Episode #33 - It seems like years since I came here to Collinwood, where the tension holds the flow of time--but the day have passed and I'm no closer to the answers I'd hoped to find--and since I feel rooted within the panel walls of this great mansion, and in the heart of the woman who never leaves its grounds.
Liz sits alone in the darkened drawing room. Carolyn comes home and asks why she's sitting in the dark. Carolyn turns on a light and kneels in front of her mother, asking if she's all right. I'm fine, Liz assures her twice, saying she was afraid she'd get caught in the storm. So was I, says Carolyn--Mother, where's David? Upstairs in his room, says Liz. Mother? says Carolyn again, gently. I want you at least to be happy, says Liz, learning forward earnestly--please be happy!
Carolyn sits in a chair across from her mother. I wasn't here when David came home, says Liz, I was at the cottage. Playing with her necklace, Carolyn says that Burke brought David home, didn't he? How did you know that? asks Liz. When I was in town looking for David, I stopped by the hotel, says Carolyn, and I learned that David and Burke had left together--did you see Burke? No, he'd left by the time I got back, says Liz--it's so terrible! Don't, says Carolyn--did you speak to David? Yes, says Liz, I went to his room, but he wouldn't talk to me, wouldn't say a word. Then he didn't admit to tampering with the brakes on his father's car, says Carolyn. I told you, says Liz, he wouldn't speak--a nine year old boy lying on his bed, terrified. But you know now that he was responsible, says Carolyn. Yes I know, admits Liz, sighing. It's all over then, isn't it? asks Carolyn. I don't think so, her mother says, it will go on and on--Carolyn, when you were in town, did you tell anybody why David ran away. No, says Carolyn. No one must know it, no one, cautions Liz. But how do you explain what happened to the car? asks Carolyn. I've already taken care of that, says Liz, I said the brakes failed--it was an accident. What about Burke? asks Carolyn, don't you think he should know? I not interested in Burke, insists Liz. Don't you think you should be? demands Carolyn, I mean, he was almost arrested because of David. All that concerns me is my family, says Liz.
I know that, says Carolyn, but there are other people, too--don't forget both you and Uncle Roger accused Burke of tampering with those brakes--you had the sheriff question him, search his room--Don't you think you owe him an apology? Please, please, begs Liz, stop worrying about Burke? Who should I worry about asks Carolyn--David? He is your cousin, Liz reminds her. Carolyn says she'd rather have one friend like Burke than 10 cousins like that little monster. Carolyn! says Liz. I'm sorry, says Carolyn. Darling, it isn't just David, it's you, all of us. We're going to be fine, Carolyn assures her. I want you to be happy, says Liz plaintively, that's all I live for! I know, says Carolyn--why don't I fix us some tea? Carolyn, don't trust him, says Liz. Who? asks Carolyn. You say Burke Devlin is a friend, her mother reminds her, but you don't know him, believe me, you don't--the fact that he wasn't the cause of this accident doesn't mean that he won't...you have a chance to lead a sane, happy life--you're the only one in this house that can do it! Mother, says Carolyn, her hands on her mother's arms, I like Burke, sure, but that doesn't mean I'm going to run away with him--of course, he hasn't asked me. Don't even joke about it, begs Liz. Carolyn says all right, no jokes--straight talk--I'm not ready to marry Joe Haskell--I know, I know--and he's in love with me--I know all that, and all about him--the person I don't know about is me.
Blue Whale - Joe holds a glass of booze and seems somewhat drunk. Do you love me? he asks the glass. Sure I love you Joe, he responds. Will you marry me? No, I won't marry you, Joe. Why won't you marry me? Because I live in a house on a hill that's why--hey, Andy, let's get some service over here--waiter! Having a little trouble? Asks Burke, coming over to his table. You're no waiter, says Joe. Watch, says Burke, grabbing the bartender by the arm and ordering a drink for his friend--and bring him a beer. How was that? asks Burke, sitting beside Joe. Other people walk from the bar to the back. Look, I am not a friend of yours, says Joe--who invited you to sit down here, anyway? I thought you might need a little ballast, says Burke. You think I'm drunk, don't you? asks Joe--isn't that right Mr. Burke "big wheel" Devlin. Well if you're not, says Burke, you're going to get there pretty fast. Someone puts a slow song on the juke. Why not? asks Joe--the whole world is coming to an end, Devlin, did you know that?--the whole rotten stinking world He looks very sad. A couple dances and dips, sans rhythm, a few feet away from them.
