SCENE 7
Victoria made her way to the formal gardens where she knew he would be waiting for her. She had heard his summons. He wanted her. And she needed him.
She rounded a hedge and saw him standing there in the darkness. His eyes blazed as he silently called her to him. She reached up, pulled the scarf from her neck, and dropped it to the ground. Swiftly, she ran to him.
Barnabas grabbed her by the waist, lifted her above the ground and spun her around. He put her down, then kissed her passionately. Victoria clutched his coat, trying to take it off of him. Their heat rose as they fell to the ground. Barnabas kissed her again as he lay on top of her. She writhed with pleasure as his lips touched her chest, and moved toward her throat.
Suddenly, in his mind's eye, it was no longer Victoria he was with, but Josette, as she was the day she arrived at Collinwood over 200 years ago. This led to other memories, less pleasant: Josette running off with his brother, her kidnapping by Jeremiah's ghost, the night she jumped from Widow's Hill. Julia's words rang in his ears - 'Are you willing to take that risk?' His thoughts made him pull back from Victoria and stand up.
Victoria opened her eyes. "Barnabas? What's the matter? What's wrong?" she asked, confused by his distance.
He looked at her, pain revealed in his stare. "Victoria, I want you to go away. Stay as far from me as possible. I can only bring your destruction."
She scrambled to her feet. "Barnabas, what are you talking about? I can't stay away from you. Please don't ask me to. I need you."
As the memories of Josette flickered through his mind, he turned away from Victoria. "You must. I will not allow this to happen again."
She dashed to him, embracing him from behind. Her voice took on a note of panic. "No! I can't let you go! You are my life! I won't let you leave me!"
His pain at her tears was greater than any weapon could inflict. "Please, for your own sake, you must forget me. I do not want you to die. And that is what will happen if you continue to love me."
She calmed somewhat. "Look at me." She let him go. "Please, turn around and look at me." Slowly he turned to face her. "Barnabas, I will die if you leave me." He tried to say something, but she put her fingers to his lips to silence him. "I am yours more than life itself. If you can honestly tell me you do not feel the same way about me, I will leave and try to forget, any way I can."
Knowing he would be unable to lie to her, he turned away again. Victoria moved into his line of vision. "I thought so." She put her hand on his cheek, touching him gently. He leaned into her, and their lips met softly. Soon, Victoria pulled back, tilted her head sideways exposing her neck, offering it to the man who controlled her.
The urge and desire to take her were almost overwhelming. He leaned toward her throat., baring his fangs. She could feel his hot breath on her neck. She even thought she had begun to feel the slight pressure as his teeth touched her skin - when suddenly he drew back again. Now she lost all restraint. "No, don't stop! I want to be with you always!"
He spoke to her haltingly, trying to keep control of the bloodlust burning inside him. "I want to be with you as well. But not like this. I will not have you end as Josette did." He took her by the shoulders. "We will go away from here. Leave Collinsport for good. We will go to Europe, and there we can be together forever, away from the evil that can find us here."
Victoria embraced him again, her head against his chest. "Anything, as long as I can be with you."
"There will be a ship leaving tomorrow. We can go now. But we must be quick, for there are many who will try to stop us if they find out."
"Nothing could stop me from being with you."
He took her by the hand, and the two of them ran from the garden.
SCENE 8
A knock came on the front door of Collinwood. Elizabeth answered it. A dashing, silver-haired man stood in the doorway. "Elizabeth, it's good to see you, as always." He kissed her on the cheek.
"It's good to see you as well, Richard. Please come in." Richard Garner stepped into the foyer and removed his coat. "We can talk in the study, " Liz told him. "Come with me." She led him into the study, closing the door behind her.
Richard put his briefcase on the floor beside the chair he sat in. "I'm sorry I'm late. My meeting ran a bit longer than expected."
Elizabeth sat behind the desk. "That's quite all right, Richard. What's a few minutes between old friends like us?"
He put on a rakish grin. Elizabeth had always admired how, even in his advanced years, he could still look like a little boy when he smiled. "Yes, we are old friends now. But I was broken-hearted when you turned down my marriage proposal."
Liz smiled. "Now, Richard, you did quite well. Madelyne was a lovely woman, and you wouldn't trade Frank for anything in the world."
"True. But then you went and married Paul Stoddard just a few years later. I never understood that. And what a blow to my ego. Turning me down, then marrying that scoundrel from out of town."
Liz grew uncomfortable, though she didn't show it. "Please, Richard, let's not bring up that again."
"But the way he left you, alone and with a small child to raise by yourself. I can't help but think that you could have done better."
She changed the subject. "Richard, I don't want to talk about Paul. Besides, we have another Collins' spouse to worry about. Laura Collins may be coming back to Collinsport."
The lawyer frowned. "Really? I thought her case was quite serious. I wouldn't have expected her to be released this soon - if she was ever released."
"I know. I felt the same way. But we received a letter from her yesterday." She opened the drawer of the desk, pulled out the letter, and handed it to Richard. "Apparently her doctors feel she has made tremendous progress. She expects to be released at the end of the month."
"Have you checked with the hospital?" Richard scanned the letter. "Perhaps this is just another of her delusions."
"I've tried, but the hospital won't release any information, except to the immediate family. I asked Roger to call, but he refused. I think some part of him wants her to come back to him."
Richard handed the letter back to Liz. "I can understand your concern, but what do you want from me?"
Elizabeth leaned over the desk slightly. "I want to be prepared for whatever may happen. If she plans to divorce Roger, I want it done quickly, as long as we can protect the company and the estate. And I want to protect David. After what happened, I want to keep him away from her. Remember, her obsession seemed to center around him."
Shifting in his seat, the lawyer thought for a minute before answering. "Well, as far as the estate and the business go, those are completely in your name, so they wouldn't figure into any settlement. Roger's personal assets are another story, of course, and he may have to pay alimony. I'm not really sure of the specifics. Frank is the expert on divorce law."
"And will I be able to keep her away from David?"
His face grew grim. "I doubt it, Liz. If she is declared sane, she would have every legal right to see the child. She is his natural mother, after all. Now if she tries to get custody, maybe we could fight that based on the incident. She did endanger his life. We might be able to get her pronounced an unfit mother."
"Only if we have to, Richard. If we can keep this out of the courts, I'd like to. I have no objection to giving her a cash settlement, as long as the estate and the business remain intact. But I will not let her have David."
He stood up. "I'll do what I can for you, Liz. You know that. But I want to warn you, a divorce and custody battle could get very messy."
"I understand that. But I will do what I have to do." She rose, ready to lead him out.
"Well, I'll get to work on it. And I'll have Frank start preparing a divorce, just in case." He picked up his briefcase.
Liz opened the door to the study for him. "Thank you, Richard. I appreciate that."
"Not at all. What are friends for? And don't be a stranger. Let's get together for dinner sometime, soon."
They walked to the front door together, and Elizabeth let him out. Richard kissed her cheek again as he left, and strangely, Liz got a warm feeling inside. If she didn't know any better, she would swear she was blushing.
SCENE 9
The car seemed to move as if it had a life of its own, though he knew Victoria was controlling it. This century and its inventions continued to astound him. He wasn't exactly sure he liked the metal contraptions called 'automobiles', but they certainly did make travel easier. And faster. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they hit something going at this speed. One thing about travelling by horse: you never ran into anything.
To take his mind off his discomfort, he talked to Victoria about his memories of Europe. "London used to be the center of the world. I was there once on a business trip for Father, my first trip for the Collins Shipping Yard. I was surprised at the crowds of people in the streets, the filth and the muck. I had grown up wealthy and sheltered. I couldn't believe what I didn't know about the world. I determined then and there that I would learn as much about the world as possible. Though I'm sure it has changed quite a bit since I was there, I have a feeling of nostalgia going back."
"As long as we are together, I would go anywhere." From a distance, she saw the figure of a man in the road, trying to flag them down. She told Barnabas, and asked, "Should we stop?"
"We don't have time. We must find a ship, book passage, and be settled by dawn. Go faster."
The car accelerated. As they neared the man, Vicki was finally able to get a good look at his face when their headlights hit him. She hit the brake sharply, and the car spun out of control. The last thing either of them heard was Vicki screaming, "Peter!" Then the car hit a wall and crashed.
END OF CHAPTER 14
CREDITS FOR CHAPTER 14
Julianna McCarthy as Mrs. Johnson
Roy Thinnes as Roger Collins
Jean Simmons as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
Barbara Blackburn as Carolyn Stoddard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as David Collins
Joanna Going as Victoria Winters/Josette DuPres
Barbara Steele as Dr. Julia Hoffman
David Selby as Richard Garner
Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins
