Isibél Ó Móráin

From FitzyWiki

“she refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn't boring.”
ZELDA FITZGERALD

Her Basics

Name

Name: Isabella Fitzwilliam
Nickname(s): Iz (primarily), Izzy, Is¹, Isabellie, Bellie, Bel, Bella, Issie, Ishy/Fishy/(Little) Ish², Angelfish³, Angel May, a dozen others of varying occurrences
Stage Name: Isabel⁴, later Isabella Radcliffe⁵. Also, Pretty Baby⁶, the Baby Vamp⁷, Easy Iz⁸.
Birth Name: Isibél Ó Móráin

Dates

Birth Date: 14^th July, 1912
Death Date: 23^rd August, 1983
Reappearance: 17^th January, 2007
Marriage: 14^th February, 1933

Places

Birth Place: Oileán Thoraí, Contae Dhún na nGall, Éire
Places of Residence: Oileán Thoraí⁹, London¹⁰, Shrewsbury and Atcham¹¹, New York City¹², New Orleans¹³, Chicago¹⁴, Cape Town¹⁵, Hollywood¹⁶, Corsham¹⁷
Current Residence: Corsham, Wiltshire, England

Family

Parents: Cecily Ó Móráin (estranged), Francis Ryan (even more estranged)
Siblings: Raised with none. Has two half-sisters by her father, Sheena Carey and Morrigan Flanagan.
Raised By: Mother, Cecily Ó Móráin, and great-aunt, Aoife Dunne
Significant Other(s): Randolf Fitzwilliam (widowed), Cary Vaughn-Blair
Children: Charles Fitzwilliam, Scott Fitzwilliam, Alice Fitzwilliam(-Capio)

Education

School(s): No formal education. Schooled by her mother and great aunt
First Language(s): Irish (Ulster Irish, pre-reformation)
Additional Language(s): English, French
Occupation: Former freak act, former vaudeville performer, former Ziegfeld girl, former radio performer, former singer, former dancer, former actress, former socialite, current owner of The Burlesk House

Footnotes

¹A soft s used specifically by Ian.
²A set of nicknames derived from her real name, used only by the few circus performers who heard her real name around 1926.
³Another play on her real name, used mostly by Ian.
⁴1924 - 1925, Penny Carnival and Brooks Spectacular
⁵1925 - 1933 (marriage), Isabella came from Ian, and Radcliffe came from a sign
⁶1926, primarily New Orleans 1927 - ?
⁷1927, New Orleans - ?
⁸1927, New Orleans - ?
⁹1912 (birth) - 1922
¹⁰1923 - 1924 (slums), 1936 - ? (bought flat for parties)
¹¹1924 - 1927, Brooks Spectacular
¹²1927 (vaudeville), 1930 - 1933 (Ziegfeld Follies)
¹³1927, vaudeville
¹⁴1928 - 1930, vaudeville
¹⁵1933 (marriage) - 1935, 1950 - 1954 (Alice's tuberculosis)
¹⁶1935, The Great Ziegfeld filming
¹⁷1935 - 1950, 1954 - 1983 (death), 2007 - present

Her Self

Physical Appearance

Height: 5'7"
Haircolor: Nordic/white blonde
Eye color: Pale blue (almost grey)
Weight: 135ish lbs
Bust:
Memorable marks: A darker freckle under her left eye.

Description: Isabella is about 5'7". Her body is what you might call 'pear-shaped', in that she's got lots of hips and thigh and bum and a more slender upper body. Her hip-waist-bust measurements are alarmingly similar to her granddaughter's, but the difference in height and build changes how it looks. She was pretty flexible as a girl (doing acrobatics in the circus will do that) and is less so now but hey, she can still do things that work really nicely in bed. And that, of course, is the point. In keeping her flexibility, that is.

As far as the rest of her appearance goes, she has white blonde hair that is very curly when long. Though she's had it styled in many ways, it's currently about to her chin. When longer, she keeps it in braids and twists and chignons more than anything else (different chignons are really what she does most). She also has big, expressive, really big, flirty, pale blue eyes (same shade as the blue eyes most of her family has) and vaguely freckled, rather pale skin. Once upon a time, she used to have a lot of freckles. As she lived her life away from Ireland, her freckles faded in intensity but still lingered as a reminder of her former life. She has an expressive mouth with a fuller lower lip, ready (and willing) for pouting.

As she is an angel, she is beautiful in the inhuman sort of way that all angels are, but she can play both adorable and sultry, depending on her mood and her location. As a girl, she often played the cute blonde on stage. In the Follies, she had to steam up the theatre in glamorous gowns. She tends to wear a lot of make-up, where most of the women in her family really don't, and her appearance is always as polished as one can get. And unusually polished and glamorous for the 21st century. She's not the sort of woman who will take comfort sleeping in a t-shirt and pyjama bottoms (unlike her granddaughter Claire, especially). She doesn't even own jeans. Or sweats. You can find her in riding boots and that is casualwear.

Age-wise, she looks quite young, perhaps sixteen. If you get her without make up and in less adult clothing (or in less adult situations), anyway. The way she carries herself and the way she dresses and acts makes her seem slightly older. But really, because of her complexion, it's like night and day if you get her out of make-up. Her eyebrows are naturally very, very light, her lashes are only a little darker (but long), and she usually has pink on her cheeks. Because she easily washes out, she was even put in heavy make-up as a young girl at the age of twelve.

Though she's no more beautiful or significant in appearance than any other angel, she has a self-assured personality that grabs attention before her cleavage ever comes out (her personality is her best defense).

Personality

There are a few key facets of Isabella's personality, as her personality is her defining characteristic.

The first is that she is incredibly confident in herself and wildly outgoing. This doesn't cross the boundary into cockiness on the grounds that she also doesn't take herself that seriously. While she knows what she's good at, and loves her body and appearance, she can laugh at any of these things, and often does. Her confidence truly translates into living with few inhibitions, and a charismatic nature.

Secondly, she's romantic. Fiercely so, in fact. At her core, she is loyal. She would never cheat on a lover and if she knew her lover had a partner, she would end her affair immediately. Love itself was not a concept she paid attention to until she stepped out into the real world alone as a teenager. The timing was terrible, but she learned that love was important to her, and that she hoped to find it. When she married Andy, her world shifted to encompass him. As a girl, her mother's unpredictable affection left her wanting friendship and care. It was a conscious desire even at the age of ten. She lives for people and loves incredibly deeply.

Third, she's affectionate. Overly affectionate, perhaps, if you're not used to so much as hugs. She didn't grow up with much in the way of personal boundaries. She bathed naked with her mother and saw both of the women in her family nude almost every day of her life. This was not a taboo. Nothing involving love and affection was ever considered a taboo, either, so when the first friend she ever made also happened to be her first kiss and first orgasm, she took this slight misconception and carried it with her into every friendship that followed. While the average person won't get an orgasm, he or she will get kissed, hugged, touched, and cared for. There has never been a friend in her life she hasn't kissed hello.

Fourth, and directly related, she is open with everyone, as well. Her life has been an open book, told in newspapers and on radio for decades. Privacy only mattered when she had children. While she has to be sensitive about the details of her life now that she has 'died', she will tell you almost anything, even if she barely knows you. Of course, she saves the most detailed things for close friends, as anyone with any tact would. And she won't tell you about her childhood--not because it scarred her, but because she doesn't consider it relevant.

Fifth, and almost the first thing anyone would notice, she's a flirt. A big flirt. She operates using flirtation. It was the second language in which she became fluent, and she found it easier to use body language than to try and entice people with stilted English. As a girl she was very conscious of the fact that she sounded stupid when she talked, which gave people the impression she was, well, just as stupid all around. Heavily sensitive towards this, she used more affection than she ever did words. It served her better, and it still serves her today. All through her marriage she flirted, and her husband did the same.

Sixth, she is highly sexually expressive. All of the wires about sex crossed when she first started having it, so she can separate sex from love and love from sex fairly easily. Her sexual awakening occurred in the hands of her best friend. Her virginity was taken from her by her manager. On stage she had to be topless and entice men three times her age. Backstage she was flirting with boys her age. The lesson she took from it all was that sex is for pleasure, enhanced by affection, though never unappealing with a stranger.

Some other traits you'll come to find are opinionated, stubborn, hot-headed, and a big damn firecracker. She became an adult at the age of twelve, took care of herself for most of her teenage years, and has since learned that people dish out too much crap for her to sit there and waste her life wading through it.

Since the death of her husband (second death, if you were to ask her), Isabella has formed an actual phobia of love and commitment. She's terrified of someone depending on her for happiness because she can't even depend on herself for happiness. She's operating on an odd level of detachment from the world, fueled by the fact that she doesn't think she belongs in it anymore. Having already had a life that was documented and watched, she feels she has absolutely nothing to lose and so will do just about everything, short of murder, because it doesn't really matter, anyway. She feels a bit like a dead horse beaten a dozen times before.

Interests and Uncategorized Facts

Has an American accent. Her heavy, northern brogue was considered 'too ugly' for show business, so she was instructed at fifteen to get rid of it. She did.

As a girl, she was taught to sing songs and recite stories that had been handed down through the family for many centuries and she could still sing them all to this day. Her traditional upbringing meant she was quite the farm girl, raising sheep and chickens and cutting turf for the fire. She helped thatch the roof and tend the gardens. She even did a bit of fishing. But then, of course, her family hardly did things the human way and it was usually out of necessity that they ever even hid their wings (today, her family never keeps their wings out to the same extent).

Spending a decade in circuses and vaudeville and chorus lines, Isabella had a lot of random talents as a girl. She sang and tap danced and learned acrobatics, juggling, and slapstick. Most of these talents haven't been retained, but she can still juggle and she'll still sing the songs she knew and if you poke her enough, you can get her to perform random tricks (Avery would greatly benefit from doing so, as she could teach him most of what he is teaching himself). As she abandoned most of her slapstick and circus stunts on stage, she often just sang and danced and she trained very extensively to make it look good. She learned ballroom and fell in love with it. She and Randolf often went out dancing, and they danced until he could no longer physically endure it. She still loves to dance with people. She still loves galas.

During her time with the Ziegfeld Follies in New York City, she fell deep into high fashion and spent most of her money on her clothes, meaning that she didn't live as well as she could have. Isabella is not one to suffer in poverty, as she knew nothing but poverty until she encountered Randolf. When she met him, when she was spoiled by rich men, she started to develop a love for extravagance. This love for all that shimmers never left her. During the thirties, forties, and up until her so-called 'death' in 1983, she was one of Britain's best known and most endearing socialites. Today she still keeps up with high fashion drama. If you think her granddaughter is a fashionista, Isabella is an even bigger one. She wears make-up and jewelry and furs and feathers and perfumes and all kinds of decadent things. Haute couture dresses from decades gone by, bright red lipstick, perfectly roller-curled and styled hair. She never, ever, ever goes anywhere at all without wearing a hat. Most of the hats she actually wears are from the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. Most of her clothes are, as well. She's seen almost a century of life in different locations and carries herself with a maturity that can pull these things off.

She was raised speaking (Ulster) Irish in what is now the Donegal Gaeltacht, and she also speaks fluent (but slightly rustly) French.

Did not speak fluent English until she was in her teens. Her speech was molded heavily when she was in America and she only became perfectly fluent after marrying Randolf Fitzwilliam. The refinement of her lifestyle and Randolf's help ironed out her grammatical problems. She had a very cutesy, high way of speaking when she was a teenager (think Helen Kane). Until she hit the big time, she kept it. Once she was at the Chicago Theatre, and then back in New York, she sounded more mature, and was given professional coaches for both her singing and speaking voice. She still uses a lot of endearments and has a bit of a Mae West approach to her inflections.

Like her son, Isabella is hugely into cars and driving at illegal speeds. Unlike her son, she actually does drive at illegal speeds more than legal ones, and would make an excellent professional driver. If you have a really hot car, that is one of the quickest ways to her heart. And by heart, I do mean bed.

Here is her primary vehicle, a 1938 Aston Martin Lagonda. Hers is a light tan color. It was restored by Charlie after having been stored at his garage for decades. The car has bought by Randolf in early 1938. Now understand why she loves to speed.

She keeps two photographs of Randolf in her wallet. One is the same photograph she kept all throughout their marriage. A photo taken the day after their wedding, with Randolf shirtless in swim trunks and grinning on the beach of a very familiar estate (Isabella's hair caught in the frame so there are white imperfections on one side). And she also has a studio portrait of him from the 70s, one of the last photos where he was still healthy. Silver hair, dignified aging, handsome as ever.

She also keeps one photo of the entire family in her wallet. An photo dating from the early 70s, just after Patrick was born (and he's crying in the photo because he was not a happy baby, so Randolf is giving him a grandfatherly look of concern and trying to fuss with him--this photo is definitely an outtake). The photo is of Randolf and Isabella and their children, and all of the grandchildren born by 1973. And the wives (and Robert's in it, too, even though he's not a wife). It's a tiny picture of a lot of people. The bigger version is in the estate's parlour. As well as a version where Patrick isn't crying but looks like the Antichrist.

One of her hobbies as a girl was to smoke while flirting (usually this meant stealing the cigarette or whatever was being smoked from the person she was flirting with). Until recently, smoking was never a full-time habit, but she would smoke cigarettes, cigars, pipes, cloves, you name it. Now she smokes cigarettes infrequently, man or no man. Wait for her to take up a pipe.

There are numerous reels of her dancing in sideshows as a young teen, and a few recordings of her dancing in vaudeville and in the Ziegfeld Follies. Until recently, they were distributed among her children and grandchildren, but they are now back at the estate and she will show them to anyone interested. Except anyone quite young, as there are saucy routines. The earliest reels and photographs of her never made it into her possession and are stored in archives in various places and frequently used in documentaries about the 20s and circuses and sideshows and vaudeville. The earliest known audio recording of her was done while she was still in the sideshow. In it she is singing 'By the Beautiful Sea', though the quality is garbled. The earliest known film of her is from around the same period, and shows her on stage with her wings out, looking more timid and awkward than future audiences would be accustom to.

Her Life

Tory Island: November 1911 - June 1922

A Rough Conception and a Rougher Birth

Isabella was born Isibél Ó Móráin (though the last name was a relic of her grandfather's presence and not a useful way to identify her family) on 14th July, 1912. Nine months earlier, an equally Irish sailor called Francis Ryan came to the innocuous little island in the North Atlantic looking for a rousing good time. Indulging in old family stories of some distant cousins or uncles, he dragged a pair of fellow sailors with him while berthed in a more populous part of the country, and rowed across the seven mile gap between the mainland (country) and the rock in the sea. There, he took his adventure to the mythical cottage on the far end of the island, knocked on the door, and knocked up Cecily Ó Móráin a few hours later.

Being a sailor, though of considerable age compared to his boyish looks (he was approaching his 60th birthday with some trepidation), he left before she woke.

When Isibél was finally born after a very long and lonely labor, there was hell to pay.