The bartender brings over their drinks, and Burke thanks him. Cheers, says Burke, holding out his glass for a toast. Why are you waiting around here, anyway? Asks Joe. I hate to drink alone, says Burke, saw my old friend Joe Haskell by himself at a table and I... I'm not your friend, says Joe. You could be, Burke assures him. How, by letting you steal my girl away from me? asks Joe. I'm not interested in stealing anybody's girl, says Burke. Ha! Says Joe. Cheers, says Burke, and they sip their drinks. I think you'd better make that one your last tonight, advises Burke. You're not only a girl stealer but a warden, says Joe--let me tell you something--I don't like you--I don't like your smile, the way you talk, and if you make another pass at Carolyn... Hey, you want to make me sorry I sat down with you? asks Burke. You don't like it here, go someplace else, says Joe. What's eating you? asks Burke--it isn't just Carolyn, is it? Joe sips his drink. His wife's going to have a baby, that's what's eating me, says Joe. You lost me, says Burke. His wife's going to have a baby, repeats Joe, don't you understand English?--we were going to buy a boat together. Who's we? asks Burke. This fella I work with, says Joe, wiping his face dejectedly--in a couple of months, we were going to buy this boat--him and me, in a couple of months, I'd be able to marry Carolyn--and now he tells me it's all off--unexpected expenses--his wife's going to have a baby. Why don't you buy the boat yourself? asks Burke. With what? asks Joe--take me at least another year and a half to get that kind of money--his wife's going to have a baby.
Burke eyes him sympathetically and says his offer still goes. Joe gives him a dirty look. Maybe this is a little lesson for you, says Burke, marriage isn't always the answer--sometimes it gets in the way.
What makes you so sure marriage is the answer for me? asks Carolyn, pouring tea--I've got lots of time yet. The sooner you get out of this house, the better I'll like it, says Liz. You just want to get rid of me, that's all, says Carolyn. You know that isn't true, says Liz. Besides, with David gone, Carolyn reminds her, you won't need Vicki here, and you'll be all alone. She hands Liz a cup of tea. David isn't going, says Liz. You're joking, says Carolyn. Things are going on exactly as they were, says Liz, Miss Winters is going to continue tutoring David. You can't do that, insists Carolyn--it isn't safe to have him here. I think we can manage, says Liz, sipping her tea. Manage? asks Carolyn--no wonder this place is a mad house--here I am, relatively sane, and you want me to leave--but a monster who tried to kill his own father... There's no point in us trying to discuss it, says Liz. You have to! says Carolyn, what does Uncle Roger say about it? He feels exactly as I do, lies Liz. Then you're both out of your minds, says Carolyn--sorry, but what else can I think?--David's no ordinary little boy, and you know it--from the very first day he came... He's my nephew, says Liz, as though that says it all. I'm sure Jack the Ripper had an aunt, and a mother, says Carolyn--all I'm saying is, it won't be safe for any of us. Liz says if that's the way she feels, all the more reason for her to leave. That wasn't what I meant, says Carolyn. But it was what I meant, says Liz--David needs me, needs my help and protection--you don't, darling not anymore--you need a home away from here--away from...maybe you're right, perhaps this is a mad house--then leave it--marry Joe and leave! Carolyn sips her tea.
Carolyn knocks at Vicki's door. Vicki's lying on her bed, reading her "birth certificate."--come on in. I remember it by heart, says Carolyn--her name is Victoria--I can't take care of her. Vicki slips the letter back in her pocketbook. It doesn't change, says Vicki. I wonder if the person who wrote that ever knew you'd end up here? wonders Carolyn--we'll be having dinner in about half an hour. Is that what you came up here to tell me? asks Vicki. No, says Carolyn, sitting on the bed--I was just wondering how you survived all the excitement. David? asks Vicki. Carolyn nods--you know my mother insists on his staying here, says Carolyn. She told me, says Vicki. What do you think of us? asks Carolyn--you've been here a while, had a chance to see us in action--are we crazy, all of us? Of course not! says Vicki. Now think about it, says Carolyn, ticking her list off on her fingers--there's my mother, who hasn't been off the grounds in 18 years--ever since my father deserted her; there's Uncle Roger, running around like a madman, thinking Burke Devlin wants to kill him; David...and me. And what's your brand of insanity? teases Vicki. I'm not joking, says Carolyn--I'm don't even know what we are anymore, I don't see how you can even continue to stay on here. Vicki says she has to. Why, because of that note? Asks Carolyn. Vicki nods. You haven't found out one more thing about yourself since you came up here, says Carolyn.
