1176 - Desmond waits in the jail cell, his face morose.
Rose Cottage. Flora, says Gerard, I know the strain you're under is interfering with your work--it's quite obvious. I'm worried about Quentin, she says, if only there was something I could do! Desmond is doing enough, he assures her. We should all do more to help clear Quentin, insists Flora. Is that aimed at me? asks Gerard. My dear Gerard, I did not mean you specifically, she says. I'm glad, because I am doing everything I possibly can, he says. That's the trouble with this whole thing, says Flora, we all get nervous and turn on each other. I know you didn't mean to turn on me, he says. Where is it all going to end? she asks, this trial goes on and on!--and where could Barnabas have gone?--he's been missing for three days!--what could have happened to him? Trask seems to think... begins Gerard. I don't care what Trask thinks, says Flora curtly. Please, he says, Trask seems to think Barnabas left town because he didn't want to testify for Quentin. How dare he think a thing like that? demands Flora--Gerard, you seem to be taking Barnabas' disappearance very easily. Now, Flora... objects Gerard. Yes you do, she insists--Barnabas left this house after dinner with us and hasn't been seen since. Leticia bursts in, crying. How did the trial go? asks Flora. (I should think that obvious). Covering her mouth and shaking her head, Leticia hugs Flora, sobbing, "Desmond!" What happened to my son? pleads Flora. He's been arrested! reports Leticia--for witchcraft. Flora turns an accusing eye on Gerard.
I can't believe it, says Flora--how can that be? It's all my fault, wails Leticia. I want to go to him immediately, says Flora. They won't let him see anyone for an hour or so, says Leticia--I tried. On what grounds did they arrest him? asks Flora. If they only hadn't made me testify! cries Leticia. What could they possible make you tell, what did you say? asks Flora. They asked me about the head, she says--it is the head of Judah Zachary. That head was in this house? asks Gerard--that is why Desmond had the journal of Judah Zachary. What are you talking about? demands Flora. A warlock, reveals Leticia, who lived in Bedford 150 years ago, tried for witchcraft and found guilty, and beheaded, just like Quentin and Desmond are going to be--she puts her face in her hands and cries harder--I'm sorry, but what are we going to do? You're going to finish telling me about Judah Zachary, insists Flora. The head was put on display in the town square as a warning to Zachary's followers, explains Leticia, but it disappeared. Disappeared, says Gerard, yes, I remember, it's a legend, the head has certain powers, it can possess a man. It can, says Leticia, it did, it possessed Desmond, I saw it--Flora!--Desmond was fighting it, but losing--I stole the head from him, hid it, and then it began to possess me--the eyes would open, stare at me, and I'd hear a voice in my mind telling me what to do
--I told the court that this afternoon--why didn't they arrest me instead of Desmond? Where is the head now? asks Flora. Destroyed in the tomb, says Leticia, but Dawson says it wasn't destroyed, that Desmond brought it to Quentin, and now Quentin's been possessed by Judah. I don't believe any of this! insists Flora. There is a curse, says Gerard, I remember reading about it in Zachary's journal--before he was beheaded, he vowed he would serve revenge against the three judges and all their families that sentences him to death--Amadeus Collins was one of the judges. Flora hurries to go to Desmond. Why didn't you tell me about the head? Gerard asks Leticia--I could have helped you. We need help NOW, she says--if you want to help someone, help Quentin or Desmond. IF, Leticia? he asks--if?--if I wish to help someone, this case can be easily solved--all we have to do is find the head and prove it has been destroyed--Quentin can't be possessed by something that no longer exists; Desmond is merely a victim, and no court will ever behead a victim.
