Episode #194 - Collinwood - David opens the drawing room window. He's dressed spiffily in a suit and tie. Vicki enters, smiling, and asks if he's ready for his Aunt Liz. Yes, he changed his shirt and combed his hair, he says. She'll be honored, chuckles Vicki. David wonders when they'll get here, and Vicki says Roger planned on an early start from Boston, so they should be here any minute. She asks him to show her his hands for a wash check, and feels him trembling--is he nervous about seeing his aunt? No, he says. Are you frightened, are you? she asks. A little, he admits--he's afraid of the way his aunt looked the last time he saw her. Vicki thinks he didn't see her after she got sick, but David assures her he did--she looked so funny, he tried to talk to her, but she couldn't hear him, and then he tried to make her look at him, but she just stared at the ceiling, as if he weren't in the room. She's all well now, Vicki says gently. You know how she looked? he asks soberly--like she was dead.
Vicki tells him his aunt is well now, and he'll see it when she gets here. Being practical, David says the doctors wouldn't have released her if she weren't well. That's right, says Vicki. David can't get out of his mind the way she looked. She doesn't look that way now, she assures him again, so there's no need to be afraid of. David guesses not, and chides himself for acting dumb. You were just worried about your aunt, says Vicki, but there's nothing to worry about now---she's coming home, all will be fine. He guesses so. The car pulls up; they're home. Come meet them, David, encourages Vicki--"Come on!" He closes the window and slowly, reluctantly joins her. Carolyn assists her mother to the front door, overriding Liz' protests that she doesn't need help.
You're still very weak, Carolyn points out, whether you want to admit it or not. Liz enters the house and gets an immediate welcome home hug from Vicki. Liz is most anxious to see David, and Vicki tells her he's inside. David meets up with Liz in the foyer and says, "You're OK, you're really OK!" He's smiling delightedly. Of course, what did you think? she asks. David didn't know. Liz asks for a kiss, and he eagerly does so. They admit how much they missed each other,, and David adds, a whole lot. Roger enters carrying a suitcase, notes she has said hello to everyone, and shoos Liz upstairs to her room. Liz protests that she hasn't had a chance to get 10 words out. You can say all the words you like, Roger tells her when she's gotten into her bed. Liz doesn't want to, but Carolyn reminds her the doctor ordered her to spend the rest of the day in bed. Liz doesn't care what the doctor says, she feels all right. Roger tells his sister they aren't going to argue with her, and tells Vicki to take Liz up to her room. Humorously, Liz tells Carolyn that suddenly everyone is giving her orders. Carolyn assures her mother tomorrow she can give the orders; right now, THEY'RE giving them. Liz relents. She asks David to come see her in a few minutes, and he agrees. Vicki leads Liz upstairs. Carolyn softly asks to see Roger alone, and he gladly gives "kitten" an audience. She closes the doors and asks Roger if there's trouble with the business, something she should know about? No, says Roger. Carolyn explains that from he minute her mother woke up, she was in an absolute panic to get back here--she thought it must be because of Collinsport Enterprises, that there was trouble with the business and they were keeping it to themselves. All in your imagination, Roger says, the business is doing fine--the business is thriving, just look at the latest financial reports if he doesn't believe him. Why was Mother so anxious to get home then? wonders Carolyn. Worry over David, suggests Roger. No, it wasn't David, she says, it was something else, something she wouldn't discuss, but very important to her--what could it be. Roger says he's the wrong person to ask--Liz may be his sister, but there are lots of things about her he doesn't understand. Getting back here was the most important thing in the world to her, says Carolyn, before she went into the trance, she kept saying over and over that she couldn't leave the house, no matter what--she was willing to risk her life to stay here--and before that, she never left the house, not even once in 18 years. Why, Uncle Roger, why?
Roger looks as puzzled as Carolyn sounds.
Up in Liz's room, he tells his aunt, who's lying in bed, he learned a whole lot while she was gone--not homework and stuff like that, but different things, like he knows lots of different kinds of ships, and can tell them apart when they're way out on the ocean. Who taught you, Miss Winters? No, my mother, he says. Liz looks upset, and David says his mother was a whole lot smarter than he thought she'd be--she told him her father was captain of a fishing ship. Liz smiles, nodding--that's true. She asks if he misses his mother a lot. Sometimes, he says. I'm sure she misses you, too. I know she does, says David, but he didn't want to go away with her, he wanted to stay right here. She's pleased to hear that. Vicki knocks and tells him his dinner is ready. David asks if he can have it up there on a tray, but Liz tells him to come see her after dinner--she wants to talk to Miss Winters. Oh, OK, he says reluctantly, and Vicki reminds him to wash his hands. He leaves the room after promising he won't. Liz asks Vicki to close the door, then tells her how relieved she is about David, and that he seems to have only pleasant memories of his mother. Vicki says he was in a daze when his mother lured him into the fire, and couldn't remember anything afterwards. He remembers there was a fire and that his mother is gone. Liz says she's grateful about that, and to Vicki, too, of not for her, Laura might have persuaded David into the fire with her. They all saved David, says Vicki, adjusting Liz' bedclothes, especially Dr. Guthrie. Carolyn told her about him, says Liz, and even though she didn't know him, his death was a shock to her. Vicki says it was to her, too, he was their friend. Liz says Carolyn told her he conducted quite an investigation. Yes, he had free reign of the house, says Vicki. Why this house? she asks, Laura was living in the cottage. He didn't know his investigation would lead him to Laura, says Vicki, he said there were a lot of mysteries here, and was very interested in the house--mysteries he hoped to solve. Liz asks if he found anything mysterious here, other than Laura. Vicki tells her he only told them about Laura, and nothing he didn't think they should know. Then we'll never know what he found out, muses Liz. I suppose not, says Vicki. Liz asks if he spent a lot of time in the closed off wing? Searched it quite carefully, says Vicki. Attic? Yes. Basement. Yup. What did he expect to find in the basement? Asks Liz. Vicki doesn't know, only that he went down there quite a few times. I see, says Liz. Vicki asks if she's all right. Of course, says Liz. You looked pale, I thought something was the matter, says Vicki. Liz says perhaps she's tired, she'll rest. Call me if you need anything, says Vicki, and leaves. Liz looks worried.
Liz climbs out of bed with a determined look on her face. She puts on her slippers and robe, belting it at her waist, and is about to leave the room when she runs into Roger. Caught in the act, he teases her, you had specific doctor's instructions to stay in bed the rest of the day--can't you take orders from anybody? He leads her back to bed. She was just going to look in on David and see if he went to sleep, says Liz. Vicki is taking care of David, says Roger, you're the one you should be worried about. I'm all right, she insists. You're so wobbly, you can hardly stand up, Roger tells her. She unbelts her robe and allows him to help her back into bed. There, he says, telling her not to look so cross. I don't like being fussed over, says Liz. Yes, because you like fussing over everyone else, he says. Maybe, she smiles. It's good to have you back, he says. Good to be back, she responds. She'll be pleased to hear that Carolyn managed the house admirably in her absence, he says, not that they didn't have a dew run-ins, but she wasn't weak and indecisive--quite the picture of her mother. Carolyn's grown up a lot in the past few weeks, says Liz. Yes, agrees Roger, she's had responsibilities thrown at her, and it's worked wonders. Roger, how do you feel about Laura? Asks Liz. He can't believe that woman was Laura, he doesn't know who she was, nor does he want to know, says Roger--she wasn't Laura. Liz says she's gone, at any rate. Roger agrees--and you're here, David's safe, and everything is fine. Liz asks what became of the things she was wearing before she went to the hospital--her gold bracelet, gold chain with a key at the end of it. The nurse removed them, says Roger, and they're in the top drawer of your bedside table. She immediately reaches over and says when she wasn't wearing them, she feared they were lost. He had them put away for her, says Roger. She takes the jewelry and thanks him. He says he was curious about the key, what does it unlock? What are you getting at? she queries. Nothing, he says, asking her not to look at him that way; he's not questioning her.