I know, says Vicki. I'm not suggesting you leave, says Carolyn--believe me, I'd hate if it you did, but...she gets off the bed--what's wrong with me?--with all of us? Has your mother been talking to you about marriage again? asks Vicki. Carolyn nods and says yes--she sits back on the bed--you want to find out who you are--so do I!--but I don't know how to go about it. I haven't been doing a very good job myself, says Vicki. But you're trying, says Carolyn, at least you try. Not hard enough, says Vicki--can I borrow your car tonight? Sure, says Carolyn. Thanks, says Vicki--there's something I have to do in town. OK, says Carolyn--I guess I'll go get ready for supper. Vicki says she wishes she could help her. So do I, says Carolyn thing that gets me is this--my mother wants me to marry Joe Haskell, but I can't help but think that the worst thing I could do to a nice guy like that would be to bring him into this nutty family.
It's the family, that's what it is, a morose Joe tells Burke, choosing a song on the jukebox--you know, if it wasn't for them sitting up in that house, Carolyn and I could be happy, you know what I mean?--happy. I thought you liked them, says Burke. They're all right, says Joe, putting on a tune--I think I want another drink--and he walks unsteadily back to the table. I think you've had enough, says Burke, almost in his face over the table. Oh, says Joe, belligerently, that's just great--Burke Devlin thinks I've had enough--did I ask you? No, but I think it anyway, says Burke. I ought to belt you right...says Joe--waiter! DO yourself a favor, advises Burke, slow down. That's all I ever do is slow down, says Joe--good old reliable me--you know what I am--a mouse. Don't sell yourself short, kid, says Burke. You think I don't know what's happening to her up on that hill?--think I don't know?--did I ever come right out and tell her--no--and do you know why--because I'm a mouse. What has happened to her? asks Burke. Sure I love you, Joe, Haskell says, just don't ask me to marry you--I've had it--I've been shoved and stepped on for the last time--right?--right!--for the last time, he repeats, and staggers out of the bar. Bring me another beer, Burke tells the bartender--put the kid's drinks on my tab. The bartender nods and carries his tray of beers to another table. Burke watches a couple dance.
Vicki puts on her coat in the foyer and tells Liz she's getting into town in Carolyn's car--I just wanted to let you know I wouldn't be here for dinner. Someone impatiently knocks at the door. Liz answers and is surprised to see a swaying Joe Haskell out there. Yes, he says, it's good old reliable Joe! You're drunk, observes Liz. I want to see Carolyn--and now, insists Joe, barging past Liz and Vicki into the foyer.
How about it? asks Joe--do I get to see Carolyn, or did you lock her up in this dungeon of yours? If you can still drive, says Liz, I suggest that you leave. With all due respect, says Joe, I've been listening to suggestions for too many years--where is she, Miss Winters?--upstairs--he starts to drift that way. Vicki tells him he's being very foolish. I'm being smart, he corrects, what I was was foolish--not saying anything. I don't think he knows what he's talking about, Liz remarks to Vicki. If Mohammed won't come to mountain, says Joe, starting to stagger upstairs. You stay right here, insists Liz. I'm sorry, Mrs. Stoddard, says Joe. Carolyn hears the ruckus and comes downstairs, asking what's going on down here--Joe, what are you doing here? Paying a visit to my girl, that's what I'm doing, he says. You're potted! (Potted?) She says with a grin. Your mother was more ladylike, she said I was drunk, he tells her--well, let's go into the council room--you too, Miss Winters--everybody!--he heads for the drawing room and Carolyn runs in there, too. I don't know what you're trying to do, she says. Sit down, orders Joe. I think that you're the one that ought to sit down, says Carolyn, hands on hips. You're funny, you know that, you're a very funny girl, says Joe--also a very sad girl. What do you want? asks Liz. Joe turns to her and says I want you to know what you did to her, that's what I want. Me? asks Liz. Joe, listen to me, says Carolyn... No, you listen to me! says Joe--do you know when you're going to get married?--never--it isn't me, it isn't anybody--it's you, old spinster you, sitting in your dungeon, keeping your mother company. I insist that you leave, says Liz, her voice cold. I will, says Joe, but not until I've said what I came to say. I think I ought to go, says Vicki to Liz, her voice uncomfortable. No, you stay, insists Joe, you hear this--you want to live in this house, you ought to hear what it does to you--you know why she doesn't want to marry me?--because she's scared to marry anybody. That's not true! says Carolyn. Oh yes it is, says Joe--you laugh and you make jokes and run around like crazy, but inside you're shaking like a rabbit--and do you know why?--because of her--and he turns to Liz again. That's enough! says Liz. I haven't finished, says Joe--Carolyn, look at your mother, she's been sitting in this house for 18 years--she's never even gone off this hill since the day your father walked out on her. That is no concern of yours! insists Carolyn.
Oh yes it is! cries Joe--Mrs. Stoddard, I love your daughter and I want to get married--but she won't because she sees what it did to you--put you in a prison--a big, rotten prison--he turns and nearly falls, but grabs hold of the armoire for support. Joe! cries Carolyn, and she and Carolyn run to help him. I'm all right, he assures them--you did it to her, says Joe to Liz, you did it to her. I think you'd better sit down, says Vicki, as she and Carolyn help Joe to the sofa. He holds his head like it hurts. Maybe just for a minute, he agrees as they seat him. It's a prison, Miss winters, says Joe, if you stay here, you'll be as nuts as the rest of them. Sit quietly, advises Vicki. Only trouble is, says Joe, see, I'm stuck--I love her--and I'm stuck--and he tilts his head to one side and passes out. He's out cold, says Vicki. Carolyn tells her mother that what Joe said isn't true. Liz turns away, as if ashamed. Vicki, whatever got into him? Carolyn asks. He loves you, says Vicki, I think I'd better go into town now--and she leaves. Carolyn looks at her mother, who stands, sad-faced. Carolyn sits beside Joe and tells him it isn't true--none of what you said is true.
Blue Whale - Burke drinks his beer and reads some papers as a couple gyrates in front of him. He takes a hit of his cigarette and smiles up at someone who joins him. Miss Winters, he says, rising, this is a surprise. Oh? she says. I didn't know you ever came into here, he says. I don't, she says, this is my first time. You looking for someone? he asks. I found him, she replies--may I sit down.
Of course, he says, and pulls out the chair for her. She surveys him with nervous determination.
NOTES: So what is our Vicki doing, jumping into the lion's den to meet Burke Devlin? Surely she knows how much the family would object, but she borrowed Carolyn's car and went anyway. She has a good reason, as you will soon see, but you've got to admire this girl's pluck. I like her!
I like Burke, too, he's a good guy, basically, and has good reasons for his anger. He was great with David, a most difficult kid, which says a lot for him, and even though Joe professed to hate him, he still talked with him about his problems. Joe was probably almost as upset about his friend's wife being pregnant because HE, Joe, wants a wife and children, too--with Carolyn.. It wasn't just the loss of the boat.
Once again, we have Carolyn agreeing with Roger, that David should be sent away for the sake of the family. But because he IS family, and she loves him, Liz won't hear of it. Plus, she lied to Carolyn and said that Roger feels as she does. He didn't, but Liz left out that little detail, manipulating everything her way.
Loved the way Joe got drunk and stormed Collinwood. I think he would have been more credible if he'd been sober, but he's probably right about Carolyn not wanting to marry him because she's scared, having seen what happened to her mother. Liz believed it, too, you could tell. What a sad, messed-up family!
Episode #34 - "My name is Victoria Winters. I began my search in Collinwood, there in the great mansion on Widows' Hill, surrounded by the ghosts of the past. I had hoped to unlock the secrets of my beginning, but the key has not yet been found--and the search goes on, carrying me to a meeting with a man I wasn't sure I could trust."
