Vicki enthuses to Willie about how peaceful her night was, but she is immediately suspicious that he's backsliding when he asks her if she thought anyone was in the room with her. Willie protests his innocence in the strongest possible terms: I offered to take you home last night, remember? You know I wouldn’t hurt you. I wouldn’t want anyone to hurt you. Vicki relents and acknowledges, I actually felt safer in Josette’s room than I’ve ever felt in my life. Somehow Willie manages to hide his reaction.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth strenuously refuses to let "Miss" Hoffman write a history of the Collins family, even though Julia suggests it would give the family--and Elizabeth in particular--control over whatever information reaches the media. (One wonders what kinds of tweets would be circulating around the town!) But Elizabeth is still haunted by the memory of her own long imprisonment and torment.
Julia watches and listens intently as Vicki describes how safe she felt at the Old House. Later, like Barnabas, she sits back and lets Vicki be her advocate in persuading Elizabeth. Vicki argues that telling the truth about the legends would weaken them--and besides she wants everyone to know what a Great Lady Josette was. Finally, after Julia has left, Elizabeth decides to let her write the history after all. She'll even let Vicki help, hoping that that will puncture Vicki's over-romanticized idea of the past. Vicki thanks her enthusiastically. Don’t thank me yet, Elizabeth says dryly. Up until now, the past has been sort of a dream for you. Now it might become a reality, killing the dream. Has anyone ever thanked anyone for the death of a dream?
This is Barnabas and Julia's first meeting (HOORAY!), but already we can almost see the sparks fly between them. Julia carefully examines the portrait of the "twentieth-century" Barnabas and promises Willie that she'll take the blame for intruding. Julia and Barnabas go through the motions and shake hands. [I suppose he has some way of simulating normal body temperature or otherwise disguising the undead coldness of his touch. Or maybe Julia simply makes a mental note of it without any outward reaction.] Then she sits without being invited to by the Master of the Old House as she offers him various inducements to let her help. I’m just not interested, Barnabas says bluntly. No one who lives in this house could be uninterested, Julia says, but she finally takes the hint and gets ready to leave. I hope I’ll see you again soon, are her parting words to Barnabas. He stares after her, tension and hostility radiating from his every pore.
I know these are long posts, but these are such great episodes, full of character explorations!