Jail - So you told Mother, Leticia, I guess you had to, says Desmond, covering his eyes with his hands--I can just imagine that scene--she'll be here pretty soon, dressed in black, and we'll play out a chapter of one of her novels--I'm not being fair--I wish to God I could make light of this. Maybe it's not so bad, she says--if we can prove that the head has been destroyed, Gerard says that will end it all. He does, does he? asks Desmond--if Judah is possessing the body of anyone in Collinsport, that person is Gerard Stiles--prove it, I can't, but I know it, I just know it! Leticia stares at him--you really think Gerard has the head now? It's too perfect, says Desmond--Zachary vowed revenge after his death--vowed to kill the judges and all their families--maybe Amadeus escaped, but we haven't--just look at the Collinses now--Daniel dead, Barnabas disappeared, Quentin on trial for witchcraft, me here--who does that leave, Leticia, who? Gabriel, she replies. And Tad, says Desmond. He must never harm Tad, insists Leticia, not the Gerard that brought me to Collinsport, he wouldn't. He is NOT the same Gerard who brought you to Collinsport, says Desmond, Gerard Stiles is Judah Zachary, and Judah is now master of Collinsport--and the sooner you realize it, the better. I must go speak with Gerard, says Leticia. You should not, insists Desmond--please, I don't want him to hurt or kill you, and if you make him force his hand, he will. Is there no one who can help us? she asks, her eyes sad--no one? If only Barnabas were here, say Desmond forlornly.
Collinwood - Julia, where is Barnabas? asks Valerie--right now, I would give every power I possess if I could just see where he is. Are you really in love with him? asks Julia. Valerie reaches out and touches her arm--do you still doubt me? I don't know, replies Julia--no, I suppose I don't, not anymore. The only comfort I have, says Valerie, is I think he understood at last that I love him--oh, Julia, we've got to find him, he mustn't be... she cries helplessly. Leticia runs in. We already know about Desmond, says Julia. We must go to Judah's tomb, Julia, insists Leticia. Leticia! cries Julia. Why would you go there? asks Valerie. Did you tell her about it, Julia? asks Leticia. No, says Julia. Everyone in town knows now, it doesn't matter, says Leticia--we must find out whether the head is still in that tomb, because if it isn't, Desmond thinks he knows where it is.
Flora goes to see Desmond--why didn't you tell me about Judah Zachary? she asks. Oh, Mother! he says, turning away. You sound as you did when you were a little boy, she says, and I used to irritate you about your homework--well, we're going to find the best possible lawyer, one who will simply overpower this Charles Dawson. If only it were that easy, says Desmond, what I don't understand is how Dawson found out so much about that head, and Judah Zachary--it had to be from Gerard, of course. But Gerard only knew this evening that the head was in Rose Cottage, protests Flora. Mother, do you believe everything he says? demands Desmond. I have no reason not to, she says.
Am I not reason enough? cries Desmond. Let's not quarrel, she begs. Please, just listen to me logically, he says--the journal was read in court this morning; Dawson found the journal in Quentin's lab--how did it get there?--three weeks ago, I found it in Gerard's room, I took it, but before I could read it, I had my mysterious attack--in the excitement, the journal disappeared--there were only two people in that room--you and Gerard. And you think Gerard took it and put it in the laboratory for Dawson to find? she asks. But I can't prove it, says Desmond. I can't be so wrong about someone, says Flora. Mother, you are--face it! pleads Desmond.
Heading into the drawing room at Collinwood, Valerie spots Gerard sitting there, reading a book. She wheels around and stops, her back to the wall outside the drawing room. He is Judah Zachary, she says to herself, he must know where Barnabas is--I've got to make him tell me, but how?--Judah loved me once, when I was Miranda, even though I betrayed him, some part of Judah must love me still. She enters the room. Have you heard from Barnabas yet? he asks, rising from his chair, putting down his book. No, she says, you were at Rose Cottage the last night he was here--didn't he say anything that might give us some clue as to where he is? I was thinking over the conversation we last had, explains Gerard, he didn't give any indication where he was... he stops; Valerie has begun to cry. Oh, my dear, he says, you mustn't cry. She turns, right in his arms, within kissing distance. How can I help it? she asks. You and your husband were quite estranged when you first came here, he says. That doesn't mean we didn't love each other, she says seductively, were you ever in love, Gerard--deeply in love? Yes, he says, once--very long ago. But you still remember her? she asks. Oh yes, he says, at night I would sometimes dream about her. And if she were ever in trouble, you would still try to save her, wouldn't you? she asks. No, I would not, he says coldly, never!
Taken aback, she says, if you still dream about her, you must love her. I dream about her only because I hate her and everything she ever did to me, he says--she may not remember, but I would certainly never help her now. He leaves a frustrated Valerie standing there.
Collinwood drawing room - Julia and Leticia report to Valerie--the head is not in that tomb. Gerard has it, says Valerie. Where is Gerard keeping it? asks Julia--if we can find that out, if we can somehow get the court to realize Gerard is possessed by the head... I wish I could be as sure it's Gerard as you are, says Leticia. Judah would never let the head be far away from him, says Valerie. How do you know? asks Julia. I just know, that's all, says Valerie. Would Gerard have it in his room? asks Julia. He's just gone to Rose Cottage, says Valerie, I should go there and look, shouldn't I?--I spoke so bravely just then--I don't feel that way at all, not about searching for that head--I'm just as frightened as both of you are. She hurries out. Julia, I've been thinking, says Leticia--if Dawson found the journal in Quentin's lab, maybe we could find something that might help him. What could we find they didn't? asks Julia. We can at least make sure there's nothing else they could come back and find, says Leticia. Let's go there, agrees Julia--if they plant something there, tomorrow or the next day, we'll know something at least. They leave the house (isn't Quentin's lab in the basement at Collinwood; why did they leave the house?) The camera focuses on Barnabas' portrait.
It's funny, it sure is, remarks Leticia--a staircase with a door on top!--if you want my opinion, Quentin can be tried for being crazy--imagine building that here, in this room! Quentin was very serious about this, says Julia, it was an experiment, eccentric, perhaps, but an experiment to transcend time--if you walked up those stairs and opened that door, you might find yourself in another century. Leticia gazes upstairs eagerly--it's true, I know it, she says--it's true--these stairs lead from our time in 1840 to some other time--I know it! She starts to go upstairs. Don't! cries Julia.
Julia pulls Leticia back--what happened to you? she asks. It's as if I heard someone calling to me! says Leticia. Who? asks Julia. I don't know, replies Leticia, we've got to get rid of these stairs--if Dawson ever brings this up in court... Listen, says Julia, you must never tell anyone the effect these stairs have on you, no one. I wouldn't, Leticia assures her--would you mind very much me leaving you alone?--it's something about the stairs. Of course not, says Julia, you go, I'll keep looking. Leticia coughs and leaves the basement, meeting Valerie at the door, who reports, the head of Judah isn't in Gerard's room, not anywhere. I'm relieved to know it, in a way, says Leticia--maybe it's not true Gerard is possessed--if only there was some real way of finding out! She exits. Julia, where is Leticia going? asks Valerie She's afraid-these stairs, explains Julia--I never knew when I came down them that anything like this would happen. When you came down them? questions Valerie. Yes, says Julia, I came down them, that's the way I came here--Barnabas and I had seen the stairs appear and disappear many times--near the playroom in Collinwood in 1970--that final night, when the ghost of Gerard had killed the two children, and the house was burning, and he'd almost captured me--and I suddenly saw the stairs--Barnabas and I were running down the upstairs hall--I reached the stairs--Barnabas wasn't able to--I started to go up, not knowing where they would lead, and when I came down them, I was here in 1840--I don't know whether to be grateful for the stairs, or hate them--because they may have led to Barnabas' death. Valerie looks despondent.
Leticia plays cards in the Collinwood drawing room. Reading your own fortune, my pet? asks Gerard. Startled, she smiles and says, I was just trying to find out what's going to happen to Desmond. I think he'll have a happy ending, opines Gerard--I'm quite sure--don't your cards tell you that? I suppose I was too frightened to finish, she admits--sit down, Gerard, let me tell your future. You've already told it, he points out, and you said of course I would become extremely wealthy. He sits at the table with her. That's come true, hasn't it? she asks. Yes, it has, he says, also that you said I'd never truly love a woman. She picks up a card and smiles--either I was wrong, or you've changed, luv. She shows him a queen with dark hair. Does that mean another woman? he asks. She takes another card--queen of spades--she will replace someone you loved and lost, predicts Leticia. He chuckles--you already told me I will never truly love another woman, he reminds her. She takes the ace of clubs--she will marry you, hating you, says Leticia. What do you mean? asks Gerard, annoyed. I only tell you what the cards say, she says. You're making this up, he accuses angrily her. Why would I do that? she asks. I don't know, he says, but it's sheer nonsense!--I will believe only the previous reading. He walks away, pissed.
Jail - Desmond is angry at Leticia--you never should have taken a chance like that, for your own sake, Gerard must never suspect you--don't play games like that again! I had to find out, she insists. Are you convinced now? asks Desmond. The cards don't lie, says Leticia--the first time I read them for him, I saw his future as he would be as himself--tonight I read the fortune of another man--I saw the future of Judah Zachary--I know it--Gerard has been possessed by Judah. There's only one way to end this, says Desmond, sounding crazed--if I could get out of this jail I would kill him myself! No! she cries. You still feel for him, accuses Desmond. Gerard? she says--oh, Desmond, you are so kind, when I was possessed by Judah, doing what he was telling me to do, you wouldn't have killed me--you'd have tried to help me, wouldn't you? Yes, says Desmond, you know I would have. Then you must try to do the same for Gerard, she says, there must be a way of saving Gerard from Judah.
How? asks Desmond. I don't know, but I must! she cries, I must!
Valerie and Julia search Quentin's lab. We've found nothing to help Desmond, nothing at all, says Valerie, discouraged. We may, says Julia. I'm still thinking about Barnabas, says Valerie--I'm going upstairs, I think I should go into town and speak to Lamar Trask--I still think he's behind this in some way. I don't think Trask would endanger himself in any way, says Julia--he wants everything at the trial to go just the way he wants it--he won't take any chances! I'm still going to talk to him, insists Valerie, and leaves. Julia continues to search drawers. She hears footsteps and asks, "Who is it?" She realizes the footsteps are coming from Quentin's staircase. The door flies open.
Someone's coming, says Julia, seeing sparkling light at the top--from where?--who?
NOTES: So, a visitor from another time approaches? Will it be friend or foe, or someone Julia doesn't know at all? How unfortunate that Judah no longer loves Miranda/Angelique/Valerie. If he had, it would have been so much easier--but then again, Gerard doesn't really know where Barnabas is.
I love the way the three ladies are working together to try to save Quentin and Desmond, and the way Desmond's relationship with Leticia is blossoming. They are so cute together! Things are starting to close in on Gerard--now Leticia knows who he really is, as does Julia and Valerie--what will he do to them to prevent his secret from getting out?
I guess Julia believes Valerie loves Barnabas, but so does she. It's so odd to see Angelique behaving like a normal woman whose husband has disappeared. Normally, her powers would help her find him, but at present, she is as helpless as a mortal woman in the same predicament. How will this end? Will he even come back to claim one of the ladies who love him?
1177 - To Julia's surprise and delight, her visitor on Quentin's staircase is none other than Eliot Stokes, who smiles at her from the top of the stairs. Grinning, she holds out her hands--Eliot! she cries with pleasure. I don't think I'm half as amazed as you are, he says--but then, I've been planning to do this for several days. You couldn't have come at a worst time for you, she says, but a better time for us--she closes and locks the door. He sits down--I have a feeling what I read in Flora Collins' journal is the truth, he says. Where did you find Flora's journal? she asks. In the ruins of Collinwood, he says. What did you read that upset you so? asks Julia. It told of the year 1840, he says--Barnabas Collins had disappeared and was never heard of again, nor his body found--was what she wrote true? Julia nods sadly--he's been missing a week, she says. (Weren't we just told it was 3 days?--surely he'd be a goner after a week.) And you have no idea where he might be? asks Eliot. None, she says miserably, shaking her head. Then we shall simply have to change the course of history and find him, says Stokes.