The strains of calming music from the Blue Whale jukebox play in the background. Vicki and Burke are in deep, earnest conversation at a table topped with a checkered tablecloth. "Satisfied?" Vicki asks Burke, who has been smiling at her. "Very much," he responds. She informs him she doesn't like being stared at, and he says she's much too pretty not to be used to it by now. "How did you find me?" he asks. She says it wasn't very difficult, she went to his hotel, where he'd left word he'd be at the Blue Whale. "I never thought you'd come," he said. "Neither did I," she responds, bemused. What made her change her mind? he asks. "Inches, feet, miles," she says. What does that mean? he asks. She came all the way from New York to Maine to learn something about her past, and hasn't yet. She's traveled so many miles, she points out, and "if you can help, I'd be foolish not to come ashore a distance from Collinwood to hear." Burke says ironically, "Miss Winter, the distance between here and Collinwood is a good deal farther than you think."
Bob delivers a drink to Vicki. "Happy discoveries," Burke says, raising his glass of beer to her sherry. She toasts back. He never figured her for the "sherry type." She says she didn't know there was such a thing. Oh, yes, he says--Mrs. Stoddard is the sherry type. Carolyn, though she'd like to think of herself as something stronger, is strictly soda. "And what am I?" Vicki demands flirtatiously, smiling. "I'm not sure," Burke says, "it's a toss-up between a chocolate malt and champagne." "That's quite a range," says Vicki, grinning hugely, obviously enjoying his description of her. "Maybe we can find out which it is over dinner," suggests Burke, an eager spark in his eyes. He assures her she can get the best lobster in the world there. She says she isn't hungry, and he offers steamed clams. She doesn't want to think about dinner at the moment--forestalling her refusal, he says if she's worried about calories, they can skip the butter sauce, tastes just as good without it. "Actually, it's me I'm worried about," says Vicki. "The champagne you...or the malted you?" he challenges her. Neither--she says she's concerned about the letter from the Hammond Foundling Home, where she was raised..."but then you know about that, don't you?" Yes, he admits. She explains that the letter says a private detective had been making inquiries about her. That's right, Burke says, and he hired him. Why? she asks. He wants to discuss it over dinner. "You said you have that private detective's report!" she reproaches him. He does--in his hotel room. "But you knew that's why I'd be coming!" she protests. "Miss Winters, Miss Winters!" he cries. When he originally asked her out for dinner, she refused, he reminds her. She knows, she says, angry with herself. He suggests since the lobsters are here and the report in his hotel room, why not first things first? "I'd rather go to your hotel room," she says forthrightly, staring into his eyes. "Do you mean that?" he asks. "Of course I do," she responds, standing. "Shall we go?" Burke rises, too. "Miss Winters, you amaze me," he says, grinning.
"I want to see that report, Mr. Devlin," she says insistently, "and if we have to go to your hotel room, then that's where we'll go." He drapes her coat over her shoulder and says, "Champagne...definitely champagne."
(Scene not summarized.)
Joe sits on the sofa, holding his aching head, sipping a cup of coffee, and hesitantly asks Carolyn what he said to her mother. Just a few friendly little things, she teases, like, "She ruined my life by bringing me up in this house." "Oh, boy," Joe moans, holding his head, "I think I'll kill myself." She orders him to finish the coffee first, and he laments that he doesn't know how he could have said those things. "Because you meant them, Joe," she says candidly. He insists he was just plain drunk and suggests her mother must be pretty sore at him. "Yup," she says with mock reproach. He says he's sorry, and she points out that everyone has to blow off steam once in a while. He nods ruefully. He explains to her how the guy he was going to buy the boat with backed out, and, feeling sorry for himself, he left work and headed straight for the bar. She leaves the seat by the fireplace and sits beside him on the couch, telling him how sorry she is for his unfortunate turn of luck. "I don't know, Carolyn," Joe says, "everything seems to be going wrong--the boat, you...I made an idiot of myself." He apologizes again. Carolyn grins tolerantly and says he's said it all. He tells her he ran into Burke Devlin in the bar and told him off too--and he's NOT sorry about that! "You really made a night of it--didn't you?" she asks, still smiling like he's a naughty boy. He looks away.
