866 - Angelique awakens in the same cave that served as Barnabas' hiding place. Quentin is glaring down at her; he reaches down and warns, stay where you are until we understand each other. "Get away from me!" she cries. He displays his right hand and reminds her of what it did to her. Keep quiet and listen, he advises--"You are my prisoner, Angelique--you are going to stay here indefinitely...you are completely under my control!" His hand hovers inches from her face. He grins, knowing he has her in his power.
No one controls me! cries Angelique--not even you. Your powers have been neutralized, he says--the sooner you realize it, the sooner we can get down to business--do you want to try resisting the hand again, my dear? No, she says, confused, you tricked me, that won't happen again. You're humiliating, he says--now you can be very close to your friend, Barnabas--and he leans on the chained coffin with great satisfaction. She's surprised. You're in a cave not far from Widows' Hill, he explains--after the vampire was killed by Charity, Edward had the cave sealed. Angelique stands, joins him and asks, is this to be my tomb as well, Count Petofi? Get used to calling me Quentin, he commands. I never will call you that, she insists. You're very human when you get angry, he comments. How long will you keep me here? she asks. Indefinitely, he answers. Does that mean until I regain my powers and escapes myself? Perhaps, he says, but you're my prisoner now--you could make things easier on yourself by cooperating with me. How? she asks. He violently swings her around and pulls her close--by telling me what you've been up to the past few weeks! he says. I don't know what you're talking about, she answers. I demand to know about your secret visits to the rectory! He shouts. They weren't secret, she says Are you trying to tell me you're an old friend of Julia Hoffman's? he asks disbelievingly. No, but after she arrived and Barnabas introduced us, we became good friends, says Ang. Why did you continue to go to the rectory after she'd disappeared? demands Quentin. I kept going back hoping to find her, says Ang. Did you also hope you'd find her in the cove near Shipwreck Point? he asks--I had you followed there last night. "You've been very concerned about me, haven't you?" she asks. Not about you, he says, only about the fact that you and Julia have been together for some reasons--and I want to know what it is. A figment of your imagination, she replies. "Who did you go to see in the cove?" he asks. No one, she responds. He grabs her and accuses, you're lying--after you returned to Collinwood, I sent someone to the cove, so there was definitely another person there, my dear. And didn't your informant tell you who it was? shouts Ang. He was knocked unconscious before he could see that person, says Q. Oh, well, I hope the poor man is all right, she says, wresting herself from his grip. You know who hit him, don't you? he asks.
"I haven't the slightest idea," she says, "and if I did, I wouldn't tell YOU." She smiles smugly, and looks at him.
Kitty, hearing Josette's music, dressed in stunning purple, walks downstairs at Collinwood, a key in her hand. She walks to the portrait of Barnabas, but the spell is broken, and she's herself again. She puts down the key, starts to go into the drawing room, hears the music again, and retrieves the key from the foyer table. She cries out when Edward touches her shoulder, startled. He apologizes and asks about the key. I found it in my room, she says--I have no idea how it got there. You must have some idea, he says. She angrily retorts, I don't! I know someone is responsible for what's happening to you, he says--I'm trying to help, but you must cooperate. Stop badgering me, she demands. If you don't want me to help you...he asks, miffed, perhaps you should take some time to think this thing out, and decide where we both stand. He stomps upstairs.
Back in the cave, Quentin tells Ang, I'm sure you and Julia are plotting against me, otherwise, you'd have told me what I wanted to know by now. There's a very good reason I haven't told you, she says, it's none of your business! All right, my dear, he says, "You can stay here--I'm going to have the cave resealed, and put Aristede outside the door to stand guard--let me give you something to think about--I am going to the future very soon. If you don't want to tell me what I want to know by then, you can spend the rest of your life here!" And he leaves, laughing, locking her in. Angelique looks around the dank, dark cave, then puts her hand on Barnabas' coffin--"Barnabas, I need you so, and there is no way you can help me now," she laments, looking scared and lost.
Kitty comes downstairs at Collinwood looking more like her conniving self. I've thought everything over, she tells Edward, and I've decided to leave Collinwood the day after tomorrow. He's horrified to hear this.
