287 - (Alexandra Moltke) - A storm has broken suddenly over Collinwood, and sanctuary has been sought and found in the old house beyond the woods-but a deep, safer sanctuary has also been found, the sanctuary of the past, far and safe from present threats, where even the landscape of dreams is free of thunder and storm-and the serenity the present can never know pervades the gentle air-or so it seems.
Vicki comes downstairs at the Old House and tells Willie she had a wonderful night. He asks her if anything might have "happened," and she's surprised at his concern for her welfare. Was anyone in the room with you? asks Willie,
making Vicki suspicious that Willie had reverted to his old, perverted ways. Willie insists he would never hurt her.
Collinwood drawing room - Liz expresses her concerns to Julia about all the terrible things that have been happening in recent days. Julia mentions Maggie Evans, and Liz explains that Vicki never came home last night, and she's worried about her. Vicki enters at that moment-I'm all right, she assures them. Hearing that Vicki stayed at the Old House, Liz says, "If I'd know you were with Barnabas, I wouldn't have worried at all!" Julia doesn't seem to agree with Liz' comment, however. Although Julia and Vicki both encourage it,
Liz refuses to relent on cooperating with Julia's research on the family-they've had enough gossip about them! Liz leaves. Julia asks Vicki to try to convince Liz to go along with this project-my work is extremely important, insists Julia. Later, Vicki speaks to Liz who, hearing Vicki go on and on about the romance of the past and how wonderful it was to sleep in Josette's room, Liz agrees, hoping that an objective look at the family's history will end Vicki's romantic notions.
Your dreams might disappear, Liz warns Vicki.
Julia appears at the Old House and tells Willie that she's going to wait until Barnabas "gets back". How did you manage to make the restoration of this house so accurate? Julia asks him. He first says there were no drawings to work from, then, realizing there would have had to be, contradicts himself and says there were. No need to lie, Julia assures him. She sits to await Barnabas while Willie nervously paces. Why do you work for Mr. Collins if he's so "difficult," as you say? she queries. Before Willie can answer this leading question, Barnabas enters and sends Willie out of the room. Barnabas refuses to cooperate with Julia's research project and won't give her any explanation as to why.
I might know something you don't, she slyly suggests. I doubt it, says Barnabas. I hope we'll meet again very soon, she says. Barnabas gazes after her with menace, not liking this woman at all.
NOTES: Imagine what Barnabas must have thought of Julia at first meeting-this overbearing woman, totally unlike what he's used to, so brash and demanding, asking all kinds of questions? You know that if these two are ever going to end up on a similar wavelength, there are going to have to be some changes in both-and those of us who have seen the series delight in those changes! It takes time, but it's well worth the wait.
Vicki, loving her stint in Josette's bed, oversleeps the next morning and tells Willie she had a wonderful night--slept well, felt safe--but has no time for breakfast--she's got to get back to Collinwood! She returns to find Liz talking to Julia. Vicki is sorry she worried Mrs. Stoddard, who feared Vicki had been accosted by the village madman, like Maggie Evans, but Vicki reminds her she was with BARNABAS, and couldn't have been safer! HA! Liz, too, is glad to hear Vicki was safe at the Old House, and Julia listens intently to this exchange.
At first, Liz won't even consider allowing Julia (who appeals to Vicki to change her mind, citing it's importance not just to Julia, but to someone else. . .) to write the Collins family history, but Vicki's romantic obsession with the past--and Josette in particular--changes her mind. She feels that if Vicki sees the past revealed in an unromantic, objective way, she'll be less obsessed, although disappointed, too. So, Liz decides to allow Julia to go ahead with her project. Barnabas, on the other hand, is far less enthused. When he comes in to find a nervous Willie, who fumbles and lies to Julia about how Barnabas went about refurbishing the Old House, talking to the domineering redhead, he dismisses Willie, gives Julia's hand a businesslike shake, and proceeds to tell her he won't cooperate with her on the Collins family history. They thrust and parry as she implies she KNOWS something he might not, and he tells her that's impossible, and you can see Julia is baiting him and he is refusing to be baited--for now. These two people, destined to be enemies, friends and more to each other, meet here for the first time and already sparks are flying in a most fascinating exchange.
288 - (Alexandra Moltke) - The great estate of Collinwood rests on cliffs high above the sea, and on a quiet afternoon such as this, a familiar sound is the pounding of the surf-waves crashing against sand, only to return to the sea from which they came. There is a sense of timelessness here, for the sea is eternal as human lives are not. But there are moments when a sense of timelessness can pervade the human mind, moments when the past seems to intermingle with the present. There is one who knows such a moment, not realizing that it represents an imminent threat-the approach of a violent and terrifying danger.
