700 - (Thayer David) - Late afternoon at Collinwood. Somewhere within the great house, young David Collins remains a prisoner of the supernatural, for Collinwood is ruled now by the malevolent spirit of a man long dead, a man trying to complete the evil scheme he could not complete when he was alive. On this day, two people have returned to Collinwood, believing they know which part of the house young David is being held in.
We see David, then Mr. Jughans. Barnabas and Maggie enter Quentin's room. She recognizes it as the room she was in during her dream. Barnabas calls to David, urging him not to be frightened. Maggie hears a door open, then close, followed by footsteps. Barnabas and Maggie stare at each other. Someone's coming! The door opens--it's Stokes, who was searching the West Wing until he heard the sound of pounding. Barnabas explains about taking down the panels. Stokes finds the room fascinating--it appears nothing in it has been disturbed since the Victorian era--except for the spirit of the man who died there. Quentin died here? asks Maggie. Yes, says Stokes, the room was sealed, imprisoning his spirit until the seal was broken. Stokes wonders how she knows the name. Maggie explains she heard David mutter it in his sleep one night. You made a more remarkable discovery, opines Stokes--the room will tell us much. Barnabas says they want to find David. Stokes says he didn't see him while searching the house--he does, however, spot Amy's shoes peeking out from under a curtain, and pulls it aside. She tumbles forward, fainting to the floor. Maggie and Barnabas rush over to her. Barnabas asks her to speak to them. The child is possessed, says Stokes, and must be removed from the house immediately. Maggie leads Amy out. Stokes tells Barnabas the key to Quentin's personality is in that room--the more we know, the better our chances of rescuing David. Barnabas says, we must find out why he chose David and what he wants from him. Stokes, finding I-Ching wands in Quentin's rolltop desk, states that he knows a good deal more about Quentin than he did before--I-Ching is the oldest known form of mysticism and divination, written in China long before Confucius--and also the most dangerous, the least understood. . .so, Quentin practiced I-Ching, with motives anything but pure. Barnabas asks if it's black magic. Stokes wants to study the journal, and says, we must leave now--it may no longer be possible to save David, but if it is, the answer is here--he holds up the books and wands.
Barnabas looks damn nervous.
Maggie broods in the Old House drawing room. Amy comes in, shocking her, saying Stokes is wrong--David IS at Collinwood--I didn't see him there, Quentin wouldn't let me, but I know he's there. Maggie wants to get Julia and Barnabas, but Amy warns her if they go back to Collinwood, they won't find him--he wants YOU find him, and you'd better go, or David won't be there anymore--only Jamsion will be there!--that's who Quentin wants David to be, and David must do what Quentin wants.
"If you don't find him," says Amy, "David is going to die." Maggie rushes out, leaving Amy grinning evilly.
Stokes examines the I-Ching materials in the Old House basement, and asks Julia and Barnabas to allow him time to look at them alone. I need an hour or two to discern why and how Quentin used I-Ching, says Stokes--then we can decide on a course of action. He closely studies the book.
Maggie calls to David upstairs at Collinwood, asking if he can hear her. She knows he's in the house, and wants to help him. Make a sound, she begs. She climbs downstairs, frustrated and sad. David appears on the landing, ordering her, "Don't come up here!" I've come to take you away, she assures him. I know, he says. Don't you want to come with me? she asks. He nods. She starts up the steps, but he tells her not to. Thunder rumbles. I'm not afraid of you, Quentin! Maggie asserts--I won't let you keep David--come to me, David. I can't, he cries, I want to, but I can't! Walk down the stairs and into my arms, Maggie coaxes--you can if you try. David looks at the door and, with Maggie reassuring him, he holds onto the railing, and starts to work his way toward her. Thunder, lightning. The landing door opens. David stops, gazing fearfully at it. "Don't stop now!" Maggie cries--Quentin, you can't have him!" she yells, vowing to not to ever let him change David--you tried and failed--"I love David, I'm going to take him away from you!"
David stands at the top of the stairs, Maggie at the bottom. I'm coming to get you, she says, Quentin can't stop me, he doesn't have the courage--David belongs to me and his family. She heads slowly up the stairs, begging David come to her. In one leap, he runs into her arms. She calls out his name, hugs him, tells him there's one more thing you must do--send Quentin away. I can't, insists David. You must, she says--turn around, look into the door, and do it. He protests he can't, but Maggie reminds him he won't be free unless he does this. David turns around and looks at the door, which slams closed. "David, we won!" she shrieks, hugging him tightly. "We won!" David falls to the stairs, unconscious.
