Glass & Roses (BBC Ghosts)

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S4E2: Speak as ye Choose

Another day in Button House came, and the ghosts went around doing their daily routines until it was time for Mary's talk of the day. Everyone was rather excited for it, she had finally decided that she was going to talk about her death. This had been a much contrived topic of interest between all the ghosts, even though some (Robin and Humphrey) had witnessed it, Humphrey had seen her after the death and not the death itself for his head was elsewhere, but the matter still stood! He knew about her death, ghosts hear the living speaking in rooms presumed to be empty. The rooms were very much not empty. The ghosts were nosy buggers - expected really, nothing happens much in the after life. 

ANYWAY! Mary was talking about her death day, and Lucille just knew it was some coward of a man who decided to blame Mary for failing crops; the weather simply did weird shit sometimes! It wasn't a witch! (Though Lucille had stated she believed witches, rather, those with connections to nature could bend it in some way existed, she doubted they would ruin crop yields when they too relied on said crop yields.)

"Until, finally, the crowd di'per'ed. And that is what happened..." Mary took a seat, a big cloud of soot puffing from her being. "... to me."

The ghosts stared at Mary, in various degrees of shock and sympathy for the woman. Julian removed Lucille's hand from where it was clamping down on his suit sleeve, exhaling deeply. It was a very expensive suit back in the day, it needn't any creases.

"I'll be having nightmares about that." Thomas muttered.

"You didn't see it live." Robin replied, staring at the ground.

"Those horrible men!" Kitty fretted.

"Gracious me!" Captain added on, just about recovering from his shock to say something.

"Wish I never heard it." Fanny stated, not meaning it in a cruel way, just a way that explained her shock and disgust of the men who sentence Mary to death. Burning was a cruel way to go, Lucille thought, quite painful; Mary was someone who deserved a peaceful death.

"Well, you wanted to know." Mary pointed out, not really all that bothered she had scarred half of them.

"I know, and I'm sorry!" Pat sympathised. It was honestly no wonder why Mary had spent so long trying to accept her death and relay that to them. "Now, we have run over a bit. I know we were suppo'ed to play 'if I could invite four people, living or dead, to my dinner party, who would they be and why?'-"

"Nicole, Natalie, Melanie, and Shaznay, because All Saints." Kitty answered.

"- but, given the nature of what we've just heard, I think it only right that we cancel that-"

"Good." Robin left the room.

"- and take some time to reflect."

"Really?" Captain asked, twisting his swagger stick slightly from where it was pinned under his arm. 

"Quite right." Fanny agreed.

"Right, well, erm..." As Captain stammered, the ghosts all dispersed. "I mean... what will I do? I... just... Right... Excellent. Over here." He stepped back towards the piano.

"Want a game of chess?" Julian nudged Lucille from where she was still perched on the side of his armchair, staring off into space. He didn't get a reply, so he nudged her harder. 

"What?" Lucille's head snapped to him with an almighty crack. Julian grimaced as she reached a hand up to rub her neck. "Bloody hell, I feel if I were still alive that might've done me in."