We've tried, says Julia, her face crumbling, we've tried--how did you know about the staircase? After you left, Barnabas told me about it, he says, when I decided to come here, I returned to the playroom, stayed there almost 36 hours (the man is so patient!), waiting--suddenly a door appeared, I opened it, I saw those stairs and knew what I had to do. I hope you don't regret it, she says. Well, it's an adventure, he says. An adventure that has ended badly for Barnabas, she says. And is Gerard Stiles here? asks Stokes. He is the master of Collinwood, reveals Julia--there's a witchcraft trial in Collinsport--Quentin Collins is on trial for witchcraft, and Desmond has been put in jail, both accused of being warlocks. And you think Gerard is responsible, says Eliot. Yes she says, but I can't prove it, but I do believe it--we've got to work out a complete history for you--I'll introduce you as a friend of mine from Pennsylvania, you're a professor at the college there--you have not met Barnabas yet, but you have corresponded with him on matters of philosophy of interest to you both--you've come in answer to an old invitation from him. Eliot smiles at her made-up background for him and asks, does Gerard suspect you and Barnabas? Oh, yes, you've got to be very careful, warns Julia--we must get you some clothes. Someone tries the upstairs locked door--Gerard. Julia, he calls, unlock the door immediately. Uh oh, what is Julia going to do with Stokes?
Julia hides Eliot behind some draperies, picks up a book and lets Gerard in. Are you alone? he asks. Yes, she says. I thought I heard you talking, he says. I have a secret vice, she says--when I'm alone and I read, I read aloud. I find out new and fascinating things about you every day, Julia, he says--fascinating! He looks around, wandering close to the green drapes behind which Eliot hides--are you sure no one is here? he asks. Yes, answers Julia nervously. He abruptly pushes back the drapes, but Stokes is sitting on the bottom of the staircase, out of Gerard's view. Why would anyone want to hide anyone from you? asks Julia. What were you doing in this room? demands Gerard nastily. Your friend, Charles Dawson, begins Julia. He is no longer a friend of mine! insists Gerard, since he became county prosecutor. Nevertheless, says Julia, he was the one who found Judah Zachary's journal in this room, I wanted to make sure there was no evidence against Quentin. So you would destroy it? asks Gerard. If necessary, yes, she says--wouldn't you? That is exactly why I'm here, claims Gerard. I've looked everywhere, says Julia, and there doesn't seem to be anything incriminating to Desmond or Quentin. Tell me something, says Gerard, why did you bar the door? I didn't want to be disturbed, says Julia--don't you trust me? Of course, he says, bowing, if only you would return the compliment. Of course I'll try, she giggles. That's good, he says, at least we're starting off in the right direction, although I'm not really sure I believe you. Why don't we discuss it upstairs, she suggests. Together, they leave the lab.
7:40 - Collinwood foyer - And will you see Quentin today, when you go into town? Gerard asks Julia. If I have time, she says, I have many errands to do--by the way, a friend from Philadelphia is coming here--I just got the letter, he's arriving tonight. I know, the Postal Service is quite bad, says Gerard (hey, they're my employers!) Isn't it? agrees Julia--if I don't get back in time, will you make him comfortable? Of course, promises Gerard (looking as if he'll gladly plop some arsenic in Eliot's tea)--who is he?
His name is T. Eliot Stokes, says Julia. Ah, a relative of Carrie's? asks Gerard. Yes, as a matter of fact, says Julia, that's how we got to be friends--when I met him at the university in Philadelphia, and he heard the name Collins, he told me he had an uncle who worked for some people named Collins in Maine--his uncle was Ben Stokes, of course. Quite a coincidence, smiles Gerard. Isn't it? asks Julia. It's odd that he didn't come to Ben's funeral, remarks Gerard. I wrote him about it, of course, says Julia, but he was traveling, and he just got the letter on his return. Is he also a friend of Barnabas'? asks Gerard. They've corresponded, says Julia--he'll be terribly upset about what's happened to Barnabas. Yes, as we all are, agrees Gerard. Valerie enters from the kitchen area. I want to speak to you, Valerie, says Julia. Of course, says Valerie. I'll tell the servants to prepare Ben's room, says Gerard. Thank you, says Julia. He exits into the kitchen area. What is it? asks Valerie. Julia hustles her into the drawing room and closes the doors. Listen carefully, I don't have very much time to explain, says Julia quietly, but a man has come down Quentin's staircase--a man from 1970, a friend who can help us--he knows you. Knows ME? asks Valerie. He knows you're a witch, says Julia. Oh, Julia! says Val, upset. In 1968, says Julia, you called yourself Cassandra, and you were a student of his at a local college--he was the one who introduced you to Collinwood--there's only one thing that bothers me--I don't know how to explain about your being married to Barnabas--because as far as he is concerned, Barnabas, in 1970, is just an ordinary man--he doesn't know he was born in the 1790's (you mean the 1700's, Julia). Valerie, brow furrowed, insists, we must explain some way that we're married. The only thing I can think of is to say you traveled through time, too, says Julia, that you have an obsession about Barnabas--and that you said if he didn't agree to this story of your marriage, you'd tell everybody that he came from 1970.
