A bravura performance by NB!
Edward sees the bite marks on Charity's neck. She admits that she's under Barnabas's power. Reluctantly Charity admits that Barnabas sent her. Why? demands Edward. I can't tell you that, she wails. He'll kill me! I promise he will never get near you again, Edward vows. I feel so ashamed, Charity moans. It's been so degrading for me! Don't blame yourself, Edward tells her--you couldn't help it. I feel I should have been strong enough to resist him, Charity wails. I've gone against everything my father ever taught me. I can never face him again! She bursts into sobs. Holding her rather awkwardly, Edward comforts her, assuring her that everything will be all right. No, I'll never be the same again, Charity wails. I’ll never live through the humiliation of it all! Edward repeats, I must know why he sent you here. Charity manages to look both innocent and cunning as her eyes dart back and forth. She replies, I don't know. I find that odd, Edward comments. He makes me do things against my will, Charity says in her most helpless, childlike voice. And I don't even know why I'm doing them! It's all so terrible, she says, wrapping her arms around him. Mr. Collins, you must help me--please! Edward agrees to help her and says, I'm taking you to your father, at once. He helps her up the stairs. [He seems to have forgotten all about poor Carl.]
The clock in Charity's room has very 20th-century glow-in-the-dark hands. (Charity's room, with its green walls and fake Delft tiles around the fireplace, is a dead ringer for Vicki's room at the Old House in 1795.) Barnabas is waiting anxiously for Charity when he hears someone coming. As he ducks behind the window drapes, we can see that it's Nora. Not finding Charity, she sits to wait for her.
My own daughter, in league with the devil's agent! exclaims the shocked Gregory Trask. He, his daughter and Edward are in the dining room at Worthington Hall. [Has Trask forgotten she was discovered with fang marks a few weeks ago?] Charity pleads that she was weak, that she fell into the path of temptation and that her father is the only one who can save her. rask agrees condescendingly. Yes, Charity, he says, I will help you. Raising her to her feet, he tells her, But you must also help us. I promise to do anything I can, she says. Where is Barnabas? he asks promptly. Charity says she doesn't know--he summoned her to meet him in the woods, but she can't remember why. Annoyed, Trask glances at Edward, then asks his daughter, How can you have forgotten something that happened just a few hours ago? He has that power, to make one forget, Charity replies as she rubs the little black bag between her hands. Trask asks, What did Barnabas send you to get in the Old House basement? And stop playing with the purse! he barks angrily. I want an answer. It's no use, Charity replies. He's made me forget. Edward points out, If Barnabas sent you to get something for him, he'll have to communicate with you before dawn, so the next move is up to Barnabas. All we must do is stay by Charity and be ready for his appearance. Edward brandishes the pistol in triumph. Charity, who has played her part to the utmost to protect Barnabas, is privately horrified.
The mantel clock in Charity's room still reads 5:20. Still hiding behind the curtain, Barnabas peeks out at Nora, who is just sitting there quietly. Charity’s little room resembles the Crowded Stateroom Scene when she, her father and Edward join Nora. Trask asks Nora why she’s there. Having already lost her favorite teacher, Nora is worried about Charity. You look sick, she says, but Charity assures her she's fine. Edward takes Nora back to her room. Trask asks _his_ daughter, Are you frightened? Not as long as you’re here with me, she replies. Pray now, he urges her. Pray for the deliverance of your soul.
At last Charity puts the bag on her dresser and dutifully kneels--then bends her head forward and stifles a gasp with her hand as she spots Barnabas behind the curtain, only a foot or two away from her. He puts a warning finger to his lips. She is dismayed when her father announces that he's going to wait with her for the vampire--it's nearly dawn now. Charity says she wants to pray again--with the Book of Meditations that was her mother's favorite--and she wants it NOW. Trask suspects that she wants to get rid of him. He's trying to communicate with you, isn't he? No, Charity replies innocently. Barnabas can't come to you, Trask says, so he's trying to urge you to come to him! Behind the curtains, Barnabas looks perturbed. Charity says, I'm not going to leave, I promise. You have not been able to free yourself! Trask thunders. You are still under his spell! Get down on your knees and pray again for your deliverance! I shall pray with you. They both kneel--and suddenly hear a scream. [DS Wiki has a great frame grab of NB and JL kneeling together!] They both quickly rise. Edward rushes in and reports, I was sitting beside Nora on her bed. Her window was open. A large bat appeared outside, terrifying the poor child! Trask declares, A bat! The vampire is nearby. We only have a few moments to find him! He and Edward race off, leaving Charity alone in her room. Charity shuts the door and leans against it in relief, then smiles as Barnabas emerges. He opens the bag and lets the earth run through his fingers.
The clock on Charity’s mantel _still_ reads 5:20. But maybe it’s exactly twelve hours later. Trask looks with satisfaction at the large cross he has affixed to the window frame. He orders Charity to stay in her room. There are garlic flowers on the door, so he's sure Barn can't get to her. [Presumably the garlic flowers are on the outside, since we can’t see them. Strangely, this is the first time since Barnabas’s arrival way back in Ep. 211 that anyone in the Collinwood universe has mentioned garlic as a vampire deterrent.] Charity asks, Will you stay with me? No, he replies. It's nearly time for evening devotions. I will pray for you to be forgiven. Thank you, Father, she says meekly. Trask adds, I suggest that you also hold a small cross in your hand as an extra precaution. He goes to look for one in her purse, which he saw on her dresser this morning--but now it's gone. What did you do with your purse? he asks. I must have put it away somewhere, she says. Go do what you must do--I'll find it. Finally he leaves, and Charity locks the door behind him. She shuts her eyes in relief at having cleared yet another hurdle.
In the dining room, Nora asks her father why Charity has been in her room all day, when she isn't sick. He promises to ask Trask about letting her see Charity and chases her off just as Trask arrives. Edward reports that the coffin behind the bookcase hasn't been disturbed. Then we know Barnabas didn't spend the day there, says Trask. Yes, Edward agrees, but that's all we know. I have a feeling he's outsmarted us. I don't know how, but it's obvious his powers are more formidable than we thought. Trask assures him, Barnabas' days are numbered. What concerns me most right now is the possibility that someone else might learn this dreadful secret, Edward frets, and my family's reputation will be ruined. Trask agrees solemnly, The Collins name must be protected. Edward remarks, It will be dark in another hour. We will have another opportunity to get him. We must make the most of it!
At dusk, Barn calls to Charity from-- somewhere and commands her to remove the cross. With delighted anticipation, she takes down the cross. The instant she shuts it in a dresser drawer, Barnabas appears. Hurrying toward him with relief, she confides, I thought about you all day. There was so little time before the dawn. I was so afraid for you! I didn't know if you had found safety or perished. [Actually, she would have been released from his spell, but the suspense makes this scene all the steamier.] I am safe now, thanks to you, he says with an approving smile. I have pleased you? she asks, overjoyed. Very much, he replies. It's too dangerous for you to come back here, Charity warns him. Your father believed it would be impossible for me to come back here, Barnabas replies, but he has underestimated my powers. You must not stay long, Charity warns him again. You must make other plans, find a permanent hiding place, and then take me there with you. I want to be with you, she pleads as she moves her shawl aside from her white throat. All I want is to be with you forever! This is more than enough inducement for Barnabas to sink his fangs into her compliant neck--but just then Nora opens the door (even though Charity had locked it!) and is rooted to the spot in shock....