Good, she says coldly, she doesn't question him, and thinks it's a wise policy for both of them. Roger, not sounding as sincere, again tells her it's good to have her home. If she needs him, he'll be in his room. He leaves.
In the foyer, Carolyn tells Vicki she feels something is bothering her mother, something she won't tell her about. Vicki is sure it's in Carolyn's imagination--what would Liz want to hide? Why does leaving this house upset her so much? demands Carolyn. "What keeps her here?" When she first came here, says Vicki, I asked her the same question, and she gave me a very good answer--she said she was waiting for Carolyn's father to come home. Carolyn doesn't believe that anymore--Vicki should have seen Liz' face when she awakened in the hospital, realized they'd taken her away from Collinwood--she was terrified. Vicki points out that she'd been unconscious for five weeks, and to wake up in a strange room would be terrifying for anyone. Carolyn supposes so, but Liz was determined to get back here at any cost. It's normal for a person to want to come home, says Vicki. It's more than that, insists Carolyn, it's something she can't describe, it's as if mother carried some kind of burden she had to keep hidden, and she wants to know what it is, because she wants to help. Vicki tells Carolyn worrying about it won't help her, so stop--Liz is home now and getting well, think only about that. Carolyn agrees, she'll try to stop worrying, but she can't stop her from wondering, no one can.
Vicki gazes at Carolyn, puzzled.
2:30 AM - The foyer clock strikes the half hour. Liz, flashlight in hand, comes downstairs to the basement, turns on a light, then unlocks a padlocked door, first checking to make sure she's alone, She pockets the key and enters the room, closing the door behind her. At 2:40, the clock ticks loudly, and Liz exits the basement room, then re-padlocks and locks it. Vicki calls to her from the stairs, and Liz tells her she startled her. Vicki apologizes. Liz asks what she's doing down here. Vicki heard noises and came to check it out. It's just me, says Liz, go back to bed. Vicki protests that Liz shouldn't be down here, the doctor told her she was still weak. The doctor told Carolyn... Liz interrupts that she doesn't care what the doctor told Carolyn, she's all right. Vicki agrees. I was just checking the house to make sure everything was all right, says Liz unconvincingly. In the middle of the night? asks Vicki. She couldn't sleep, she wanted to look around, explains Liz. Vicki says she's sure no one was in that room, if that's what you were worried about. "Who says I was worried about anything?" demands Liz, annoyed. I didn't say that, I'm sorry, says Vicki. Forget what you saw, commands Liz. Vicki says all right, apologizing again. No, I'm sorry, says Liz contritely, I didn't mean to snap at you--Vicki, you know I'm very fond of you, don't you? Yes, says Vicki. More than fond, adds Liz, and I think I can trust you. I can trust you, can't I? Yes, says Vicki eagerly. If I ask you to promise me something, says Liz, will you keep your promise? What is it you want me to promise you? asks Vicki. I want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone you saw me down here tonight, says Liz, she can't explain, but she has good reasons, that don't concern Vicki--will she do as she asks. Yes, if it's what you want, says Vicki. Then it's a promise, says Liz, and you won't tell anyone I was down here. No, says Vicki. I knew I could trust you, says Liz, go back to bed, it's late--and remember, don't tell anyone you saw me down here.
I'll remember, vows Vicki, and bids her good night. She goes upstairs. Liz bites her lower lip.
NOTES: Those of us who have seen this before know what Liz is hiding, and for me, it's a little bit boring to be going over this old territory again. It's great seeing Vicki, though, I always did like her and wished she had learned who her parents were. Standing with Liz, you can't help but be struck by how much alike they look--and I always thought, by design.
I adore Roger in these episodes, he's so droll. When he said he didn't think that woman was Laura, you really believed him. A denial advice for him, I guess.
What is Liz' secret, for first-time watchers? What has compelled her to never leave the house in 18 years? Any speculation?
