The threat of the gulls is past, but Louella is still hospitalized. Willie learned that she is Beth's reincarnation, and may be reenacting the drama preceding her death in 1897. Julia is back, with her new husband, and her relationship with Barnabas is mending on a new basis. David is at the Old House, in Barnabas' custody, who is having Julia treat him. Sabrina is in Washington, getting the feel of how things work with Maggie.

BETH' CHOICE

Chapter 1

Kenneth Anderson kissed his wife.

"What happened with Collins yesterday? he asked with mild curiosity.

"He got hysterical" Julia improvised fast "I guess that the gulls got to him. He's very close to Willie and..."

"And he took it personally."

"So I had to give him something for his nerves" Julia didn't say that 'something for his nerves" was a bottle of vodka with enough powered blood dissolved in it to make it go down. But then she wouldn't dared to offer him anything else. Not after the way his system had been screwed up in 1970.

"What gets me is how come the gulls acted the way they did." Kenneth's brow furrowed "Maybe it had to do with radio waves, maybe they were sick. If you listen to people in the street they will tell you it was a curse or something silly like that.

"Does it matter?"

"You know it does. For one thing, the gulls cold have been real sick. And then it is wrong to let people go on believing this supernatural bunk.

"Why not let it pass?" Julia tried to divert him. "they are not hurting you."

"It is a matter of principle. And don't forget that I am a frequent contributor to 'The Humanist' magazine. This would make a nice article."

Barnabas hesitated before knocking on Willie's door. Should he go in? Maybe Willie would appreciate being left alone.

It was not only that. He wasn't thinking of Willie now. He was thinking of getting a replacement for Willie when Davenport came back.

Still... he shook his head, and knocked.

Willie looked haggard. He had had little sleep since he had first learned that Louella was in the hospital. And he'd get very little until Louella was out of danger.

"Julia says her husband told her that Louella is improving." he began.

"She's still on the critical list, isn't she? Willie stared at him.

"Yes." he admitted reluctantly.

"I knew it" a sob broke through "Jenny won't let her get better."

'Jenny?"

"I should have listened to you. I should have never held that séance."

"What séance?"

"I got impatient. Delia Harding suggested that we try to contact Beth Chavez. But instead we got Jenny Collins. And she told us that Louella is Beth's reincarnation and that she would make her pay for stealing her husband."

Barnabas closed his eyes and tried to think.

Beth's reincarnation. It made sense. David had probably struck Amy before, but not until Louella had moved in with Quentin, reenacting the old pattern, was Magda strong enough to do anything about it.

"Jenny made her run into the gulls?"

"Yes." Willie sobbed again. "if it hadn't been for me, she would have stayed safely inside. But I had to have that séance. I couldn't wait. I sent her to her death!"

Josette running towards Widow's Hill...the image hit Barnabas, shaking him. He hugged Willie close trying to banish the image from his mind.

"Willie" he said when he could trust himself to speak " If I were to make a list of all the times I knew better than to do what I did, I'd run out of paper. Louella's still alive. We know what her trouble is. We can help her."

"Jenny won't let you."

"I don't think that she'll be back so soon."

"How can you know?"

"It takes energy for a ghost to do that kind of thing. I suspect that Jenny used up a lot when she chased Louella. She will need to, let's say, recharge her batteries first. In the meantime, we can come up with a plan to keep Louella safe."

"A fighting chance" Barnabas wondered how much of it was true, and how much wishful thinking of his part.

Willie relaxed a bit. "I should have never held that séance. I should have never listened to Delia. I could have figured out why she said what she said. Derek isn't into S.M. like she is, so she blamed Louella for it."

Willie was talking too much. He needed to. Barnabas understood Willie's need and let him continue.

"So what happened?"

"She told me that Derek was falling in love with Louella. She said she had seen wounds in Louella's throat, and that Derek refused to tell her anything about it. I didn't bother to check whether she was telling the truth."

Barnabas shifted uneasily. "She was."

'You mean he did bite her."

"No. I did. To protect her."

"Protect her how?"

"Derek said that he was worried that Louella had too many sleeping pills, and that if she O. before dusk, there was nothing he could do."

"Sleeping pills.."

"So he said it would be better if we put a mental command in Louella's mind to keep away from them, and other ways to hurt herself."

"So you did."

"He insisted I did it. He said he was afraid of bungling it if he did it. I should have told you about it, but I didn't know how you'd take it."

Willie shook his head. "I should have asked you first. It is my fault, really."

"Willie, deciding whose fault it is does not help us fight Jenny."

Megan unlocked the door. It was good coming back home. She never ceased to amaze herself at her attachment to these old walls. It wasn't much of a home, but she missed it when she was away.

She laid herself back, lighting a cigarette. It felt good this way...

She had business to attend to. But that could wait until tomorrow. Today she would just enjoy being home...

When Barnabas left, Willie was somewhat calmer. Maybe he would now get some sleep.

As for himself, he had something to do tonight. I weighted on him like a stone.

He wondered if he should feed first. He hadn't fed yesterday, either." he shook his head "No, with his nerves in the shape they were, the mere though of swallowing was enough to make him gag. And it would be this way until he confronted Carolyn.

So why put it off?

Carolyn was alone in her office, working late.

"What do you want this time?" she barked at him.

"I want to make a deal with you."

"I don't want any deals. Specially with you."

"I want you to take off the pressure from Davenport."

"Why should I do that?"

Barnabas sighed. Carolyn had a gift for self-destruction and wasn't even aware of it.

"Because people will get suspicious. They might connect you to the gull attack."

"Connect me? Why?"

"Carolyn" Barnabas grabbed her wrists, losing his patience. "Don't play games with me. I know about Nicholas. I know about the money you paid Joe Haskell. I know about the fake ghost Nicholas made out of smoke. I know that you were behind it. I am trying to cover up for you. But if you are not careful, you will give yourself away. And if the people in town learn of it, I won't be able to keep them from lynching you."

"Is that a threat?"

"No." he released her "I wouldn't hurt you. But you'll hurt yourself one of these days. I am scared for you. Real scared."

"You break my heard. What do you care about me? No one does. The only one who did was Uncle Roger, and you took him away.

Barnabas was shaken by Carolyn's bitterness.

"Don't do this to yourself" he said softly "don't let the hurt you feel dominate your life."

"What would you know, or care, about my hurt?"

"I was once as bitter as you are now." Barnabas paused "the only difference is that the ax had already fallen on me."

"And when do you think that the ax will fall on me?"

"Carolyn! "he was shocked " Don't joke about it."

"Why not?"

"Because there might be real danger for you."

"Danger? What kind?"

"I don't know. I've been thinking..."

"Isn't that a bit unusual for you.?"

"I've been trying to figure out what is wrong with us. With the whole family. How come we are such lighting rods for trouble? There isn't a single generation that wasn't touched by it. Why me? Why Quentin? Why David? Why your mother? I know. Angelique's fault. Judah Zachary's fault. Somebody or other's fault. But why do we keep attracting them? What is it with us? Until yesterday I believed that I had done nothing to bring my curse on me. I was wrong. I had to go up Gallows' Hill to find why Angelique and I were drawn together for both our harms."

"So?"

"Carolyn, I beg you." he said heatedly "you might be attracting trouble to yourself the way I attracted Angelique."

"What kind of trouble do you think it will be?"

"I don't know." he put his hand to his chest. "I have this feeling inside me that, whatever it is, it is worse than anything this place has known."

"Worse than what happened to you."

"So much worse that...that if I knew that my curse would protect you, I'd give it to you, just to keep the other away."

Quentin led Sister Kira into the house.

"You'll like Collinsport, Sister. It is a nice town. Good people. And they need someone like you.

Sister Kira smiled tentatively. She was an attractive woman of thirty five years with high cheekbones and dark hair.

"Do you live here alone?"

"No." he tensed up. "Louella Loomis lives with me...as a housekeeper. She found out that her husband was a homosexual."

Sister Kira crossed herself. "And you gave her the courage to leave him."

"I gave her refuge, yes."

"That was Christian of you."

For a moment Quentin thought that she was mocking him.

"She should be in, by now."

The house was empty, and in the same state that Louella had left it when Jenny had chased her away...the clothes were still on the chair and the bed was unmade.

"What happened here?" Quentin asked.