Burke lets Vicki into his hotel suite and suggests she make herself comfortable. He takes her coat and asked if her friends call her Vicki. Yes, she says, sitting on the sofa. He asks if THEY can pretend they are friends, just for the night? He'd like to have dinner sent up. Vicki reminds him she came up to read a report. He asks if she believes in eating--or is it that she's afraid of being up there too long? Vicki smiles. "I'm not afraid of you, Mr. Devlin," she says. He says she needn't be, and offers her steak or lobster--and reminds her the name is Burke. Sticking to the subject at hand, Vicki asks, "Burke, why did you have that report made?" Curiosity, he says. She questions him about his curiosity about her--he never heard of her before she came to Collinsport. He asks if she wants him to level with her, and she says, "Please." He explains that she went to work for the Collins family, and he has "kind of an interest in them." She wants to know what that has to do with her--she was hired as a governess and isn't a family member. Burke wants to know why the report bothers he so much, and she insists it doesn't. Burke says it's almost as though she has something to hide. She wishes she did--she's not afraid of what his detective learned about her, it's just the opposite--"I want those answers more than you do!" Chastened by her honesty and determination, Burke says, "I'll get the report." He heads towards the back room.
Back at Collinwood, Joe rises painfully from the couch and surveys the painting over the fireplace of one of the Collins ancestors. Carolyn comes in with more coffee and a sandwich and tells him that guy has him beat by a mile--that was her great-grandfather, and his sober days were more rare than his drunken ones. Joe says he isn't hungry, but Carolyn insists he eat the sandwich anyway--and have some more coffee. He clutches the mantle, grins sheepishly and says, "I guess you still love me anyway, don't you?" She settles back on the sofa, gives him a brilliant smile, and says, "Shut up and have the sandwich." "Yes, ma'am," Joe agrees, and joins her on the sofa. He sips more coffee and she asks him how much booze he drank. He can't remember. "Uh, oh," he says, causing her to ask him who else he told off. It's not that--he forgot to pay for his drinks. He resolves to stop off on his way home and pay his tab. She asks him to make it a quick stop, and, smiling, he suggests she's worried about him. Counting on her fingers, she humorously reminds him he made speeches to her, her mother, Vicki and Burke--that's enough for one night! He doesn't know, if Devlin's in the bar, he might find a few more things to say to him. Growing serious, she says that if Burke is still there, she would prefer Joe apologize to him. He says, "You must be joking," and she assures him Burke's really a very nice person. Joe tells her for what he said to the others, he's truly sorry, but what he said to Burke Devlin--"I'm delighted." Carolyn eyes him unhappily and teasingly says he's really horrible. No, he's honest, Joe maintains, how can she expect him to like a man who tried to kill Roger.
Carolyn tells Joe that's not true, even her uncle knows Burke had nothing to do with his car's brake failure. When Joe asks who did, she shrugs and says, "Nobody, it was all an accident!" That doesn't change a thing, Joe says, he still doesn't like Devlin. Carolyn asks why, and Joe says, boyishly," He tried to make a pass at you, that's why." Carolyn asks, "You aren't really jealous of him, are you?" "Shouldn't I be?" he counters. Carolyn leans forward and kisses him tenderly. He caresses her face and returns the kiss. "Maybe not," Joe says, and kisses her more passionately. She touches his cheek and says, "Joe, do me a favor--apologize to Burke." "Nope," he says firmly. "For me?" she asks softly, caressing his cheek. "No," Joe says, "that's why I won't do it--because of you." Carolyn insists Burke doesn't care about her, she's nothing to him. Joe reminds her she's a member of the family, isn't she? He's got his hooks out, can't she see that? She shakes her head and says she doesn't believe it. "Then you're a bigger..." he starts to retort, then shuts up. "Oh, no, no, no, I've done enough damage for one night," he says. "Look, Carolyn, I don't like him, I don't trust him, why don't we just leave it at that, huh?" She gazes back at him, not happy, but agreeing.
