Everyone lied in this episode! Beth, Edward, Rachel (her "not look to the past" speech makes me wonder if she has become corrupted), and I think even Magda.
I can't help but think that Barnabas has greatly influenced these events. Previously, he told Magda that Rachel is in danger from his own formidable enemy and assured Magda that she wasn't, and he asked her for an amulet to protect against a witch. Then he told Rachel that the amulet would protect her from harm. Next, Magda saw Rachel wearing it. So (I think) Magda's entire reading was a sham based on this information. By her reaction, we can tell she had no sense that anybody was in the tower room until Rachel told her. She tells Rachel the amulet will protect her against a "she" who wants her, which I took to mean that Magda assumed it was Barnabas' enemy-- the witch-- that is in there. So she doesn't think she's putting Rachel in harm's way, but does think she's making herself (once again) indispensable as a prognosticator. We also have Rachel believing that whoever is in the tower cannot hurt her. Once again, Barnabas has inadvertently (?) caused the past to change.
Doesn't the fact that Jenny (we heard her name a couple of eps ago) escaped mean that Beth really didn't lock the door? We didn't see her leaving the tower, so I'm imagining that the only explanation Beth could give was that she was exhausted (everyone wants to stop the poor dear from going to bed and actually sleeping
), and that the only reason Judith didn't fire her was that she would be nearly impossible to replace. It looked like Edward had the fire under control before Beth arrived, so I'm not sure I get how she saved his bacon.
I don't know that Edward hates Jenny because of her past so much as he's angry at having to deal with the high costs of the whole mess [spoiler]left behind by Quentin.[/spoiler] I don't just mean financially, but that lives and reputations are at stake. (With Edward, it may be hard to say which of the 3 is more important to him.
) Nice red herrings by the writers with the mystery, btw. I suspect it's the reason they recently had Barnabas ask Edward point blank about his wife-- so we could see and remember his angry reaction. Even with Edward's vague question about his brother, clues to the "secret behind the locked door" seem to be pointing elsewhere. Bravo!
it doesn't always pay to know every secret,
OMG, yes! What bugs me most about Rachel is her sense of entitlement. You're the hired help, sweetie; the family does not
owe you an explanation.