792 - The flashily dressed man introduces himself to Quentin as Aristede. He again demands the hand, but Quentin refuses. Aristede points out, you were willing to kill your friend (Evan) just a minute ago for it, but you'll give it up eventually--I can be very persuasive and persistent. You're not getting it, insists Quentin. Aristede draws out a curvy knife--this was made by a Persian swordsmith a long time ago, he explains--he called her the Dancing Girl--isn't she beautiful? He holds it up to Quentin, warning, when she dances for you, it's the dance of death, and I don't really want to hurt you. Quentin asks, how did you know?--and how did you find me? That's my business, says Aristede--to find and get what I need. He refuses to tell Quentin why he needs the hand--just give it to me, he demands--and quickly, the Dancing Girl is getting restless. Suppose we come to an arrangement, suggests Quentin--I'll keep the hand until it does what it must, then give it to you. Aristede laughs--excuse me for being rude--there's no need for any deal as long as I have the Dancing Girl. I need the hand!, insists Quentin Find some other way out of your difficulties, advises Aristede--I hope you do--that faces doesn't suit you at all--put the box on the desk. Quentin tries one valiant last attempt to hang onto it, but fails, and is forced to put it on the desk as Aristede holds the knife against his throat. "Delighted to have met you, Mr. Collins," he says. "So sorry we won't be meeting again." Aristede exits, laughing, leaving Quentin exceedingly pissed.
Old House - Magda worries about Quentin--where is he?--what's gone wrong?--did the police get him, or something even worse? She hears rustling; Quentin appears. She helps him into the house. I went to Collinwood, then Evan's, he explains--I had the hand, but I didn't get it--someone took it away from me. That's crazy, says Magda, who? A stranger, says Quentin. Someone sent by the gypsies, guesses Magda, gasping, covering her stomach with her hands--I knew Johnny Romana would send after it, but I thought we had a little time at least. The man took the hand and left, says Quentin. He's on his way here to
kill me, says Magda, because the hand was stolen, and someone must pay, and that would be here--I must run, or I'm dead. You'll never escape that young man, predicts Quentin. Magda strops struggling to get away--young? She asks--that makes no sense, they would have sent an elder of the tribe for something this important. You must stay and help me get back the hand, insists Quentin-- together, we can do it. No, scoffs Magda, together we can do nothing--I'm as good as dead and you're a man who's a stranger to himself--I'd laugh if there was any left in me. All right, agrees Quentin, we're nothing, but with a powerful ally, there's a lot we can do--how about Angelique?--she owes me a favor. She could be anywhere on earth, says Magda--or in hell! On earth or in hell? asks Q--yes, Magda, we must summon Angelique. No, objects Magda, she's trouble, always! Quentin insists Angelique can take care of Johnny Romana and the entire tribe--she can get back the hand, and you won't need to run or me to hide in a world with no hiding places.
Magda agrees--we have no choice, but how will we summon her? Get some black candles, orders Quentin. She leaves the room and returns with them, fitting three into a candelabra. Quentin lights them. He raises his hands and, sounding almost orgasmic, calls to Angelique--climb from the pits of hell, if that's where you are--you are needed, he calls, NOW!
Evan returns to consciousness. As his vision clears, he hears and sees a giggling Angelique, laughing at him. I'm here to stay, she says, but apparently at a terrible time. He immediately searches for the hand, but it's gone. Quentin and I had a fight, he says. What did he take from you? she asks. What makes you think that? asks Evan. Come on, she chides, give me some credit--Quentin took something from you, but I have a few things to tell you, like my plan for re-establishing myself. Meaning? he asks. I'm returning to the bosom of the Collins family, where I belong, considering my close relation to one of its members--very simple, she says. No so, he counters, considering your fiance was a vampire. How was I to know that? she asks innocently--when I met him, he seemed quite charming, and after that, I merely became one of his helpless victims, forced to act as he wanted me to act, unable to remember what I did. No one will believe you, warns Evan.
Yes, they will, she says, when you tell me what I want you to--Trask and Edward, and all the others who turned against me. They'll turn against you even more if they know the truth about you, he says. They won't know, she says, I won't tell them THAT--I'm with you, with you declaring you knew me before I met Barnabas, how can they ever see me as anything but a poor, unhappy victim of their cousin, the vampire. Evan isn't certain it's such a good idea. You know better than to hesitate, she threatens. Whatever Trask can do to you, I can do far worse!--it is Trask you fear, right? He's a difficult man to convince, says Evan. You do your part, I'll do mine, she says--and Trask will be eating out of my hand. She extends one of her pretty paws. You're not convinced, notes Angelique--why?--what have you been keeping from me? He denies it. Don't act innocent, she commands--what did Quentin steal?--what could be that valuable, I'm fascinated--don't keep me waiting, come over, sit down, and tell me all about it, dear Evan.
Quentin continues calling to the spirit of darkness to come to him, but Magda says it's no use. He wants to keep trying, but she says, give up and goI must leave before the gypsies get me. Quentin stops her--I don't want you to go! Don't try to stop me! she cries. She opens the door to leave and finds Angelique standing there. "You answered my summons!" says Quentin. Angelique looks at him--I didn't realize that, she says, I was just passing by. How did you know me? he asks. Judging by your present appearance, she says, that must be quite a powerful hand--Evan told me all about it. What business do you have with Evan? asks Q. You'll find out in time, she says, but right now, I want to see the hand. You can't, says Q, I don't have it. Evan said you did, says Ang--you'd better not be lying. Quentin had the hand, says Magda, but someone took it from him. Someone ELSE took the hand? asks Ang--this becomes more intriguing by the moment--who took it? Magda describes how she took it from King Johnny Romano to try and end Quentin's curse. Angelique, delighted, says, you sure have been busy--I think you'd better tell her everything--I don't like half truths.
Quentin promises to reveal all if she promises to help him. First I'll listen, says Ang, then perhaps--"Go on, Quentin. Begin."
Evan stands nervously in his apartment. The clock chimes. He picks up the phone and calls Collinsport 332--Edward, I just had an unexpected visitor--Angelique. The unseen, unheard Edward apparently goes into a tirade against Barnabas' fiancee. The situation is not what we thought it was, says Evan--the poor, unhappy girl told me some things you ought to know.
Quentin explains to Angelique and Magda how he lost the hand--the man had a knife, so I had no choice. Leave the room, Angie orders Magda. Why? demands Magda. Go! orders Angelique--and don't eavesdrop--what I have to say is between me and Quentin. Magda switches her skirts and goes upstairs. Quentin asks Ang, are you willing to help me? For a price, she says, which I will tell you in time. (nothing is free with Angie!) You're asking a lot of me, she says, I may ask a lot in return--"Are you prepared to accept that?" Quentin considers--could this be too expensive for him to accept...?
Quentin unhappily asks, what do you want from me? I find your hesitation amusing, she says--could you possibly be in a worse predicament than you are now? He doesn't answer. She apologizes--you needn't answer, she says--I will recover the hand to show my good will, then I'll name my price and you can make your decision. Q agrees. Now, she says, tell me what this gypsy looks like.
On the docks, Aristede walks. He takes out a cheroot and is about to light it when Angelique blows out the match. She grins radiantly at him. He asks, is it customary for women of this town to be here? Are you a stranger? she asks. Yes, he says. So am I, says Ang--where are you from? No place--every place, says Aristede. She grins--that sounds intriguing, she says. I was hoping to do so, he says.
You did, she assures him, smiling. I am someone waiting, he says. For whom? she asks. You, he says (smooth)! I don't believe you, she says. "Don't you?" he asks. I'll pretend I do, she replies, since it's lonely being a stranger here. Where are you from? he asks. No place--and every place, answers Ang. They laugh together. Are you trying to sound like me? he asks. I can, she says--it's my profession--I'm an actress, a puppeteer who arrived with a puppet troupe. He asks, why aren't you with the others? The truth is, she says, I had a quarrel with my. . . ". . .gentleman friend," Aristede finishes. Yes, she says--I felt so terrible, I came down here to be alone, but it's much worse being alone. He takes her in his arms, assuring her, you aren't alone now. She pulls flirtatiously away and offers to entertain him while he's waiting. His eyes widen with appreciation, as he says, "I'm sure you can." She offers to show him. Anything, he agrees. Give me your handkerchief, she asks, and when he does holds it up to her nose--ah, a very expensive scent! I like what's pleasing to the senses, Aristede says. I do, too, she agrees. She takes out what looks like Barnabas' toy soldier--it's you, she says--do you recognize yourself? She wraps the handkerchief around the figure. Not so dapper as you, of course, says Ang, but definitely you--"Turn around and he'll call to you in your own voice--what's your name?" "Aristede, at your service," he says, grandly bowing to her. I like that, she says--turn around. She wraps the handkerchief around the soldier's neck and calls, "Aristede!" in a girlish voice. Aristede laughs--that isn't at all like my voice. She agrees, her face changing from affable to crafty. "But I did fool you," she says, tightening the red handkerchief around the soldier's throat, causing Aristede to choke. What's happening?--what are you doing to me? he gasps. Choking you, she says cruelly. Stop! he begs, clutching his throat. When I get the hand, she says. This stuns him. Give it quickly, she orders--any moment now, it will be too late. She viciously twists the handkerchief around the soldier's throat. . .
NOTES: So, we meet Aristede, the mysterious young gypsy who has, unfortunately, been introduced to Angelique's worst side. It was great seeing her back again, in fine acting fettle, and you had to love the way she toyed with Aristede--and oh, that flamboyant gown she was wearing, the perfect puppeteer's trashy raiment. Observe how easily Angelique is letting Barnabas swing in the breeze, forsaking her beloved fiance just to stay in good with the family who has forsaken him. Bad girl, but looking to survive. One always has to worry when Angelique wants to cut a deal--Quentin should be most careful. She always wants so very much!
I find I really want to see Evan and Trask get what's coming to them. What they have done to Judith is beyonf cruel, it's inhuman, and I feel they both deserve equal punishment.
793 - Angelique continues to choke dear, sweet Aristede. I can't tell you where the hand is! He declares--I can't!
Speak or die, she advises, about to administer the killing pull on his handkerchief. Let me breathe! he begs. She loosens the handkerchief and asks, is that better? I buried it in the cemetery, he reveals, next to a tombstone--the name is John Townsend--give me back my handkerchief. I'm not done yet, says Ang--it's not that I don't trust you, but you can become a nuisance, and I can't trust that. She yanks the handkerchief tightly around the little soldier's neck, sending Aristede tumbling to the ground, unconscious. She then stuffs his handkerchief into his motionless hand.
9 PM - Beth exits the servants' quarters. Edward calls to her as he's heading downstairs--Beth, are you going out now? For a little while, she says. Get your rest,he advises--you are to be up and ready to leave with me at sunrise. Leave? She asks. You are to accompany Judith and me to Portland, he says--her condition has gotten worse, and I'm placing her in Rushmore Sanitarium where she can be taken care of until she is herself again--it's just a matter of time before she completely recovers, he tells the concerned Beth--where are you going? To look for Quentin, she says, to his disgust. "He hasn't been in the house since last night," says Beth. Just out on a spree, says Edward, he'll come back, unfortunately, as he always does. Do you mind my looking? she asks curtly. I just don't want you to waste your time, says Edward. I don't feel I am, says Beth--good night, Mr. Collins. And off she goes. Edward enters the drawing room.
Down by the docks, Aristede's unconscious body is found by a caped figure, who orders him to awaken--and pushes him around with his foot. Aristede stands and complains to a man wearing thick glasses and a huge, curly gray beard, "My head is throbbing." "Look at me" the man commands Aristede, and slaps him across the face--"You didn't get the hand, did you?" I got it, says Aristede, terrified, but have it no longer--I swear to get it back. The man asks, was a woman, assailant, or combination? She was no ordinary woman, Victor, blathers Aristede--she possessed powers, and almost killed me. Victor backs him up against a pillar and angrily says she SHOULD have killed you and spared ME your ineptitude. Aristede vows to find her and get it back. I will do it, says Victor--if that fails, we must employ our alternative plan. That might not be necessary, says Aristede. The hand is vitally important, says Victor--I suspect its power has already been used--am I correct?