Burke is on the phone in his room, ordering two steaks, medium rare, two salads, two black coffees. He offers Vicki dessert, but she, looking through the report, refuses. He hangs up and, hand tucked into his suit coat like Napoleon, asks if she's found any help in what she's read. Nothing she didn't already know, she says disappointedly, and he asks if she's sure. "I asked the same questions," Vicki explains. "Why did Mrs. Stoddard hire me when she'd never heard of me? Why bring me in particular all the way from New York?" And what did they tell her, Burke asks eagerly, seating himself next to Vicki. "Exactly what they told your detective," she says. That no one in the foundling home had ever heard of Collinwood or anyone connected with it." He asks what the people in Collinwood have told her, and she grins and asks, "More curiosity?" He eyes her with some heat and says she came up to his room to learn more about her past. "I don't know what that means, exactly, but if I can help in any way...if there's anything I can do, here I am." "Especially if what you learn can be harmful to the Collins family," she says defensively. He says he can't blame her for not trusting him, he's sure Roger Collins has see to that, but, "Believe me, Vicki, I'm not thinking about them, not at all." She asks why he's so concerned about her and he responds, "Well, we all have our searches, we're all looking for answers. She says that's no reason, and he answers, "Maybe you're the reason, Vicki. Just you." She rises and walks away, saying she doesn't see how he can help. He reminds her he grew up in Collinsport and knows a lot of people. She turns to him and sternly says she doesn't want to be involved in his quarrel with Roger Collins. Why should she? Burke asks. "Because I live in his house, and because I know what he thinks of you." Burke rises and faces her. "What do YOU think of me, Vicki?" She turns her eyes from his and says, "I'm not sure." He says he doesn't know whether he can help her or not, there are no guarantees, but he's willing to try. The rest is up to her.
She looks directly at him and says it's a very long story. "I'm a very patient man," he says gently.
Burke holds the note left with the infant Victoria and reads it aloud: "Her name is Victoria. I can't take care of her." This was the beginning, he asks. She explains that "Winters" was given to her at the foundling home, for the season she was left there. Nothing else but that note, and a cardboard box, Vicki says. "And me." She smiles. "Sounds like East Lynn, doesn't it?" Not when it's real, he says. "Oh, it's real, all right," she said. "The Hammond Foundling Home--my mother, father...everything!" "Poor kid," he murmurs. She assures him it wasn't that bad--he doesn't know how many children grow up in the world without knowing any ties. "I guess I was lucky--I started getting mail." From who? He asks, and she says she doesn't know--"It started coming when I was two years old, an envelope every month, 50 dollars in cash, no return address, no signature, just the money--every month without fail, until I was 16." Burke asks, "And you don't know who it was?" and Vicki replies, "That's why I'm here in Collinsport." She realizes the connection is very slim, but Vicki rises, walks and says thoughtfully, then vehemently, "Most people take their parents for granted, but when you grow up, not knowing who they are, it becomes the most important thing in your life. All those years, when those letters kept coming, all I ever dreamed about was that someone knew who I was...someone cared about me...all I wanted to do was find them." She faces Burke and adds, "That's all I ever wanted." "But why here?" Burke asks, and Vicki explains about the postmark on the envelope--Bangor, Maine. The foundling home made inquiries about them, but got no answers, and Vicki couldn't afford to go to Bangor to look for this unknown person. When she received the letter from Mrs. Stoddard offering her the job in Collinsport, she began to wonder. She had never heard of her. "And you would think there was a connection," Burke suggests. "Probably not, Vicki says sadly, but she had to try. Collinsport is only 50 miles from Bangor. "And I wanted to learn why a woman who didn't know me would be interested enough to offer me a position in her own house." "And did you get an answer?" Burke asks. "I got AN answer--I was told at Collinwood that I was recommended by an anonymous donor to the foundling home. When I asked who she was, Vicki says ruefully, "I was told she preferred to REMAIN anonymous. So, I'm no closer to the answers than I was when I first came here. Maybe there are none...maybe it's just like looking for the end of the rainbow." Burke asks if she went to Bangor, and she says she hasn't had time to breathe. She walked into a whirlpool. Burke asks how important this is to her--really? He warns her that some unpleasant things are going to be happening at Collinwood. Vicki ventures the opinion that it couldn't get any worse, and he warns her that what she has seen is just a ripple--she hasn't touched the whirlpool, but it is there. "Are you telling me I should leave?" she asks, and he answers, "Yes." She insists she can't, and her determination makes him smile and respond, gently, "Then I guess I'll have to help you."
