The (redone) teaser is a repeat of the last scene of the previous episode, but this time Rachel spots a yellow candle. Dirk sort of apologizes before biting Rachel. But regarding your comment, MT, aren't newly fledged vampires supposed to be really, really hungry? Maybe that's why Dirk merely chokes Edward into unconsciousness--he's finally sated.
Visiting the Great House, Barnabas has a really bad scare when Edward announces that he thinks a vampire is on the loose. What are you getting at? he asks with great apprehension. Edward throws open the double doors to reveal Judith standing in the drawing room, the bite marks all too visible. Good evening, Barnabas, she says with no interest whatever. Now trying to hide his relief, Barnabas asks, Well, Edward, did you find out what you want to know? Yes, answers a subdued Edward. He escorts his sister back to a chair to rest and shuts the doors again. Now Barn is enthusiastic about finding and destroying the (other) vampire.
After biting Rachel, Dirk has already begun to hatch his horrible plan for revenge. Rachel stares at Dirk with blank rapture as he tells her, You don’t need to be frightened anymore. No, she agrees in a childlike voice, then asks, Where is Tim? I came to help him. Don't worry about Tim, Dirk tells her. You can help me instead. He holds her shoulders as he tells her, I didn’t expect you, but I’m glad you came. I don’t understand, Rachel says. Dirk assures her, Before tonight is over, you will.
At midnight, Judith is safely tucked in bed, wearing a pink nightgown lavishly trimmed with lace (though how she got out of her chinchilla-trimmed velvet gown and into the nightgown, this tale does not tell). Barnabas tells Edward, You must stay with her the rest of the night. I will keep searching for Dirk--either he's the vampire, or he knows who is. He must be found tonight, says Edward. I don't want her to go through another night like this. [So Edward does have some feeling for his older sister.] Watch her carefully, Barnabas advises him, especially if she awakens. The vampire might communicate with her or try to lure her from the house. I won’t let her leave, Edward vows. You won't be able to prevent it, Barnabas tells him. Judith is completely under his power--let her leave. And have that maniac attack her again? Edward asks, shocked. It might be the only way to learn where the coffin is kept, Barnabas replies soberly, and the sooner he's destroyed, the better for Judith. Edward wishes him good luck. After Barnabas leaves, Edward looks down at his sister, then sits to take up his vigil. But at 1:05, he hears something crash downstairs and--bit mistake!--leaves the room.
From the landing, Edward spots the vase that was on the foyer table--on the floor below, broken, the flowers scattered. He comes down and shuts the open doors, opens the drawing-room doors and turns on a light. He searches the drawing room and the foyer, takes a look through the door under the stairs, but finds nothing. As he starts back upstairs, he hears a door open. On the landing Dirk grabs him from behind. They struggle briefly, but Dirk knocks him out and leaves him unconscious on the landing, near the top of the stairs. The front doors close again all by themselves.
Judith’s sleep is restless; she tosses and moans, then awakes to see Dirk, eerily lit from below as he stands by her bed. I knew you’d come, she says. I have something I want you to do, he tells her. Anything, she vows. It may frighten you, he warns her. I’m not frightened, she assures him. Listen carefully, Dirk tells her. You must not tell anyone you’ve seen me. You will leave this house at dawn and take this with you--whereupon he hands her a revolver. Do you want me to use that? she asks. You will use it if it becomes necessary, yes, he answers as he presses it into her hand.
Downstairs, Edward revives, remembers Judith, and hurries back upstairs. Dirk has apparently given Judith her instructions. Do you know what you must do? he asks. Yes, Judith answers mechanically. Are you ready to do it? he asks. Yes, she replies, just as mechanically. Good, Dirk says. I’ll return for you tomorrow night. Then he simply disappears. Edward calls out to Judith from the hallway; she quickly hides the gun under her pillow. I’m all right, she assures her brother--no one was in the room. There’s an intruder in the house, Edward says, still alarmed. He was in this room, wasn’t he? No, Judith says calmly. Edward begs her, Tell me who the madman is--our lives may depend on it! I was almost strangled before--please try to tell me! Judith replies quietly, No one has been here tonight but you and I. As he turns away, she reaches under the pillow to touch the gun that Dirk had touched when he gave it her.
Barn also has a revolver--which he loads with silver bullets. At the Old House, Barnabas also has a revolver, which he grimly loads with silver bullets and puts it on the mantelpiece. Suddenly sensing the presence of another vampire, he turns around to see that Dirk has materialized and is staring at him. I knew you'd be surprised to see me, Dirk tells his sire. I didn't expect you to come here, Barnabas replies. I need to speak to you, Dirk says. I want to make you a proposition. I’m not interested, Barnabas replies concisely, so Dirk tells him, I have Rachel as a prisoner. I will keep her prisoner until you do as I want. What do you want? Barnabas asks. I could make exorbitant demands, Dirk replies, considering what you did to me, but I'll settle for one small favor: I want Laura--you can get her back. (How she would react to Dirk’s current status is open to question, although his vampiric state seems not to have influenced his obsession with Laura.) No, I can't, Barnabas tells him. You'd better--if you expect to see Rachel alive, Dirk warns him. I want to know that Rachel is alive, even now, Barnabas insists. You have my word for it, Dirk, but she's under my command and will stay where she is until you deliver Laura to me. That’s impossible, Barnabas protests. I will settle for that and nothing less, Dirk insists. Laura is dead, Barnabas reminds him, and I can't make her come back to life. You have until dawn, says the undeterred Dirk, and if you don't get Laura back, Rachel will die. Dawn is only a few hours away, Barnabas says. Dirk grabs his arm and reminds him, It only took you a few hours to get rid of Laura, so with your [airily waving his hand] powers, it should only take a few minutes to bring her back. Barnabas lunges for the pistol loaded with silver bullets, but Dirk stops him by telling him, Don't be a fool. If you kill me, by the time you find Rachel, she'll be dead. He smiles evilly. You'll do what I say, Dirk says confidently. Holding the pistol in his hands, Barnabas watches in misery as Dirk vanishes.
Edward brings Judith some tea or something. He natters on for a few moments before realizing that her bed is empty.
Dirk has returned to the Peabody Farm. He peers outside the cellar, and then closes the doors. Who are you watching for? Rachel asks. For Laura to come back, he replies. But she's dead! Rachel protests. Some people have powers to restore the dead, Dirk replies. Seeing that she’s about to ask questions, he says, You don't understand, but you don't have to--just be quiet and wait. Then what? Rachel asks. I don't know, he says. Striking the wall with his fist, he exclaims passionately, She MUST come back to me, she must! Growing afraid, Rachel asks, What are you going to do to me? I asked you to be quiet! he shouts. Just then the local rooster crows--and Dirk knows exactly what that means. He failed! Dirk shouts in frustration and rage. He couldn’t restore her! He said he couldn't do it, but I didn't believe him. I warned him to be here by dawn, Dirk adds as an ugly look comes over his face--and now he's failed. And he'll be sorry! Oh, he will be sorry! he says as he walks past Rachel to open his coffin and climb in. He closes the lid on himself. Rachel helpfully presses down firmly on the lid of her master’s coffin and hears the sound of someone entering the cellar. Once again she thinks it’s the absent Tim, but it’s Judith Collins, in a red bathrobe over the pink nightgown. I'm sorry, Rachel, Judith says, I'm sorry. The uncomprehending Rachel says, I thought you'd come to take me home. Then she realizes Judith is pointing a pistol at her. What's wrong? Rachel asks, but Judith doesn't reply. As if knowing what is about to happen, Rachel looks terrified....
