LogFAQs > #951044337

You find yourself back in the corridor with the Maid. She distorts for a few moments, then returns to normal. She invites you to the Third Door, 1869. I went back, and the other option merely skips the Giselle and Michel clip.
In 1869, greedy investor Jacopo is the master of the house, and the Maid admits that she doesn't like him as master. White-Haired Girl [WHG] shows up as Jacopo's wife, but he's verbally abusive when she brings tea and tries to be a good hostess to his business acquaintances.

He takes her by the arm and snaps at her, telling her to seclude herself in her bedroom, calling her all kinds of names and insults. The Maid notes that she "has little fondness for men who do not treat their spouses with respect", and to this I say PREACH.

Apparently, since Jacopo mistreats her, many of the maids feel that they can treat her terribly in secret as well. One bumps into her, and WHG drops the tray of tea, breaking the porcelain. She tries to collect the pieces, slicing a finger in the process. But not all maids are heartless, one named Maria comes to her aid.

This jazzy 'sing out' musical number is throwing me off a little bit, but I like it. Turns out Maria the maid and WHG the lady of the house are good friends behind the scenes, and Maria bandages WHG's finger as they chat privately. The maids mentioned something about Maria being a favorite of the master, so hmmm... I wonder what will come of that little tidbit.

UH. Maria says she likes WHG's hands. As in, REALLY likes them. Ngl, Maria did give me a certain vibe. She claims to be teasing or joking, but uh, who hasn't been there, right? Where you have to pass off flirting as a joke?

...Right?

WHG tells the tale of when Jacopo was kind, but he sounds 'reluctantly terrible' rather than kind. Like, he isn't as freely terrible as he was when he was introduced at the beginning, but he does have some choice insults and put-downs. Not what I'd like to experience on my honeymoon.

They go to a shop that has cameras and other devices, and WHG wonders aloud if they will take a photo portrait together. He dismisses the idea as she mentions she has had a portrait painted, but not a photo taken. He urges the shopkeep to fetch the item he ordered. It's a phenakistoscope, and when it spins it creates an optical illusion of a couple dancing. WHG is amazed. Even at this sweet little time of enjoyment, Jacopo is insisting she say that it's better than her painted portrait. They're two different things, and she's allowed to like both. Ugh. Controlling, insecure guys are awful.

"He's not a bad man, he just has trouble expressing himself." Dude. If you let the universe be heliocentric for two seconds instead of Jacopo-centric, it would be extremely easy to express yourself in a way that is kinder and gentler to other people.

...and he's Italian. Adorable, game. Real cute. I'm half-tempted to quit the game right now. This is such crap.
WHG notes she wasn't put off by his behavior, even though he loudly complained all through dinner. Noooope, that's Stockholm syndrome right there. You were very put off by it, you were just terrified at the time of drawing his ire if you insisted he behave properly.

He's not Italian. Of course. He's SICILIAN. And a sincere screw you to this. I'll keep playing. But I'm not happy. You know what would have been different, game? What would have been truly revolutionary? Showing a Sicilian who was a trustworthy family man like the men in my family. Showing a Sicilian who, although passionate, wasn't a total jerk. That would have been welcome, refreshing even.

We return to Maria telling Jacopo a ghost story, making him yelp.

"Dealing with other women is like walkin' on glass," Maria says. Yeah, not all the time, but sometimes - this is a fair assessment of how it feels.

It seems Maria knows about the situation Jacopo came up from, and that's part of their bond. He points out that they could trade something other than ghost stories, and Maria says she'll consider it. Hmmm...

The Maid tries to push White-Haired Girl [WHG] to recall some of the previous times where she lived in this mansion, to no avail.

WHG gives Jacopo a rose, thinking its fragrance will calm him - but he sees it, and indeed the entire rose garden, as a sign of weakness. He has workmen chop down the roses, despite WHG and Maria's protests. This guy is really the worst.

Maria visits WHG late at night and expresses sympathy at the removal of her rose garden sanctuary. Maria then mischievously suggests that they dance, as Jacopo is out inspecting a factory. Maria splashes a little perfume on WHG and drags her off to the great hall. They dance, they laugh and giggle together. WHG isn't very active, so she tires easily and they move to leave the great hall and chat in WHG's bedroom for a bit longer. Before they reach the door, it opens - Jacopo.

He loudly accuses her of planning to leave the mansion in his absence, complains about the perfume, and rants and raves that he'll never let her disgrace him. She did nothing wrong. She was just having fun in her own home. If you're ever in this sort of situation - you didn't do anything wrong. The person who's abusing you is insecure and full of the fear of losing control over the situation. You are a human being and you deserve to be treated with respect.

Maria offers to talk to Jacopo and make him understand the truth, which is a sweet idea, but I'm afraid for her. Jacopo is the type of guy to lash out at anyone and everyone. I'm afraid he'll do something really stupid.

The next day, an emaciated man named Tommaso comes by, demanding money from Jacopo because they're part of the same cosca, or mafia clan. Hrgh. Jacopo urges the Maid to give him some money as she escorts him out the door, and she complies. Tommaso gives Jacopo some vanilla-scented perfume and tells him to give it to White-Haired Girl [WHG]. He also recommends that Jacopo treat his wife a little better. Uh, YEAH. I'm with the drifter on this one. Jacopo is furious because Tommaso claims WHG asked him for advice.

Jacopo barges into WHG's room, grabs her by her hair and starts SCREAMING at her, accusing her of disobeying him, of looking down on him because she's from nobility, of being unfaithful. He threatens to further restrict her, placing her in a shack in the remains of the rose garden and locking the door, forbidding her from speaking to anyone including the servants. Bro. This ain't love. This is criminal.

Maria ends up taking over for bringing WHG her meals 3x a day, and sometimes she is able to stay and chat. WHG describes a trauma response - freezing when Jacopo is angry with her, instead of as Maria suggests, getting angry right back at him. WHG mentions that she will write a letter to Jacopo, if Maria can hand-deliver it, and Maria agrees readily.

Jacopo's getting moody because he sees himself as dirty compared to WHG, because he's worried about protecting her from his dark mafia world. I'm suppressing an eye roll. Maria arrives, presumably with the letter.

The two of them experience a flashback to their younger days, when one was 12 and the other 14. Maria had to leave town and Jacopo was wishing her goodbye. They were childhood friends, and they hung out in an abandoned farmhouse that they named Casa Nostra, Our House. You know, after Cosa Nostra, Our Thing - the Mafia. He gives her a cartridge from a Colt Navy as a symbol of their friendship, making her promise to give it back upon her return. Their families didn't get along.


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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius