433 - (Alexandra Moltke) - A seance has been held in the great house at Collinwood, a seance which has suspended time and space and sent one girl on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past?back to the Collins family in the year 1795. In the midst of a long reign of evil and terror, Victoria Winters is forced to defend herself against a charge of witchcraft.
At Vicki's trial, Trask relates the tale of Abigail's death, emphasizing the unspeakable horror on her kind, gentle face (
), as though confronted by EVIL itself! Victoria Winters used her powers to strike Abigail down! shouts Trask. Peter orders those remarks stricken from the record--Vicki might not have been a big fan of Abigail, but that doesn't mean she hated her enough to kill her. After Peter says Miss Collins died of a heart attack, Trask points out that she was in perfect health previously, a fact which the judge agrees to.
However, there isn't enough evidence yet to charge Miss Winters with murder. Trask requests a recess so he can find a witness. When it's granted, he grins, pleased.
Vicki's cell - Peter tells Vicki he's concerned about all this; Trask is too confident. He asks Vicki with whom she might have discussed Abigail, but most of the people Vicki ticks off on her fingers are dead now. Grasping at straws, Peter asks if Ben could have murdered Abigail, but Vicki says no. Peter is scared--they need a good witness of their own to counteract Trask's actions.
At the gaol later, Peter and Vicki talk to Nathan Forbes, tell him of Abigail's demise and ask him to be a character witness for Vicki and assure the court she never said anything negative about Abigail. Nathan is reluctant, citing his falling-out with the Collins family (he doesn't give details), but he agrees to help them, or at least do his best.
Trask listens to this conversation outside the cell door and is again smiling happily.
Back in the courtroom, Trask calls Vicki to the stand. Peter brings up the "innocent until proven guilty" rule and reminds the judges about her right not to incriminate herself, but the judge assures him those rights will be protected. Trask goes at Vicki with a vengeance, asking her if she HATED Abigail for suspecting her of witchcraft--did she hate her enough to KILL her? Peter objects. Vicki denies wanting to see Abigail dead. Trask offers Vicki's Zodiac charm bracelet into evidence (Trask calls it a symbol of the devil). He gets Vicki to admit it's hers and tells them it was found on poor Abigail's dead body; Peter reminds the court that they haven't really hooked Vicki up to that murder yet. Besides, Abigail had that bracelet in her possession long before her death. Then Trask drops the bomb and bring in Nathan Forbes, who walks past the defense unseeingly, to testify against Vicki! Peter, clearly angry and shocked, tells the judges that this was supposed to be THEIR witness. The judge asks Nathan if he was coerced in any, which he denies.
With Trask asking the questions, Nathan says Vicki hated Abigail, threatened her, called her a religious fanatic, told him that, if she had the power, she would see her dead and buried. "That's not true!" screams Vicki, outraged and horrified, several times, throwing the courtroom into pandemonium. Peter, in cross-examination, reminds Forbes that he befriended and helped Vicki hide from Trask, bringing her food. Forbes insists he did this only to maintain his friendship with Barnabas, who believed Vicki innocent, but he, Forbes, didn't agree with him.
Peter also brings out that Trask tied Miss Winters to a tree like an animal, which Trask described as "doing his duty to the Almighty." Nathan knew witchcraft was being practiced at Collinwood, and since Vicki was the last person to arrive, she was the most logical suspect. Vicki gazes in disbelief at Nathan and screams, "WHY?" Forbes exits the witness box after taking one last look at Vicki, who Peter has taken in his arms. You can't quite read his face, but Trask is grinning evilly, joyously.
NOTES: We know that whatever happened between Nathan's agreement to testify for the defense and his testifying against Vicki, Trask got his mitts into Forbes and said something to change his mind. I'm sure we won't have to wait long to find out exactly what Trask said to bring Nathan over to his side, but we sure do hate the handsome Lieutenant for his betrayal, don't we? Oh, yeah!
434 - (Joan Bennett) - A seance has been held in the great house at Collinwood, a seance which has suspended time and space and sent one girl on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the Collins family in the year 1795. There, Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger in a sea of familiar faces, one of whom has just testified at Victoria Winters' trial for witchcraft, and in his testimony showed that she had both the motive and desire to kill the woman who had first accused her of being a witch.
Nathan stands at the desk in his quarter, telling himself not to feel sorry for Victoria Winters--he had to be selfish. Peter barges in and demands to know why Nathan lied. Nathan insists he didn't, that he simply decided he'd been wrong about Vicki.
They go back and forth on this debate for some time. Peter encourages Nathan to come to the gaol and see her, but Forbes has no desire to see a woman crying. What happened in the two hours between his promise to testify on Vicki's behalf and your perjuring yourself? demands Peter. How are the Collinses bribing you? Nathan denies this--he's on bad terms with the family and he and Millicent have broken their engagement. Peter points out that the Collins family could jeopardize his job with the Navy, which would certainly be a motive for his lying. Before long, the two of them are physically brawling; Peter knocks Nathan to the floor. Nathan declares that Peter won the round, but lost the fight, and Peter retorts that they'd see the victor when Vicki is sentenced.
At Collinwood, Naomi and Joshua talk. He hasn't gone in to work, which she attributes to his grief about his sister--why doesn't he show it? He asks to be left alone, but she refuses. Abigail had no life, laments Naomi--a senseless death and a senseless life. Joshua objects to this, saying his sister had her family. She had the wrong values, says Naomi, and, unlike her brother, was a businesswoman without a business to run. She loved Joshua, but only tolerated the rest of them, Naomi continues. She would have liked to make Abigail's life fuller, happier. Perhaps she had a broken romance in her past. Joshua insists his sister knew her own mind. He declares Naomi too emotional, a poor judge of character (i.e., Vicki), and says he's going to the yards to see Trask. Naomi watches his gruff departure, smiling.
Trask promises Nathan that he will, as promised, talk to Joshua about him. He needs his job now that he's lost Millicent (Trask insists he knows nothing of physical love, but he must have had a kid somewhere, since there are Trasks in the future). Nathan reminds Trask he did the Collinses a favor by testifying against Vicki, and he believes Trask owes him.
Trask takes this as blackmail, reminding Forbes he could have accused him of being the witch's accomplice, but Nathan smoothly reminds him the time for doing so has passed. Nathan strongly implies that if Trask doesn't do what he promised on his behalf, he might just consider Bradford's suggestion to change his testimony.
Trask speaks to Joshua and suggests that if he and Naomi testify against Miss Winters, on top of Nathan's testimony, it would pretty much ensure a conviction--and it would be what Abigail would have wanted. Joshua refuses--his family has given enough. Trask keeps pressing, reminding him that Nathan gave Miss Winters a motive for killing Abigail, and he really SHOULD withdraw his threat to speak to the Navy. . .or Miss Winters might not be punished--Forbes' testimony is that important to the case. At first, Joshua refuses to speak to Forbes, but when Trask reminds him that he isn't really doing anything to help convict Vicki, he reluctantly agrees to see him--out of respect for Abigail's memory, as Trask puts it. Joshua asks to see Nathan alone.
Nathan plays humble with Joshua, saying earnestly that losing Millicent is enough of a punishment for his lies. Let him keep his job, it's all he has, and he'll serve the Navy well in the future! He asks if Joshua didn't make mistakes as a young man, such as his unfortunate marriage. Sourly, Joshua interrupts--he didn't want to hear this tawdry story!
He agrees not to write the disciplinary letter, but only if Nathan applies for a transfer and leaves Collinsport so he never has to see him again.
Collinwood foyer - Peter tells a distraught Naomi than Nathan lied at the trial, but she says she can't do anything to help. Then Vicki will die, says Peter. After Bradford leaves, Naomi is pouring herself a sherry when Joshua comes home and inquires sarcastically if this is what she's been doing all afternoon. She tells him that Nathan lied on the stand about Miss Winters, and Joshua knows damn well it isn't true. Vicki isn't a witch--and I am going to testify for her! Livid, Joshua orders her to stay in the house and sip sherry all day, but she is not to interfere.
To hell with dignity, proclaims his wife, she's lost both her kids and has nothing but what little piece of him he allows her to share. When he threatens to lock her in her room, she informs him that she'll escape, testify and NOT COME BACK! She puts on her cloak, marches out the door and gets into the carriage while her husband shouts that she is his wife, she'd better come back, even following outside and shouting her name at the departing carriage.
NOTES: HURRAY, NAOMI! Love that gumption, girl! You GO!
Love, Robin
