In A Dark Dark Wood

The group returns to the house after the clay pigeon shooting. Nina jokes with Tom in her sarcastic fashion, causing Flo to scold them. Nora observes Clare watching the squabble and thinks how Clare has always enjoyed stirring the pot. Nora reasons that Clare invited her to the hen party for a similarly devious reason.

The shotgun’s recoil had surprise Nora, and she bruised her shoulder while shooting. Tom tells her she should have held the gun tighter and takes the shotgun down from the mantle to demonstrate. The women in the room tense up, but Tom jokingly says that the gun will allow him to “interrogate” (147) them. He asks, “Nora, why in all the years I’ve known Clare has she never mentioned your name?” (147). Clare sharply tells him to put the gun down. Flo reiterates that it’s not loaded and only used to scare rabbits. Tom says that he was just kidding around and returns the gun to its place.

Flo stands up to start dinner when Clare offers to help, making Flo’s face light up with delight. After they leave the room, Tom comments that Flo and Clare are a strange pair. Nina comments that they have one thing in common: “They both think Clare’s the center of the fucking universe” (148).

Nina checks her phone and still has no reception. She asks if Nora (calling her “Lee,” as she keeps forgetting like the others) if her phone is working. Nora realizes that her phone is not in her pockets, even though she had it at the shooting range. The landline phone is still out, so Nina goes to see if she has reception upstairs.

Nora asks Tom if he wants to call his husband, but Tom says that they had a falling out. Although Nora really does not want to hear about it, Tom tells her in detail about their disagreement, which had to do with James. Tom’s husband didn’t want him to come to the hen party. Tom then asks Nora about her relationship with James. Nora tries to explain very briefly that they were together in school but have not kept in touch. Tom presses for details. Nora says that they were in a play together: Clare was supposed to be the lead with James, but she got sick, so Nora replaced her as the understudy. Nora says this was ironic because she has always preferred to be behind the page, as a writer. Tom looks out through the glass to the woods, again remarking how they are like actors on stage, in front of an unseen audience.

When Flo returns, Nora asks her if she left footprints in the snow that morning. Flo says she hasn’t been out, and they become uncomfortable with the thought that someone had been walking outside the house. Flo explains that the local people in the area objected to the construction of the house, so her aunt did not have good relations with the neighbors. Flo checks the locks on the doors and windows as Tom pours drinks.

Nora goes upstairs and finds Nina looking depressed. Nina says that she is tired of this weekend and all this dredging up of the past. Nora initially felt the same but says that she now thinks Clare, in showing Flo kindness, has changed. Nina replies that people don’t change, that they just get better about hiding their true selves. Nora wonders if this is true about herself. She has become more self-sufficient and therefore happier, an indication that she has fundamentally changed.

Nina comments that the conversation at lunch, full of Flo’s patter about all the details of the wedding planning, was painful. Nina finds James’s involvement hard to imagine. Nora agrees with Nina: The James she knew would not have accepted all this wedding hysteria. Nina says that she wishes she could skip the wedding, commenting on Clare’s abnormal hen do.

Flo has an Ouija board planned for the evening’s entertainment. There is a pen in the planchette, so they can write the “spirits’” answers on paper covering the board. Flo claims to be very in tune with the spiritual world. She then makes everyone put their hands on the planchette and begins. When Flo asks the name of the spirit, the planchette moves and spells the word “tequila.” Flo becomes angry, reiterating the effort she put into creating a perfect party. Clare calms her down, and they try again. When the planchette moves, Clare becomes uneasy. Tom reassures her that the subconscious of the group is what forms the words, not spirits.

The words “Buy coffee” form on the page, further enraging Flo. She accuses the others of laughing at her behind her back, then begins to cry. Tom and Clare calm her down and convince her to try again. Tom asks the board, “Will Clare and James have a long and happy life?” (166). Clare forcefully says “No!” and startles everyone, adding that it feels wrong to bring James into the game.

When everyone puts their hands to the planchette, Flo again asks the spirit’s name, and the planchette writes “Papa Begby.” Flo becomes excited, while the others feel unnerved. Flo asks if the spirit has a message for them. The planchette moves swiftly and writs the word “Mmmmmmuurderrrrrrrrrrrrrer” on the paper. Everyone looks at each other, trying to see who pushed the planchette, but no one seems to have done it.

Flo insists that it’s a real message, saying, “After all, I know some things about you, about you all” (170). Tom asks Clare what this means, but she is white-faced and silent. Nora realizes that she is almost hyperventilating and leaves to get fresh air. Outside, Nora wonders if Clare told Flo things about her. Nora remembers how she once confided in Clare. Worried that Clare told the others her secret, Nora left school and never returned.

Nina comes out to join her, even though Nora said she wanted to be alone. Nina complains about Flo, wondering what she meant about knowing things about them all. She adds that Tom also looked disturbed and  comments that someone spitefully wrote “murderer” to mess with their heads. The two go back in the house and upstairs to bed.