Dark Shadows Story
Takes place during the Leviathan story line.
Maggie Evans had recently married Joe Haskell. She had decided to stop working for the Collins family.
Roger Collins decided that it was necessary to hire a new governess. His sister, Elizabeth insisted on choosing the applicant. She chose a young woman named Penelope Trevor.
When Penelope had arrived at Collinwood for the first time, David had decided to play a prank on her. She had gone to the west wing to look for him. When she had gotten into Quentin's room, David shut the door and locked her inside. She ran to the door and pounded on it.
"David! Let me out! It's time for you to go to bed!" she heard David snigger. "David, just wait until I tell your father!"
David snickered again.
"If that's so funny, then, just wait until I tell your aunt Elizabeth!" she heard David run from the door.
After a few minutes of waiting to be let out, she started to walk around the room. She noticed an old phonograph. She turned it on, wanting to know if it still worked. A most beautiful song began to play. She could almost hear singing, even though there were no lyrics to be heard. She let it play. Penelope found the music quite soothing. She had almost forgotten that David had locked her in the room when the door opened.
A dark haired man with a sallow complexion stood in the doorway. He held a cane with a silver and gold wolf's head for a handle. He stepped into the room. "I had been told that Elizabeth had hired a new governess." He went to the phonograph. "I see you've discovered Quentin Collins' old phonograph. As I have read, he played it very often."
She watched him as he turned off the phonograph.
He turned, noticing that she had been watching him. "I'm sorry, my dear, I failed to introduce myself. I am Barnabas Collins. I am a distant cousin to Elizabeth. When Elizabeth told me that she couldn't find you, I assumed that young David had locked you somewhere in the west wing. I assumed correctly." He held out his hand. "I'll help you downstairs."
She followed him out of the room, looking back at the old phonograph machine. Barnabas was very charming, but there was a strong appeal about the phonograph.
"Who was Quentin?" she asked him.
"Quentin Collins was an ancestor of the Collins family." Barnabas explained. "He live at Collinwood in 1897. He was a man prone to drinking and erratic behavior. However, he had quite the reputation as a ladies man. Women were quite often charmed by him. As I understand it, he was quite a handsome young man."
"Was he ever married? It seems to me like a man with such charm and a lovely phonograph would have had a wife."
"He did have a wife. Jenny. They had twins. A boy and a girl. Quentin had left her, not knowing that Jenny was pregnant. When he returned to Collinwood, the family chose not to let him know about Jenny or the children. Edward Collins had seen to it that the children were taken from Jenny Collins and that they were raised away from her. Jenny was eventually strangled to death."
Penelope gasped. "Who…?"
"Quentin killed her in self defense. She had discovered that he had returned to Collinwood and attempted to kill him."
When the pair had reached the drawing room, Penelope had been quite enthralled by stories of the Collins family history.
Penelope immediately noticed David standing in the drawing room as they walked in. "David, get to bed. It's past your bed-time."
"David, you shouldn't have locked her in the west wing." Barnabas told him.
"I didn't do it." David said, almost nonchalantly.
Barnabas seemed to see through it. "David, don't lie to me. Why did you do it?"
"Oh, I don't know. I guess I just thought it would be funny."
"It wasn't funny." Penelope told him. "If it hadn't been for your cousin Barnabas, I don't know how much longer I would have been trapped in there."
"Apologize, David." Barnabas instructed.
"I'm sorry, Penelope. I won't do it again." David said with a slightly mischievous look on his face.
"Now, David, I want you to go to bed." Barnabas told him.
"You can't tell me what to do."
"David, get to bed." Penelope instructed.
"I don't have to." David said.
"Penelope, why don't you go to bed yourself? I will take care of David." Barnabas said.
When Penelope was out of hearing range, David said to Barnabas, "We need to do something about her. She suspects too much."
"David, we are not in danger from her. Everything will go according to plan."
"Michael is mad because she made me leave the shop."
"I'll talk to Michael. Until he is an adult he must do as I say. Did Michael tell you to lock her in the west wing?"
"Yes, he said that she had to be punished."
"Michael is beginning to expect too much. I will discipline him myself."
Penelope slept restlessly that night until 2 a.m. She finally sat up in her bed and went to the west wing. She was pleased to find that Quentin's room was not locked. She went inside and put one hand on the phonograph, wanting to turn it on. She worried it would wake someone up, and she would be in trouble with Elizabeth. She was about to leave the room when a woman with short brown hair walked in with a man.
"Dr. Hoffman, I-" she began, but Julia cut her off.
"Oh, it's alright. I'm using Quentin Collins' room to try to help this man remember who he is." Julia turned on the phonograph after it became clear that Penelope did not intend on leaving the room. "Are you sure you don't remember this, Mr. Douglas?"
"I've told you. I don't remember it!" the man said, exasperatedly.
"How can that help him remember who he is?" Penelope asked.
"Well, it's…complicated…" Julia said slowly.
"I still don't see how-"
"Dr. Hoffman thinks that I'm Quentin Collins!" the man said, almost drunkenly. "Isn't that right, Doctor Hoffman?"
"Grant-" Julia began.
"This isn't going to help me! It's ridiculous!"
"Mr. Douglas a lot of strange things have happened at Collinwood and in Collinsport over the years. It wouldn't be surprising to me. Stranger things have happened."
"I'm sure."
Julia seemed to be thinking. "Do you remember a Magda Rakosi?" she asked.
"I don't remember anything! I told you that!"
"Evan Hanley?"
"No!"
"How about Count Andreas Petofi?"
"No."
"Beth Chavez?"
"I don't know any of these names. Why do you keep asking?"
"They were people that Quentin Collins knew. Your resemblance to him is too uncanny. Do you remember Amanda Harris?"
"No. What's next, a Angie something?"
"If that's the way you want it. Angelique."
Grant seemed to show the first sign of remembering something. "For some reason that name sounds too familiar."
"It's because you knew her as Quentin Collins."
"I can't be Quentin Collins! He lived one hundred years ago!"
Penelope listened to the argument, wanting it to end. She couldn't understand it.
"You know, you do have a guest here." Grant said.
"Actually, she's the new governess for the Collins family." Julia told him. "She tutors David Collins and Amy Jennings. She also takes care of them and makes sure that they go to bed on time."
"I have a question about David." Penelope said.
"Oh, what's that?"
"Has he always played tricks on people?"
"The boy has been ill in the past. But, yes, he always has played tricks on people."
"Well, then something has to be done about that. I don't want him locking me in anymore rooms."
"A while ago he did that to Maggie Evans. In fact, he locked her in this room."
"Do you know anything about Quentin Collins?" Grant asked Penelope.
"I only know what Barnabas Collins has told me."
"And what did he tell you?" Julia asked.
"He said a lot. It was quite interesting. He described Quentin Collins as a ladies man."
"As I understand it, he was quite the ladies man." Julia noted.
"He didn't even say anything about there being someone who looks like Quentin Collins around here."
"Barnabas has been behaving strangely. But even if he hadn't been, he probably wouldn't have said anything about it. Barnabas is generally a good person."
"You make it sound like he isn't always a good man."
"I think we've done enough now." Julia said. She opened the door and stood, holding it open. The man walked out of the room, but Julia still held the door open.
"You should be getting back to bed." Julia said. "David and Amy can be quite a handful. You should have your energy."
Penelope began to get the feeling that Julia Hoffman didn't like her.