730 - (Louis Edmonds) - A dark and ominous night at Collinwood before the turn of the century--a night when a young child has had a strange and disturbing dream in which she was the return of someone she loves very much. But even more disturbing is the child's belief, upon awakening, that the dream will somehow come true if it is re-enacted. And so she has gone out alone into the night, hoping to transform a dream into reality.
Mother! cries Nora. Laura tells her daughter, it's good to see you again. I knew I'd find you again, exults Nora. "You had a dream," says Laura, hugging her. How did you know? asks Nora. I had the very same dream, says Laura. They agree that's strange. Jamison has missed you, too, says Nora, and will be happy to know you're here. I'm anxious to see him, says Laura. Sadly, Nora asks, why did you stay away so long? I had to, says Laura. Because you were so sick? asks her daughter--that's what Father and Aunt Judith told us. I'm sure nothing about them has changed, says Laura ironically. Nora says, I'm glad--now that we are together again, Father won't send us away to school. School? demands Laura--where? Someplace in Rockport, says Nora, and we don't want to go! "Of course you don't want to go!" cries Laura, kneeling to clasp her daughter's arms--"You'd much rather stay with me, wouldn't you?" Yes, says Nora. Laura asks her to get Jamison and bring him here--I don't think Edward will allow me into the house. When he sees you? asks Nora. No, says Laura, I have a better idea, a way you won't have to go to that school--bring Jamison here and the three of us will go away--and we'll be together always. Nora doesn't want it to be that way, nor does Jamison--we want you with us, as it should be--why can't it be that way, why? demands Nora. Laura doesn't know--perhaps it can. She agrees to go to Collinwood, but not right now--soon, very soon, promises Laura, and tells her daughter to go home. Nora fears if she goes back to Collinwood, her mother will disappear again! Laura assures her that won't happen--I want to be with my children--I can't come now because there's something I must do before I come back to Collinwood. You aren't just saying that, are you? asks Nora. No, Laura assures her, and gives her something to prove it--a scarab she removes from her dress--a "special good luck charm" found in a faraway place--I was told never to be without it, but I want you to keep it, as a reminder that I will keep my word. Nora examines the scarab and says, I see the same kind of symbols I made in my drawing. Father was very angry at me--he thought Quentin had taught me.
This disturbs Laura--is Quentin back at Collinwood? Yes, says Nora, he came back just before Edith died. "I see," says Laura--go back to the house. Nora wants to talk to her a little longer, but Laura says, keep our meeting secret--you can only tell Jamison, no one else--I want my return to Collinwood to come as a surprise--to everyone, she adds, grinning.
Edward, on the phone with Trask, says I've decided to send the children to your school. Jamison, on the stairs, overhears. "Not today," says Edward, "I haven't had a chance to talk with them yet." Jamison races upstairs. Edward explains to Trask, I didn't want to make the same mistake I did before--it did come as a severe shock to them--I'll prepare them over the weekend and they'll be ready Monday, he promises, but looks troubled when he hangs up.
Quentin is about to turn on his music when Jamison enters his room. Father is sending us to school, he says desperately. Don't get so upset, Quentin says. I don't want to go to school! Says Jamison--how will we get Father to change his mind? We can't, says Q, smiling, so we'll have to approach this problem from a different direction--we can't stop Edward from sending you away, but perhaps we can keep Trask from coming to get you--we'll play our magic game, the same we played with Barnabas. We need something that belongs to Trask, then, says Jamison. We do have something, a book he'd brought with him, says Quentin--we'll go to the cottage this afternoon, and you will concentrate very hard while I say all the right words, and Trask will be too scared to come to Collinwood again.
They smile together. Nora knocks at the door, looking for her brother. Quentin assures Jamison, I'll go get "the things" ready--meet me in the foyer in an hour. He leaves. Jamison tells his sister he isn't in the mood to play. That isn't why, she says, everything will be all right now!--I know for sure--I saw and talked to our mother--she's going to come back to us! Jamison looks skeptical.
On the landing, Nora says, "You really know how to be impossible, Jamison Collins!" (Sounds like the sibling-itis is already affecting the next generation, doesn't it?) Stop talking to me, orders Jam ison, I have other things to worry about--like that school. Our mother won't let us go, Nora assures him. I've been seeing, dreaming of and talking about our mother many times, says Jamison, and it hasn't happened yet. This time it did, insists Nora, she held me in her arms, out on Widows' Hill--it started with a dream, but a feeling the dream would come true--I went out there, and there she was! Where is she now? demands Jamison--why didn't she come back with you? She had something else to do first, says Nora. Jamison thinks she's imagining it, and walks away from her. Pissed, she takes the scarab from her pocket and shows it to him. It's a brooch, she says, and I got it from our mother--a good luck charm. We need some good luck if we're going to stay in Collinwood, says Jamison grimly. All will be well when our mother comes back, says Nora--she promised we wouldn't be sent. . . Edward overhears this last; he reminds her what he told her last night--to stop this nonsense about her mother, yet here she is, babbling about it yet again. Nora apologizes. It apparently takes more than a warning to teach you a lesson, says Edward, so both of you are to stay in your rooms today. Jamison protests--I didn't do anything! Edward orders him upstairs anyway. Unfair, declares Jamison, I had something important to do today--but he can't tell his father what it was. Then he lies, "Quentin was going to take me on a hike." I might have known it involved Quentin, remarks Edward sourly--why must you always do things with Quentin? "Because no one else ever asks me," says the little boy sadly. (awww!) You'll have to postpone your hike, says Edward. He sends both children upstairs, then gazes into the fire. Quentin enters, quipping, "Oh come on, Edward, it can't be that bad--or can it?" It will be all right after this weekend, says Edward, I'm sending the children to the school. "And not the least of which is Jamison's inordinate affection for me," says Q. The boy is young, impressionable, says Edward, but he's had enough of your chicanery and humbug, it's time he matures in more healthy surroundings. Since you would never ask for my opinion, says Quentin, I'm going to volunteer it: "Your children will be better off with Simon Legree than that so-called Reverend Trask!" Quentin leaves. Edward is angry.
In Quentin's room, Nora warns him they can't stay here--we were told to go to our rooms. I have to talk to Quentin, insists Jamison. Nora fears their father will check their rooms and find them not there. Go to your room, then, if you're so scared, says Jamison. I don't want you getting into anymore trouble, she whines. It doesn't matter, I'm in enough, thanks to you, he retorts. She apologizes--I didn't know he'd overhear us. Quentin comes in. Jamison tugs his jacket (cute, Henesy gives an obvious look at the ¢â‚¬Ëœprompter here) says, "I couldn't wait in the foyer for you!" Quentin assures him that's all right--their little game is strictly for men, so Nora can't play 9chauvinist!). I can't, either, says Jamison, we have to stay in our rooms and I don't know how I'm going to get out. Quentin notices Nora fidgeting with the scarab. He goes over and takes it from her. It's only an old brooch, she says, I found it. Quentin, panic-stricken, searches furiously through the papers on his desk, finds a book, opens it, and compares. . .
There's a knock at the door downstairs; Edward goes to answer it. Seeing Laura, and Edward's face turns to fury-filled stone. "Aren't you going to ask me to come in, Edward?" she asks sweetly--please say something, she begs. The most appropriate word, says Edward would be Goodbye! If you want to be unkind, I won't stop you, says Laura--I deserve it. She walks through the foyer, into the drawing room. Edward closes the doors. "How dare you come back to this house!" he says. I couldn't stay away, replies Laura, because despite what I did, this is where I belong. You won't stay here, you'd better understand that right now, blusters Edward. You're looking well, says Laura. Spare me your flattery, Edward orders. I want to see the children, she insists. He flatly refuses. I'm their mother, she reminds him, and as much as part of me as of you. You feel nothing for them and never have, says Edward--you abandoned them and ran off with Quentin, and as far as I'm concerned, gave up your parental rights then. I can't believe the children wouldn't want to see me, says Laura. How they feel is quite beside the point, says Edward. How can you say that? she asks, incredulous. I have no doubt you have some reason for returning, he says, and if you'll be good enough to tell me what it is, I'll try to accommodate you, and then you will leave--I can't express my feelings more clearly than that. I want you to take me back, she says plaintively. You must be insane! he says. I know you have every right to hate me, but please don't, she begs--I know how wrong. . .Spare me your feelings, demands Edward, they mean nothing to me.
Oh, Edward, I am so sorry, she says, but I can't help myself, I'm throwing myself on your mercy, do you think that easy for me? Yes, I do, he responds. (You do get the feeling this is all an act on Laura's part.) Please don't be cruel, she asks. I refuse to be taken in by all this, he says. I want only a second chance, on any terms you dictate, she says--please don't turn me away--I've been through so much suffering and misery, but I've learned from it, I swear!--all I want is a chance to prove it to you! Edward is stone-faced, and Laura tries again--I have no one else to turn to, no where else to go, don't you understand that? She breaks into tears.
Quentin is looking through the book while Nora and Jamison watch him. Quentin demands that Nora tell him where she got the brooch. I found it, she lies, but don't remember exactly where, someplace in the woods. It's very important, he says, didn't someone give this to you? She doesn't respond. Quentin says, "Answer me, Nora!" She looks away, then says, "No one gave it to me." He leaves the room, hurriedly. Jamison and Nora exchange looks.
Laura begs Edward for an answer. He asks if she's quite recovered now. Yes, she says. He tells her, stiffly, wait here for me, I'll be back in a moment--I am getting several thousand dollars to give to you, but you must promise to leave and never come back--we have nothing more to discuss, and you are to remain in the room while I'm gone. Realizing her pleas have failed, Laura wanders the drawing room. She stares into the fire. Quentin, brooch in hand, races downstairs and into the drawing room. Stunned, he stands stock still, staring at Laura, who airily says, "Hello, Quentin. I've been looking forward to seeing you again. We have a lot to talk to each other about, don't we? " (Come on, baby light my fire! There's gonna be a hot time in Collinwood tonight) Quentin stares at her in total disbelief.
"No, you're dead! I saw you die!" he says in a hushed, terrified voice.
NOTES: Quentin's ladies all have a stake in him, don't they, LOL? He claims he saw Laura, a former mistress, die; Jenny, his present, insane wife, who is somewhere in the house, hating him, remembering their once-happy life together, thinking him dead; Beth, the woman he so wants, ready, willing and able, apparently, to give up her virginity to keep Jenny safe (she really is a self-sacrificing gal, our Beth). Edmonds continues to delight in his role as the stuffy, uptight Edward.
At least Roger gained a sense of humor as part of his ancestry. Selby is so much fun here, a rake and blackguard whose past is returning to haunt him. No Rachel, or Barnabas, sadly, but wait until you see Barnabas' reaction to Laura. And there will be a fascinating battle coming up as two ladies with supernatural powers lock horns--a super-bitch fight.
731 - (Louis Edmonds) - Barnabas Collins has gone back in time to Collinwood in the year 1897. There, he must unravel a mystery of the past in order to save the life of a young boy in the present. But as time moves forward again, the mystery becomes more complex. On this day, Laura Collins has suddenly returned to Collinwood, knowing she will be unwelcome by her husband, Edward, and knowing also that she will strike terror into the heart of at least one other Collins.
Laura is shocked to hear Quentin insist he saw her die--how bizarre, she comments. Stay away from me, he commands. But we were always such CLOSE FRIENDS, she reminds him, yet now you're afraid of me. I know what I saw, he says--you were sacrificed on a burning pyre in Alexandria, and are dead. Absurd, she says, how could I be here? I saw you surrounded by flames, he insists. She approaches him. When she realizes how frightened he is, she backs off and asks, am I any different than I was when we were "together." Don't try to convince me, he says. If it were true and I managed to escape the fire, says Laura, I'd be scarred for life--do I look scarred to you? No, he admits. When we were in Egypt together, she reminds him, you were wrapped up in the occult and supernatural, you must have lost contact with reality--your vision of my sacrifice was the result of either a bad dream or hallucination (opium?) I think- you've come back to haunt me, he says. She suggests he face certain facts--I'm here, alive, not an apparition--take my hand, and you'll see. He refuses to touch her. There was a time you wouldn't have hesitated at all, she says smugly, and reaches out to him--I think you had better take my hand to convince yourself--if you're going to go around telling people I'm dead, they will have you committed--"I'm waiting," she says. Reluctantly, he takes her gloved hand, hesitantly curling his fingers around hers. See, I'm the same warm-blooded woman I always was, says Laura--do you feel better now? No, he says, and I never will with you in my house. That's your guilt speaking, she accuses. Don't talk about guilt! he orders, furious. Unlike you, I'm prepared to deal with mine, she retorts. What does that mean? he demands. I've learned my lesson and come back to ask Edward for a second chance, she explains.