David enters the drawing room to find Vicki staring out the window, listening to the music box. When she tells him she was daydreaming,
he says he had an odd, frightened feeling she was someone else-someone strange. Julia joins them. She's moving into the house temporarily (LOL!), and requests that Vicki find some family histories for her. When Vicki goes to the library to find them, David shows Julia the family photos, including portraits of Sarah, Joshua, Naomi and Barnabas. David, who's never seen Sarah's picture before, mentions that she looks just like the kid he's been playing with outside the Old House. I wonder if she's a ghost? Muses David, but Vicki overhears when she returns to the room and warns him not to start telling any of THOSE kind of stories. He heads outside to play. Vicki looks at the same page in the book and notes the resemblance to Sam's sketch of the child who visited him.
Julia is also intrigued by all this information. I recently saw a sketch of the Old House drawing room, says Julia, where there were huge gilt mirrors. I've never seen any mirrors at the Old House at all, says Vicki, except for the dressing table in Josette's room.
Blue Whale - Hearing that his girlfriend spend the night at the Old House-and heard a ghostly voice singing--Burke becomes upset and orders her not to go there again. I feel safe at the Old House, Vicki retorts,
and I won't stop going there! Burke is not pleased.
Old House, entrance - Barnabas steps outside to greet Julia, who has brought the family album with her. She talks him into letting her come in. You can stay only for a few minutes, he cautions. Julia opens the album and comments on Barnabas' strong resemblance to the ancestor for whom he is named. Barnabas barely disguises his hostility toward her. She then shows him Sarah's portrait, and when he turns away to look at it, Julia opens her compact
and observes that Barnabas has no reflection in its mirror. Barnabas spots the mirror and is immediately on guard; he sends her out of the house, an expression of fear on his face.
In the foyer at Collinwood, Julia tells Vicki that her visit with Barnabas was very successful. "In fact," she adds, looking triumphantly at Barnabas' portrait, "I think I've learned everything-everything I needed to know."
NOTES: WHAT does she know? She added up all the clues and came up with vampire, so all she needed to find out was WHO-and now she has! What is she planning to do with this information?
Julia continued with her probe of Collins family history to home in on her vampire--er, her man.
David catches Vicki in a Josette pose and finds it both interesting and scary. He shows Julia the Collins family picture album (where he says he was named after David Collins??), and is surprised to see the photo of a hitherto-unknown ancestor, a child named Sarah, bears a strong resemblance to his pal, Sarah, who always hangs around the Old House! You can almost see the cogs turning in Julia's head as she digests this info.
Then, Julia shares the photo of Sarah with Vicki, who says it looks just like the sketch the police brought around when Maggie Evans was kidnapped by a madman. Cogs are rolling at breakneck speed! Julia questions Vicki about the authenticity of Barnabas' restoration of the Old House--weren't there a whole lot of mirrors originally? Yes, there were, says Vicki, but come to think of it, there are no mirrors in Barnabas' house now, except the one on Josette's vanity. Julia plans to take the book to Barnabas and show it to him, and predicts a fascinating outcome.
Over drinks at the Blue Whale, Burke is mighty unhappy to hear his girlfriend spent the night in Josette's room during the storm. He wants her to stay away from the Old House, damn it, but thank God, Vicki shows some cojones and tells him she feels safe and secure in that room, she feels she belongs there, Barnabas is a perfect gentleman and she isn't listening to him! Good for you, Vicki, even if he really is right about your being safer in the storm!
Julia shows up on Barnabas' doorstep, the book clasped in her arms. He's annoyed at her persistence and really doesn't want to help her, but he reluctantly invites her in and stands, body language unyielding, while she sits in a chair, talking about the book he's looking at. He looks a lot like Sarah, she points, out, and there's Joshua and Naomi.
Meanwhile, she pulls a compact out of her purse, and while his back is turned, looks twice--and Barnabas has no reflection in her mirror! He catches her with mirror in hand and angrily/nervously demands to know what she's doing. Hey, even historians have a certain amount of vanity; she was checking her makeup, she explains. He curtly dismisses her; he has no interest in this album she brought. She thanks him and leaves, but it's clear he isn't at all happy with her, and his gazes after her threateningly.
Back at Collinwood, Julia happily tells Vicki her visit with Barnabas was very successful--she's learned everything she needed to know...
And now what is she going to do with it?
Love, Robin