Don't you think this is best for everyone? asks Kitty I most certainly does NOT! he insists--I can't imagine why you think so. You were terribly upset with me and had every right to be, she says. Good Lord, did you arrive at this decision because of the way I spoke to you earlier? Actually, she says, I've been considering it for several days now. Reconsider at once, he suggests. Too late, she says, I already wrote a letter to my mother telling her to expect me in a few days--it's already been posted. Write your mother another letter telling her you're staying, says Edward. I don't want to be a burden...she insists. "Kitty, how can you say that?" he asks, drawing her into his arms. "You're more than welcome here at Collinwood."--I spoke harshly to you because...I'm so terribly fond of you, and realize you've been going through an emotional ordeal--I feel frustrated at not being able to help you through it--please, write your mother another letter and tell her you've decided to stay. All right, Edward, she agrees, to his delight. Use this desk, he offers--you can have the drawing room to yourself. He closes the doors as she sits down at the desk. Quentin has come home. I've been looking for you, says Edward--where have you been? Walking the grounds, says Q, I needed some fresh air. What did you do to terrify Charity so? asks Edward. Nothing, says Q. Then why has she sent me this note? asks Edward, unfolding a blue sheet of paper--asking me to come to her room? Quentin studies the note and asks, do you need to be reminded of Charity's overactive imagination? That tells me nothing, says Edward--there must be some reason for her fear of you--the girl sent the note to me through one of the servants. The girl is stark raving mad, says Q. I'm convinced she's suffering from a temporary aberration, says Edward--remember, Charity is Judith's guest and must be treated accordingly; if I ever discover there's some basis for her fear of you, I'm telling Judith. Quentin insists on coming with Edward to see Charity, but Edward doesn't want him there. I have a right to face the girl, insists Quentin. They head upstairs together.
Charity stares at her reflection, pacing her room with fear in her face. She pours some water into a bowl and starts to wash her hands. Edward knocks at the door, announcing himself. Relieved, Charity goes to answer, but is horrified when she sees Quentin with him. I asked you to come alone! she wails. No one is going to harm you, assures Edward--since Quentin is the source of your fear, I felt it better if we all face this together. All right, agrees Charity. You charged in your note that Quentin threatened your life, says Edward. Yes, she says--last night he stood outside my door and said "Your days are numbered." Is this true? Edward asks Q. It was an emotional outburst, he admits--she conveniently forgot to tell you there was a condition attached to it--that if she went on talking about me the way she had been, her days were numbered--her days in this house, I meant, not her life. Edward asks Charity, have you been saying things about Quentin? Well, she confesses, yes. "She tried to convince my fiancee that I was actually somebody else," says Quentin, "and that I was dangerous." "I was only sayin' what I thought was the truth!" cries Charity--I always trust my instincts, and they convinced me it wasn't Quentin--I felt very frightened when he came near her. Edward asks, did you try to harm her? I didn't lay a hand on her, insists Quentin. "I am asking HER," says Edward. He grabbed me by the arm and started shaking me, says Charity. Nonsense, says Q, I was just trying to bring you back to your senses. Look at Quentin, Edward tells Charity. She does.
Do you feel the same way you felt last night?--do you think it's Quentin, or someone else? "We're waiting for an answer," says Q with a touch of menace. Well, she says, I suppose I could have been wrong--right now you seem to be the way you always was. Quentin grins in triumph. Edward, puzzled, asks, you have no reason to be frightened of him, do you? No, she admits tearfully, uncertainly. I don't know what made you say those things last night, says Edward, but don't do it again!--my sister and I will do what we can to make you happy and protect you from harm in every way, but you must cooperate, learn to control yourself, because if you don't, we'll have to send you somewhere to be "looked after." Charity doesn't look at all happy over this prospect, but Quentin is delighted--I won!
Kitty writes her letter to Mom. Quentin enters and asks if it would bother her if he plays some music? Not at all, she says. He plays completely different music from what Quentin listens to, Mozart. Kitty remarks, your taste in music seems to have undergone an abrupt change. What do you mean? asks Q. The only song I've heard you play is that one song, your favorite, she notes. Change is the first law of life, he says, but some people can't adapt--hasn't your own life undergone various phases of change? Yes, she says reluctantly, I suppose it has. Kitty writes to her mother, everything is going splendidly at Collinwood, and I wouldn't be surprised if, by the time you read this, Edward has asked me to marry him--you may mark down this day--October the 20th, 1797 is the turning point. 1797? wonders Kitty aloud--that was a hundred years ago! Quentin looks at her--why did you write that date? He asks--what's wrong with you? She crumples the letter. What's wrong? asks Q--you were reading your letter and mentioned 1797. I was thinking of something else, that's all, she says, excuse me. She leaves. Quentin repeats 1797 and goes looking for the Collins history book. He thumbs through it. "Well, well, well, the millennium has arrived!" says Edward, entering the drawing room--"You're actually reading a book--have you decided to become cultured, or has the Police Gazette ceased its publication?" He realizes his brother is reading the Collins history and listening to classical music. What has gotten into you? he asks. I've decided I've been missing much of life, being the way I've been, says Q. Will wonders never cease? marvels Edward--I do hope this surprisingly fresh attitude of yours will extend to your relationship with the rest of the family. Quentin merely smiles.
9:30 - Josette's music plays. Kitty walks downstairs in yet another Josette-induced trance, holding the key. She goes to Barnabas' portrait for a moment, then leaves the house. Quentin exits the drawing room, looking around, puzzled.
Old House - Kitty walks the halls, key in hand. She finds a room locked, but the key fits. She drifts into Josette's room. There's a lit candle there; she picks it up and walks the room, finally spotting the portrait of Josette. "She looks like me!" says Kitty. The artist's name, Coswell, is written in the bottom right hand corner, along with "1797." "1797!" says Kitty. She puts down the candle and goes over to a nightstand by the bed, where she pours two drinks. She lifts both and brings them to the table where she set the candle, then sits down. "I have come!" she says softly. "I am waiting for you..." Footsteps approach the room.
Kitty stares at the door, joyous expectation on her face.
NOTES: Didn't that last scene give you the chills? It did me. Who is she waiting for? Kitty thinks she's going to marry Edward!
You've got to feel sorry for Angelique, being Petofi's victim, locked away in that cave, her powers gone, alone with Barnabas' destroyed corpse. Brrrr. PIQB is quite the bully who loves shoving women around.
Did Charity mean it when she says she now believes Quentin is Quentin, or was this a ruse to get him off her back, and prevent herself from being sent away?
PIQB has decided to change Quentin's tastes to his own--how wise is that, under the circumstances?
I don't know, Kitty and Josette don't seem very similar to me, do they to you? While Josette displayed spirit, she was never the bitch Kitty has been.
867 - Kitty anxiously gazes at the door, anticipating her lover, but when she sees who appears, she's disappointed--"He told me to meet him here," Kitty tells Quentin, "where is he?" Who told you to come here? he asks. My beloved, of course, she says--he isn't in danger, is he?--did he send you with a message?--I'll go to him anywhere, pleads Kitty, just tell me! I can't tell you anything, he says, but you can, if you will--the name of your beloved and what you're doing in this house
--look into your mind and tell me. I can't, she says, I don't know the answer, or that this room existed until now--I don't want to know, it frightens me! Back in Kitty mode, she tears past Quentin and flees. He calls out to her--you will come back, sooner or later--but why?--this is Barnabas' house, but Barnabas is dead--"I'm getting as ridiculously romantic as the real Quentin Collins!" he chides himself, catching sight of the candle and the drinks. He lifts one of the glasses and looks up at Josette's portrait--who is she? he wonders, and what does it have to do with Kitty--with what does all of it have to do with the dead Barnabas? He takes a sip of the drink.
The imprisoned Angelique toys with a large rock, should I or not--is it the right or wrong thing? It doesn't matter, without my powers, it's the only thing...and she begins to hammer at the chains on the coffin with the rock. Outside, Aristede hears the sounds of pounding, and enters the cave. Angelique gasps when she sees him. What are you doing? he demands. I was lonesome by myself, she replies. He'll never be company for you, says Aristede, gesturing toward the coffin--I'm sure of that. The dead can rise, she says--if one has the power to make them rise. But you have no powers, he reminds her. Don't turn around just now, she warns, or you might be very surprised. Instinctively, he turns. Angelique bursts out laughing at him. What's the matter? she giggles, you seem a little nervous. I'm not afraid of you or him, insists Aristede. Why, because there's a stake through his heart? she asks--have you ever thought of what would happen if that stake were pulled out? Nothing, he says--I think you're up to something--you had better forget it--I'm going to stay right here and not leave you alone for a minute! Good, she giggles, then we can welcome "him" back together. Aristede smacks her across the face. Furious, she turns to stare at him with her look of death and promises, you'll be sorry you did that. If it's the last thing I ever do, he says, he'll teach you Aristede is NOT a man to be laughed at! Just as determinedly, she responds, it may be the last thing, yes, it may very well be just that! They look at each other, both seething.