Unfortunately, Isibél was only a child. She had never met Francis Ryan, nor did she ever learn his name, but she did know several things by the time she was five:

She looked like he did.
She behaved like he did.
And, the combination of these two things meant that she had done her mother wrong by being born into this life.

Cecily was by no means a cruel woman. She was, despite all accounts of the contrary, in love with her daughter. Possessive of her daughter. Fiercely devoted. For the first time in a century, she had a defined purpose, and it was the laughing little clown on her hip. Aoife, her aunt, felt equally as attached. It wasn't difficult to feel that way, as young Isibél had white blonde hair in loose curls, big eyes, and a bigger, curious, infectious personality. Despite the fact that she shared these traits with her wayward father, Cecily overlooked them for a majority of their ten years together.

But the first ten years of any child's life are met with great impressions of the things around them, and the biggest impressions are the ones made with the most force. Cecily, like her daughter, had a temper, and, like her daughter, wanted her way to be the only way. But Cecily was the mother, Isibél was the young, impressionable daughter, and when she shouted that Isibél's curiosity was disgraceful, that she had to stop acting like her useless father, Isibél began to bend in ways that leaned away from her mother.

Because she was a very curious girl and had been for all of her cognizant years. The only issue was that she lived on a three miles long island and, this being key, was intentionally excluded from the waning population living on the other end. The simple fact was that Isibél's family was not human. They had lived on the island for thousands of years, breeding an incestuous colony of unfairly beautiful, power, winged creatures with no proper name. Due to their mysterious existence, they kept away from humans, never breeding with them, never dealing with them other than to trade for food, and never tolerating them.

After so many years, however, the structure of her ancient family had softened. Cecily's father was a sailor from another family of similar origin, but he spoke English, had an Anglicized name in addition to his Irish one, and brought in modern dates and customs, such as birthdays. Still, Cecily's mother, Afric, regretted her decision to be so wild and Cecily grew without interest in creating a family or marrying anyone at all.

But it wasn't until Afric and Tómas crossed that she began to feel unhappy, and when Francis left her, she fell into a despair understandable only because her father had met her mother and moved in with her almost in the same hour. There was no marriage, no customary bonding process other than producing a child. And this, this was normal.

Aoife was Afric's twin sister, and Aoife never did what Afric did, but she was a tolerant woman who carried on affairs for years. With humans, sometimes. Aoife lived in the cottage with Cecily and Isibél, helped raise the little girl, but she was not enough to dull the edge that Cecily brought down on her daughter's interests in an attempt to sever them.

Isibél learned to read and write by age three. The written word was an essential part in handing down the family's history, and she was expected to take part in preserving it. But the severity was not a front: they were subsistence farmers who had sheep that could talk, eggs that could produce jewels, and chickens that could carry on conversations in any language or hop on one leg. They had to trade for meat using what the eggs would give them, as money meant nothing, but their crops were sewn somehow magically into a soil that saw not even grass.

Isibél was told stories handed down through generations, but these stories were of places that did not exist, or places that could be seen from her window. While she saw boats come in from the mainland, she never understood what was out there, and no one ever told her. Cecily had never been. Time and time again, Isibél would run into the little towns and try to converse with the children her age, often with one of the sheep trailing behind, but her mother was quick to notice her missing and none of her socializing ever stuck.

She made no friends, learned few names, and no one came to her door.

From the hill she could see the children running together, playing in the water, and she wanted to laugh and shout and do as they did to such a degree that her mother began to give her chores to do whenever she tried to get away. Whitewashing, thatching, pulling flowers and weeds and plants, making bread. Cecily would shout, which was the most unbearable part, and by night they would be squeezed into the same bed, angry or not, with Isibél's doll Síle pressed between them.

However, as Isibél grew, she began to outgrow the confines placed on her. She was to have no children, was not to extend the line further, and she was to stay away from everyone else, no matter what, no matter why. The locals, having been around the family for as long as history could record it, were no help; they kept clear of the cottage out of respect.

She was a child who felt consistently alone and deeply alienated.

When Isibél was nine, a month separating her from ten, she asked for her hair to be curled.

Cecily, at first, did not oblige--Isabella only asked after having seen girls her age with spiral curls entering a pointy, white building (a church, though she had no idea what it was) once a week. She wanted her curls to look like those curls, and with enough fuss, finally got her way. But the joy of waking up to a fancy new appearance was reduced to another overlooked memory. They fought again shortly before bed, and before dawn, Isibél fled.

It had been one fight too many.

In childlike Irish, Isibél left her doll and a note on the hearth where her mother would be sure to find both, left her rag curls in, and disappeared.

Mamaí I am leaving now. You can punish Síle now because she is too scared to come. I am not coming back. 

Isibél

The Country: June 1922 - May 1923

Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the Irish Civil War

Utilizing the cunning and daring of any almost-ten-year-old girl, Isibél waited in the dusky dawn, waited for the first fisherman to come, and hid quickly and quietly in the bowels of the little ship.

It wasn't a smooth trip across the ocean, but she stayed resolute and unwavering and refused to turn back once the ship had docked at the other side. As soon as she could, she dashed from the boat and ran to the unfamiliar country, the place she grew up watching but had never touched before.

Though her legs were unsteady, she ran as quickly as she could--there were men chasing after her. They knew her pretty face, they knew her family, and they wanted to return her to her mother. But all the civilians awake and alert couldn't grab and hold her, and she hid until the search had ended, escaping down the dirt roads, down the fields, and across stone fences.

When the first cold night saw her sleeping alone in the elements, she cried for her mother and her aunt despite her desire to escape them. But despite her fear and her homesickness, she didn't want to return.

Isibél didn't celebrate her tenth birthday; without a calendar, she had no sense of the time, only the time of day. For weeks, she wandered from village to village, staying away from everyone she met in fear that they, like the others, would try to send her home. But the further she walked, until her tough feet began to blister in her shoes, the more unfamiliar the landscape became, and the people stopped recognizing her pretty face, only recognizing that it was pretty.

The country wasn't as peaceful as Tory Island. There were nights lit by gunfire, something she had never known, days rocked by bombs, and chaos at her feet. As she wandered blindly through the newly-rendered Northern Ireland, she was exposed to images and conflicts that had never before fit inside her picture of the world. Her mother had always explained that people were of no use, were no good, and were not worth being interested in, and Isibél was determined not to believe her. But it was difficult with carnage and anger in a language she didn't understand.

For seven months she lived quietly out-of-doors, or quietly inside warm buildings left unlocked, or wherever she could find. She went through autumn, went through winter, and felt snow. Her shoes had holes and spots worn so thin she could feel the wind through the leather, her dress had not been properly cleaned and was thin from constant use, and she was frail and malnourished, making her eyes bigger and rounder than ever.

But she wasn't unhappy.

Then, on 28th December, 1922, Isibél made it to Ballymenone, Co. Fermanagh. Here she ran into a funny group of men wearing straw masks, and they intrigued her so that she had to follow them, which she did, carefully. They knocked on doors and sang and danced and recited things she couldn't understand, but she laughed and smiled where no one would see her.

Every night they repeated this curious tradition, and every night she watched them, sometimes using the time afforded her to sneak into gardens and reach into windows, stealing food and a moment of warmth until the men moved on. By January, she had grown so used to their presence that she thought of them as her friends, though they had never spoken a word to her. One evening, while they held a ceili in a larger house, Isibél's curiosity and desire to meet them overpowered her new-found reserve. She stopped at one of the windows, watching the antics inside, and was spotted.

Pretty as she was, unusual as she was, she was dirty, skeletal, and unwanted. The natural assumption was that she had lost her family in a bombing or gunfire or worse, but this didn't change the fact that she hadn't bathed beyond a swim in a creek or well or river since June. While the oldest generations wanted to shoo her away, the youngest chased her down, trying to get her to come join them. With persuasion, they found a way to get her to understand, and her dialect was not wholly unfamiliar to the very people who wanted her out, though they only begrudgingly helped translate.

For the first time in months, she was bathed, fed, and given companionship. She danced when they instructed her, laughed at stories she couldn't comprehend, and was hugged. All of the nasty comments, the sharp stares, the resentment flew over her. The oldest generations barely approved, but hating her for long was difficult when she was so genuinely happy that it radiated from her scrubbed skin.

She was given a place to sleep, and so she slept, and in the morning she was fed once more. She had warmed herself to the people, some more than others, and they were loath to let her go.

Isibél hardly knew what she wanted in running away. Hardly knew where she was going, or when she would stop. The only criteria was to find a place where she felt safe enough not to be returned, but there was no indication that she had or would ever come to a place of such security. As wonderful as it was to be fed, to be watered, to be loved, she set down no roots, though she stayed with one family for a month. The mother had only sons, all grown, and she fed and dressed her as though she was her own.

Isibél she ran again. She had new dresses now, and pockets stuffed with food, and she uneasily followed a path out of the village.

And on, and on she went, until her new dress was dirty and her feet were sore again.

March 1923 found her in Belfast, and never she was so shocked. The tall buildings, the motorcars, the people, the conflict. Everything was big and noisy and she was consumed by constant dread while she slept in the streets and slums and was chased off, hit, or screamed at. She reacted always in Irish, which hardly helped her, but she avoided personal injury for most of her stay of two months, and fled when she found the first opportunity and direction to go.

During her journey out, everything was even more unpleasant. There was fighting and shouting and horrible explosions all around her, and she continuously battled with what her mother said when she wanted to believe that people had to be good.

But it was so difficult to believe that anyone was good. At the end of May 1923, she reached the sea.

Entering England (& Scotland): May 1923 - November 1923

The Long Way Down

The good and beneficial thing about a crowded, popular area was that it was soon easy for her to stow away in motorcars and lorries and train cars left open. She had no idea where any of them would lead her, but all roads led to England, as it were, and by June she was well on her way towards London without knowing at all.

The sea, however, was not the one she wanted. For the first time since she left, she hoped to go home again. A year had passed her by, and her life had seen no genuine improvement, only more chaos, so as she wandered the unfamiliar cities and slums of Scotland's Glasgow and later Edinburgh, it was no surprise that the highlight of her trip was to see a circus set in a field, where rides and lights and people talked and laughed and sang and shouted.

She neglected to go very close, soon stealing away on the first of her motorized adventures south.

By autumn, she found herself in London.

London Slums: November 1923 - August 1924

Taking Wing

Isibél was now a street smart girl, if anything. For a year she had wandered around a world that had never existed, somehow finding herself in a large city without knowing how she got there, or how to read where she was.

But street smart simply meant she knew how to jump away from vehicles, how to keep her mouth quiet because no one could understand her, and how to get food. She was becoming a proficient pick-pocket, though she never went for money, not knowing what it was.

For quite some time she wandered from street to street, building to building, park to park. Several occasions saw her chased wildly through shops, such as Harrods or Selfridges, as her very appearance, sometimes barefoot, sometimes bloody, always dirty, was a disgusting reminder of the street life outside. On several occasions she escaped the long arm of the law that would send her to a foundling hospital, until the whole of the elite had siphoned her off and left her to her kind in the East End, where she set up her first home.

Her happiness was infuriating, even and especially to the people in her same situation. She was delighted to sneak out and explore the magnitude of the city, to stare in windows and admire street performers (she often danced if they let her, and sometimes she sang). To follow prostitutes and pimps (one of whom tried to make her a client of his own). She made simple, if temporary, connections with people, stole food, bathed in the Thames (somehow, though she was unaware that it was not like bathing at all), and slept in an alley.

As though to add to her delight, she soon got her wings.

Cecil Hart and Tyler Nash: August 1924

And Selling It

Despite the love that so many would have for her, she was still a prime commodity when first her wings appeared. Anyone smart enough or shrewd enough to take advantage of the situation would have done so in any manner, so the one that befell her was not the worst of all.

One summery day, while barefoot and alone, wings out the way her great aunt and mother had worn theirs, a woman spied the little girl and, thinking of her starving children and herself, contacted an alleged talent agency. Cecil Hart and Tyler Nash, who were no agents at all, came within days of the call, but only after the woman had done her fair share of assurance that this was not a hoax and not a lie and that she was not an escaped patient from some asylum somewhere.

With generally nothing to lose, the two thugs staked out the areas the woman claimed the girl returned to with regularity, and after only a short wait, Isibél appeared, and her wings followed soon after.

Stunned, the men wasted no time. They paid the woman a heavy compensation, knowing they'd make five times more than that, if not ten, once they sold her to a sideshow or a circus or even to science. Where the price was best was her destination.

When she fell asleep, they put chloroform to her face, and she quietly lost consciousness as they stole her away into the back of a wagon.

She woke up rather quickly, confused and disoriented and terrified. For the next week or two, they went from place to place, reluctant to let her out of their sight, trying to find the best place to dispose of her. Questions couldn't be asked, money had to be exchanged, and for a shady business such as a carnival, it took the two kidnappers quite some time to find one that would take her as they wanted.

It was here that the first photographs were ever taken of her, and they locked her in an abandoned warehouse to take them, blinding her with the flash and scaring her with the noise. She looked grimy and unhappy, so they attempted to clean her, but as any twelve-year-old girl would do, she found it horribly violating and tried to run away. They caught her.

The Penny Carnival: September 1924 - November 1924

The Winged Girl

Billy Winston Smith, owner of the Penny Carnival, a sideshow and small funfair, handed over enough money and asked no questions. He wanted her, knew he would make a fortune, and didn't care where she came from or how she got there. Her sad photographs didn't turn him off, as all he wanted were her wings. But he cleaned her up, had her hair curled, bought her some dresses and ordered her to sing.

For two months she toured England, not eating much out of choice. She was stressed and unhappy, and the novelty of an audience and attention wore off quickly, as the crowds were often rough with her and the more she toured, the bigger they became. She ran off several times, and each time meant she was further imprisoned.

The sideshow itself was not attached to any circus or carnival, though it often set up near to one in order to attract customers. As the manager was also the showman and had willingly bought a child off of two London thugs with a fake agency, it was not surprising that Isibél was not treated exceedingly well.

With some coaxing she was able to write her name, but the owner couldn't pronounce it, so changed her from Isibél to Isabel. He also assumed she couldn't spell, as she couldn't talk.

When asked, Smith claimed she had wandered onto the property of his sideshow and wouldn't leave. No one cared further. He decided her age had to be ten, though no one ever asked her to write when she was born. The younger she was, the bigger the audience, and he could get away with anything, even paying her only a penny a week while he rolled in profit. Isabel, of course, didn't know or care, and wouldn't have, even if she knew.

By September, news of Isabel's abnormality began to draw attention from people across the country, and even the world. Circuses with money and interest began to flock her shows, and Smith was given a barrage of offers to sell her to this place or another place, but he wanted the money he was making. He decided to tour away from the circuses in order to get out of the worst of the spotlight while feeding on the religious convictions of the small villages.