Episode #195 - Collinwood - Liz comes downstairs, almost staggering, holding onto things to support herself. Vicki is surprised to see her up so early, but Liz sits down and assures her there's no need to act like an invalid' she's ready to resume her regular routine. Vicki tells her Joe brought over the ledgers, which the accountants brought up to date. Vicki advises Liz not to stay up too long, and Liz chuckles, saying Vicki sounds like a doctor. Liz asks Vicki if she remembers her promise of last night. Vicki does. Liz doesn't want anyone to know what she was doing down in the basement, Vicki doesn't know what she was doing, only that she was there, and when Liz saw her, you looked frightened. Vicki doesn't understand--why should she be frightened of her? Liz looks off into the distance, not answering.
Liz assures Vicki she wasn't frightened, just startled to find someone down in the basement that time of night. Vicki says she acted strangely even after realizing it was her. She'd only just gotten home from the hospital, points out Liz, but Vicki says it wasn't weakness she saw in her eyes, it was fear. Liz asks her to please not question her, and Vicki apologizes. Let's drop the subject and not mention it to anyone, asks Liz, and Vicki promises not to talk about it anymore. Carolyn enters and asks how her mother is feeling. Vicki asks her if she got David there in time. Just a few minutes late, Burke was waiting outside, and David had every bit of fishing tackle he owns. Burke had bought live bait, and last time she saw David, he was playing with it--David will be out of everyone's hair and the house nice and quiet for the rest of the day, she adds. Liz says she has a lot of work to do and can do with some quiet. With the day off, Vicki is going into town. Carolyn is taking a nap; she's a little tired--Liz woke her several times last night because she heard her prowling around. Liz looks uncomfortable, asking, "You heard ME? That's impossible--I didn't get out of my bed last night." Carolyn assures her she heard her mother's door open and close several times last night. You must have been mistaken, says Liz. No, says Carolyn, your door has a very specific creak, as do several of the floorboards in the hallway.
You must have heard Vicki, says Liz, she came to check on me a few times last night--didn't you, Vicki? Yes, I did, Vicki agrees after a moment. Carolyn was so sure she heard her mother. Must have been dreaming, says Liz. Didn't seem like a dream, says Carolyn. Must have been, because I didn't get out of my bed--Vicki knows that, says Liz (how nasty to make her an accomplice in her lie), because she saw her there--tell Carolyn I never left my room. Unhappy at being put on the spot, Vicki agrees with Liz' lie. Carolyn says she must have been more tired than she thought; she'll take it easy the rest of the day--and she leaves. Liz thanks Vicki, saying it was necessary.
Why? asks Vicki. Please trust me, asks Liz, please.
Maggie cleans the counter at the Collinsport Inn (and we get an outside shot of the place) - She puts on the radio, although I don't know the song, when Jason McGuire comes in and says hello again, reminding her about the other night, in the Dead Whale. Maggie laughs and corrects him--the Blue Whale. It looked pretty dead to me chuckles the charming Irishman. One could get rich, working in a place like this, remarks Jason. The only thing rich here, chuckles Maggie, is the food--people come from miles around just to ruin their diets. He asks if he can sit down, and she says the counter is damp. Nothing better than a freshly swabbed deck. She offers him a menu, but he rejects it--he wants a cup of coffee for his first course. Sounds like a main course to me, she says, pouring him a cup--and it's hot. He asks for a small piece of lemon peel. The Blue Whale is down that way, she says, leaning close to him (and he is a handsome rogue). It's for the coffee, he explains, he spent some time in Italy and developed a taste for coffee with lemon peel. She presents him with the peel on a plate and he thanks her for her trouble. She just puts it under the heading of experience, she says. He says he's afraid his years of traveling have left him with some exotic habits. She says not to apologize, she likes to see something different--so, she says, bussing a table, he's been at sea a lot. Does he have seaweed all over him. This is a seagoing town, she remarks, it's easy to spot and old salt. Old salt? He asks, don't be afraid to call him that, because that's what he is. You're not that old, she flirts, unless you've discovered the key to eternal youth. Merci, mumbles, he says, he admits he looked for the secret, but never found it--perhaps the sea preserved him a little bit, but he feels as if he's been around a long time. He smiles charmingly. Your travels have brought you to Collinsport--are you passing