Chapter Two

Victoria barely had time to relax in the house before she began to be ushered out of the parlor. It turned out that she had chosen to show up just as dinner was about to be served. As she was being led out of the parlor, she noticed Elizabeth's eyes flick nervously toward the drawing room, where Barnabas had disappeared to a moment before. Victoria frowned and quickly peeked inside. Barnabas was sitting on the sofa with his back to her, and he seemed as though he were hunched over slightly, and she wondered if she should say something.

"Missus Stoddard," she started, turning to Elizabeth with a concerned look on her face. She inclined her head into the drawing room, indicating Barnabas without actually speaking.

Elizabeth looked into the room as well before gently guiding Victoria out of the doorway.

"Follow Roger," the woman said. Victoria watched Elizabeth walk quietly into the room before turning to hurry after Elizabeth's brother, who had held the door to the hallway open for her. She tried to smile at him, but he arched an eyebrow.

"You seem troubled, Miss Winters," he said. He peered behind him to check if Elizabeth was following before he closed the door behind him, starting down the hallway with Victoria.

"I'm fine," she replied too quickly. Victoria stopped briefly in the hallway grimaced at herself. Surely she was better at hiding her nervousness than this. She felt Roger's hand on her back and began to walk again.

"Of course, if it's the job you're afraid of, you don't have to take it," Roger told her. Victoria frowned, picking up on a hint of what she could have sworn was mocking, and she had to stop herself from snapping at him.

"I'm not afraid," she said as they reached the dining room. It was a complete lie, of course, but Victoria hoped from the way she squared her shoulders and the pointed look she gave Roger, she at least seemed more confident than she really was.

Collinwood's dining room never ceased to amaze Victoria. She had lost count of the times that she had been here, but she always seemed to be almost astounded at the size of it. She thought that she could probably fit almost three of her apartment bedroom into that single room, and she couldn't understand why they didn't split the dining room into two. All of the excess space seemed pointless to her. It became especially apparent once they were seated at the table, Roger across from her with David next to him, and Carolyn at her right. Even when Barnabas and Elizabeth arrived, they wouldn't even take up half of the long table.

Missus Johnson, the housekeeper, stood by the entrance to the dining room, a solemn expression on her face as Elizabeth did arrive, followed immediately by Barnabas. Elizabeth took her space at the head of the table, and Barnabas took the seat next to David after a moment of hesitation. Afterward, without missing a beat, Missus Johnson began serving dinner.

No one spoke.

Victoria tried to keep her head down as she ate, concentrating solely on her food instead of the distinctly awkward atmosphere in the room. As she took a bite of her meal, her eyes flicked up in time to notice Elizabeth cast Barnabas a curious, almost wary sort of look from across the table. In response, Victoria shifted her eyes toward Barnabas. She immediately looked back at her plate once she realized he was staring at her.

Roger frowned and cleared his throat, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "Barnabas," he began. "You said you're from England?"

Barnabas snapped out of his trance-like state, allowing Victoria to relax slightly, and he turned toward Roger as he finally began cutting into his food.

"I am," he responded. He raised his fork as though to take a bite, but instead added, "London, specifically."

"Is that so?" Roger grinned. "I've traveled there quite often myself. A wonder that we never ran into each other."

"Indeed, it is." Barnabas' lips almost twitched into a frown as he averted his eyes away from Roger, concentrating on his plate just as Victoria had been a moment ago. "Though, perhaps not entirely. I travel quite often myself. Sometimes it seems as though I'm at home less often than I'm away." He forced out a laugh, and Roger managed a chuckle, as well.

"What, exactly, is it that you do?" he asked?

Barnabas didn't miss a beat. "I'm a writer."

"Are you?" Roger nearly beamed; Victoria thought that he seemed impressed, and she looked over at Elizabeth, who still said nothing. Roger continued, "What have you published?"

This time, Barnabas did take a brief pause, though the manner in which he looked away from Roger made him appear merely humble. "Nothing of importance," he said. "In fact, thus far I've only been self-published."

Elizabeth put her fork down against her plate, the metal making a noise against the glass.

"You said that you had come from New York City on a business venture," she reminded Barnabas. "Might I ask what that business venture was?"

"Funny you should ask that now, Missus Stoddard," Barnabas replied with a charismatic smile. "I was talking to potential literary agents about my situation."

She responded, "Which is?"