Apparently told the made-up tale, putting on the clothing she's found for him, Stokes asks Julia--about this obsession of Valerie's about Barnabas--it's like starting a whole new life--with all the disadvantages--suddenly, I feel afraid of doing the wrong thing, or saying something to the wrong person. I'll tell you everything that you need to know, she assures him. Yes, says Stokes, just seeing Gerard down there in Quentin's lab was enough to make me realize how very vulnerable I am. When I came here in 1840, says Julia, your ancestor, Ben Stokes, did all the things for me that I'm doing for you--he's dead now, he was a true friend--when I got here, everything was so different than I expected it to be in 1970. Gerard Stiles was here, says Stokes. Yes, says Julia, but he was living at Collinwood, a friend of the family--he had come to tell the details of Quentin and Tad's drowning. You mentioned Quentin, says Stokes. Yes, he's alive, says Julia, but we didn't know it then. And how about Daphne? asks Stokes--she didn't come with Gerard? No, she came much later, says Julia--Gerard was living in this house--Samantha, Quentin's supposed widow, and Gerard, were obviously in love. Stokes smiles--a whole new complication, he remarks. Yes, agrees Julia, because the very day that Quentin and Tad were miraculously rescued at sea, and the day they arrived at Collinwood, was the day Gerard and Samantha were married. A classic dilemma, exclaims a smiling Stokes, a typical Victorian situation--1840 is living up to my expectations--and what did Samantha do then? Quentin had her make the choice, says Julia, and since her marriage with Quentin hadn't gone very well, she chose Gerard. Ah, a romantic lady, says Stokes--I expect to like her. I doubt that, says Julia--Gerard was marrying her for her money; Daniel Collins, Quentin's father, was very ill--Gerard knew Samantha would get the fortune--Daniel was never very fond of his other son, Gabriel. So Quentin has a brother, says Stokes. Yes, he's a very embittered man, says Julia, perhaps because he can't walk--he's confined to a wheelchair. And is Samantha still with Gerard? asks Stokes. No, says Julia, Quentin wouldn't let her have their son, Tad, and so she gave up Gerard for the child. But Gerard stays on here all the same, says Stokes. No, not here, not at Collinwood, he's at Rose Cottage with Flora Collins, explains Julia--Quentin feels Gerard is his dearest friend, and he won't hear anything bad about him, and that's one of the things that makes everything so difficult. I don't understand, says Stokes, what you've told me is a perfect period piece of domestic drama, but where does the witchcraft come in? There's one element we never thought of in 1970, says Julia--we blamed everything on Gerard Stiles--perhaps we were wrong. Why? asks Stokes--whom would you have blamed? Judah Zachary, says Julia. The warlock? Stokes asks. You know of him--how? she asks--tell me everything you know--we might be able to save Quentin's life!