through? That's what most people do. Passing through, stopping off, says Jason, that's just about it. Looking for work? she asks. No, he says, as though he hates the word. There are a lot of boats that put in here, if you are, she says. He sips his coffee, saying the only boats that put in here are fishing boats--not his speed. What is? she asks. He asks if he looks like an ordinary seaman? You don't look like anything ordinary, she says. I'm First Officer, and have been that on more big ships than he can remember. Maggie comments that he doesn't look like the kayak type. He's sailed every ocean and every sea, he boasts. He offers her a hundred dollars if she can guess any port he hasn't been to. Collinsport, Maine, she names, grinning. She got him, and he shakes her hand and tells her he owes her a hundred. He isn't looking for a job on one of these sardine scows, he says. She asks what he is looking for, if she's not being too nosy. Perhaps what every sailor is looking for, he says, a safe port in a storm. Maybe he isn't looking for anything. Most people are, she says. I might be the exception, responds Jason. No, she says, you seem too intelligent not to be looking for something important. H praises her for doing great things to a man's ego--you're a charmer, he says, and he might even go for another cup of coffee. Don't sacrifice yourself, she advises. You make a marvelous cup, he tells her. Don't say that, she teases, or I won't trust your judgment at all. He has had coffee in the land of the coffee bean, he says, and he's hauled hundreds of thousands of tons of coffee from Brazil, and he could have been a professional coffee taster (she pours him another cup), and he knows everything there is to know about coffee. Such as? She asks. The average coffee tree produces enough berries to make one pound of roasted coffee. Really? she asks, leaning close again and smiling, "I never knew that." Of course you never knew that, he says, someone told him that once. Vicki enters and Maggie asks how she's doing. She has a day off, says Vicki, Burke is taking David fishing. For a change, says Maggie. Vicki tells her Mrs. Stoddard is back, up and around, it's as though she'd never been in a hospital. This captures Jason's attention, and he says excuse me, interrupting their conversation. He comes over and asks Vicki if she said Mrs. Stoddard.
Yes, she did, says Vicki. He asks if she's ill. She just returned and is recovering nicely, says Vicki--it was serious, but the danger is past. He's glad to hear that--she is such a wonderful woman. Yes, she is, says Vicki, do you know her? He doesn't answer, but counters with, do you work for her? He smiles. Yes, she does, she's governess, companion, tutor. Busy girl, he remarks. Tutor for David Collins, says Vicki. Which would he be? Roger's son, she answers. Ah, yes, Mrs. Stoddard's brother, says Jason. Right, says Vicki. And Mrs. Stoddard, she had a child? Carolyn. Supplies Vicki. Ah, yes, and they all live together in that big house, he says. A bit impatient, Vicki wonders why he asks. His smile fades--she might call it curiosity. I think I will, says Vicki--do you know Mrs. Stoddard? Years ago, he says, or was it yesterday? You know how elusive time is. What about Paul Stoddard? She's stunned to hear the name, and Jason asks if he said something wrong. No, she assures him, but he notes her strong reaction. No one ever mentions his name, says Vicki, least of all a stranger. If no one ever mentions his name, I take it to mean he isn't around. He went away 18 years ago, says Vicki hesitantly. Went away? asks Jason. Exactly that, and no one ever heard from him that she knows of. Did you know him? she asks Jason. Slightly, he responds. You haven't by any chance seen him in these past years? She asks eagerly. He laughs--and no one even tried to trace him? he asks. Vicki doesn't think so. For all they know, he might be dead, says Jason.
Vicki supposes he might. Interrupting, remarks Jason, saying he enjoyed their conversation. You're quite welcome, says Vicki. He thanks Vicki for her excellent cuisine. She says no one has ever called her coffee that, but a lot of other things. Keep the lemon peels handy, he tells Maggie, and promises Vicki he'll absolutely be seeing her again soon. Vicki sits at the counter after Jason leaves, asking he who that was. She and Joe met him in the Blue Whale the other night, and he seems like a nice person. Vicki asks if she knows anything about him. He's been at sea a long time, says Maggie, and passing through town--won't say where he's going. He seems to know all about the Collinses, remarks Vicki, even Paul Stoddard. He was asking so many questions, it was strange. Not so strange, says Maggie, he knows the family and just wants to know how they are. No, it wasn't so much how they are, as where they are, says Vicki. Maggie asks if there's anything wrong with that.