Everyone was satisfied just to look at her, but touching (if you paid extra) was permitted just to confirm that she was no hoax. She was barely treated as a girl, either. She was a fortune, an object, a fantasy.

Though she was fast becoming a sensation, her manager was selfish and neglectful and Isabel was kept under strict lock and key, lest she run away again. The sideshow itself only had four acts in total, with most of them rotating every few weeks, and Isabel was favored over the others, making it difficult for her to bond with anyone. The earliest photos of Isabella come from this period, such as pitch card photos or photos of her standing on a short platform or stage surrounded by the spectators. Numerous press photos were taken for local articles. There are also several short film reels taken of her standing on stage. The first film reel was one of her looking overwhelmed and slightly nervous as she stands on a platform in front of a crowd. Another poignant reel from this time is a close up shot of her face during what is presumably an off camera interview (she says something from time to time but there is obviously no sound). She looks incredibly sad and at one point begins to cry and looks directly at the camera as though it was the thing keeping her here. She regards the lens for a moment before looking down again. The entire thing lasts about a minute.

But into the second month, all was not well, at least for Smith. With Isabel unwell, concerned villagers and reporters began to admit that she was possibly being physically abused or starved or worse. And with the country thinking of her as a sign of peace and divine intervention, no one was prepared to ignore it.

So as Scotland Yard launched an investigation, Smith sold her to the first circus that made an offer, the Brooks Spectacular.

Isabella's Pitch Card
My name is Isabel. I am ten years old. I was born in Ireland but I was raised in London after my parents abandoned me.
I was born with wings and I can do many things with them. I can even fly. You can touch them if you like.
I don't speak English yet but I'm learning fast. I like to dance and sing.

The Doctor's Report: 1st - 14th December, 1924

The Word Door

Despite the imminent transfer to the Brooks Spectacular, Scotland Yard wasn't about to let her go. They ordered Henry Brooks, owner and ringmaster of the circus, to send her to a hospital for two weeks of exams. He agreed without incident.

1^st December, 1924

Weight: 31kgs (69lbs)
Height: 1.5m (4 ft. 10in.)
Approx. Age: Unknown, claimed 10, highly doubtful
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
No distinguishing marks. No scars. No disfigurations.

Today I met the young girl called Isabel but known as the Winged Girl. She has been culled from the Penny Carnival at long last and I was ordered by Scotland Yard to examine her before she moves to the Brooks circus.

In the coming weeks, I will be conducting as many examinations as possible into the nature of her condition and the claims of abuse on the part of her carnival owner, a Billy Winston Smith, who is being investigated for fraud as I write.

My first impression of the girl is one of genuine curiosity. She shook my hand when instructed, as the gesture seems foreign to her, and held onto Henry Brooks’ arm. I found her attachment to him especially odd, as he had only stepped into her life within the past couple of weeks, and they are unable to speak to one another.

The papers report that she speaks only Irish, and this I have come to confirm. She knows the English word for her country, possibly from having been told where she was from, and knows some other assorted words that I can’t possibly string together coherently.

We did no exam today.

2^nd December, 1924

I have decided to put off a proper physical examination for the time being. She is remarkably difficult to get still. She displays a serious need to explore her surroundings, though I am not at all certain why.

She displays full cognitive awareness of her surroundings but little understanding of some of the objects in the room. When given a doll, she responded favourably. When given a wind-up toy, she seemed not to know what it was, and was most alarmed when I demonstrated it for her.

The idea of how it worked caught on quickly and she was able to entertain herself with it for another moment before deciding it was not of any real interest to her and returning to my books. She is unable to read them and prefers the photographs and illustrations. Knew that the book was upside down when she initially opened it, and quickly corrected this.

3^rd December, 1924

Today was the first physical. Her measurements remain the same. Undressed, she appears thin but not unhealthy. Smith claims she simply wasn’t eating and this may be true. She did not eat the sandwich or drink the tea, preferring to sit with the books by the window.

Responds to her name and immediately comes. She has taken a liking to the doll and carries it with her, but doesn’t play with it as a young child would. I am not entirely certain her age is as young as ten, as she is clearly well into the beginning of puberty and does not take an interest in blocks, board games, or child playthings. Her interest lies in examining them, as it is clear she has limited understanding of toys in general beyond rag dolls. Even a porcelain doll was a shock to her and she seemed to not like it.

Her wings encumber us greatly, as they are large and crowd the room. I have only ever asked permission to touch them, and my initial trial was this afternoon.

They are the same temperature as her body. The feathers feel real. She looked at me when I touched them and seemed to find the gesture comforting. I looked at the connection to her back and saw nothing but down. I didn’t investigate further. She adjusted the wings before my very eyes and I cannot say it didn’t unsettle me.

We are trying to get her hydrated, as it is my opinion her main issue is dehydration. She seems happy and adjusted and strangely so. When excited, and she is easily excited, she talks rapidly in Irish and we are unable to follow. She seems to know this.

There are ten different women claiming to be her mother. Brooks wants us with her when they are interviewed. Her response will dictate the course of action. I cannot say I do not want to keep her here for a longer period of time. She is a miracle, if nothing else.

4^th December, 1924

She ate some bread today without prompting and explored the facility. When skipping ahead of me to the room, Isabel struggled some with the door, unable to figure out the knob and which way to open the door itself. This provided her with some distress and she refused to let me help her. Her face grew somewhat red indicating, perhaps, embarrassment.

5^th December, 1924

We performed a physical exam today. She didn’t like it but didn’t respond in any manner that would lead me to believe she was afraid. The instruments scared her, particularly the stethoscope, which was cold. She found the tiny torch an interesting device and flicked it on and off to her own amusement, which didn’t last particularly long. The lack of prolonged interest leads me to doubt her age further.

I believe ten to be much too young for her. She is petite and ignorant, but I believe these are related to her upbringing. It is entirely possible she was homeless for most of her early life. As she has no reluctance around people, nor does she suffer from apparent nightmares, I do not believe she was abused. I would pin her no older than thirteen but certainly no younger than eleven. She is developing as any girl would when in the early stages of puberty, and displays a personality and intelligence that is indicative of being near her teenage years.

She gets frustrated with us very easily if we do not look when she wants our attention. She seems to easily command a room, even if it is a room full of strangers. She easily attaches herself, which is surprising.

The physical also included an examination of the wings. We felt the connection to her shoulders. When she adjusted her arms as dictated, the wings shifted with her in a seamless motion. We could feel nothing but down and a bony extension and could not see anything—indeed, prodding her made her laugh, as though it tickled.

Isabel’s wings floor me. I am unable to understand it. We took sample feathers from the major sections of each wing. One of the feathers reaches over a metre in length. Initial inspection seems to indicate that they are real.

6^th December, 1924

Isabel is learning certain words very quickly. We have done a few rhyming games with her to see if she remembers, and she was sharp. She can say ‘my name is Isabel’, though she pronounces it with some difficulty and her accent is most heavy. She can also apply words to objects. She calls Hank ‘Mr Hank’ and has only known him for a short while. Her affections are strong. It is always a pleasure to see her.

Sometimes she gets frustrated with us. We speak slowly to her and attempt to get her to perform basic functions, such as making herself her own sandwich. She accomplishes every task with ease. I am merely trying to ascertain whether or not she is as young as people claim and whether she was neglected as a young girl or came into this life recently. She knows her way about, but technology of any sort is a new system. She finds the lights particularly shocking, as today she saw me flicking on the switch. I believe she thought the light was natural before now.

We took her for a walk in the snow this afternoon. She was not surprised by it, but she enjoyed herself. She took off her gloves at one point and did not display any signs of being cold. I believe she must have been accustomed to the elements.

7^th December, 1924

We performed another inspection on the wings. The feathers were validated. They are exact matches of a bird’s feather, but enlarged. The structural differences are too slight to make a difference.

We asked her to perform some simple tricks today, but began with measurements. They are, perhaps, three times as wide as she is tall, 5 metres or so, when fully extended. We are unable to do this in the room, and must close off the hall or go outside. She is able to take flight, which, by all accounts, means these wings are functional. We have filmed three minutes of this play. When Margaret ruffled her feathers whilst Isabel’s back was turned, the wings shifted and Isabel glanced and smiled as though she felt it. I find myself overly enthralled. We cannot see how they connect to her body and they seem not to make holes in her clothing. I confess I am reluctant to write much of this. The wings disappear at will when we dress and undress her, as though hallucinations.

She also sleeps without them, though if she is on her front, they come out and curl around her. She knows when they will be too big and when they will fit. When they appear, they simply do just that—out of thin air. It’s maddening to be unable to study them. We cannot figure out the structure but assume it’s identical to any bird. Whatever they are, they are strong enough to support her several feet in the air.

8^th December, 1924

Weight: 32kgs (72lbs)
Height: 1.5m (4 ft. 10in.)
Approx. Age: Poss. 12 or 13
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
No distinguishing marks. No scars. No disfigurations. Cut on palm from an accident. Blisters from new shoes. She has been training with the acrobats.

Isabel brought me a gift this afternoon. I have never met a young girl so outgoing and sweet. We begin seeing the alleged family next week and I confess I do not believe any one of them will be hers. She does not seem bothered by her situation. Brooks says she has made friends in the hospital ward and has managed to steal the gun from an unsuspecting Scotland Yard constable on duty. Brooks has shown her pictures of the circus acts, and the photographs seem to enthrall her, though he isn’t certain if it’s because they are interesting or because she has never seen a photograph.

She has gained some weight in the past week. She now takes a liking to having lunch with us, something she did not do when she first arrived. I believe the sideshow caused her some anxiety and that she was under duress, even if she did not show it. She looks much brighter.

9^th December, 1924

She made a door slam on its own today. It may have been the wind, but there was no wind at all and the draught here is naught. I confess I may have set her off by taking the doll away. I believed she had left it and forgotten it and took it away, and she was then instructed in some lessons, which frustrates her greatly because we speak to her slowly, and without warning, she got up and walked out and the door shut without her touching it. Slammed so insistently that it was like a string had been tied to the handle. We were all terribly startled. She has shown no ‘abilities’ beyond flight. We were looking for some but believed she had none. Now we are looking into the possibility of some sort of ability to move objects perhaps only under moments of high stress.

The thought that she is something other than human has not crossed our minds. Despite her wings, Isabel is normal as any of our daughters. She hugs us and kisses us and sings to herself and acts as anyone would. It’s odd but human. Brooks is grateful she is so happy. We all are, if not confused.

10^th December, 1924

I have given her several more exercises to determine her level of education and perhaps to understand her background. We did mathematical flash cards and she was unable to do more than add and subtract. She can write paragraphs in her native language and has a lovely cursive writing too mature for anyone as young as ten, which again leads me to believe she is significantly older.

We took a walk around the building and many of the other children noticed her and desired to see her, and she was amicable, if shyer than her usual self. At first she almost ran towards the group, but this decision lasted not but a second. She hung back, held my wrist, and looked at me as though asking permission. I do not believe she was raised around children. While she was kind and gentle, not afraid or hostile, she seemed overwhelmed by their presence. It may also have been the crowds, but Brooks claims that she’s wonderfully excitable when he brings in his girls. He says that their shyness makes Isabella nervous.

She had no problem letting the boys and girls touch and pet her wings. One of the boys called her a name but she didn’t know its meaning and so didn’t respond. I found myself irrationally defensive about it and wanted to shout at him, but I have to remember that she is an odd creature, perhaps truly not human at all, or the single case of the oddest disease I have ever witnessed. There are going to be many people afraid of her in her lifetime. I do hope she learns to use her wings with discretion. It might be prudent for future reference that someone claim they are a hoax. As it is my job to discredit a hoax, I cannot be the one to sanction the idea, but I worry that I may be jeopardising her safety.

11^th December, 1924

The police were in this afternoon to see her files. I declared her fit and healthy, which will be in the paper tomorrow. The wings were also declared authentic, but I mentioned that it would be best not to wave this information about, to file it away for Scotland Yard’s sake. I do hope they’ll heed my warnings.

I will not see Isabel today. She is going to be moved to the circus this coming Sunday. The police recommended I see what she is like in a different environment, and whilst I believe I have done my job, and my job is a doctor, not a psychiatrist or her personal caretaker, I will go.

We meet with the supposed mothers tomorrow.

12^th December, 1924

There was no luck in finding the parents of this girl. She refused to identify any of them as more than strangers, and looked so confused about the entire procedure that we called it off. None of the women could speak Irish. Some claimed she had different names, such as Anne or Gertrude. The nonsense peaked to an arrest of one woman, who frightened Isabel badly by grabbing her.

She has gained an additional pound from our last weigh-in, and looks much healthier. The wings continue to play a confusing role in her appearance. We can be certain they are authentic. We can be certain they are functional. We cannot be certain what they mean. We cannot even be certain what she is. For all that she is human, what human has wings?

I have two days left with her in my constant care. After that, I will be relegated to an occasional visitor. I must say I will miss her here.

13^th December, 1924

Good lord, but the strangest thing occurred today. We had given Isabel a cake for her last physical examination. She had never seen such a thing before, it is certain. She touched it as though it would break. The frosting and décor were indeed beautifully done. I continue to be baffled by her ignorance of modern conveniences and creations. This leads me to believe she lived in a rural life before coming to the city. How she got to London and into the hands of Smith, I am not certain I wish to know. I am not Scotland Yard. That is their case. I am a doctor who witnessed his patient glowing.

Yes, I believe there is something otherworldly about this child! For when he hugged her she seemed so grateful that her skin took on an iridescent shimmer that seemed to encase her in a shine reminiscent of a fading lightbulb. I am utterly baffled. Baffled and without any projections at all. She is a miracle, if nothing else, and the world should treat her as such.

14^th December, 1924

I said goodbye to Isabel this afternoon. I am not certain she realises this is a permanent farewell. She said ‘goodbye’ and my name without hesitation. Without prompting. I will be checking in monthly.

Her health is good. Her mental health is even better. I am concerned about her ignorance but she will learn in time. She is eager to learn. Her quiet nature, being that she cannot speak English, and apparent unawareness might come off as mental retardation, but there is simply none to be found. She is sharp as a tack. Fully aware. Happy to be here. Adjusted, despite her situation and the lack of adjustment time. Brooks has taught her juggling this past week and was juggling everything she could find, to varying degrees of success.

As I write my last words on her condition, I must make it clear that she is a good, human-like soul. She treats others respectfully. She is bubbly, outgoing, and warm. Her wings are easily ignored when you see that they belong to a little girl, not a monster or a creature of supernatural origin. She is not supernatural. She is natural. As real as any of us. If there are others like her, I do not think we will ever know. Perhaps she is a fluke.

In addition to the exam, several people claiming to be her family were interviewed. None, of course, were telling the truth.

The Brooks Spectacular: 14th December, 1924 - 13th April, 1927

By the Beautiful Sea

The Brooks Spectacular changed Isabel's life. She arrived in the winter and lived with another freak act, a girl by the name of Elizabeth Anne McCall, who had four legs. For the first off-season, her life was very quiet and she ran off several times, not getting too far each time as Scotland Yard was paying attention. But by the beginning of rehearsals the first February, she had made several attachments.

