397 - (Joan Bennett) - A seance has been held in the great house of Collinwood, a seance which has suspended time and sent one girl on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the year 1795. There, each of the Collins ancestors resembles a present-day member of the Collins family, but the names and relationships have changed, and Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger in a sea of familiar faces. And in this house, which she knows so well, an unexpected and forbidden marriage has been scheduled-but the bride has been claimed by a ghost.
Wedding day! Unhappy is the bride the moon shines on!
Old House drawing room - Ben gazes upstairs, looking for Angelique to appear. Barnabas grows nervous, waiting for his bride, and the minister heartily assures him brides are never on time. Rev. Bland is not pleased to learn there will be no guests, and not even Barn's parents are showing up. He inquires about it, but Barnabas just looks ashamed and doesn't reveal what's going on. Perhaps the bride has second thoughts, volunteers the minister. No way, says Ben. Barnabas goes upstairs to see what's keeping her and Ben hears Angelique's voice summoning him. The minister hears Ben responding to someone, but can't hear Angelique, and it's comical to see his reactions to Ben shushing him so he can hear Angelique corresponding with him via her mind. The minister suggests perhaps he shouldn't be performing this ceremony. Ben hears Angelique screaming for help and runs out. Barnabas comes down and tells Bland there will be no wedding-his fiancee is gone, and he knows not where. Naomi comes in, and Barn quietly reveals that Angelique was terrified of Jeremiah. Sighing, Naomi says she used to think everything was going to be all right, but not now.
Angelique lies sobbing next to Jeremiah's grave. She is covered with dirt, her gown ruined. Ben comes hurrying over and Angelique tells him what Jeremiah's ghost did, which gives Ben a good laugh. She warns him that since he's her slave, Jeremiah could turn on him, too. This scares Ben. She has no power over the ghost, says Angelique. As he helps her up and they flee, she swears that she'll be good, and will never again make anyone unhappy. How long can she keep such a promise? Jeremiah doubts it, too, because he's standing behind his tombstone, laughing at Angelique, calling, "You cannot escape me--ever!"
Upstairs bedroom - Later, Naomi wonders to Angelique why Jeremiah came back. Angelique wants to get married right away, and not allow anything else to happen. She's sure there's a witch involved somewhere in this, the bride says. She assures Naomi that she loves Barnabas and will make him happy. She laments that she wanted to look like a bride, but her only suitable dress was ruined. Naomi goes into the trunk and comes up with a plain white dress, then gives Angelique her mother's brooch to dress it up. Angelique cries tears of happiness for the first time in her life--she will never forget Naomi or her kindness.
Drawing room - Bland tells Barnabas he's concerned that Joshua isn't attending this ceremony (no more altar cloths, perhaps)? Although the window is closed, the curtains billow, the chandelier sways, furniture starts falling over of its own accord. Bland says something must be wrong and wants to leave, but Barnabas angrily tells him there WILL be a wedding and he'd better stick around.
Drawing room - As Naomi and Ben stand in as witnesses, Barnabas and Angelique are married in a simple ceremony, with the groom saying a solemn "I do". He places a ring on her finger, the minister declares them husband and wife, and the reluctant bridegroom plants a chaste kiss on his wife's mouth. The minister offers his best wishes; Naomi kisses Barnabas and tells him to love Angelique, and Barnabas heartily calls Ben to get champagne. Bland takes his leave, saying, "I didn't expect to be this long, as delightful as it was." Barnabas closes the door after him, leaning against it for a moment as though he wishes he could disappear along with the Reverend Bland. He has had enough! Looking like a condemnded man heading for the gallows, Barnabas returns to the festivities. Angelique is telling Naomi she wishes there had been some flowers, and Naomi wishes she'd sent some over. She tells Barnabas the wedding was beautiful and she's very happy. He says he is, too, but not very convincingly. Ben brings in champagne for the toast and as he hands out glasses, Barnabas opens the bubbly and pours the first glass for the best man, Ben's, toast--except that instead of champagne, blood pours from the bottle. Jeremiah's laughter fills the room and everyone stares in horror as Angelique runs from the room with a sob.
Barnabas returns downstairs and tells his mother Angelique is shaken, but all right. Naomi ponders why they're being punished--pride? Success? She had so many plans for his wedding day (to Josette goes unsaid). He thanks her for coming and kisses her.
Upstairs bedroom - Angelique, in her nightgown, hears the sound of a music box. She looks for it, puzzled, and finds it in a box on the dresser, playing by itself. Barnabas comes in, sees it, and becomes furious. It was intended for Josette, wasn't it, accuses Angelique. No, it's mine, Barnabas cries, taking it away from her. "You love her still!" Angelique screams. Hee leaves, pulling the doors closed doors behind him. When Angelique pulls them open, Jeremiah is standing there. She calls upon Beelzebub to get rid of this troublesome spirit, but Jeremiah says that demon has no power over him, and promises her she will get no rest until he gets his eternal rest. She screams at the ghost, demanding to know who is controlling him, but he disappears without answering.
