Rachel appears to be impervious to atmosphere. No, that's wrong. She senses the Gothic atmosphere like crazy and responds to it, but she is oblivious to any hints - or even outright statements - that she should keep her mouth shut. I don't blame her for wondering about things: there is clearly some weird stuff going on. But she still thinks that asking questions straight out is the best way to find answers, despite obvious evidence to the contrary.
I remember being completely on Rachel's side back when I was young and stupid - age 13, to be exact. It was all very interesting and exciting. 25 years later I watched 1897 and was appalled at Rachel. Today I wondered: what would I do, if I were in a strange house where some innocent person might be being held captive? I might very well tell myself, "Lydia, don't be silly. Keep your mind on your job." Rachel doesn't do that, and that's to her credit, I guess. The other thing I wondered was: if Vicky had been transported back through time to 1897 instead of 1795 and had become the governess in Rachel's place, how would she have responded to the mysterious goings-on at Collinwood?
What can I say about the reading of the will that hasn't been said already? Nothing, I think. It's wonderful, as is the sequel, in which Edward is woken up from his beauty sleep to learn that if he wants to murder Judith in her beauty sleep, he should go to Grandmama's bedroom. Come to think of it, why is Judith moving to Edith's room? Presumably it's the best bedroom, but when Edith was alive it didn't seem like anything to write home about. But we haven't seen Judith's room, so for all we know it's the cupboard under the stairs. Or maybe the view from Edith's window is better. Will Judith get a different bed, or is she comfortable with sleeping in the bed in which her grandmother died?