Collinwood - Quentin explains to Edward--Kitty told me she couldn't answer any of my questions--she started to cry and ran from the house. I'm upset you let her go, says Edward. I tried to stop her, claims Quentin. My poor Kitty, laments Edward--do you have any idea where she went?--she didn't return home, so she's been wandering around somewhere, half out of her mind--we must find her and bring her back. "Edward," says Quentin. Edward turns and sees Kitty standing behind him. I've been frantic about you, he says, where have you been? "Walking," she says in Josette' faraway voice. Edward asks, what's happened to you? I've just seen...she begins. Quentin and Edward stare at her. "I have just seen Barnabas Collins," says Kitty, and faints to the floor, leaving Q and Edward stunned.
Kitty has been transferred to the sofa in the drawing room, where Edward applies smelling salts to her nose. She stirs. I don't understand it, Quentin, says Edward--a creature she met for a few moments, once, yet he managed to set off something in her mind--the attraction to the portrait, the Old House, and now this hallucination. Kitty comes to and asks Edward, where am I? All Quentin wants to know is, "Where did you see Barnabas?" Don't question her now, says Edward. I think it's necessary, says Q. Let me do it in my own way, insists Edward. He goes to Kitty, kneels and takes her hand. Kitty, do you remember what happened when you left the Old House? he asks. I went for a walk, she explains, for a long time, then I saw Barnabas Collins.
Did he see you?--did you speak to him? interjects Quentin. No, says Kitty, he was too far away, and didn't see me, but I saw him in the woods near the lake. Near the cave where Barnabas is buried? says Q. Are you sure that's where you saw him? asks Edward. Kitty sits up, annoyed, and says, if you don't believe me, go yourself. Perhaps I should, agrees Edward. Ridiculous, says Q--do you think Barnabas will be standing in the woods, waiting for you? I'm not going to the woods, says Edward, but to the cave. Uh oh, thinks Quentin. If Barnabas is there, says Edward, we'll know he's no place else. You can't go to the cave, er, Kitty can't be left alone, says Q--*I* will go to the cave and you will stay with Kitty. I prefer to go myself, insists Edward, then asks Kitty, do you understand? Of course I do, Kitty assures him. Quentin, holding The Hand in an "I'm gonna use this" way, insists I still thinks it unwise for Kitty to be left alone, she does look very pale--and he touches her face with the hand. Edward points out, she's feeling much better. She smiles and says yes, of course. However, after Q takes his hand away, she suddenly feels very faint, and asks Edward, hold my hand--promise not to leave me. It must have been more of a shock than I thought, says Edward--Quentin, go to the cave--but no tricks. Tricks? asks Q. In the past, Edward reminds him, Barnabas was your friend. I assure you the past is as dead as Barnabas, says Q--and no one hates him more than I do. He leaves. Kitty comes to and says, I've never felt like this--a chill passed over me, I never felt anything so cold, as if I myself were in a grave.
Cave - Aristede is not guarding the door; instead, Quentin finds Aristede holding a gun on Angelique. What have you been up to? he asks her, then notices the broken chains. What did you hope to gain by opening the coffin? Quentin asks. I'd hoped to distract Aristede's attention so I could escape, she explains. Studying the large rock she used to hammer open the chains, Q asks, didn't you think that by rapping the stone against the chain, that would distract Aristede enough? She's lying, says Aristede, she tried to open the coffin and remove the stake from his chest--she said she could make him rise! (I'm sure she made him "rise" many times in Martinique!) I said a lot of things, Aristede, she says, all for your benefit. Open the coffin, right now! Quentin orders Aristede. Why, what are you going to do? asks Angelique, upset. Nothing, I just want to make sure Barnabas is where he should be, says Q. It's open, announces Aristede. Quentin asks Ang, do you want to look in the coffin--my dear? She walks away. It's your last chance, he assures her--I have other business to take care of, and after I come back here, Aristede and I will destroy this body.
Angelique looks sickened at the sight of Barnabas, lying there dead, the stake protruding from his chest. "Then there will be nothing left and Barnabas Collins will never rise again," taunts Quentin. (Blooper - We can see Barnabas breathing.) Why are you doing that? asks Angelique, you know I can't make him rise--that was just a story for Aristede's benefit--he'll believe anything! (Get him, Angie!) She seems very upset at what he's planning to do. Quentin closes the coffin. I don't know whether or not you can make him rise or not, he says--I do know that vampires sleep very fitfully, too much so for comfort, so we will destroy the body and feel the safer for it. He and Aristede replace the chains. The latter suggests they destroy the body now. Angelique looks quite perturbed at this prospect. I can't now, says Quentin. I don't like the idea of leaving her with Barnabas, objects Aristede. She's been a bit too concerned with other things and people, says Quentin, and must be made aware of the danger she herself is in. He raises his hand, laughing evilly, and says, all of us have fears--yours is fear of fire. He surrounds Angelique with a wall of flames. She backs away, trying to escape. Quentin and Aristede laugh at her feeble efforts and terror. Quentin says, I don't think I'll be troubled by her anymore, Aristede. His servant, grinning, laughs along with his master. Angelique shrinks from the flames as the men continue to laugh at her plight.