NOTES: Quite a wedding day, huh? Will Barnabas and Angelique ever consummate this marriage? Stay tuned!
398 - (Alexandra Moltke) - A seance has been held in the great house of Collinwood, a seance which has suspended time and space and sent one woman on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the year 1795. There, each of the Collins ancestors resembles a present-day member of the Collins family, but the names and relationships have changed, and Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger in a sea of familiar faces. She has also found herself to be the object of a witch hunt. She has been given refuge in the old Collins mansion unaware that the new mistress of the house is the real witch and will soon try to destroy her.
Angelique paces the drawing room, exhausted. She must get rid of Jeremiah's ghost, but how? Why did he turn on her, and who's controlling him? She heads upstairs to rest and is passing by the room in which Vicki is hiding. Vicki hears her and knocks something off the dresser, alerting Angelique, who calls, "Jeremiah? Leave me alone--I'm not frightened of you!" To prove she isn't scared, Ang opens the door. She and Vicki are face to face (and she even calls her "Vicki," which sounded strange).
Vicki explains to an obviously jealous Angelique that Barnabas gave her asylum from Trask. Ang points out that Barnabas has been keeping secrets from both of them, and behaves coldly toward Vicki, saying that she must be very grateful to her husband (and Vicki is STUNNED to hear of this marriage), implying that Vicki has done a lot more than verbally thank Barnabas for his assistance. Angelique notices Vicki's reaction to her marriage to Barn, but Vicki says she's just surprised by the suddenness of it. Vicki notices Ang's upsetment and asks her if she doesn't want her here. Barnabas is master of the house, says Ang, and what he says goes; she has nothing to say about it. Vicki says she doesn't want to be there against Angelique's wishes, but the latter assures her she's glad she's there, knows how cruel Trask can be from her own run-in with him, and invites Vicki to remain as long as she likes. (You can see the wheels turning in Ang's head, thinking of a way to turn this hateful situation to her advantage.) No one will tell Trask about you, Angelique assures her.
Barnabas finds Angelique wide awake in the drawing room, and fuming about his failure to tell her he's hiding a woman in their house. Oops, says Barn, he intended to tell her, but there's been no opportunity. Vicki is there for protection from Trask, insists Barnabas, but Angelique hints there's another reason, and Barnabas laughingly accuses his bride of jealousy. Does I have reason to be? demands Ang. No, Barnabas says. Why is he taking the risk of hiding Miss Winters, then? Barnabas explains he doesn't believe in witchcraft, and even if he did, he doesn't believe Vicki is a witch--does Angelique believe Vicki is a witch? asks Barn, to which Ang responds, "I know nothing of witches." She was just upset he kept this from her, and he apologizes for doing so. They hug, and she says they've both been cast aside by his family, they only have each other. . .she promises to keep quiet about Vicki. They kiss as he heads off into town to find work, and she watches him leave from a window. She won't tell anyone about Vicki, but that doesn't mean no one will find out...
Ben is stoking the fire when Angelique orders him to go to Abigail's room and bring her one of her black hair ribbons. Ben is afraid of being caught in a lady's room, but Ang insists, and he despairingly asks why she's so mean to him. She plans to cast a spell on Abigail, says Angelique, and show her a vision of the real witch in the Old House. Ben is unhappy to hear her plan for Vicki, and she's furious that he seems as protective of Miss Winters as Barnabas is. Angelique thinks Vicki might well really be a witch; someone is controlling Jeremiah, and it isn't her! He reminds her that if he's caught, she won't be able to use him anymore, but Angelique promises to protect him on his mission. Go on, get ribbon, get out, she orders.
Unfortunately, Ben is caught in his task by a horrified Abigail, who demands to know what else he was stealing. He begs for mercy, but she says a thief/convict doesn't deserve any--she's going to tell Joshua and his sentence will be added to! This terrifies Ben, who cries out, "The witch!" Abigail demands to know more, but the servant has gone mute.
Abigail demands he speak up, but he can't, and Angelique smiles to herself.
NOTES: If Angelique hadn't been so unnecessarily jealous of Vicki, her marriage actually might have worked out. Barnabas seemed to want to try, at least, but she couldn't seem to accept her own beauty and intelligence, nor believe he married her with the intention of staying faithful. She didn't trust Barnabas, a big mistake, and it's going to lead to her downfall eventually.
Love, Robin