The most notable and most lasting from this period was her friendship with Ian Carey, the magician's apprentice at the time. He was four years her senior, but of Irish descent, and spoke stilted Irish to her until his older sister, another close friend, Caroline, came and helped with translations.

Ian would go on to become many firsts in Isabel's life, from her first kiss, to her first sexual awakening, to her first crush, love, and, of course, friend (in no particular order). They maintained this friendship for the whole of her life, and he would become the closest person to her outside of her husband. An unmatched, treasured attachment that she has never forgotten or lost interest in--she loved him deeply for the whole of her life.

But the circus itself would linger with her. The freaks were especially close to her, and they, a family already, adopted her, helping to teach her to read and write English, and to speak it more fluently (though she had better use learning from her songs). The kinships and friendships she formed were indelible--she had never made a friend before, never had a community before. Ian especially was so important that explaining it was impossible.

To keep her from running away during her first quiet months, Brooks made sure she was allowed to stick her fingers in anything she wished. This would go on to prove useful--she learned how to do just about everything the circus offered, save lion taming and other dangerous animal acts. Contortion and acrobatics were her favorites, as she could fly without aid of a highwire or trapeze (though she learned to do both with proficiency). Most of these skills were not part of her act, though for extravagance she would do stunts or juggle.

She was allotted a show in the tent as she garnered more audiences, and the bigger the audience, the bigger her performance, and the happier she was. Nothing thrilled her like the roar of a crowd, the stage lights, the music. This would stay with her as much as her friendships. She was a natural in front of the curtain.

As anyone could imagine, having a girl with wings wasn't easy to keep quiet. As more locals witnessed her and reporters came to check on their stories, her existence was suddenly thrown under flood lights. She became a worldwide phenomenon, wrangling so much publicity that the circus itself was able to stop traveling and to set up in a field in northern England.

She moved in with Brooks and his family. His wife, when first Isabel arrived, hadn't liked her due to the attention her husband would give her, but by the end of the tour, she was attached to the girl as if she were her own, and when the press was too dangerous around the trailers, Isabel was given her own room.

Brooks would become the only father figure she ever knew, and his protection of her was eternal. But even so, he was a businessman, and by the second tour, she was still a hot commodity and everyone wanted a piece of her. He had to make up stories as to her origin, as she wouldn't tell anyone anything. Smith had been arrested for conspiracy to kidnap, which was when Brooks realized Isbel had likely been kidnapped, too.

With a little digging, Brooks discovered what had happened, and quickly made a story up to cover the tracks.

He paid the woman to keep quiet but she was keeping quiet on her own. As Isabella had never once declared that she wanted to go home, was never once unhappy, they decided she would be better off with them (besides, he would lose a fortune and no one who had yet come forward to claim Isabella as their daughter was ever actually her mother). She was explained away as an orphan of Irish heritage whose parents were killed by gunfire in Londonderry when she was eleven years old. That she had been kidnapped in the chaos.

An Alarming Interruption: 1925

A Family Feud

However, Brooks wouldn't always be kept in the dark about her origins. Aoife had spent the last three years searching, as Cecily was too emotional to go anywhere. When a newspaper clipping with Isabel's picture caught Aoife's attention, she immediately began to search from town to town, asking, somehow, where the girl was. It led her to the circus, and to Isabel, who was by then Isabella Radcliffe (Isabella was an affectionate nickname Ian used, and Radcliffe came from a sign--Isabella liked the way the f's looked, finding them pretty).

Aoife was a wise woman who had taken many excursions to the mainland to have many affairs, and she struck up a new one to stay close to Isabella, watching her over a period of time until the moment was right.

Isabella was mortified. She screamed, fled, ran, hid, fought as much as she could, panicked and afraid. She wouldn't go back, especially now that she had so much to leave behind, and Brooks quickly told Aoife to leave, as he refused to see Isabella so upset.

Aoife cooperated--something she would never tell Cecily. Something she has never told another living soul.

The Londonderry Orphan

A Fabricated Tale

The Irish War of Independence was raging between 1919 and 1921. According to the story her manager presented, Isabella lived with her parents in Londonderry. They were Protestants, according to the interview, and her father was a supporter of English rule. This was not well-known enough to have his name be at the top of any lists, but all Isabella apparently "remembers" is that her parents went out one evening and never came back. She "said" she heard gunfire near her house and her parents screaming, leading her to run away. She was then "caught" and kidnapped and ran off again, only to collide with Smith.

Her parents names were not given, as apparently Isabella was "too traumatized to remember".

Most of the story didn't fit with the facts. Isabella spoke Irish and her accent was distinctly wrong for what her manager claimed her backstory to be. However, no one questioned it, as England was all for anyone who supported them and Northern Ireland's addition to the United Kingdom. And not for Catholics.

The Berengaria: 13th - 21st April, 1927

The Irish Angel Sails to America

Almost three years with the Brooks Spectacular passed, but they were beginning to peak. Everyone who wanted to see her had either seen her or was satisfied by pictures. Though Isabella was beyond the most popular act in the show's history, as well as one of the biggest phenomena in recent decades (and even attracted the attention of the Vatican, which was deliberately ignored), her manager ultimately decided to do more. At the insistence of several agents in America who had been clamoring for her since word of her existence first surfaced, her life was changed once more, irrevocably, almost overnight.

Brooks had a difficult time with the decision to send his girl to America, as he loved her as he loved his own daughters and knew that parting with her would be difficult. Isabella was excited at the prospect, not understanding that it wasn't temporary (she had a happy home for the first time). With only two weeks of tour under their belts, Isabella was given a new wardrobe, care of her circus fellows, and she and Brooks departed on the Berengaria, destined for New York.

Never had Isabella seen such a lavish building in her life. Her stateroom enchanted her, and she spent her free time writing several dozen irreverent letters to Ian and the rest of the people she left behind.

Because she didn't understand that she wasn't coming back, she had not been terribly upset upon leaving, shedding tears only when she had to part from Ian, at whose side she all but lived (she asked him to come).

But the trip across the sea was exciting, quietly erasing all of the dread from her mind as she wore fancy clothes and dined with rich people and had her picture taken.

Two Weeks With Mister Hank: 21st April - 5th May, 1927

Goodbyes and Successes

Arriving in New York on the 21st of April, Isabella had no time to recuperate before she was sent to meet with agents across the country. One such agent was George Parker Love, a shrewd and overly-conniving manager who had high profile clients and the ability to get into just about anything he desired.

What he desired above anything else was to have Isabella.

He offered an exceptionally high price, sugar promises, and a charming personality. Brooks liked him, Isabella liked him, and he spent a week in their company, getting to know her and seeing all of the tourist destinations, including seeing shows at the Palace and meeting stars, before Brooks had to leave. Isabella was not ready for Brooks to leave, and he hid his tears from her as she tried to get him to stay, feeling genuine despair for the first time, as the reality sank in.

He saw the first of her shows, and Love promised to take care of her as Brooks promised to send Isabella's things to a permanent address Love supplied.

The address wasn't real.

Love wasn't interested in Isabella having anything to do with anyone at all. He kept her in a new hotel, permitting her to send a few letters to everyone, and allowing her to write for several weeks so that no one would grow suspicious.

Because he was raping her.

Isabella's time with Ian had included a lot of sexual curiosity. Her fingers wandered, his fingers wandered, but as close as they came and as much as Isabella wanted to, they never had complete penetration. Ian would stop their activities if it got too close and he began to waver, which would lead Isabella to give him the silent treatment, and he would apologize by climbing into her trailer and holding her while she slept. Ian likely didn't want to risk getting her pregnant, as she was so young, but Isabella was delighted to tell him when Love beat him to the job of, as she put it, a good sex.

The first time was not good at all, and she cried and bled and tried to hide. This led her to crawling into Ian's dreams when she could manage it. But after several nights of Love repeating his act, she tried hard to fall asleep instead, and after a month she no longer visited Ian at all.

But despite the unhappy nature of the molestation, she began to cope. Her shows led her down the east coast, and she warmed up to Love's advances when he apologized and declared he loved her. But he often used sex to keep her in line, and violent fights where she was raped were not uncommon. Until she got a little more aware of him, and a little more aware of herself.

Dans La Lune: 28th June - December 1927

A Sexual Awakening

Sending detailed letters of her activities was not entirely the best idea. She was detailed with Ian, despite not enjoying sex, because she had wanted to have it with him for such a long time. She lauded Love, made up details, but in so doing caught Brooks' attention, and, enraged, he intended to go to America and have Love arrested.

By that summer, Isabella was in New Orleans. Instead of her reputation exceeding her, her talents on stage began to exceed her reputation. She was now fifteen and her body was showing it (not to mention she was also very sexually active), she began to do more saucy routines in less clothing. Her manager wanted to show her off, and the theatre's owner cared even less about her propriety.

She was now billed as The Most Beautiful Little Girl in the World. Come See America's Little Angel! posters and programs said.

For the first two months of her stay in New Orleans, she made several friends and, for the first time, slept with someone other than Love. In fact, she slept with several other people, craving the attention and desire.

It was at this time that Brooks made it back to America. He had received Isabella's letter in which she stiltedly spoke about having sex with her new manager, and in a fit of rage at anyone touching the girl, Love was stabbed over fifty times and killed. Brooks was arrested and the letters were found, which ultimately got him acquitted. Isabella was kept in the dark, but numerous articles were written about the scandal (see The Pretty Baby Scandal). Many people claimed that Isabella was clearly coerced into the affair and may have even been raped but unable to understand it. It was well-known that she had been brought up in a sheltered life and her English was poor at best. The public pitied and protected her.

But they couldn't overlook everything.

In New Orleans, Isabella got into more trouble than she ever understood. She developed a reputation for being somewhat 'easy' (she garnered a nickname for the stage: Easy Iz). She was not quite all that easy at all, but she didn't know the 'morals and standards' of society and didn't care if anyone saw her underwear, or if she flirted with a boy and was caught. Most people blamed her now deceased manager for corrupting her. Isabella didn't notice or care. She lived a barren life in the French Quarter near a seedy theatre on Bourbon Street, where she performed. During her time before the trial, she was moved to a boarding house haunted by murdered ghosts, where she met Odile Arcenaux, a Creole girl with an odd past and strong convictions.

Odile taught Isabella about courting and morality and these things stuck with her despite how she didn't understand. With Love suddenly missing, and Isabella having had a bizarre attachment to him, she began to think of the circus, of Ian and Mister Hank, and longed to see them again. She thought of courting Ian, and of the ring he gave her.

The police constantly hounded her, and she made several escapes from the boarding house with Odile, once even making it out to a bayou where she met Elvis Bartlett, a poor boy with odd parents. They slept together as a threesome, but by morning the police had caught up with the girls and arrested Elvis for kidnapping.

He wasn't forgotten, and they broke him out.

Odile and Elvis would go on to run away together, further confusing Isabella. Why hadn't Elvis been interested in her the way he fell in love with Odile?

With cops everywhere, Isabella was abound to sleep with one of them, and she did. The officer's name was Sam Lebrun. He, like Ian and Brooks, would play a consistent role in Isabella's life, sleeping with her regularly despite his own marriage and an age difference of nearly thirty years. He attended her wedding, died with her still on his mind, and she never forgot him. He was protective of her, torn by love and paternal instincts that had yet to come to use (he had no children and never would).

Sam eventually moved Isabella out of the boarding house after she began to break down over the hauntings, something he experienced, and bought her a little flat across from the theatre. He would go on to find the rest of her possessions lost or kept by the police, and would stay in touch with her once she left the city. He would also fall in love with her.

But he wasn't the only one: He was penniless artist by choice, having been raised in a wealthy southern home. Isabella was his muse and he painted quite a lot of pieces using her as the subject. They sold well enough for him to not be a penniless artist anymore, but he still lived like one. He also began to show signs of severe bipolar disorder, which often sent him into fits of rage when he knew she was out with other men. Needless to say, he rather scared her off.

She was friends with some self-proclaimed witches and some actual vampires, a scorned Creole family of six, and had sex in one of the graveyards. She fell for a black boy by the name of Jeremy Hayes. Ate dinner with a ghost in her sinking mansion. Her penniless artist hanged himself without success in order to win her back. She narrowly avoided being kidnapped a second time while out very late one night.

Really, she got into all sorts of trouble in the bayou until she left New Orleans for Chicago.

Then, the trouble skyrocketed and no one could blame it on a dead man.

The Pretty Baby Scandal: September - October, 1927

AMERICANS REACT WITH SHOCK AND ANGER! RAPE OF ORPHANED VAUDEVILLE STAR LEADS TO MURDER!

Isabella was already a sensation across the country and making more money than she would ever see--because Love kept most of it for himself. When Brooks confronted the man one night after a show, with Isabella out of sight and sound, they got in a brutal fight and Love was stabbed over fifty times, dying at the scene.

Brooks was arrested immediately, but upon searching his hotel room, they found the letters Isabella had written and the tables turned. Love and Isabella's room was also searched and in their flat was found dozens of pornographic photos of Isabella.

The scandal consumed American pop culture. They dubbed it the Pretty Baby Scandal after a popular song, and people argued over the nature of Isabella's relationship with her dead manager. The letters implied she was a willing party, but she was only fourteen. Others said that she was far too naïve to even slightly comprehend what her manager had done. It was rape, one way or another, and in 1920 America, the media spun the story in every direction they could, even forging new trails.

For several months, a war waged over what her now dead manager had done. Isabella was kept out of the chaos because she was young and had no idea what had happened (America liked the ignorance), but her shows garnered more publicity than ever and she was mentioned in very newspaper and magazine for over a year with stunning regularity.

At the trial, which was more of a Hollywood drama than an actual, unbiased appeal for justice, Henry Brooks was acquitted of the crime. Isabella was traumatized by the experience, as she was told to testify without the slightest idea what was going on. Brooks could barely look at her, had to be escorted from the room when she ran to him and fought to see him when they pulled her away. Brooks returned to England and never saw Isabella again, but he was a hero for killing a man who had befouled a young girl's innocence.

Isabella, however, never got over it.

More than ever she dreamt of being taken back to England, but her Mister Hank had left her and not come for her, and she was left alone, dealing with the love between Elvis and Odile, until finally her officer rescued her.

Ian's Visit: November 1927

A Sexual Sunset

But Isabella's newfound troubles were not over, nor was her sudden foray into adulthood and a maturity she had never found use for. Mentions of courting were frequent, and Odile and Elvis ran away to marry, leaving Isabella unhappy and abandoned.

She forged a friendship with a vampire boy called Gabriel, and he kept her company every evening after Sam left her small flat, so that she was never alone in the room. They often explored the city until dawn. Isabella was happy, for the most part, though she missed the circus more than ever.