Collinwood - Believe me, Edward tells Kitty, the longer you hold onto your delusions, the harder it will be to get rid of them. I saw Barnabas, she asserts. You saw someone who resembled him, corrects Edward--now say it! (How chauvinistic)! Bemused, she says, I can say whatever you want, but it doesn't make it true, it just means I'm trying to please you. I thought I was helping you, he says, wounded. You are, she says, enormously, but sometimes the world is a strange place. "And things are not always what they seem," he points out--"like the man in the woods."--it wasn't Barnabas. You are a bulldog, an adorable bulldog, she teases, about to go in for a kiss, but the front door opens, distracting them, Quentin enters and reports, I went to the cave, opened the coffin--Barnabas was there, the stake still in his heart. Kitty's mouth drops open in horror. Edward puts an arm around her--I know this isn't pleasant for you to hear, he says, but for your peace of mind, you must. "You didn't see Barnabas, but Quentin did--you did, didn't you?" asks Edward. You still doubt me, says Q. I'm still trying to make sure, that's all, says Edward. BE sure, says Q, you can rest your mind--he holds up Barnabas' ring, reminding him, I could only have gotten it in one place, and you saw it on him in the coffin. Yes, agrees Edward, sickened, it was his ring. "It's his ring," says Kitty, now Josette--"please, give it to me." No, says Edward, you'll only upset yourself. Please, she begs, taking it into her hand. "My beloved and I have so little." "Kitty, my dear," murmurs Edward, beside himself, "why are you looking at me like that--I only want to help you!" I know what you want, she cries, you want to take it from me, but you can't--and she runs upstairs with the ring securely in her hand.
Again, Edward asks Quentin, are you sure you saw Barnabas in his coffin--there is no question? No, no question, grins Quentin. And yet, even beyond the grave, he's gotten some hold on her, says Edward sadly.
Aristede continues to laugh as Angelique tries to avoid the walls of flames surrounding her. Aristede! she wails. What's the matter? he asks. "I'm dying," she cries--"Take me out of here, please! Help me! Help me and I'll help you!" She reaches out to him. You can't even help yourself! He taunts. I can't do anything, she says, but I still know many things that humans don't know--help me and I'll tell you those secrets. He seems to be considering it. Petofi would kill me, he says. You won't need him anymore, assures Ang, holding her dress out of the flames--you'll never be anyone's servant again, you'll be your own man!--please hurry, she begs, I'm dying, please don't make me die in the fire! He runs through the flames and helps her out of the conflagration. The flames disappear completely. There, you've gotten what you want, he says, now I'm going to get what I want. What do you mean? she asks. You know so many secrets, he says--you tell ME what I mean! She shakes her head and smugly says, you can't kill me. Petofi...Petofi--I'll tell him you tried to escape--I had no choice, says Aristede--it's true, he says, I have no choice--you always lied to me, tempted me! He reaches into his cloak. It's going to stop, right now! he says. He pulls out a knife and begins to chase her around the cave, around Barnabas' coffin. She darts, avoiding him, and finds her way out of the cave, where she lifts a large rock and nails him on the head when he runs out of the cave after her. After he falls, she dashes away.
Sometime later, the figure of a man appears, staring down at Aristede, who returns to consciousness, his vision blurry. "Petofi?" he asks. "Help me," begs the man, an exact twin of Barnabas, weakly.
"Help me!"
HE'S BACK! HURRAY!!!!!!
NOTES: Adored the way Angelique toyed with Aristede, it reminded me of the first night they met, when she claimed to be a puppeteer and strangled him with his own handkerchief. Taunting him with the possibility of making Barnabas rise (don't we love that expression?), she was really having a good time with him--as were we. Even without powers, our Angelique is a pistol!
Who IS this man who so resembles Barnabas? What will Aristede do with him? Who has Kitty been seeing all this time? Will Edward really want to marry such a nut, even for the money? Will Angelique regain her powers?
It rarely gets better than this!
Love, Robin
