31 Plays in 31 Days, #12 - “Under Her Skin”

[breakinglight11]

Ugh. This is a cool idea, but I don’t think I can use it.

I had an idea that when Mrs. Frost’s daughter Miranda showed up asking for help and answers, they needed to figure out if she was what she said she was, and they couldn’t think of any way to get information on her other than to interrogate Frost. And the only person who they felt they could send in against Frost was Clara, so they had to prepare her. It’s meant to precede last year’s 16. Game On and 17. Needle Prick.

It’s a cool idea, giving Clara and Frost the chance to face off. But we realized we could fit Miranda into what we were trying to do thematically in part 7… and we think the final trilogy needs to move on from Mrs. Frost. We can’t really rehash her at this point. So… cool as this sounds… it may not be good for anything.

Ah, well. Practice, I guess.



Day #12 - Under Her Skin
From the Hawking series
By Phoebe Roberts

London England, 1889

VICTORIA HAWKING, lady’s champion of London, early fifties
NATHANIEL HAWKING, her gentleman nephew and assistant, mid thirties
CLARA HAWKING, his society wife, late thirties
~~~

(CLARA sits in the R chair as MRS. HAWKING paces around her. NATHANIEL stands staring out the window.)

MRS. HAWKING: Her aim will be to dig inside your head. Find all your weaknesses and fears and dress them out like a deer before you.

CLARA: Could she know me well enough?

MRS. HAWKING: She will have done her research on you, just as she has on all of us. Likely she did it years ago, when all of this began.

CLARA: Well. Whatever she says, I shan’t let it touch me.

NATHANIEL: It’s not so easy, you may find.

MRS. HAWKING: And it’s only half the battle. She’ll also be sounding you for anything she doesn’t know.

CLARA: Like what? What is she looking for?

MRS. HAWKING: Anything she can use. And she won’t even know until she finds it. Anything you say could reveal some weakness one of her character can exploit.

NATHANIEL: And you can’t trust her. She lies so capably that you’d never know up from down.

CLARA: Then how is there any use to even asking her?

MRS. HAWKING: Because that’s the trouble with great liars. They manage it by blending it seamlessly into the truth. They give you enough to hook you.

NATHANIEL: Besides. We’ve got no other way.

CLARA: But you don’t like it, do you?

NATHANIEL: I don’t. I don’t want you anywhere near her.

MRS. HAWKING: But you know there’s no one else. Neither you nor I can go— we’ve both too vulnerable to her. But Clara… Clara has something neither of us have.

CLARA: And what is that?

MRS. HAWKING: You are under her skin. You hit her where she is weak.

CLARA: And… you think that will be enough?

MRS. HAWKING: I don’t know. You may fail. But in the honest truth… I don’t think she will break you.

(Pause.)

CLARA: Do you really?

MRS. HAWKING: You are stronger than that.