I hope not, says Vicki, concerned.
Collinwood - Carolyn answers the door. She fixes her hair before opening it. It's Jason, cap in hand, who asks for Liz. She doesn't think she's seeing anyone, she's back from the hospital, explains Carolyn. Yes, he was very upset to hear that, says Jason. She apologizes--she doesn't think she knows him. He didn't expect her to, he says, turning on the thick charm, but I know YOU--you're Carolyn, and she makes him feel terribly old--he reminds her she's letting all the cold air in, and could catch cold. Carolyn invites him in, and he says of course he wouldn't have recognized her if he saw her on the street, except for certain family resemblances. Where do you know me from? she asks. Right here, he says, when you were that big (and he indicates a short person). They go into the foyer, and she asks who he is. He looks around, saying the place hasn't change a bit in all these years--amazing. Where is your mother? Upstairs, resting, she says. She'll be down soon, I trust? Yes, she will. Jason volunteers to wait inside, and walks into the drawing room. But who are you? she asks again. Ah, this room, he says, one of my favorites, not a stick of furniture has been changed. She says she must insist on knowing who it is. Obviously, a very old acquaintance, says Jason. Carolyn gathered that much. Ah, this sofa, always a very comfortable spot, he says, dropping his cap on the table and grinning as he sits down--I could sit here all day. Do you intend to? she asks him. He chuckles, asking, "Who knows?" Tell me your name, she says. He refuses--is she trying to spoil the surprise? What surprise? The surprise her mother will get when she sees him. Oh, it's been a long time them? asks Carolyn. Longer than he cares to admit, says Jason. Carolyn sits across from him and says, well, old acquaintance... Don't call me old, he chides. You've called yourself that, several times, points out Carolyn--if you won't tell me your name, will you tell me where you've been all those years you keep referring to? I've been--everywhere, he says, spreading his hands out wide. Honk Kong, she asks? 10 times, he says. Naples? 10 times, and he holds up 10 fingers! Madagascar? 10 times, he says again. Carolyn laughs, delighted. Do you go everywhere 10 times, she asks. Only the places he's like nine times before, he says. You follow the sea, she says. The sea follows me, he corrects, every time he turns around, it's behind him, catching him up on the ongoing tide. Ah, the romance of the sea, says Carolyn. Yes, that's it, exactly, he says. It's in your blood, I suppose. She says. Give me a chance and I do albatross imitations, he assures her. She laughs. He says it's good to be here, the place is so sturdy, solid--good to know it won't roll this way and that. She asks what he'd doing in Collinsport, and he answers that he came in on the Queen Mary, didn't she hear all the bells and whistles? She laughs again, saying she wondered what all that racket was. Why is he here? Some places are good for passing through, he says, and this is one of them--and he thought it would be nice to see a familiar, friendly face. Carolyn says she's awfully glad he did. He thanks her, saying she's very nice, and every bit as beautiful as her mother. Thank you--whomever you are, she says. Liz calls. That's mother, says Carolyn, she'll send her in. Jason thanks her, and looks speculative when she leaves. Carolyn goes upstairs to the top and tells her mother someone is here to see her--it's a surprise. Jason pouts a drink, gazing at it with satisfaction. We hear Liz' heels entering the room, and she greets him with a smile--until he turns around, and then she's unpleasantly surprised.
"Hello, Liz," he says, grinning hugely. "Jason," she says, not happy to see him at all.
NOTES: I adore Dennis Patrick, he's such a slippery, wicked charmer as Jason. His scenes with Maggie and Carolyn show how his Irish charm wins over the young gals, except maybe for Vicki, who seems immune. I love Patrick's performance, and consider it a DS highlight. What does Jason want? We'll have to wait until Monday night to find out.
Vicki was awfully forthcoming with Jason, so I guess even she fell under his charm. He's a very well-written character.
Love, Robin