Quentin sarcastically chuckles, "The repentant woman." Oh, you feel the urge to laugh? she asks. Oh, yes, he assures her, indeed--I'll wait for Edward--we haven't had a good laugh in years. You're just the same as you were, she says--just as conceited and vile. He demands to know the real reason she returned. It's none of your business, she says. I intend to make it my business, he promises. "Don't, Quentin," she says--"take my advice and leave me alone--I want nothing to do with you--you're a stranger to me, a total stranger." Edward joins them and leaps in for the attack--you two didn't waste any time, did you--did you smell each other out, or was it all pre-arranged? Quentin assures him, I hadn't the slightest idea she was here. Edward doesn't believe it. Quentin asks him to be quiet and listen, but Edward is sure Quentin sent for Laura--and it won't work--you may take up where you left off, but not in this house! Quentin asks, are you finished?--these are my true feelings--I didn't send for her, don't want her here, or in Collinsport. (He will not take her in a bed, nor ride her on a sled)--the sooner you send her away, the better off all of us will be. Edward demands to know what kind of scheme this is. It's no scheme, says Q--get her out of her! Precisely what I intend to do! says Edward, glaring at Laura. He hands her an envelope full of money and orders her to take it and leave--now. She takes the envelope and says, now that you've both had your say, it's only fair that I have mine--I didn't come back for money, she tells Edward, I came back because I've changed, and intend to prove it. She gives him back the envelope and says, resign yourself to the reality of the situation--I'm back to stay, and there is nothing that you or anyone else can do to make me leave (and she says this last directly to Quentin).
Laura surveys her husband and lover. Edward assures her she IS leaving the house, with or without the money. If you force me to leave, you'll be making a mistake! warns Laura--I think we had better speak privately in your study. They both give Quentin a look. Laura walks out. Edward tells Quentin, let no one know Laura is here. Don't worry, Quentin assures him, you have nothing to fear. Quentin takes the scarab from his pocket and gazes at it thoughtfully.
Study - Laura enters and Edward shortly after. She says, I'm looking forward to being mistress of Collinwood again. "You could never be that even if you were welcome here," says Edward. "A lot has happened since you've been gone--Judith is now mistress of Collinwood." This displeases Laura. Then I can't stand on pride, says Laura--I'll have to be content being Mrs. Edward Collins. Never happen, says Edward--say what you must, then leave. I've tried to make it palatable, telling you I'm sorry, begging for mercy, she says, and thought it would make it easier for you to accept me back. Because I don't believe you, he says. All right, says Laura, let me put it this way--you have the power to put me out of this house, but if you do, you'll be the laughing stock of all Collinsport, if not the whole state--what did you tell your friends when I left?--that I went on an extended vacation or was ill and had to be put in the hospital? What I told people is unimportant, says Edward. It's what you didn't tell them that's important, says Laura--that I ran off with your charming brother. Edward looks furious. How many people know that? she asks. Only Laura, Quentin, myself and Judith, says Edward, totally pissed off. If you reject me now, do you realize how many people are going to know? she asks. You wouldn't dare, he says. If you don't let me stay here, I will go and live, anyway I can, right in town, Laura threatens. "I'll have you run out of Collinsport!" he fumes. Not before I cause a big scandal, she promises. You claims to love your children, yet you would be so low to start such a scandal, he accuses. I am that desperate, she says--I have no where else to go, no one to turn to. You won't ruin our lives, I won't allow it, says Edward. Family pride is your greatest weakness, she says--you'll go to any length to avoid a public scandal. Don't be so sure, he warns. Then I'll leave now, she says--I've already taken a room at the Collinsport Inn--"Goodbye." Wait, he says--you will go to the Inn, get your belongings and bring them here. "Thank you, Edward," she says, knowing all along she would win. There will be certain conditions, he tells her. They better have nothing to do with the children, she warns. Be quiet, he demands--there will be a room upstairs for you when you come back--you'll stay there temporarily until I can arrange to have a cottage prepared for you. Laura says, I should be here if I'm to be mistress of Collinwood.
"You are NOT going to be mistress of Collinwood!" yells Edward--"Let that be understood now."--you will stay in the cottage and we will each go our separate ways--I will explain our arrangement to the children. When may I see them? asks Laura We'll make the necessary arrangements when you move in, he says. She promises to be in residence sometime this evening, and bids him au revoir. Edward picks up the phone and calls Reverend Trask--and hurry, he says--I've decided I don't want to wait to send the children to you--they will come immediately, today. Arrangements made, Edward thanks him, and hangs up.
Drawing room, Collinwood - Quentin examines the scarab. When Rachel greets him with "good evening", he asks what's good about it--something is very wrong, he tells her, but there's nothing anyone could do about it--my dear brother has already done the damage by allowing his wife to return--he's welcomed the fallen woman back into the fold, and must be out of his mind. Rachel is stunned to hear Mrs. Collins is back, as Quentin puts it, "in all her glory."--I thought she was never coming back. That's what we all thought, says Quentin. Why are you so upset? she asks. Sometime, he says we'll sit down and I'll tell you all about Laura Collins--in the meantime, excuse me, I need a drink or several. He leaves. Rachel answers the knock at the door. It's Tim Shaw, her old Worthington Hall buddy. They're thrilled to see each other and hug, admitting how much they've missed each other. She backs away from him, suddenly upset. Trask was here, she tells him--he told me you'd gone back to the school--is that true? Tim says yes. How could you go back to that place? She asks, upset--why are you here now, to talk to me?--it isn't going to do any good, and you know that, she says willfully. No, says Tim, he'll talk to you himself, I'mhere to get the Collins children and take them to the school.