And then it happened. One night in early November, a month after the trial, Isabella's world was momentarily righted, then immediately knocked asunder.

Ian visited. Saw her show. She jumped from the stage, leaping onto him the way she had done for years, never more happy in her life, never more content. But this was not to be, not yet, as it was soon after returning to her flat and her old ways of operating around him that he gave her the worst news she ever had to deal with.

He was courting someone.

Two years with him and he never had courted her, despite their time spent together, despite the fact that Isabella was now sure she loved him, having spent so much time thinking about him, and Isabella was angry. It consumed her for the whole of their visit, but lessened and subdued when, after missing a performance due to a late night out, Ian offered himself as a potential double act: Ian and Isabella, doing anything Casey thought would draw a crowd.

Though a trained stage magician, Ian was given a duet. 'Side By Side' would, for the rest of Isabella's life, remind her only of their short-lived act in the vaudeville theatre, though they took on second acts, and Ian was given a solo act of his own.

It was during this period when Ian's own fame was skyrocketing due to the press labeling him as Isabella's love interest ('lovebirds') that Isabella realized something key: Ian had admitted the circus was over, a fact which stung Isabella, but what stung her further was the quick realization that Ian, who now had a potential career in America, was going to give it up to return to England and an uncertain future. Granted, she knew he had a family, but the clear abandonment stung. She was not sure she would see him again, let alone maintain the level of close, intimate friendship they had created. Of course, she couldn't read Ian's mind and didn't know it was not as easy to leave the stage and her side as she thought (and in fact the whole situation wasn't as cut and dried as she thought), but even so, she felt suddenly hardened to the whole situation, unable to scream and kick like a child. Unable to do anything.

Their act was as big as Isabella's. Ian was offered contracts, along with Isabella, to every top agency. Movie companies wanted him, and Isabella if they could wrangle her, and Casey suggested they might make a good partnership on film. But none of it was to be, though Ian would make silent films in England before talkies took over.

When Ian left, Isabella was devastated. While she had chosen to abandon her family, the family she had created for herself had abandoned her. Mister Hank had not talked to her or taken her back. Letters from her fellows in the circus were scarce (though this was due to Love's interference, which caused many people to give up writing her). The comfortable pillow of a possible return to England was pulled from beneath her, and she was forced to stand above the crowd without a safety net, propelled forward at the hands of strangers behind her.

The Pearl Theater: 1st January, 1928 - Late 1929

Refining the Wild Child

Ian's departure and the dissipation of the circus forced her to separate herself from all that she had steadied herself upon. She knew immediately that she was on her own, and so operated as though she was on her own. For a brief period she became defiant and angry, cutting off her happy excursions with theatre dwellers out of the knowledge that she would be shuttled along to some other place and would leave them all behind. The nature of connection at all was unpleasant. She didn't want to be torn from anyone again.

Unfortunately, this made her much like her mother.

The spell was brief, however, due to her friendship with Jeremy Hayes, which was rekindled when Ian left. A naturally social person, Isabella couldn't keep herself away from him and his attention, and though it was clear they were attracted to one another, he never slept with her, giving her a taste of a bond one step below Ian's. That friendship wouldn't always hurt. He took her out, told her he wanted to go to New York and was saving his money, and she experienced the underbelly, the true soul of the jazz world.

But her weeks at the theatre were ending, and Casey was forced to give her up. She had several meetings with him and a few other high level managers, but the immediate consensus was clear: William Morris (for Broadway and the Follies), Paramount, Warner Bros.-First National Pictures (which had released a talkie that year), RKO--the offers were endless. But one thing was even clearer: Casey, and the men who talked to her, were embarrassed by her.

More to the point, they were embarrassed by her voice and her way of speaking.

Isabella still hauled a heavy accent, reminiscent of the thickest accents of Derry, and it was aggravated by her inability to eloquently convey her thoughts. In other words, she couldn't speak English well, had an Irish accent, and though she had a cute little voice and a high, clear singing voice (that would later be trained), her mark was her expression and her silent acting. If she was to make it big as a young woman instead of a freak act girl, and this was what all the agencies wanted, she would have to get rid of her accent and fix her speech.

As a result, though the offers were lucrative and many, Isabella was given a pair of smaller managers. Identical twins by the name of Tommy Leon and Marty Leon. Based in Chicago, they said they would prepare her for the big time, and were the highest bidders amongst the lesser agencies. Naturally, Casey made a plea to extend her time in New Orleans and have her formally trained, but the crowds were wearing thin by December and the Leons offered a large sum of money, convinced they would make it all back in record time.

They signed her to The Pearl Theater for a year long stay that would eventually be extended to two years, so to allow time for her to mature (though her contract allowed her to do films and to travel to other theatres under the direction of her managers). The Pearl, though not quite the big time, was a larger and more popular theatre than Dans La Lune. It was also a speakeasy, which meant it had far more money to spend on its performers and their acts. They had her in Chicago in time for New Year's, where she was given a massive performance with crowds spilling into the streets and booze spilling into tumblers.

In Chicago, when she was not yet sixteen, she became a superstar.

In Chicago, the clientèle was far more lucrative. Rich investors visited. Businessmen. Celebrities. Government. Bootleggers.

In Chicago, she finally felt a part of the mainstream.

Though her estimated income per week (she performed six days a week) in New Orleans was over $1,000 by the end of her stay, she had never seen more than a couple hundred for her six month stay. In Chicago, performing only twice a week (so to preserve her novelty), she made $4,000 a week in today's money, but again the theatre's owner and her own personal managers kept more than 80% for their own purposes (well past the contractually dictated 20%). Additionally, she received very little information on how to use the money she was given. As such, she lived in very poor conditions and was often evicted from her flats (she lived in half a dozen apartments around Chicago, in addition to living in other places, in a two year span).

One such apartment building gave her more than she bargained for when she met Michael Ryczek.

She was a party girl and Chicago was the place for it. She had taken advantage of New Orleans and drugs and people, but it was in Chicago that she came into her own sense of self and sexuality. With steady friends, she would slip into inferno parties and opium-infused orgies of young men and women with too much money and too much time. At some point, she even had a threesome with a pair of young ladies. She also dabbled a bit in morphine and cocaine, but neither, thankfully, became addictions. She was alarmed by the highs, and they never lasted.

In addition to her parties, she spent some time dressed in drag outside of her routines, kissing and petting girls and posing (or, in the case of how they met, paying no attention to the camera) for photos taken by a new friend, Elijah Capio.

But Michael Ryczek was something entirely different. He was a banker out of work due to years of alcoholism. A few months sober, he was beginning to climb his way back up the field, where he had once been a prince. Son of a wealthy banker, grandson of Polish immigrants. Michael married young, had three children, but his indulgences began to grow more destructive as his job became more difficult. He would dissolve into psychotic states of violence and rage, gambled away his savings, owed debts to men of questionable integrity, and soon his wife left him, took his children (the oldest of which was almost sixteen), and moved in with someone else.

Isabella met him casually. He lived across the hall from her, went to work in the mornings, came home in the evenings, often when she was returning from a party or performance. Though he, like so many men she met, was more than twice her age (in Michael's case, close to three), his attraction to her built slowly. But he, unlike the other men, became instantly disgusted with himself. This conflict of interest would be maintained for the duration of their relationship. His daughter was no older than Isabella.

But even so, they had a highly charged sexual relationship when finally the last remaining wall broke. They rarely saw each other during the day, and even less when she was evicted (at which point she stayed with him until she found somewhere else, but he was never there when she was), but at night he would help with her English through means of pleasure, urging her pronunciation, improving her grammar. Worshiping the sensitivity in her back, neck, and shoulders.

However, he was not her whole world.

She loved the stage, which was part of the reason the illicit dealings over her career didn't faze her. To her, everything was still a game. Her biggest and most recurring fault was the simple fact that she had ten years of centuries old upbringing in near-isolation and she didn't know or understand that it was entirely different from everyone else's upbringing. Ian's visit had begun to shine a light on this difference, but she found it difficult to dwell on it, so she became a wild child in Chicago, utterly removed from the locations she had come from. Forgetting the circus and everybody in it.

In 1920s Chicago, not everything was very safe. This, of course, is a rather large understatement. As Isabella's money was divided between her managers and living expenses, as well as costumes and other things, she was not very rich, even though she was more famous than many of the silent film actors of her day (she was even as popular as the original "It" girl herself, Clara Bow). This fact, that Isabella was being handled poorly by everyone who had authority in her life, was rarely publicized. She lived alone in a dingy apartment and this only sweetened the pot for several well-to-do men in the city. Mobsters. Isabella was an ideal girl to have on their arm. Pretty, personable, willing to sleep with them if they wanted, and unable to speak much English. Most of them used her in lieu of hunting down a date at a brothel or burlesque house. They paid her, spoiled her, and let the reporters take pictures of her on their arms. She was the envy of anyone who didn't have her to display.

Isabella had no real concept of the mafia or the gangs of Chicago. All she knew was that well-dressed and well-spoken men were very appealing. One of these men in particular took a shine to her. The man, Abram "Marks" O'Connell, was twice her age, part of Moran's North Side gang (of Irish descent, which was half the reason he liked her so well) and fed off her naïveté. They didn't establish a physical or emotional relationship, just a very intensely flirty association and one of the first instances of Isabella using a hard-to-get approach with a man (something that would never go away). Teasing him made him spoil her more and she loved to be spoiled. He would often take her out or take her shopping or let her stay with him if she needed a new place (this happened often as her salary was unpredictable thanks to her managers). She still owns the clothing and jewelry to this day.

And when Isabella did begin to see men regularly, he shot a couple of them in the groin when they made her cry. Of course, he didn't tell her and she never knew they were injured. But she didn't often cry over someone, either. Most of her suitors were fleeting, but a few established roots.

She was looking for Ian, but she would never find him.

Less than a year after she met Michael, he shot himself in his apartment.

His disappearance was never explained.

Though Isabella was considered quite flighty in her romances before Randolf, she had a second "regular" beau. Unlike her mob protector, this man was a black jazz pianist and maestro of the Little Pearl. His name was Edwin "Eddie" Jones. Even in Chicago, where jazz and black artists had exploded across the music scene, this was a risky position. No one at the theatre cared that she was locking herself in her dressing room with the young man--except the gangster. No one talked about the relationship because of the criminal activity that often frequented the darker corners of the club, but he caught the young man hitting on Isabella and it enraged him. The young man, the pianist, was gunned down after midnight as Isabella left for her apartment.

Though she hadn't been with the pianist steadily, though they both saw other people and weren't quite in love, when she heard of his death, she was greatly affected by it, missing him sorely. She had always been a girl of unfortunate ignorance due to her situation, the sort of girl who knows someone is following her but assumes they're just looking for the same destination, but now she understood that there were taboos and it wasn't just talk, despite what Jeremy had said some months before. Now she understood that you don't have to know the motivations of everyone and that some people are just bad, like her mother said. The last leg of her forced maturity was complete. And Ian wasn't coming back.

O'Connell, her so-called patron, was never caught and Isabella never knew he was to blame. But then he disappeared.

Months following the murder and disappearance, before she began an act on stage at the Chicago Theatre that would last the rest of her proper vaudeville career, Isabella's life took its final twist when Randolf Fitzwilliam appeared at her show and sat right in front.

At last! A Romance! Randolf Fitzwilliam: 1929

A New Possibility

He and his friends had decided to head to America to experience the jazz scene and vaudeville and found themselves in Chicago after a few weeks of nonstop travel and party. Randolf had recently been left by his girlfriend, a girl called Miriam he was planning to marry (he even had the ring made). His spirits were damaged and he needed something new.

When Isabella took the stage, Randolf was hooked. Isabella noticed him during the following acts and was transfixed by his transfixion. He was sitting so close to the stage and was always watching her with a very bright look in his eyes, as though attempting to memorize what she was doing. She kept staring at him, kept waiting for him to leave, kept wondering who he was, and by the end of the night, everyone she worked with knew she was very taken with someone in the crowd. This wasn't totally unusual for her, as she was quite overactive in her attractions, but when she refused to go out and meet the man, a very different reaction, they knew this was a bit different. She was behaving far too shyly--Isabella never acted shy.

Most of the theatre understood there was a very rich man in attendance that night. The management had done what they could to make the denizens behave, as he put it, and the more worldly performers were well aware of the Fitzwilliams and the money they had to throw around. No one could be quite certain that this was the person who had stolen Isabella's interest, until he made himself known.

Randolf asked the management if he could be introduced to her, and they couldn't refuse him. He was the richest client they'd ever known, one of the richest young men in the world, and they were not about to turn him away. Tony and Marty and the theatre's owner, Jimmy Marsh, coached Isabella before sending her out, making sure she wasn't about to incriminate them or herself, and the pressure only made her more jittery.

She was brought out in an evening gown and the two had a very long conversation about this and that. Though she was nervous at first, she quickly relaxed. The two continued this routine for every day he was in town, meeting for lunch or going to his hotel room to talk or visiting the sights. (During this time, her managers began to lessen their fees and her salary increased. Possibly they feared she would complain.) The pair didn't have a formal dinner date, nor did they kiss or proclaim any affection, but it was obvious they were destined for something.

Both saw the scorn in the other and the wounds that needed healing. They needed each other.

After he returned to London, they kept up correspondence regularly. Each was afraid of losing the other, for different reasons, and Randolf was desperate to keep her the way she was desperate to find someone to love her back. While the letters were at first simple small talk, Isabella often required help from others to help decipher certain words. Randolf would often not expect an immediate answer, so wrote several letters at once, in succession, and she would write several in return. But the letters didn't remain simple for long. They lengthened, spoke of love and lust and Isabella could no longer ask others to help read them. She looked up the words on her own.

There was no set date for their next meeting, so it was through these letters that they gave their word. They were substitutions for presence, and when there was a day without one, both wondered what it meant. Randolf, of course, understood Isabella's weakness with the written word, but she wrote to him faithfully despite that.

Randolf had two years of school to complete, something he had put off, and couldn't get back to her until he finished. First it would be military school. Then the air force.

Isabella waited.

The Chicago Theater: Late 1929 - 1930

A Taste of Sophistication

After two years at the Pearl, Isabella's life again changed. The theatre owner, wanting to cash in on Isabella before her celebrity ended, though it showed no sign of doing so, talked to Tony and Marty about severing her contract. There were numerous agencies looking for her, wanting to represent her, and the pressure was enormous to do something about it. With too much attention, owning a speakeasy wasn't safe. So, at the end of 1929, Isabella was signed to William Morris, given a new manager, and sent to the Chicago Theater for an elaborate, high end show that would be the last of her vaudeville career. She had hit the big time.

Her manager was determined to get her in the Follies, an invitation Isabella had received in New Orleans. As he was based in New York City himself, along with his track record of famous clients, he had talent scouts watching her performances and personal life. A personal life that had taken a wild turn from her loose days and wild parties.