Yes, says Aristede. Then I must put in an appearance, says Victor--my credentials are in perfect order--I'll go to Collinwood at once, as soon as you answer a few questions about the woman you met. Aristede gazes at his red handkerchief.
Beth goes to the Old House and calls to Barnabas and Magda. She finds Quentin sitting in the darkness of the hooded chair. Quentin rises and faces Beth, who screams at the sight of his disfigured face.
Beth turns to run. Please don't run from me, says Quentin. Quentin! she wails, it can't be you! It is, he says. What happened? she asks. He sits down back in the darkness. She kneels and again asks, what happened to you? Full moon last night, he says, and when the dawn came, I made the transformation into this. She asks, is this part of the curse? I don't know, answers Quentin--but I'd rather die than look like this the rest of my life. She presses her face into his hands. Go back to Collinwood and forget about me, he advises.
I can't do that, she says. It's for your own good, he says, you have no future with me, not the way I am--go away, he says. No, she insists, we will free you from this curse, and I'll stay with you until we find it. She hugs him, he hugs her back. (Oh, she is such a good woman, he doesn't deserve her!)
Angelique comes downstairs at Collinwood, carrying the boxed hand. I received a surprising telephone call from Evan, Edward says--he did his best to clear you of suspicion, but he didn't succeed--the fact that Evan knew you before you met Barnabas has no bearing on your innocence--I believe it was known all along what Barnabas is. Not true, she says. Edward adds, I believe you know where he is now. No, she says, and don't want to know. If you had nothing to fear, he asks, why did you run away? Faltering, she says, I was terribly confused--I knew everyone would suspect me of helping Barnabas--I didn't know what else to do. Then you did know about him? asks Edward. No, she replies, only after we became engaged, not before. And you remained silent while he was victimizing this community? demands Edward. She looks at him. The victim of a vampire has no choice, she says--I wanted to expose him, but he robbed me of my free will--just as with Charity Trask--I was a helpless slave--it was the most shameful, degrading thing that ever happened to me. I refuse to be taken in by this show of emotion, says Edward. She puts down the box and says, you may banish me from Collinwood if you wish, but you must know the truth. "When I met Barnabas, for the first time, I was impressed by him--he was so charming, kind, and when I was with him, I felt warm, safe, secure. When I finally realized the truth, it was too late--I found myself trapped. Barnabas invited me to the Old House one evening. When I arrived, the house was dark, but the door was open. So I went inside and called to him. He answered me from inside the drawing room. When I turned to greet him, and I saw him, he was not the Barnabas I had come to know and love. I saw instead a horrible, evil-looking creature!
I was terrified, too frightened to move! And then. . .he slowly put his arms around me and in a moment, I felt his teeth sink into my neck." She pauses for dramatic effect. "I fainted. When I awoke, Barnabas told me that I was to become his bride, that I had to agree. I had no power to resist him. I had to agree." "You poor child!" cries Edward--"I had no idea it was that way!" Shortly after Barnabas was exposed as being a vampire, she explains, the marks disappeared from my neck quite suddenly, and I was free again. That's exactly what happened to Charity, says Edward. Angelique rises and says, I don't know what I will do or where I will go, but I'm ready to leave Collinwood. You can remain here, he assures her, until you make your future plans. There's a knock at the door. Edward goes to answer it. Angelique smiles triumphantly at her wonderful performance. (and it was damn good!)