Old House - Maggie assures Barnabas, you couldn't have stopped me going to Collinwood by myself--I believed Amy when she said I had to come alone--Quentin never appeared to me. Julia comes in and announces that David's in a deep coma--I can't get him to respond. Maggie feels it's her fault--she could have gotten him out of the house sooner than she did. Julia explains that David is still possessed by Quentin, and unless they can break that hold, they can't do anything until. . .until he'd dead. Maggie is horrified to hear David might die. David IS dying, says Julia soberly, and only has a few hours or until morning--I wish we could communicate with Quentin. There may be a way, says Barnabas--stay by David's side, Barnabas orders Maggie--never leave him--come with me, Julia.
Julia and Barnabas troop downstairs to see Stokes. This I-Ching, asks Barnabas, how does it work? Stokes says it's a means of sending one's soul into the infinite, through guidance provided by the I-Ching wands. He shows Barnabas the wands, which are shaken and tossed, and can form one of 64 hexagrams. The person then sits, closes his eyes, concentrates very hard, picturing in his mind's eye a door with that hexagram painted on it. He must have the willpower to continue until he sees the door appear to open away from him. When and if that happens, he rises from his body and passes through the door. Whatever one sees on the other side of the door is believed by the initiated to be seen through the soul's eyes, experienced by the astral body. Barnabas asks if he can use I-Ching to make contact with Quentin. Beyond the door, says Stokes, anything is possible. Barnabas wants to do it, now; David might be dead by morning. Stokes says I-Ching isn't the way, either. It's a chance, insists Barn, even if it is, as Stokes claims, one chance in a million. Stokes stands and warns Barnabas there's no way of knowing what waits beyond the door--you may be placing yourself in grave danger. At the thought of her man in peril, Julia interrupts here--there must be another way! Barnabas reminds her David is dying--if I can contact Quentin and force him to release David, I must try it. Stokes agrees, reluctantly. He has Barnabas toss the wands on the desk. Stokes arranges them, and says they show the hexagram of change, the 49th. Change? asks Julia, worried--"Barnabas!" she cries. I'll be all right, he promises her, then sits down and closes his eyes. Concentrate, advises Stokes, until you see the door with the hexagram on it. Barnabas does--I see the door, he says. Stokes orders him to concentrate until the door opens away from him--and complete silence is necessary. Julia, tight-lipped, stares at Barnabas. The door opens. Barnabas suddenly gasps and his eyes fly open. Stokes tells Julia the door is open.
She asks if he'll see Quentin there. Stokes replies, "Only he will know." Barnabas stares straight ahead, and his body walks through the open door. His face contorts with horror--before his eyes is his own chained coffin!
Julia asks Stokes how long Barnabas will remain in the trance. There's no way to know, answers Stokes--there are two Barnabas Collinses now, the one sitting here, and one beyond the door. Julia asks about the hexagram of change--does that mean Barnabas will change? Stokes explains that it means one may experience change or be made different, depending on where the door leads him. Barnabas, sitting at the table, grunts. Julia asks if they can communicate with Barnabas. Stokes asks the latter, "Can you hear me?" I am not here, says Barnabas--the door has opened, and I cannot see him--Quentin--I don't understand--I can see beyond the door, I want to turn back, but I cannot. Why? asks Stokes--do you see something that frightens you? "The mausoleum," says Barnabas, a word Julia repeats. Does that mean something to you? asks Stokes. She says no. Is anyone there with you? Stokes asks Barnabas. There is only the coffin, answers Barnabas--"I am moving now, I cannot help myself, I must go to it." Julia tells Stokes, we must stop this. Too dangerous, insists Stokes. We can't let him go through the door, protests Julia. Stokes demands to know if she knows where the door leads. No, she says, but I have a horrible feeling that if he goes through that door, we will lose him forever. "Moving, moving toward the coffin," intones Barnabas, his face very, very sad. And we see the coffin, chained.
NOTES: Whew, that was good, so much tension! Julia knows, Stokes doesn't, and he really was working to get the truth out of her. I wish she would have told him. Good stuff all the way around. David's passing out scene with Maggie was beautifully done, with so much excellent acting and suspense.
One wonders. . .if Barnabas knew he would have to go back in time and risk becoming a vampire again, would he have done it? I say yes. He loves his family and will do whatever it takes to save the heir--David.
Now we're into the thick of a new storyline--and a Quentin who SPEAKS! Enjoy, everyone!
701 - (Thayer David) - A dark, dark night on the great estate of Collinwood. The main house deserted, ruled by two evil spirits who refuse to show themselves to any but the possessed children. And in a basement room in the Old House, one man contemplates a terrifying chance to achieve the meeting with Quentin that he knows must take place.
Barnabas is back in the coffin again, and awakens reaching upwards to try and free himself. The year is 1897, and the disheveled Old House is inhabited by gypsies, Sandor and Magda Rakosi. Sandor is throwing knives at an etching; when he drops one, Magda chides him, reminding him of how she used to stand onstage waiting for the great Sandor to make his first mistake--and kill her. He reminds her she is still alive, he was too good. He suggests she stand against the wall so he can prove he still has it. If she reads palms while he throws the knives, he says, they will be rich. Is he starting again, to buy--steal--a horse? Hitch it to a caravan, and go. Yes, and he has his special elixir that can cure everything from colds to nervous conditions. He insists she doesn't have a cold because of his elixir.
She says when they leave Collinwood, they'll leave with rubies--"she" was wearing a stone the size of a guinea hen's egg on her shaking hand, and she has plenty more of them, plus emeralds and diamonds. Sandor says "she" is crazy, and dying, and Magda says when she does die, they will have to leave. Magda gazes into her crystal ball and says the jewels are in the drawing room. He teases her that yesterday, she said they were in the bedroom! She asks if he wants to be rich and tells him to go, now! No one is at the house--he can go to the drawing room--no one will catch him--the Collinses are afraid of night. He doesn't want to do it, but she says he must--tonight!
A black gloved hand knocks at the door to Collinwood. Beth opens the door--it's a grinning Quentin, who says, "You're still beautiful, Beth." She tries to close the door on him, but he pushes his way in--he's learned several tricks since they last met, he says--many has been the door that has not wanted me to pass through. Why did you come back here? She asks nastily. Why are you still working here and didn't leave with your mistress, Jenny Collins? he counters. (he acts like he doesn't even know her!) Beth coldly retorts that he knows her name as well as she does, but he begs a short memory--I've missed home, he says. You never should have returned, Beth says.
I couldn't let my rich old grandmother die alone, says Quentin--I'm really close to my family. He tries to take her hand in his, but she pulls away--does Mr. Edward know you're coming? She asks. I hope so, says Quentin, I'd hate to shock him. Beth predicts Edward will throw him out. He takes her chin in a teasing hand and says, you missed me--life was much more exciting when I was around! (He's such a handsome scamp, very charming!) "Not for me!" she answers icily. He grabs her and reminds her, it's your own fault--I promised to make your life exciting, too--take my bag to my room. When she turns startled eyes on him, refusing, he twists her arm behind her back and warns, "Beth, I'm here to stay." Her face contorts with pain.
It's not my decision as to whether you stay or not, I just work here, she says. Amazing, remarks Quentin--Edward must be getting more tolerant in his middle years--doesn't Beth remind him of Jenny? Beth heads upstairs to tell Miss Judith he's here. I shall see Jamison first, says Quentin. He's asleep, says Beth. I won't disturb his dreams, says Quentin--I'll announce myself to Grandmama. Beth informs him she's failing--but still strong enough to face up to you. Perhaps she won't want to, says, Quentin, since women are notoriously open to my charms--is she well enough to make out a new will? She's well enough to know better, replies Beth. Quentin predicts she'll eat those word when he's master of Collinwood, and suggests, it would be easier for you to simply relax and admit how interested you are in me. He chuckles as he heads upstairs. Knowing he's right, Beth looks infuriated.
Outside the house, Sandor enters Collinwood through a window.
Grandmama Edith is playing cards when Quentin enters her room. She thinks it's Edward--I'm very happy you're back, so I can die. Seeing Edward is reason enough to die, chuckles Quentin--how can you forget your favorite grandson? You aren't that, she says, and invites him to kiss her once. After he does, she pushes him away, fearful of germs from kissing (sounds like Millicent)--I don't need new germs--anticipation, she says--men who live as you do, Quentin, will not age well.