There's a knock at the door. "Dinner!" Burke proclaims, he had nearly forgotten about it. He sends Vicki to wash her hands and after she leaves the room, opens the door to Joe Haskell, who greets him, "Hello, Devlin." Burke observes Joe doesn't look like a piece of steak, and asks why he didn't use the house phone downstairs. Joe steps in and sees the lady's pocketbook on the coffee table. Joe apologizes for breaking in on something and reaches into his pocket, saying he just stopped by to give him some money because Burke paid his bar bill. Burke insists he forget it, but Joe shakes his head and says, "I don't want you paying for my drinks, let's get that straight." Vicki comes in, saying she forgot her purse, and says hello to Joe (caught!) "Hello, Miss Winters" Joe says back, seeming surprised to see her. It's an award moment all around.
Burke suggests to Joe, who hasn't taken his eyes off Vicki, that if he's going to give him some money, do it. Joe hands him eight bucks plus tip, suggests, "Have a pleasant dinner" as if he doesn't really mean it, and leaves. Vicki looks uncomfortable, and Burke reminds her, "Remember, Vicki, I warned you about the whirlpool."
Burke is helping Vicki on with her coat, asking how he's going to handle two steaks. She apologizes; she's just not very hungry. "It was Joe, wasn't it?" he asks. She says she didn't want to get involved in his quarrel with the Collinses, and she meant it. "But why run?" he asks. "Please," she says, "I think it would be best." She smiles gently at him and thanks him for listening. He assures her he meant what he said about helping. She tells him he's very kind, and he says he has an ulterior motive--he wants a rain check on that dinner. "It's a promise," she says, smiling. "Good night." He sees her out, closing the door behind her. It's obvious he is smitten--and suddenly torn. Vicki is getting under his skin, and he's already worried how it's going to affect his unsavory plans for the Collins family.
NOTES: I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. The banter between Burke and Vicki is priceless, and I loved the discussion of her as a cross between a malt and champagne. Since the Vicki I remember from the series is something of a wimp, and everyone always talks about how "virginal" she is, it struck me as plucky that she was willing to go to Burke's hotel room. Even in 1966, the delineation of what "good girls" do and don't do was very clear, and if someone saw Vicki in Burke's apartment (which Joe did), ugly speculation would ensue. Aware of all this, Vicki went anyway. She was determined to see the report Burke had promised to show her, and if it meant compromising her reputation, to hell with it! I admired her determination, tenacity and the way she flirted with Burke. Someone suggested to me that Vicki was in way over her head with Burke Devlin, but I don't know if I disagree. Innocence is very disarming, and you sense that Burke very much likes Victoria Winters already and wants to protect her from men like him!
The scenes with Joe and Carolyn were also charming, cute, and funny. While I dislike the idea that Joe, disappointed because his friend's wife was pregnant and could no longer buy the boat with him, ran right to the bar to drown his sorrows, I realize that was what unhappy men (and women) often did back then. That's how people ended up alcoholics--too much pressure sent folks straight to the liquor bottle. Pity. The thing is, what he said to everyone in his drunken state was true. In my opinion, he shouldn't apologize to any of them. Taking it back doesn't change anything. The honesty would really have helped everyone; apologizing disarms Joe's salient points. Notice that Carolyn won't say she loves him back, and it's obvious she really doesn't. He's a nice guy, but not what she wants. Pity she doesn't realize what a great guy she has in Joe Haskell. He would have made a terrific husband for her. Whether she would have made him an equally good wife is the best argument against this pairing. Joe should not have backed down from his feelings to Liz regarding Carolyn. He's right.
Vicki's discussion with Burke about herself as a girl growing up in a foundling home is honest and poignant. You can almost see him falling in love with her already, despite himself, and it's nice to observe how Vicki rounds the hard edges in the prickly Burke. You already feel that they are good for each other. Of course, she feels awkward at being "caught" in Burke's room by Joe, despite her innocent reason for being there. Poor Burke orders dinner for both of them (he lobbied so hard for her to join him for dinner, and lost her anyway; that was sad). I hated to see him disappointed. Joe's disapproval of Vicki being in Burke's room was palpable, but he has no reason to go tattling on her. Will he? We'll see. We know Burke's "whirlpool" warning is right on!
I had more fun with this show than any thus far. We learned a lot about Carolyn, Joe, Burke and Vicki, and the interaction of the two couples was fascinating to watch.
Love, Robin