Victor, the man who was so cruel to Aristede on the docks, says, "I'm here to see Edward Collins." Edward invites him in. This is a moment I've long anticipated with pleasure, says Victor--my name is Victor Fenn-Gibbons--I bring you greetings from a mutual friend in England, the Earl of Hampshire. He hands Edward some papers and adds, these will tell you whatever you wish to know about me. Edward unfolds the paper, which says the Earl thinks very highly of Mr. Fenn-Gibbons. I am honored to meet you, says Edward. I'm in America on pleasure, says Victor--I've lived his strenuous, active, sometimes dangerous life--I'm putting all that behind me. Edward invites him to stay at Collinwood for the duration of his visit. I don't want to impose, says Victor. Not at all, says Edward, the Earl is a dear friend of mine. Angelique exits the drawing room carrying the box containing the hand. Victor sees her--and it, and stares avidly at her as Edward tells him, you will be an honored guest of ours. Edward introduces Angelique Duval to Victor, who repeats her name and asks if she's French. I was born in this country, she replies, but most of my ancestors were from Martinique. I've been to most of the French colonies, says Victor, and may I say that I have never found one of them to be as exquisite as I finds you. She thanks him and says she must be on her way--I promised to take something to a friend in town. Victor's face is livid as Angelique thanks Edward for his kindness and understanding. We will speak later, says Edward. Victor calls Angelique charming. Edward invites him into the drawing room for brandy and conversation. Victor explains, my voice is barely above a whisper because I served with Kitchener in the Sudan, and I was caught by a sword that pierced his throat--almost gave him up for dead--splendid man, Kitchener--pride, too much perhaps, but a man among men. Victor laughs.
Beth kneels, holding Quentin's hands, when Angelique comes in with the hand and assures Quentin--soon, very soon, your troubles will be over. What hand? asks Beth. Quentin wants to show her, but Angelique suggests he not open the box, considering what happened to him before--let me handle it this time, advises the witch. Quentin walks away. Handle what? asks Beth. Leave, says Angelique--what must be done has to remain between Quentin and me. Frantic, Beth insists, Quentin, I can't leave you here. He reminds her--you said you would do anything to help me--go back to Collinwood. All right, Beth agrees, I'll wait for you there. She gives Angelique and the box a nasty look before exiting. Angelique opens the box to reveal the magic hand.
11 o'clock - I have a carriage awaiting me at the gate, Victor assures Edward--thank you for your hospitality. I'll have a room prepared for you, promises Edward.
Quentin is impatient to start. You've waited this long, Angelique reminds him--you can wait a little longer--besides, we haven't settled on my price. I had forgotten that, he admits. Angelique reminds him by stating her terms: "I want you to marry me, Quentin." (God, she was just engaged to Barnabas! How fickle!) Marry you? he asks, shocked--why would you want to marry me, knowing what I am? I have my reasons, she responds. I want to know what they are, insists Q. It isn't necessary for you to know--agree, she says, and I will help you, disagree, and you fend for yourself. (oh, what a non-choice!) I don't want to stay like this, he says--I accept. Good, she says. Let's get started, he says. Sit she says, indicating the hooded chair--I will be ready in just a moment. She lights a blue candle, holds the magic hand in hers, and calls to Lucifer, master of all revolted spirits--protect me, she begs, allow me to use the powers of the hand to do my bidding. She stops suddenly. Quentin asks, what's wrong? The hand is pulling away from me! cries Angelique--I have no control over it!--I don't understand its powers--it's alive! "It's on me!" screams Quentin. Indeed, the hand is on his chest; he's creaming incoherently. The pain is starting! he cries--there's no full moon, but it's happening--do something! He begs. Both are equally hysterical. I don't know what to do, she confesses. "Don't let it happen again!" he begs. The focus is on his hand. He groans with pain as it becomes hairy, that of the werewolf. Angelique holds onto herself, terrified, looking into the hooded chair at what Quentin has turned into. Outside the window, Victor Fenn-Gibbons looks in, watching.
NOTES: What does Victor have to do with all this? What is his interest in the hand? What is it going to do to Quentin? Does this explain why Chris became a werewolf when the moon wasn't full, and didn't transform back into a man when he should have?
Angelique is always taking men away from the women they love! First, she broke up Josette and Barnabas, now she's putting her foot through Quentin's relationship with Josette. No wonder Ang wanted her out of the room! Doesn't she realize that everyone is going to think it odd that she was just engaged to Barnabas--and here she's so quickly engaged to Quentin? It just makes her look, well, cheap and easy!
Aristede is a fascinating character--what is his exact relationship to Victor--and why do they want the hand? Obviously they are together in their quest to get hold of that magical hand, but Aristede is apparently Victor's servant. Edward too easily accepts Victor into his home, but one senses that while that letter from the Earl of Hampshire is in order, we wonder if the Earl was coerced into something by the mysterious Victor.
Love, Robin