Quentin says, my worry lines are because of you. She laughs--I ALMOST believe you--you have such a nice smile, but don't use it often enough--you, Quentin, are this card, the Tower of Destruction, the worst card of all. Nonsense, he says, I don't believe in cards, and you shouldn't either--people change--I had to when I left here--I'm so sorry for what happened--it wasn't all my fault. (what did he DO?) You always had an excuse, she remarks. That was Carl, protests Quentin. No, she says, I know my own family, I had to, I had many decisions to make. The money should go to me, insists Quentin--I know best what to do with it. I enjoy you, she says, because old as I am, I can outthink you--you were always a naughty boy--I know what you did, and when Jamison brought me your letter, I said Quentin is using a child to get back--but I let you come back. Because I love you, he tells her. You do make me feel young, she says--the others make me feel like apiece of paper about to be blown away--you're getting what you deserve, she says, every one of you will, except Edward--he's the oldest and must be told the secret--he must return soon, and I must live to tell him the secret. Quentin begs her, wide-eyed, to tell him, leaning in close. No, she says--I think I hear him, someone is coming.
Beth enters the drawing room and turns off the lamp, plunging it into darkness. Sandor, hidden behind a drape, steps out.
Quentin asks his grandmother how he can make up for the way he was before--just tell me, I'll do it! She feigns sleep. He takes her pulse, then leaves. She awakens, smiling, and looks at her Tarot cards again.
Sandor looks under a portrait for a wall safe. Quentin enters the room and sarcastically says, "I didn't know you were so interested in art." Caught, Sandor stares at him, then smiles, relieved. Should I run and call Carl or Judith? asks Quentin--make myself the hero--or would you prefer the police?
In the coffin, Barnabas, back in his 18th century clothes, realizes he must will someone to find and release him--how will they get into this room?
What year will it be? Will I find Quentin? He struggles against the closed coffin lid.
Magda is looking into her crystal ball when Sandor returns and tells her he found the jewels--diamonds as big as a turkey's egg, emeralds, sapphires, hundreds of them! Thrilled, she asks where they are--he tells her he gave them to Quentin. Her grin fades immediately. "There's no jewels in that house!" he snarls--Quentin is there! Why, asks Magda. To catch him, says Sandor sourly. She chides him for not doing anything right. I'll find them, she says disgustedly, asking what kind of man he is--I won't give up. Why did they let him come back? wonders Sandor--probably because the old lady is dying--it was a mistake to stay here so long, sitting around like this. Magda spies something in her crystal ball--the mausoleum! It focuses on the lion's head, the secret room. Magda realizes that's where the jewels are, and he poo poohs her again. No, I'm sure this time--it has to be, insists Magda, dragging Sandor to the door. Beth is waiting there, telling Magda Miss Edith sent for her. Sandor tells her Magda can't come now, but his wife insists on going--go by yourself, she orders. He doesn't want to go alone, but she tells him he will or regret it the rest of his life. (Oooh, she looked mean, didn't she?) Beth tells Magda that Edith wants to hear that she will live until Edward comes--that's all she ever wants to hear, right? Magda tells Beth to go on ahead, she's bringing older card than the Tarot, old gypsy cards, but she wouldn't know anything about that, would she? Magda bursts into nasty laughter; Beth angrily turns on her heel and leaves.
Sandor enters the mausoleum and the door opens before he pulls the ring (a little blooper there). He finds the chained coffin, which he's reluctant to open, but realizes Magda would insist that's just where they would put the jewels, and if he doesn't open it now, he'll only be coming back. Do it, he tells himself. He unchains the coffin and opens it. A hand reaches out (shades of 1967), and grabs him around the throat!
NOTES: Our first intro to Quentin is wonderful, isn't it? He's everything we expected and more, a charming, handsome SOB who has a way with the ladies, young and old. Loved Edith, what a wonderful old lady she is, and seems every bit Quentin's Grandmama! Beth is a haughty gal for a servant, isn't she? You can already tell she WANTS Quentin but knows he will break her heart. And the Jenny reference? Interesting, hmmm? Sounds like Jenny is Edward's wife, but is she?
Love, Robin