Not to say that Isabella suddenly cleaned up her act, but she was given a taste of the glamorous life, the high life, the life of doing one's makeup and hair and dressing impeccably every time one left the house. Of looking untouchable while being a livewire. With new managers, she had more money, and she spent this money on clothes (and momentos for Randolf). While she still attended parties and orgies, she no longer participated in the most reckless behavior, and was entirely faithful to Randolf from the moment he left Chicago.

But then she left Chicago.

The Ziegfeld Follies: 1930 - 1932

A Marathon of Living

Though she missed Randolf, she was incredibly excited to be going to New York to perform with the Ziegfeld Follies for their 1931 revue. Chicago was great to her but she longed for sophistication. New scenery. New people. Her new agents gave her honest wages and treated her well, but she spent most of her money on a very cheap apartment and lots of fancy clothes. Poorer than ever, but exalted on the stage, the city fell in love with her again. She was a favorite of the rich and elite and famous and found herself wanted by everyone. She became friends and acquaintances with many celebrities, as quite a few had ties to the Ziegfeld Follies. She attended dance marathons, dragged Elijah Capio wherever she went, and made a female best friend called Theodora (Theo).

She danced in Harlem, did vaudeville across the city to supplement her living, participated in radio programs, including Ziegfeld Follies of the Air in 1932, and had her own weekly segment where she sang live on air. It was even broadcast across the pond. She starred in a few final silent films based in New York, turned down talkies in Hollywood because she was waiting for Randolf, and did a few Broadway plays that didn't require her to be very eloquent.

She was the talk of the town, the toast of the town--her celebrity had finally come together. No more were people tearing at her from one side or the other, wanting her to be sexual and innocent at once. She rarely used her wings, had a small fortune coming through her name, and a bright, bold future that would unfold before her no matter what direction she took.

She dressed to the nines at every turn, going solo to parties were drugs and drink ran free. She danced with other men, flirted with other men, but slipped away from their fingertips the moment they tried to pursue more. She had her man, and she missed him terribly while she waited for his return, expecting it in 1931--two years after meeting him. There were days when she confessed worrying he had found someone and wasn't going to tell her until he showed up at her apartment, reminiscient of Ian (someone she thought of with regularity, though she tried not to admit it). But Randolf wanted her and her alone--no one would measure up, and he had yet to even sleep with her.

Randolf decided to surprise her.

He came for New Year's. He never told her, hinting instead that his letters would be scarce due to a holiday with his family, when in fact the holiday was to see her. He came for a New Year's ball, arriving late enough to catch Isabella, to make her scream and jump onto him, and to spend most of the early evening having sex both in his hotel room and in public.

Their romance exploded all over the ballroom. Randolf danced and flirted with other girls, which made Isabella incredibly upset, so she danced and flirted with other men. But when he returned to her, he didn't let her go, and they were locked together well past midnight, sharing his hotel room and getting into trouble every other second for their physical attraction. Their need for each other was apparent to everyone close to her. Their attraction was instant and from that point onward, never a moment would go by where Isabella wasn't dreaming of him.

He had to leave again not a week or two later, and Isabella continued working, staying with the Follies from 1^st July, 1931 - 21^st Nov, 1931 for their last season with Florenz Ziegfeld. In her spare time she recorded hits for the radio, a few 78s, and continued her busy schedule of showbusiness.

Randolf visited more often once he was free from school, including attending the Ziegfeld Ball. She teased him about how many people wanted her to go be a movie star, hoping to inspire jealousy, as she didn't like having a long distance relationship and was worried he would find someone new, despite their inseparability. Randolf was, of course, inspired, and jealous, as so many suitors wanted to marry her, and so many men lined up to dance with her.

Theo was especially pushy, and even went over plans to help Isabella ask Randolf to marry her. Randolf was rich, handsome, charming, well-spoken, and English. Theodora, a noisy girl from Brooklyn, wanted to live vicariously through Isabella (she would later be maid of honor at Isabella's wedding). She nagged Randolf to make an honest woman of Isabella or someone else would.

An Engagement: 1932 - 14th February, 1933

First Comes Love, Then Comes Hollywood

So he did.

He had been planning to marry little Iz since the moment her saw her, but he had been cautious until now due to the lingering nightmare of Miriam leaving him.

On a visit to see Isabella in 1932, she told him that she was thinking of going to Hollywood to star in some films instead of remaining with the Follies. The moment she told him, he got down on one knee, fumbling to take the ring out of his pocket. He told her, "If you don't marry me I'll follow you west and act in a film where you pretend to marry me, just so long as I can put a ring on your finger." To which Isabella said, "Maybe I don't want to get married anymore." Andy's reply was simple and self-assured: "Well, too bad, because you're marrying me."

He slid the ring on her finger and she pushed him to his back and they made the floor their bed.

Andy couldn't stay in America forever, and he soon had to leave again, this time to explain the situation to his parents, who had never met the girl and were wary of his seeing her, as it was not respectable to date dancers. Isabella, oblivious to this, was on cloud nine. She finally had someone who loved her, and a ring that made sense, and a life stretching out before her. She was, however, unsure how to plan a wedding, despite having been to at least one.

Betsy Fitzwilliam, Randolf's mother, though worried for her son's reputation, stepped in to help. Most of the wedding's final appearance and operation is owed to her help, though Isabella found her own wedding dress and Randolf came to America so they could be lovers together as they searched.

There was one small issue, however, in who would walk Isabella down the aisle and give her away. Isabella had been unable to contact Brooks since the trial (he was dead by this time, having become an alcoholic), and in fact most of the family was missing and their invitations returned unopened. But everyone else still living received an invitation and financial help to get to the wedding, which was going to be in Cape Town on the old estate--Betsy thought it would be wise, for her son's reputation and Isabella's sanity, if they wait to return to England until the fervor died. So they set a summer wedding date and chose Valentine's Day.

And Ian was chosen to give her away.

Isabella was slightly wary, and incredibly nervous about seeing him again. She had told Andy about him when he talked about Miriam, and he was aware, and would remain aware throughout his life, that she still had feelings for her best friend and closest, if not genetic, family member.

A Wedding: 14th February, 1933

A Long Walk Down the Aisle

The wedding stressed her out despite the fact that she as not in charge of organizing it. The whole of the circus, as well as many celebrities, Ziegfeld Girls, and old friends from vaudeville were on Isabella's guest list--not a single legal family member. Sam also came, sans his wife, which delighted Isabella into thinking less of the stress of having Ian there with his own wife. (She had a very strong outburst to Andy and others over it, which almost forced Andy to ask them to leave, as he didn't want Isabella in a terrible mood on her own wedding day. Of course, Isabella didn't want Ian going anywhere. She never liked to be apart from him. He was the one to walk her down the aisle.)

But a week of dinners and socializing occurred before the ceremony so everyone could adjust, and Isabella's mood had much improved by the time the day finally arrived.

14^th February dawned warm and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Isabella and Andy married in a large cathedral, the Prince of Denmark's March leading the procession. Hundreds of guests waded in and out. The affair was overwhelming and extravagant. And Isabella was, for once, nervous about appearing in front of so many people.

Randolf's gift was to help run the diamond company. Isabella's was to have all the freedom in the world.

Paris: 21st February - 1st April, 1933

Honeymooning

Isabella and Randolf honeymooned in Paris. This was not exciting for Randolf, who had been to France a dozen times (their family owned a home in the South), but Isabella made it a new adventure. They met artists and dancers and Isabella was given stage time and attention. She bought expensive dresses, ate fancy meals, and drove a car for the second time in her life, when they visited the old holiday home. She was enthralled by the life there and the people and the language, which she had heard a lot of during her time in New Orleans, so Randolf, in addition to helping fix her English, instructed her in French, as well.

And when they returned, he taught her to drive.

A Baby: Charlies Aiden Fitzwilliam, 14th July, 1934

New Responsibility

For a little over half a year, Randolf and Isabella lived on the high of their marriage. They had honeymooned, were remodeling the mansion, swam in the warm water, sailed on yachts, and explored the local villages and slums (which spurred Isabella into sympathy and helped her push her husband to create Hope In Alms, a charity). Randolf helped his father's business, which had recently bought out De Beers and was flourishing, and Isabella adjusted to the life of a socialite.

But by that autumn, there was to be a new addition.

Randolf had been wary of getting Isabella pregnant, as she was inexperienced in the area and still seeing the world for the first time. But when Isabella told him she thought she might be pregnant, neither wanted to do anything about it, except keep it.

On 14^th July, 1934, Charles Aiden was born.

Isabella was mortified.

She wrote frantic, panicked letters to everyone, especially Ian, wherein she broke down over having to breastfeed, and that Charlie cried all night, and that she was quite sure she didn't know what she was doing. Randolf's governess and nanny, Mary Trudy, was sent in to help, and a team of other nannies waited in the wing. Isabella was determined to master mothering on her own, but she would rarely let Randolf watch her breast feed, and took quite some time to adjust to the idea that it was normal. She was perhaps too young to have her child, though she was twenty two, but she loved her son dearly, and by the time he reached a year, she began to adjust.

A Tense Return to England: 1935

A Deco-Shaped Lifestyle

With tensions rising in pre-WWII South Africa, the family decided to return to England, fearing the prime minister's favor of the Axis over the Allies at the time. Isabella missed the sun and the property, but she made the English estate her home, decorating it with new wallpaper, furniture, flooring, and landscapes. Randolf's parents moved south to Surrey into another family home (they visited constantly, anyway, as Betsy especially had a sense of duty to take care of Isabella, who had no family at all).

It was then that Isabella and Randolf returned to the ways they had left behind. Parties. Socializing. They bought a flat in London and decorated it with opulance that didn't fit in their estate. Art deco furniture, plush pillows, a large bed with silk comforters, a huge chandelier, gold statues, and a temporary staff. There they hosted parties for the richest of Londoners, and often the parties dissolved into wild soirées much like Isabella knew in Chicago. Often their parties were themed, with heaven/hell being a popular choice. There were gambling tables and liquor, drugs and sex, though Isabella and Randolf (who were by now Andy & Iz) never did drugs, as they had some sense of duty knowing they had a young son at home.

They attended quite a few royal events, as the Fitzwilliams were close to the family, and it was here that questions about Isabella's story began to be raised. It was known that she had wings. It was known that she was Irish. No one understood anything about her. She was not dignified, not rich, not reserved, not significant. She seemed to have come out of nowhere one day and captured the attention of anyone who looked her way. Her reputation was mixed, her past in America was colorful. The royals were disapproving.

Because the Fitzwilliams were close to the royal family, as they were blue blooded, Isabella's background was checked. No one could find anything beyond the fake story, and most people understood it seemed implausible. When more people began to ask, when articles began to be written, Randolf saw the publications stopped and threatened to do more should anyone believe there was anything illicit about his wife. Most people loved her, but the more people who did, the more people wanted to probe deeper.

Isabella and Randolf often holidayed in America to get away from the worst of the inspection, and they danced a wild Lindy Hop and saw Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, went to shows and dressed to impress. She filmed The Great Ziegfeld. Then, in spring of 1937, Isabella became pregnant again, and gave birth to Scott Irving on 30^th December, 1937.

This time, this time she was prepared. Scott was also a calmer baby, which was kind to Isabella's nerves. There was talk of England going to war, something Isabella didn't understand, and Randolf constantly talked about how he would serve with the RAF, later training away from his family in preparation. Isabella juggled a four-year-old and infant while an impending sense of something terrible followed her about her daily business.

The parties ended.

Germany invaded Poland.

Randolf Departs, Isabella Becomes Pregnant: September 1939 - June 1940

Your Girl

By the time England declared war on Germany, Randolf was certain he would be gone before the year was out. Isabella asked him if he would want to live forever. Randolf, scared that she would think he was afraid of death and harboring spiritual issues of his own, refused. He repeated this in every letter until his first leave: "I want to live my life and not an extra one."

The family stayed in London over night before Randolf left the country. It was then that they conceived their third and final child, though Isabella didn't tell Randolf out of fear that would harbor guilt or worry for her while far away. Instead, she told his parents, and the small family moved to Surrey for the duration of WWII, with a midwife on hand, just in case.

But the midwife's husband died in battle and she was stricken with grief and had to leave them. As more people fled the city and hid in the country, Isabella felt alone and unwell and worried for Randolf at every turn. Whenever the bell rang, whenever a visitor stopped by, she thought it would be a telegram; she thought her husband was dead.

She kept the pregnancy a secret from Randolf, though she told close confidantes, Ian included, about the pregnancy. She had a rough eight months, found it difficult to eat or gain weight, and often bled. She went into labor several times, but each time her body stopped it--Alice wasn't ready to survive. Though she went into the city with Betsy and Nigel's wife, Netty, who was staying with them along with their two young boys, Isabella could barely get her mind off the pregnancy and her husband.

On 8^th April, 1940, Isabella finally went into labor. She was a month early, but months later than they expected, and her labor faded in and out of intensity until the 10^th, at which point Betsy was unable to get a doctor or midwife to help, as most people were further away from the city or aiding in hospitals elsewhere. The final two days of labor were a traumatic event for Betsy and Netty. The boys stayed with Mary Trudy as far from their mother as could be allowed, and finally, finally the unnamed baby girl was born on 12^th April, 1940. Isabella barely had the energy to feed her.

The baby was very small, but she was dubbed Baby Josephine, as Isabella wanted Randolf to name her. Betsy took a picture of the tiny girl a few days later, when Isabella was able to walk again and the child looked healthy, and this photo was sent to Randolf, who received it two months later while stuck in Dunkirk.

'Your girl', said the back of the photo.

Randolf met them in London once he finally arrived home. They had a tearful, emotional reunion and Randolf named the baby Alice after a girl whose parents were killed in the attacks (and subsequently died of fever while being taken care of by Randolf and his friends). He was never away from the girl, holding her and napping with her and watching her. But he only had a week with them before he was to leave again, and Isabella couldn't stand it. She hated the fear, she hated that their child would barely know her father, she hated that even Scott was too little to really remember him. Randolf felt no better, but he had to be noble, and he had to leave. They fought over his refusal to let her make him immortal, but it was no use. He was unmoved. Outwardly.

Tory Island, Revisited: 1942

You're Dead to Me

Isabella and Netty were unhappy together in the Surrey house. All of Betsy's children were serving: her boys in the RAF, her daughter a nurse. The house was constantly under a cloud of foreboding, despite the antics of the young children running everywhere, and Alice's delightful toddlerhood. Randolf visited a few times in the two years after her birth, and each time caused him more pain, as he saw how his daughter was growing without him, and how she barely remembered him, and had to reconnect their relationship with each new visit.

But in 1942, Isabella's mind was on other things, as well. With her husband gone and her life on hold, she decided to see her mother.

It had been twenty years since she ran away, and rarely had her mother graced her thoughts since the circus, but now she was always on her mind. Packing a bag and leaving the children behind, Isabella went north, flying some of the way in the dark when she couldn't get through. Betsy feared for her safety but Isabella wasn't gone long.

