MT:
Horace was a Roman poet. I'm pretty sure Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone had him in mind when they named their son. I still like your hypothesis about Horace doing the same experiment and stopping but still have enough duality for blackmail.
PT Joshua is one of my favorite LE characters and the first of his four ghostly portrayals. That coat is pretty cool too.
PT Roger returns just after the séance ends. He pooh-poohs the idea of a séance, even when Angelique says they contacted Joshua Collins. Roger is unimpressed and tells them, I’ve had my fill of Joshua (LOL!) from reading Will’s book. I haven’t seen Will lately. Maybe he’s planning to make a career out of Barnabas Collins’s life. I can't imagine why you are interested in anything about Barnabas Collins. According to Will's first book, his life was singularly dull. In fact, I find the book an improvement over sleeping pills.
Horace was expecting Cyrus to cough up ten grand in CASH. Just how rich is Cyrus supposed to be? Stinking, I guess, if he can run with the Collinses. You won’t get a penny, Cyrus insists. You’d better come to your senses before “certain people” find out who John Yaeger really is, Horace warns. You have no proof that Yaeger and I are one and the same, Cyrus insists. John Yaeger has gone away for a while. Horace triumphantly produces photostats (yes, white-on-black photostatic copies) of papers that Cyrus and Yaeger have signed: The signatures are nearly identical, Horace asserts. No, they aren’t, Cyrus argues. I won’t let you blackmail me. I am providing an invaluable service, Horace argues. You enjoy being John Yaeger. He is everything you can’t be, and you can’t live without him. Oh yes, I can, Cyrus retorts. I will! Horace decides, I’ll extend your deadline for another twenty-four hours. If I don’t hear from you by nine o’clock tomorrow, your secret will no longer be a secret, and your career will be over. He says goodnight and leaves, taking the parcel with him.
We catch a glimpse of Quentin actually working for a change: He's in the drawing room, signing some papers that Larry has brought. (I guess the Collinses pay him enough that he's willing to make house calls.) [Larry reports that Chris left town quickly. Maybe he, like his counterpart in our time, was also a werewolf and left town to avoid attacking those in Collinsport!] Quentin accidentally catches a glimpse of Cyrus's will, newly revised by Larry per Cyrus's instructions. Of course Larry can't discuss the particulars, but they both agree that Cyrus has certainly been behaving strangely since Yaeger came on the scene. Larry refers to Yaeger as the "lowest form of humanity"--I can't help thinking that Yaeger would be flattered. The phone rings: It's a stranger calling for Larry. My name is Horace Gladstone, the stranger says. I have some interesting papers to show you on the subject of John Yaeger. They agree to meet at the Eagle at ten o’clock.
Roger runs into "Alexis" and stares at her for a long moment. Like our Angelique, PT Ange enjoys staring at fires. Roger confides, I worshiped her from the moment she walked into the house as Quentin's bride. My heart stopped, and I thought to myself, Here is an irreplaceable woman. I knew she belonged to Quentin, but she and I knew that no man would ever understand and appreciate her as I did. Sometimes I think I loved her more than it was possible to love. In her most persuasive tones, "Alexis" tells him, The main reason I’m staying her is to find my sister's murderer. For that I desperately need the help of someone who loved Angelique and understood her. I believe that someone is you, she says, batting her eyelashes at top speed. The poor sap falls right into Angelique's clutches.
Larry stops by Cyrus's house to deliver the revised will and tries to dissuade him from leaving everything to John Yaeger. Cyrus mumbles that he'll think about it. Larry is relieved to hear that Yaeger has “gone away” for a while but has to refuse Cyrus’s invitation to dinner. I’m meeting a man at the Eagle at ten o’clock, he explains. I don’t know what the man looks like, but he phoned this afternoon and identified himself as Horace Gladstone. I hope we can have lunch tomorrow, he says politely. Tomorrow will be just fine, Cyrus murmurs, shocked and dismayed. Too distracted to notice Larry’s departure, he realizes what Horace intends. He has a little bit of the formula left after all, and he holds up the two components, staring at them.
Why doesn't Horace go straight to the Eagle?
Just before ten that night, Horace is waiting in a deserted alley near the Greenfield Inn. (We never learn why he didn’t just go to the Eagle.) The night is foggy, and a figure steps from the shadows. I had just enough of the compound left over, Mr. Gladstone, John Yaeger says. I have your payment. We can settle that another time, Horace stammers. I’m on my way to meet someone. He tries to leave, but Yaeger blocks the way. I know about that meeting, Yaeger says. Backing Horace into a wall, Yaeger says, I’ve run out of patience too. Now frightened for his life, Horace asks, What are you going to do?
Larry is waiting outside the Eagle when he hears Horace screaming, No! Don’t come near me! Get away from me! Larry hurries to the rescue.
Horace listens in pure terror as Yaeger tells him, Maybe Cyrus Longworth could tolerate the presence of a man like you, but not John Yeager! He raises his cane high as Horace screams for help again. Yaeger strikes him over the head with the cane and knocks him down, then presses the spring to release the stabbing blade at the bottom of the cane. As Yaeger lowers it toward his victim, Horace pleads, No, no! I will give you anything you want! With a sinister smile, Yaeger suggests, How about peace of mind? Goodbye, Gladstone--and good riddance. He aims and plunges the blade into his enemy’s chest as Horace screams for the last time. Just then Yaeger hears Larry approach and call out, What’s happening? What’s going on there? Yaeger pulls the dagger out of Horace’s lifeless body and runs around the corner to hide. Larry hurries over from the other direction and finds Horace. He checks to confirm that Horace is dead, then sees Yaeger’s shadow on the wall, partly obscured some crates. I see you hiding behind there! Larry shouts. Who are you? Come out here so I can see your face!...