You forget that occult history is my academic specialty, says Stokes, of course I'm familiar with the trial of Judah Zachary, condemned for being a warlock in 1692 in Bedford, Ma--he was beheaded--his severed head was believed to have strange powers, but it subsequently disappeared. Yes, says Julia, Desmond Collins found it and brought it for Quentin, but he never gave it to him, because Judah Zachary still has control of that disembodied head--it possessed first Desmond, then Leticia, a family friend, then me--now the State charges Quentin is possessed by Judah Zachary, and Quentin is carrying out his revenge, I think it's possessing Gerard Stiles--he's changed so much---he was just an opportunist when I first came here--he's change completely, he's different, I feel it; Leticia feels it, too, and she knows him well. What evidence does the state have against Quentin? asks Stokes. A farmer he fought with says Quentin destroyed his herd through witchcraft; a woman was found dead with the mark of Satan on her forehead; it's the same mark Quentin wears as a ring. Purely circumstantial, comments Stokes. Oh it is! agrees Julia--Quentin was found kneeling over the body of Randall Drew, his brother in law, he'd been murdered; the jailer's wife mysteriously died right outside Quentin's cell, a victim of witchcraft, possibly yes--but Quentin is not the warlock! What is Barnabas' involvement in all this? asks Stokes. None, says Julia--Gerard and Lamar Trask are trying hard to involve him, Trask especially, but Barnabas was on his way to testify for Quentin the day he disappeared! And you think Gerard and Trask caused his disappearance? asks Stokes. It must be true, says Julia, but there's no way of finding out--now listen--I'll take you out the side entrance into the village--there's a stage that arrives from Boston at 9--you be there and hire a carriage (with what money?) and come here--you'll be here about 9:30 and I'll be here to meet you. One more question, says Stokes--what about Daphne? She's here, says Julia, she's the governess, takes care of the children. She's in love with Gerard, of course? he asks. No, says Julia, she's frightened of Gerard, she's in love with Quentin--let me see if it's clear for you to leave now. Julia, says Stokes, you've just presented me with the most complicate crossword puzzle I've ever heard of, says Stokes--and I have to solve it.
9:15 - Julia, asleep on the sofa, dreams: Julia! calls Roxanne. Julia rises--Roxanne! she calls, and finds her at the front door. He's dying, Julia, Barnabas is dying! cries Roxanne
--follow me--follow me--she gestures for Julia to follow her. Where? asks Julia, where? Follow me, bids Roxanne, over and over, Barnabas is dying! They go to the docks. You must save him, Roxanne, says Julia. I can't, insists Roxanne, you must follow...follow me! Yes, says Julia. Oh, there is little time, hurry, Julia, hurry! cries Roxanne--you must hurry! Valerie shakes Julia awake. Julia sits up--Valerie, she says, she was taking me to Barnabas--you've ruined it--you've ruined it! cries Julia helplessly.
(For some odd reason, the scene of Eliot's "arrival" at Collinwood and his meeting up with Gerard
is not summarized.)
Docks - She kept telling me to follow her, explains Julia--I begged her to tell me where he was, but she refused. Perhaps it was just a dream, suggest Valerie. No, says Julia, noting an "office for rent" sign on the brick wall--I saw this--the dream did mean something! Why doesn't she appear to us? asks Valerie. Perhaps she can't, says Julia--oh, Valerie, Barnabas is here somewhere, I know it--Roxanne, can your spirit hear us?--help us!--help us to find Barnabas, help us, please Roxanne. Come to us, pleads Valerie--Julia, we will wait.
Unknown to them, right around that corner, is the Trask Memorial Chapel. Roxanne's ghost materializes next to the wall behind which Barnabas is imprisoned. "Oh, Barnabas!" wails Roxanne, "why doesn't Julia come?--you have so little time, so little time!" We see the solid walls of bricks behind which Barnabas is dying, or possible already dead.
NOTES: Notice that Roxanne called only to Julia to help Barnabas, not Valerie? I guess she's still pissed at her for turning her into a vampire, and who can blame her? When Barnabas was once walled up previously, I believe Josette saved his butt then. Lucky that man's girlfriends all still care about him even after death, or he'd have been a goner by now.
Gerard is going to quiz Eliot about Julia now; will he be able to give satisfactory answers? He picked off Gerard in the Philadelphia/Baltimore challenge, but what more intimate questions can Gerard pose to a vulnerable Eliot? Great seeing him again, but don't get used to it. It almost seems as if they brought Eliot to 1840 so Julia could give him (and the audience) a synopsis of what's happened so far in 1840. Supposedly, the plot was getting too complex for everyone, so maybe TPTB thought a rundown was necessary. The story Julia created about Valerie is a tad confusing, isn't it, and let's face it, hearing about Cassandra had to confuse Valerie, who hasn't been through that timeline yet.
I really enjoyed this episode, as repetitive as it was hearing Julia recount everything I already knew, but Stokes' delight in hearing the details made it all worthwhile.
Love, Robin