Strangely optimistic about returning, as though nothing would happen once she got there, Isabella was rudely awakened to discover that her mother was angry, hurt, and not about to let bygones be bygones. They fought bitterly, Cecily banishing her after Isabella talked of her marriage and children. She said the girl was dead to her, never wanted to see her again, and cried bitterly, alone, as Isabella ran from the cottage, stealing a journal out of spite as she disappeared again.

(The journal was one detailing her mother's position on immortality and how to attempt it. Isabella never kept it a secret. She used it to help explain to Randolf what she was, as he never quite understood.)

She shed tears, too, as she wasn't expecting such hostility, but Cecily was hurting in ways Isabella refused to see, and she wouldn't return to her mother again for over sixty years.

Nigel: 1943

Hazards of Friendship

Randolf had a surprise for Isabella on another leave. He had got a pin up photo of her tattooed on his bicep. The Dancing Iz(zy) tattoo became a favorite for her children, as he could make the tattoo wiggle its hips. But when the children got older, Isabella stopped Randolf from showing it off.

It was a comedic reprieve for an increasingly unhappy situation. While Andy rarely saw harm and his sister was safe, his brother was not so fortunate.

Isabella was somewhat lost and lonely after the outright rejection by her mother. She felt more alone than ever, and more afraid of Randolf dying than ever, as she would be straddled with three young children and no idea what to do. The Surrey house was a beautiful place, but it became an oppressive, dominating hell hole filled with anxiety and unhappiness. While the children danced in the foyer, a Nazi plane crashed in the field, leaving its pilot dead at the front door. While the children played games and turned the knobs on the radio, London was bombed.

And while they waited during a blackout while sirens blared, Nigel was injured.

He lost his leg when his plane was shot down, and surprised the family by showing up with a nurse and a wheelchair. He was broken, despondent, and unhappily greeted by his wife at the door. She was horrified, and three years of mental unrest caused her an immediate breakdown, and she quickly left the house, left her husband, left her two boys. Taking care of Nigel's injury was too much.

Nigel, lost and unhappy and unable to do anything, struck up a friendship with Isabella, who was in desperate need of company and security. They became a pair of best friends, each needing the other. She cleaned his wounds and helped him bathe and pushed his wheelchair to give his nurse a break. She walked with him, laughed with him, and the five children played together, Alice the odd girl out.

Nigel also became close to Alice, who was in need of a father figure. All of this, all of this closeness and attempt at normalcy caused another rift.

Nigel fell in love with his brother's wife. He once watched her dress, hating himself for how it made him feel to see and touch her skin. He needed her as he had no one and couldn't be the man he used to be, but he didn't want to compromise her, as she talked of Randolf as much as she talked of anything else.

Even so, one night as she helped bathe him, he tried to seduce her.

It failed.

Horrified by what he done, as Isabella no longer spent time with him and was afraid to help him, Nigel pulled away from the family, attempting suicide twice before he finally took his boys and left, rarely returning to see the family. Never returning to see Isabella.

Post-War Fall Out: 1945 - October 1949

Dealing with Nightmares

Randolf's luck didn't last forever. He was injured by shrapnel early in 1945 and discharged. He walked with a limp and had significant hearing loss, though these things corrected themselves over the next few years. But what haunted him most of all were the memories of the death and the destruction, and he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder for most of the rest of his life, with varying intensity.

For the first months of his return, he often woke up in cold sweats, shouting and screaming. Isabella tried to keep him calm, but there were nights when her body on his inspired memories of the dead falling onto him, and he would push her away without thinking.

Worse still was that his children, specifically the youngest, barely knew him. Alice especially had to work out her bond, but within five years, she was closest to him, and this affection would last forever.

They returned to Wiltshire and Charlie started Eton, with Scott following a few years later. Alice was put into stage school and became her mother's pet, though all three children were spoiled incessantly. They took holidays, bought cars and clothes and toys. Isabella was a fashion icon, a highlight of British culture, a favorite of Americans. She modeled, she did radio, she fended off film offers, despite the fact that she was still under the same agency. She felt secure again, and the hopelessness began to lift as Randolf recovered and his physical health improved. They could dance again, and they went out once a week. Alice would sit and watch her parents dress, in awe of her mother, and Andy would dance with his daughter and sing Cheek to Cheek to her as he spun her in his arms.

In 1949, however, a small outbreak of TB at Alice's school sparked new panic.

The Wasting Disease: October 1949 - 1954

When Reality Becomes a Nightmare

It began with a small cough and a smaller fever, and then Alice's best friend Karen was hospitalized. After several tests, and Karen's death (which was kept from Alice), the family decided, in 1950, to pack up and move to Cape Town. Karen had died because of a procedure to clear her lungs, and Isabella refused to put Alice through anything unnecessary. The climate would be better, she argued, so they returned to the estate on the beach.

In 1951, Alice's health was so bad that Isabella had a difficult time believing her daughter was immortal at all, and actually feared she would die. This low point lasted several months, when Alice's health began to recover slowly. By her side were Anne and her new husband, Rupert Westin, a doctor she met during the war. Anne acted as Alice's nurse, and Rupert and Randolf kept her entertained, as she missed her friends and her Uncle Ian and the "cousins" she had come to be friends with.

But by 1954, after several relapses as her body rid itself of the disease, she was well again, if a bit weak from the lack of physical exertion. The disease interfered with her growth, as it hit hardest during puberty, and she stayed small and petite through much of her life.

During Alice's illness, Isabella helped remodel the manor. Charlie was still at Eton at the time and utterly obsessed with Ruth Andrews, a ballet dancer from Sadler's Wells. Isabella encouraged him, as she only knew how to do, but Ruth was intimidated by Charlie. Still, the pair eventually began to see one another, and Charlie even got his parents to fly Ruth to Cape Town to see him (under very controlled conditions that required Charlie to live in the old guest house with Ruth because Alice was not well). Isabella made sure the girl was enchanted despite the horrible situation. And she was.

Charlie and Ruth were engaged just a couple years later, and ready to marry by 1954. Alice was able enough to be a bridesmaid, though maid of honor was reserved for Ruth's big sister.

Once the young lovers had married, Isabella and her remaining children returned to England.

Playboy: 1956

Entertainment for Most Men

For two years, as Scott continued at Eton and Alice continued at stage school and began a very lucrative career in serial dating, Isabella's life was calm. She and Andy would go out, Alice would date one boy after another, and Scott was serious with a young lady by the name of Winifred Latham, or Freddie.

But then came a rumor: Isabella hadn't aged in decades, not visibly since she was a young girl in Chicago. It was an absurd accusation, but with wings in her past and an unknown origin, no one was quick to dismiss it. Except Isabella.

She decided to go out with a bang--that is, to begin to age naturally for as long as she needed, and to do it while reminding everyone what she really looked like. She posed for Hugh Hefner's fledgling Playboy magazine, a role he wanted her to fill since its inception in 1953. He had seen her vaudeville reels as a boy, remembered her presence in Chicago. She sat for a racy, pin up photoshoot and interview, unusual for the time, and shortly thereafter shallow wrinkles appeared on her once smooth face.

Al and Al, and the Parade of Boys: 1956 - 1960

Tempers, and Rifles By the Door

At home, Alice was still bringing endless amounts of boys into the home. Isabella found herself on the receiving end of their affections on many occasions, which made her uncomfortable, and it bothered her daughter even more.

And then, Isabella's biggest fear: Alice began to date one of Ian's sons, a boy called Allen (whose real name was Valentino). Allen was a good three years older than Alice, but they were a double dose of unruly behavior. They had a sexually charged relationship that often had a set of wheels beneath it as they sped down motorways and stayed out until dawn.

While Randolf hated that Alice was sexually active, Isabella's paranoia rested in the fact that she still had feelings for Ian, and she didn't want the same to happen to Alice.

Especially when, one day, Alice came home in angry tears and said she hated Allen and never wanted to see him again. Somehow they had broken up and the fault rested with Allen, and Alice drove the boy's car into a tree. Surprisingly angry, Isabella called Ian and shouted at him about his son's behavior, bringing up the fact that she didn't want Alice sulking about for the next several decades! Randolf simply wanted to hit Allen with his gun.

But as the two families were close, and Ian was essentially Isabella's more sensible half, the fight only lingered between Alice and Allen. Alice dated many other boys, then stopped at the age of eighteen when it became obvious she wasn't having any success.

In 1960, Scott married Freddie, and Alice was unable to be in the ceremony. Isabella had words with Freddie and her mother when this upset Alice, but nothing could be done.

With only one child left, Isabella and Randolf began to have parties again, and Alice often socialized with them, on her mother's arm.

The Empty Nest: 1960 - 1974

An Unhappy Syndrome

But in 1961, Alice met Robert Capio, a man whose last name didn't escape Isabella's notice. Robert knew Anne and Rupert, as well, but had a secret: he was two hundred and eighty years Alice's senior, but she was in love with him. He returned her feelings rather quickly, and in 1962, in an effort to allow Robert more room to love her, Alice moved out, though not far away.

The house suddenly felt empty. Randolf had his work, but Isabella had only her parties, and it wasn't until 1964 that she got the first of many grandchildren: a pair of twin girls called Ella and Emma. Scott and Freddie would go on to have seven children, but it wasn't until Charlie was given control of the company in 1960 that, seven years later, he began having children, too.

For the first four years, however, Isabella and Randolf began to travel again, going everywhere and seeing everything. His limp began to come and go and his hearing often required an aid if he felt up to wearing it, but he danced as well as he ever did, and they acted as newlyweds before returning home and becoming grandparents. And it was grandparents that they remained for the rest of their lives, hosting parties and taking photos and enveloping themselves in the love of their large family.

Alice had her issues--Robert wasn't up to having children or marrying, and Alice wanted both, so Isabella often found herself playing the role of a sympathetic ear, though she never tried to guilt Robert into changing his stance.

But by 1974, Randolf's health began to decline more steadily. His limp no longer came and went, instead becoming permanent, and he had a hearing aid for his damaged left ear. His nightmares returned and he had the first of several bouts with pneumonia.

This began to slow everything down.

The Waning Years: 1974 - 1977

Randolf Loses His Color

As Scott and Freddie produced the last of the grandchildren to see Isabella and Randolf alive, Isabella began to lose her sense of self. She was terrified of Randolf's declining health, lost for what to do, and afraid to lose him. His mortality suddenly became a part of her every waking moment, and the fact that he couldn't dance with her, couldn't stay up at all hours, couldn't hike and swim and boat the way he used to all combined to give Isabella consistent nightmares about his death.

She felt trapped and alone and wished Randolf would change his mind about his fate, but he wouldn't, so Isabella began to convince herself that immortality was bad and unfair. She drove her mother's reasoning into her own mind, believed it, and lived with it.

To take her mind off of her situation, she often spoiled her grandchildren. The one she was closest to was Claire, who often visited her grandparents and idolized Isabella. Claire was a ballet dancer with dreams of professional dancing and Broadway, and she looked like Isabella in miniature. Often as a small girl of even three or four, she would hold her grandmother's hand and walk through London in the winter, with a white coat and a snug hat.

But her grandchildren weren't always there, so Isabella had to find other things to get her mind off the depression.

The Unknown Blonde: 1977 - 1980

Glitter and Discotheques

Randolf wasn't oblivious. He knew his wife would and should live forever, though she knew she wouldn't, and he wanted her to be happy. He hated to see her in pain, and so when she began to haunt clubs and wish for dancing, he took her to New York for the opening of Studio 54, which she made her home for the next few years. Randolf never stayed, simply kissed his now-young-looking wife at the door, and she stayed faithful and sober, simply dancing and interacting and momentarily forgetting the strain on her old nerves.

The press took a great interest in this, and many assumed Randolf was having an affair. No one could place her--most people were old enough to remember her and to recognize her, though no one said anything. They assumed a dozen different possibilities. What could they have said? Some even thought they had had a fourth child when Isabella was in her 40s, but no one could validate anything. She became the Unknown Blonde, but she was, as always, the life of the party.

No, not even the life. She was the party. Isabella had always been a woman with few inhibitions and an independence of thought bred through years of raising herself, and even though Randolf couldn't stay with her, she let loose.

She never indulged in what made Studio 54 infamous, but it was the way she scattered at everyone's fingertips that made her even appealing. She was an enigma and she enjoyed it, as now people weren't looking at her because she was infamous and rich, but because she was just her. Just Iz. The unchanging center of a woman who didn't believe in settling if there was a new thing to look at, a new thing to do.

She and Randolf traveled back and forth for a year, but by the end of the 70s, it was wearing him down. He had several other fights with pneumonia and his leg began to ail him so that he often had to use a wheelchair. Isabella had used the clubs to distract herself from the change in their homelife and the age of her husband, and Randolf realized this even before she did, but soon became concerned. He wouldn't even let her travel alone. She didn't protest, didn't pout, and stayed home with him, visiting grandchildren and keeping herself domestic again. Domesticity was never something she resented, even as her mind began to wander into an uncertain future. She couldn't just run the way she had as a child.

An End: 1980 - August 23rd, 1983

An Impossible Separation and an Unsaid Goodbye

Thankfully for her, Charlie and his family moved back to England in 1980, thus relieving Randolf the burden of traveling to Cape Town, and giving Isabella further distractions. Randolf's health was becoming less reliable, as he had smoked most of his life. Doctors thought he may have had lung cancer, though he refused to be diagnosed, didn't want the confirmation. It was over if he did.

She began to have more nightmares about waking up without him, and her children were very aware that they had a crisis on their hands. There were days when Randolf couldn't get out of bed, but there were days when he could use his cane.

Randolf caught pneumonia again in 1982 and nearly died. He was left struggling to breathe in a hospital for weeks, until he was brought home and kept in bedrest for another two months, at which point he began to regain strength, but it was obvious something more was wrong with him than simply a susceptibility to pneumonia.

The months after that were difficult. Isabella became more scarce. She was usually bouncing between her children, ringing and sending packages. Instead, she and Randolf began to close themselves off, as Isabella didn't want any excitement that would hurt him further. His health never recovered after the pneumonia, and he was a ghost of the man he had been when she married him. It broke his heart more than hers to watch her suffer with him.

Randolf died on 19^th August, 1983.

Isabella stayed at his bedside, holding his body, begging him to stay, but he knew his time was over. He could barely breathe.

The children were notified when the help heard Isabella screaming, and the children called everyone they knew while paramedics came in to tend to Randolf--but it was too late. He was led from the house in a body bag as Isabella lingered behind on the bed, frozen in a state of shock. Frozen until the air began to cystalize around her. The sight traumatized many family members and even her own children could barely stand to look at her.

Isabella followed after a short, icy coma, crossing over on 23 August, 1983.

It was expected. They had always known she couldn't live without her Randolf, but it was painful to let her go.

