Contents
Part I The Basement & the Parlor — Chapter Ten
Overview
Mayfair turns on Thomas Senlin, but Edith reveals her true identity and helps Senlin escape into the Parlor’s maze-like stage. They knock Mayfair back with a book cart and lock him out, sacrificing Edith’s key. Discovering the mansion’s props and hidden valves, they plan to draw Mayfair away and reach the kitchen exit, only to be stalled by an ominous sound in Mayfair’s bedroom.
Summary
As Mr. Mayfair lunges to kill Thomas Senlin, Senlin stumbles into a library. The woman posing as Mrs. Mayfair drops her act, names herself Edith, and helps brace the door. When Mayfair forces it, Senlin rams him with a loaded book cart, buying time for Edith to lock the door from inside with her key.
They realize the library’s books are blank props, stoking Senlin’s anger at the Parlor’s deceptions. With Edith’s key left in the lock to jam Mayfair’s, they must rely on Senlin’s kitchen key. They decide to lead Mayfair deep into the bedroom wing, locking doors to confuse him, then double back toward the dining hall and kitchen exit.
Moving through a conservatory and a painted sunroom, they note the house is an elaborate stage full of false furnishings and strange brass valves. The pounding ceases, heightening their fear. A coatrack startles Senlin into a clatter, and they press on, locking corridors as they go.
They enter a grand bedroom marked “K” for Kerrick Mayfair. Edith asks Senlin to unfasten her heavy dress to move more easily, prompting Senlin’s conflicted reflections on Marya. As he hesitates, a faint creak—seemingly from nowhere, near a lone brass valve—freezes them, leaving their escape plan in suspense.
Who Appears
- Thomas SenlinProtagonist; survives Mayfair’s attack, rams him with a book cart, leads a cautious escape.
- EdithActress formerly playing Mrs. Mayfair; drops the act, locks Mayfair out, strategizes escape, seeks to shed encumbering dress.
- Kerrick MayfairViolent host; murders Pining earlier, now pursues Senlin and Edith through the staged mansion.