The novelization of Scene 194 has more different about it than recent scenes have had, so I'm going back to sharing the entire novelization of a scene:
That night Barnabas took Maggie to dinner at the Col- linsport Inn. He was spending more of his evenings in the village than before. And on this particular night the hotel dining room was filled with other guests. They had a table near a fireplace and more than once she stared at it with sad eyes. Barnabas finally asked her, "Are you going to tell me what's been bothering you all evening?" She looked at him apologetically. "Has it been so obvious?" "I sensed something was wrong from the moment you joined me," he said. She attempted a smile. "Have you gotten to know me better than I thought you had?" Barnabas said, "I think anyone could see you've been bothered tonight. What is it, Maggie?" She sighed and hesitated. Then she said, "This after- noon Willie Loomis came to see me. I know there are times when Willie seems not to be all there. But he was so concerned about me. Even frightened." Barnabas' handsome face showed dramatic shock. "Did he tell you why he was so concerned?" he inquired in a taut voice. Maggie frowned slightly. "He just kept saying I was in some kind of danger. But I couldn't get him to explain what he was talking about! What's been troubling me is the feeling that he was completely sincere." Barnabas seemed to have recovered from his surprise. In a calm tone, he said, "But that, of course, doesn't make him right, does it?" "No." "You see, Willie is very fond of you," Barnabas went on to explain in his easy way. "In light of the recent tragedies I'm sure he began to imagine that something might happen to you. Doesn't that make sense?" "Yes, I guess so," she said, partly convinced. "So you see there is no reason for you to be disturbed." "I'm afraid I was silly about it," she apologized. "I shouldn't have mentioned it at all." Barnabas smiled. "I'm glad you did, if you were both- ered by it." "I was bothered," she admitted. "No harm done." "I'm sorry, Barnabas," she said. "We've had a lovely evening. I don't want to spoil it with my nonsense." "You mustn't feel like that," Barnabas said expansively, pouring her some champagne and then refilling his own glass. "You're so wonderful and understanding," she said, her eyes bright with admiration for him. "I want you to enjoy yourself," he told her raising his glass. "I am," she assured him, her glass in hand. "Why don't we at least drink a toast to Willie," Barn- abas suggested. "To Willie. For being so considerate of your safety." Maggie raised her glass and smiled at him. Barnabas was careful to hide his seething emotions for the balance of the evening. They talked of Jeff and the success he was having at the art show in Boston. Maggie again thanked Barnabas for all he had done for the young artist. "He is talented," Barnabas told her. "And he is your friend. Those were reason enough for my interest in him." "You're too generous, Barnabas," she said, warmly grateful.
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It's interesting that at some point after their toast, in an earlier version of the script, there might have been a montage to show time passing and then the subject of Jeff's success in Boston comes up. If so, I can see why it was dropped because it does slow down the momentum of Barnabas' hidden anger and then his going to confront Willie. But at the same time, if it had been retained, and if it had actually been in the film, it would have been a quick way to explain to the audience what Barnabas did for Jeff, given that the whole greenhouse scene was dropped from the film. But of course, when the script was still being formulated, DC didn't know he was going to drop the greenhouse scene, so the conversation about Jeff could have easily been seen as superfluous, hence it being dropped.
And should we be surprised that Barnabas refers to Jeff as Maggie's "friend" rather than "boyfriend" or some similar word with the same implication? I think not.