Her death was not announced. They had no body. They held a memorial service for both Randolf and Isabella and invited the people closest to her. The palbearers for Isabella were only her family and closest friends, as her bodiless caskett was suspiciously light. She was interred next to her husband by name only.

There were questions raised about her death, as the family never talked about it. Renewed interest in the little girl with wings prompted many attempts made to have the family explain the truth behind them, but no one ever said a word. Documentaries couldn't explain her. The medical records were of no help. Her mystery peaked for a while but within a few months everyone quieted down.

For twenty four years, life moved on without her.

The Black Hole: 17th January, 2007 - 24th January, 2008

On 17 January, 2007, the black hole dilemma condemned Randolf back to earth. After being unable to find him in the afterlife, Isabella immediately crossed the bridge around the estate and found him haunting it. Without hesitation, she stayed with him. They lived alone for some time, trying to avoid the caretaker. The house had no real amenities to speak of, so Isabella had to sneak away to get food. While Andy was a ghost, she was not. In July 2007, the family held a reunion and for the first time, Isabella felt a great sense of loss. When everyone left, the silence of the house was more obvious than ever. Still, she ignored it and they remained stable and happy at home in England for several months. There was only one problem, however, with Isabella being a living, breathing entity, as though death had never touched her, and Randolf being a ghost. This was a problem that she couldn't formally ignore at all.

In the afterlife, though they could kiss and touch, cares and worries are generally shrugged aside. That he was dead, that they could not truly experience the physical pleasure they had on earth didn't matter. It was bliss. But on earth, it was hell. She was literally living with his ghost and his death. Her children were far more aware of this being a problem for her. They wondered if she was coping well at all, and by the end of 2007, when Charlie and the other children began to talk about the situation and to question her happiness, she decided to see her mother about it, sure the woman could help. After all, though Isabella hadn't seen her in over sixty years, she remembered that her mother knew everything.

Because Isabella was no longer feeling as comfortable as she had been when the family had a reunion. She was no longer as happy.

But the visit to her mother, though Randolf protested against it as he heard only miserable things about her from Isabella, didn't help. Cecily had no real ideas, nor did Aoife, but Isabella didn't come away without any additional knowledge, even if it wasn't the knowledge she wanted. Her mother's plight became all the more obvious. Isabella, it seemed, was shunned more for her decision to run away than for her decision to marry a human. But Isabella couldn't forgive the woman for her treatment of Randolf and the children, nor for the way she discriminated against humans, and left without apology. She still intrinsically believed that her mother hated her. She was also still scared of the woman.

Stubbornness taken over, Isabella would not stop until she could restore her husband to the afterlife. She intended to follow him. Being on earth without him, with only a shadowy figure, was a nightmare. Her own sanity was being tested and after a year of living with a man who was no longer a man at all, but a ghost of what he once was, she and several others, including both of her sons, headed back to Scotland to help fix the situation once and for all. Isabella had not been with the group on their first attempt, but she would not stand by and let everyone else go instead.

It was a few days long, but when they reached Glen Coe, the problem manifested itself. Her family members had been trapped by a demon and were drained of life and magic. Fortunately, the group was able to restore the issue, even if it involved more heartbreak than anyone imagined.

But in it working, in everything returning to how it was supposed to be, Randolf faced the inevitable return to the afterlife and Isabella was there when it happened. Randolf had been questioning whether or not Isabella should go back with him. He didn't want her to. She could have life and he was now just a memory, even in death. Randolf would never be her Randolf again no matter how hard she tried to make it so, and Alice was the first one to point this out and to make sure that her father made Isabella well aware of it before it was too late. Before he left, he made her promise she would stay. He told her she needed to live and to find herself. He and the children had realized that Isabella's dependency on him had bordered on dangerous. Randolf was the first family she ever truly had and the only person she ever truly had. He changed her life and made her into the person she is today and without him, Isabella believed she would have nothing.

The Unmerry Widow: 25th January, 2008 - Present

So when he left, Isabella mourned. She had no sense of self any longer. She was, for the first time, an actual widow. Her husband was gone. She had to cope with not having a man who who had been in her life (and death) for nearly eighty years. Not knowing what to do, she tried to do everything at once.

She traveled to America to see her past, then after only a couple of weeks home, traveled to Paris to lose herself for good.

Only two weeks in, one champagne-filled night resulted in what did not turn out to be a one night stand at all. Etienne and Isabella saw quite a lot of each other over a week, but only a few days in, Isabella felt so guilty that she began to push away. But she couldn't continue to resist him. She was looking at the possibility of falling in love with someone new, of someone new knowing her in ways only Randolf did, and it scared her. Made her feel guilty and shamed.

On Randolf's birthday, she fled Paris without a word and ran straight into the problems of Alice.

Alice had been feeling lost after Robert's return from the afterlife. Eager to distract herself from her own problems, Isabella helped support Alice until Robert came to her again.

It wasn't easy. She was angry for Alice that Robert had kept something from her, had hurt her daughter. Any mother would defend their child and Isabella was quick to do so and quick to make sure that Robert understood he was feeling guilty for no reason. That Alice had to know what caused him to leave, and that they would not heal until he did. And yet, facing the fact that her daughter could have her relationship back was not easy to understand. Isabella had to face the guilt of having slept not with just one man, but with two. Leonid Antonov, noticing how much she looked like Claire, followed her one afternoon in London. She responded in the only way she can use without fault: to seduce him right into the backseat of his car.

Thankfully, that one has remained a secret.

Even if she saw him once again. At a bar in London, she encountered him alone in a booth and immediately gravitated to him. They had a terse discussion before he led her into the bathroom and they had sex on the counter. Before he left, he bid her goodbye, and Isabella wasn't entirely sure if it meant permanently or for that moment. Seeing multiple men multiple times was a bad idea, but Isabella never seemed to find a distinction between bad ideas and good ideas. Years of sheltering as her boyfriends and romantic partners were knocked off or hurt did her somewhat wrong. She remains slightly detached from what went on around her and tells it like a story.

But even though she refused to go beyond lust, Isabella felt worse than ever before. She will always long for Randolf. Her wedding ring is a constant reminder of their relationship and his part of her life. She refuses to let his memory become secondary to anyone else. No one will ever be enough for her the way he was.

Charlie noticed. He tried to talk sense into her, tried to get her to realize that no one wanted her dwelling and hurting, but she became angry and they fought, with Isabella eventually slamming the door on him.

This depression spiraled, growing worse and worse as she was plagued with thoughts about her husband and the way her life seemed pointless. One night, she snapped, crying so hard she ended up coming apart. On a trip down to the kitchens to get water, she was gripped with an even worse depression and fell into an ice coma with little warning. There she stayed for a day or so before Charlie began to worry about where she was and why she wasn't contacting anyone. Though he figured she was still angry, she hadn't talked to Alice or Scott, either, so he went to the estate to see where she was.

He found her, pulled her out of the kitchens, and took her back to the warmth of the other rooms. Her coma fell away almost instantly, and with a day or two she was mildly calmer and confused as to how she let her feelings go that far. What she wasn't aware of was that Charlie's declaration of this to his sister sparked a second explosion. Isabella has not yet been told.

She decided to go back to London with Charlie, though he wouldn't have let her stay alone whether she wanted to or not. There, she changed her demeanor again, staying close to the house and taking walks and not wearing makeup or her usual glamorous clothing. This itself brought her appearance down to is natural state, where she looks incredibly young.

But London wasn't as much of a respite as she thought it would be. Though she couldn't tell anyone and managed to surpress it, she ran into him in London on 22 March, 2008. It was an accident. It didn't work out very well, as she has a barrier between lust and love and it takes more than a little effort to break it. She is, above everything else, terrified of falling in love with anyone again. Even moreso because her identity is a bit of an issue. Technically, Isabella is no longer living. Technically, she is almost ninety-six years old. No one would believe her if she told them, so she can't. Not only that, but what she is must remain a secret, even if it wasn't a secret when she was young. She refuses to lie about herself because it may complicate friendships as they develop. This leaves her with only one thing: flirting.

On 26 March, 2008, she decided to go to an upscale bar in Kensington, where she ran into, though not literally, Vaughn and a small group of cops. Forcing her way in and using Alexander Fierch as a seat, she resorted to flirting once again. She had promised herself it would be an evening of formal socializing rather than an evening that would dissolve into another sexual encounter set to last for days, but instinct and loneliness prompted her to forget. She set her sights on Vaughn (she intends to call him Cary and only Cary). His accent helped. Vodka also helped, though not as much as she would like to blame.

For an hour or two, she and the boys (they're boys to her) skirted around the issue of her name (Fierch handily knew of Isabella Radcliffe, making Isabella choke), past relationships, current relationships, and all the while Isabella's toes flirted with Vaughn's skin. And knee. And thigh. And lap. Until she abandoned Fierch for Vaughn.

One mild make-out later, she went home with him.

A few days later, it was off to Monaco with the rest of the family. Unfortunately, coming home in the morning after being out all night was a mistake. As she was staying with her son and his wife, he noticed and got angry at her for continuing to have liaisons when she's so clearly not well. Isabella disagreed with him. Said she was fine.

But in Monaco things only escalated. Alice was not well, Charlie and Scott were on her case, and it seemed that her presence was only provoking things. So when Alice said she needed to go back to England, Isabella went with her and Robert and headed back to the estate, alone. But the estate was too big. It was built for a family and servants, not a single window.

After a day, Isabella had gone stir crazy. She sped through the countryside in her Aston Martin, failing to get pulled over, and eventually packed and left for London. Charlie gave her permission to house sit while they were away, though he knew it was probably stupid to let her stay anywhere in the city. Still, she would find a hotel room if not a house, and it was better his house than a hotel.

Isabella slept with Frank Benedict on April Fool's Day, and the aftermath left her wide awake. He was good. Thankfully not emotionally available, which was perfect for her, so she will not be seeing him again. She's still prowling for Cary. But as with Etienne, her interest could easily wane without stimulation. After all, she doesn't want to fall into another emotional trap. She refuses to form any serious attachments to anyone. The moment someone needs her, she leaves.

Cary doesn't need her, so she still comes back to him. On the 2nd and 3rd of April, Isabella ran into him in not one but two separate restaurants. Both involved semi-public sex and cars. The first in his car. The second on hers (and admittedly a lot less private). After the second encounter, Isabella felt a sense of confusion, as she and Randolf had sex on that exact car more times than she even remembers. And for some strange reason, it didn't feel completely different than those encounters with her husband.

On the 4th of April, after being unable to find Cary even after hunting through eighteen different restaurants, she gave up and went out alone. After rebuffing a group of young men, she found a much older man who danced and wooed her, but he wasn't right and she couldn't really figure out why, aside from nitpicking his technique. She pushed him away and went home.

Her time with Cary resumed. On the 7th, she ran into him at The Rusty Goat, proceeded to nearly have sex with him in front of everyone, and spent the night with him. They spent most of his free time together, when possible, but on the 9th, she left before they really had a chance to spend any time together. Said she had to go home. In reality, it was her reaction to the fact that she was slowly falling for him, and she knew it, and she wouldn't let it happen.

Unfortunately, or perhaps not, she saw him two days later and they spent additional amounts of time together. Doing what they do best. But Isabella had to leave for Alice's birthday on the 12th. During the party, his name was mentioned and Fabian, who of course knew him, decided to be a good grandson and rang Cary up at work. An awkward conversation ensued, but one that involved planning when Alice, Robert, Fabian and the girls would come to Wiltshire to visit her. It was decided to be at the end of the week. Isabella knew, however, that her treatment of Cary was not working. She was his friend, even if neither wanted that to be the case, and now her family knew his name and where he worked. Some of them even knew him as a friend already. It was a dangerous position, but she still returned to London to see him.

Because after Randolf passed, she denied herself the chance at intimacy. She flirted and played hard to get, but refused to let any man touch her. Until she got too tipsy and too enthralled by Etienne. His encounters with her fueled the desire for Isabella to have a warm, loving relationship again, but she reacted by deciding to depersonalize sex and much as she could. This led to Leo, Cary, and Frank, as well as encounters with other men. Cary, however, took hold of her. And by the 16th, after about three days in his company at his home, he made a mistake. At night, when he thought she was sleeping, he became affectionate in a way that part-time lovers do not. Watching her sleep and taking care that she was comfortable. Treating her how Randolf did when they were together. And worse yet, she felt the same attachment she did to Randolf when they first fell in love. It left her panicked. Isabella woke early and tried to sneak out, but she was thwarted by, well, everyone who lives there.

After feeling panicked to the point of tears, when Cary joined the group, she began to lash out. She was humiliated by having a fight in front of so many people who had absolutely no cause to treat her as anything less than what she wanted to be: someone's fling. It was awful, and a sense of absolute humiliation she had never known. And worse yet was that Cary didn't seem to be reacting the same way she was. He not only told her to go, he was perfectly diplomatic about it. Even slightly passive-aggressive. Isabella didn't want to stay and argue, so she left immediately.

On the drive back, after putting off reflecting on what had happened, reality hit her square in the chest: she was falling in love with him, had certainly fallen in love with him, was only growing more attached. And though he displayed affection that was indicative of potentially mutual feelings, she didn't think he thought the same way about her. Isabella was both angry that he didn't and glad. Though she loved him, she didn't want to do anything about it. She wanted to stay away from him until it passed. She would never go against the memory and legacy of her marriage. Her husband. The one man she loved above anyone else. But it still hurt to know that Cary didn't feel the same way, even if it was dangerous to wish for it.

She pulled over on the side of the motorway and spent a good deal of time having a mental breakdown behind the wheel. Back in Corsham, all of her energies focused solely on preparing the house for the family's arrival.

But the day before they came, Cary showed at her doorstep and tried to apologize for being terse with her two days earlier. Cornered at her own house, Isabella first tried to get him to realize that all he wanted was physical, but when he was unmoved and began to mention that he missed her and wanted to be friends, she started breaking down. She kissed him, and didn't stop until her conscience butted back in. She knew she loved him but she refused to let him think he had a chance. When he mentioned Randolf, Isabella flipped and realized everything had gone too far.

She told him to leave.

The next day brought Alice, Robert, Fabian, and Ilaria, which gave her a perfect distraction. Though she kept zoning out and thinking about Cary, she was eventually cheerful. Robert even mentioned having intentions of marrying Alice, and asked Isabella for permission. They had a small talk and the next day, everyone went into London. Granddaughters were spoiled.

Shortly after, Isabella found her mother's old journal again, a diary on immortality she had stolen over sixty years earlier, and decided she would go back and give it to her mother. She didn't want it anymore.

But until then, she went back to London to drown herself before facing the grim reality of her mother.

Quick Thoughts

-Did radio programs and television shows for most of her life.

External Links

Isabella's Journal
Young Isabella's Twitter-of-Thoughts
Lots Of Things About Iz
A Collection of Old Articles

“i refer to the right to experiment with herself as a transient, poignant figure who will be dead tomorrow.”
ZELDA FITZGERALD