Before Barn left the rectory to see Quentin, he must have told Julia all about Petofi and the dreadful Hand. Now that she is in the presence of this new enemy, she starts out by confronting him boldly and directly, but her fear increases with every moment--and for good reason.
I'll bet you're right that whatever the Hand does to silence Julia, it hurts. Petofi would enjoy that. Interesting that he didn't think to render her deaf as well, because surely she hears and can process every bit of Petofi's conversation with Charles.
Quentin puts the moves on Amanda, who is wearing the pink gown and the brooch that Charles portrayed. (Poor Beth!) And his moves succeed. Charles arrives, but he's no match for Quentin, who leaves--when Amanda asks him to.
Charles tells Amanda that he checked the date on his first painting of her (originally it was on a sketch)--and it corresponds with her first memory. And yes, that was weird that the glass didn't suddenly appear. Maybe Charles has to be relatively calm or something. I don't think we ever get an explanation. Charles tries to get Amanda to go with him to his studio to see the painting. Amanda struggles to get free of him. You have to come to the studio! he insists, trying to drag her out of the house, but she finally breaks free and runs from the room, wailing, Let me go! As she runs upstairs, she meets Quentin coming down. She won’t speak to him either and hurries away. What did you do to her? Quentin demands as he hurries into the drawing room. What I did to her started the day I met Count Petofi, Charles answers, calmer now but still upset. You’re talking in circles, Quentin says. Charles answers, No, I am not. You will understand soon enough. I don’t think so, Quentin opines. Oh, yes, you will, Charles predicts grimly. You have dealt with Petofi before. Soon you are going to be doing things you won't even understand. No, you are not even going to understand yourself. But when Quentin looks back at him, his face is somber with knowledge.
Petofi releases Julia from his spell but defiantly she refuses to answer his questions. She even turns her back on him--that's really brave! Eventually he tortures the explanation of the I Ching out of her. Then he visits Quentin, supposedly just to borrow the wands, but really to make sure Quentin knows he is no longer free. Petofi leaves, laughing uproariously. Quentin hears Charles's words echo in his mind.
Petofi throws the Ching, just like my friends and I did in the 1980s--no connection to DS, alas. At least Petofi doesn't get the Hexagram of Change. Julia guides him through the process until Petofi’s astral body stands before the door, which opens silently before him. He enters into a featureless, dark space. The door shuts behind him, and when he turns away from it again, he sees a disembodied arm. The arm is clad in an ornate, pearl-embroidered sleeve, such as a gypsy might wear--perhaps even a king of gypsies. And in the hand is the Golden Scimitar. The arm brandishes the scimitar menacingly at Petofi, who backs away in terror....
MT, you are absolutely right about how the I Ching is the right way to do it and the Dream Curse is the wrong way. I couldn't wait for the wretched Dream Curse to end, but the I Ching was full of suspense. I also love how in those pre-digital days, the actors used their powers of persuasion to make us believe it all.
