of Cordelia: you may have noticed a lot of her side of things was lacking in conclusion, more so in regards to the fallout of her exposing her ghostly abilities to the other ghosts. This I did on purpose. I realised there were a lot of things that I could move into Episode 3 for the moments where Cordelia isn't involved in what's happening with the builders, but also because I felt it was fitting to leave her situation a little open ended. Aside from the primary focus of the second episode being the situation with Alison, it felt wrong for me to immediately have the ghosts come to a conclusion about how they feel about Cordelia's actions. As has already been established, Cordelia is practically an enigma to the other ghosts. Her actions already have befuddled a lot of them. But her purposely keeping quiet about abilities she could have used sooner, and then admitting to lying about her true feelings on the situation, is naturally going to cause tension amongst them, especially between her and the Captain. Not to mention that Cordelia has also gained a little bit of character development with this being the start of her facing her trauma, which I felt was important to focus on too. The primary problems of Cordelia's actions are naturally going to be between her and the Captain because the latter is the default leader of this whole 'crusade' in trying to get Alison to leave, while the others are more reluctant followers, so at this stage, it made sense that Cordelia's secrecy had consequences and causes prolonged tension that lasts for a bit, especially in light of the bonding she's had in previous chapters pertaining to some of the ghosts. So, expect the aftermath of this situation to start seeping into Episode 3 and beyond. XD