Rachel is shocked--I don't believe Edward would send his children to that place--I don't believe YOU going back to that place--why?--we ran away from that place together, telling each other we would always be free. Trask caught up with me, explains Tim, his back to her--gave me the choice of returning to the school or being turned over to the police--there's something I never told you, something that happened shortly before we ran away--when I went to get the money Trask owed us, Simon Briar, Mrs. Trask's brother, caught me and accused me of stealing it--we got into a fight and I knocked him unconscious--Simon died that night, and Trask says I killed him, and can prove it--I can't prove otherwise, but whether I did or not, I can't prove it in a court of law, so Trask had me dead to rights--I had to go back and fulfill the rest of the contract. Rachel looks resigned, but angry. Tim thinks it was actually a good thing, but Rachel turns on him--how could you say that, Trask is a sadist! True, says Tim, but we were good for the children, and as long as I'm there. . .besides, I decided to take a new tack with Trask--I know he can't be persuaded to change his mind, but I'm trying to temper him, get him to be more tolerant with the children. I guess you aren't succeeding, she says bitterly. Tim insists I'm making some progress--Rachel, listen, he says, isn't it better to light even one candle than curse the darkness? He's taken all of the spirit out of you, she lashes out, all your will to fight back--"He's defeated you!" Tim coldly asks her to have the children to come down--I have work to do at the school.
Venomously, she says, "Yes, of course, you must not linger here too long, you must be a good teacher, you must not do anything that might anger your headmaster!" She leaves him, furious. Tim just looks sad.
Cottage - Quentin, obviously very drunk, drinks some more, calling to Angelique. "Please come to me now!" he begs. "You said if I ever needed you, I could summon you. Well, I'm summoning you--appear to me!"
Nearly 7:30 - Tim waits in the foyer. Rachel comes in from outside and tells him the children and their luggage are in the carriage--"Thank you for allowing me to say goodbye to them alone." Coldly, he says, "Of course" and starts to walk out. "Tim!" she cries. I'm sorry for what I said before; I know how intimidating Trask can be even to someone who is strong--I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. What will you do now? he asks. Edward told me I could stay another week or two until we see how it works out at the school, she replies. Maybe we'll see each other again, says Tim, hopefully. Maybe, says Rachel, I don't know. He leaves. Rachel is very upset.
Quentin drunkenly sits by the fireplace and tells Angelique she made him a promise, and she owes it to him to keep it. He helped her, now she must help him! He sways around, pissed off. Laura comes in, asking if he's taken to talking to himself--a very bad habit. What are you doing Here? he demands. I'm going to be staying in the cottage, didn't Edward tell you? she asks. Yes, says Quentin, annoyed. Are you up to your old occult tricks? she asks--if you're imploring your own dark deities to get rid of me, you can forget it, she says. He walks toward her unsteadily. "You're dead," he says. She notes he's been drinking again, so she must really have him very worried. I saw you die in Alexandria, he says, his face an inch from hers. You imagined it, she insists. Quentin, pouting, says I didn't--you're dead, aren't you?--answer! She asks how she can possibly answer a question like that. He says he'll have to answer it himself, and grabs her by the throat. She demands he let her go--you're hurting me! Hurting you? he asks, I'm going to do far more than hurt you--if you aren't dead now, you will be, very soon!
And he tightens his grip on her throat as her eyes widen.
NOTES: Great seeing Don Briscoe back as Tim. Trask apparently believes in using blackmail and intimidation to keep others where he wants them. Rachel showed some backbone, and that was nice to see. Quentin as a drunk is hilarious, I always enjoyed his performance when under the influence, LOL. Must have been some passionate nights in Egypt between these two, but it's turned to hatred now, and bewilderment on Q's part--how can she be alive after he saw her roasted on that funeral pyre? Laura was another strong lady who always managed to get the men just where she wanted them. You can tell already how she feels about Judith, and the only reason Edward allowed her back is to keep scandal from the children (mostly the kids, but the Collins family good name, too). This just gets better and better as all the players assemble!
Love, Robin