"I brought some samples of the current book I'm writing, and rather than speak with them over the phone from London, I thought it best that I come to America. Besides, the setting is rather closely based on Collinsport – or, rather, what I've heard about Collinsport through letters and such – I was planning a trip anyway."

"So, why wouldn't you just submit your book to publishers in England?" Carolyn spoke up from next to Victoria, and Barnabas turned toward the girl, his eyes lingering on Victoria for an instant.

"I did. I'm afraid to say that nobody was interested," he explained. "I thought that it wouldn't hurt to try my luck with an overseas market."

Roger nodded in agreement. "I don't see how it could have. I'm assuming you were right, of course."

"Yes, I was. I was lucky enough to receive an advance on the book, actually. Now all that's left to do is to finish it," Barnabas said with a chuckle.

"And so you came here," Roger said, "for inspiration."

Barnabas smiled somewhat sheepishly. "That's part of it. There's also the fact that there are no other members of the family left in England. Once I discovered that there were relatives in America that I could be close to, well – you see why I couldn't resist." The sheepish look turned charming once again, and it was almost possible to pinpoint the exact moment when most of the table fell under Barnabas' spell. Roger and Carolyn led most of the conversation from then on, and though Barnabas seemed a bit reluctant to reveal that much about himself, he responded with grace and class.

Victoria thought that he fit right in, and she could see how Maggie recognized him as a member of the family right away. She thought that he seemed nice enough, but she couldn't bring herself to contribute to the conversation at all. Every time he looked at her – which was far too frequently, in her opinion – a chill went down her spine and she felt her stomach sink. She busied herself with her drink – a glass of wine which Roger had poured, making the remark that she looked like she needed it – in an attempt to keep Barnabas out of her line of sight. If she didn't see him, she didn't have to see him looking at her. It didn't help that his presence was keeping her from discussing her position with Roger and Elizabeth, either. Victoria didn't know whether to be relieved or not; on one hand, she was thankful to be able to put off the whole thing. On the other, it was just making her nervousness even worse.

"Why do you keep staring at Miss Winters?" David asked suddenly.

The conversation that Barnabas and the others were having abruptly stopped as the focus shifted to the little boy on Roger's left. He sat, a too-innocent look in his eyes while he idly played with his knife, to Roger's left. Roger reached over and took the knife from his son.

"David, what are you talking about?" Roger asked. Victoria heard him struggle to keep his voice under control.

"He keeps looking at her." David replied bluntly. He kept a high-pitched tone to his voice, clearly playing innocent. "I want to know why."

A look flashed across Roger's face that Victoria didn't recognize, but it dissolved into something akin to curiosity as he looked between her and Barnabas.

Barnabas cleared his throat. "I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable, Miss Winters," he said, and she looked up, meeting his eyes for the first time since they had been introduced. "If I am staring, it is only because you have an almost uncanny resemblance to someone that I once knew."

There it was again. Victoria fought hard to suppress a shiver as Barnabas' eyes pierced hers, but she held his gaze and even managed a small smile.

She said quietly, "Well, I'm sure that a resemblance is all there is. But – thank you." She glanced away. She wasn't sure if he actually was complimenting her, but she thought it best to be polite about it regardless.

He didn't respond except to smile at her in return and turn his attention back to his plate, and Victoria did the same. The room went quiet until Roger cleared his throat and reached for the wine bottle, conveniently placed near him, and poured himself another glass. He didn't offer to do the same for anyone else at the table before he turned his attention to Victoria.

"I'm afraid we strayed heavily from our original purpose," he said. "Aren't you here to discuss a job, Miss Winters?"

Victoria froze, but she managed a deep breath and placed her fork down as she looked up at Roger. He had the slightest hint of a smirk plastered on his face. She noticed that Elizabeth shot her brother a warning look, and had to fight to keep from looking at Barnabas; she couldn't believe that they were going to discuss this in front of him, but then again, he was a Collins. Perhaps he knew about every tradition that the family had.

"I am, Mister Collins," Victoria replied. Her hands dropped into her lap and she twisted her napkin, winding the cloth around her fingers and undoing it.

The smirk on Roger's face grew broader. "As David's tutor, if I'm not mistaken."

Victoria's eyebrows drew together in a brief, puzzled look, but it was quickly wiped from her face as she realized what Roger was doing. If she was supposed to be playing along, it wouldn't do for her to look too dumbfounded, so she simply nodded. "Yes, that's correct."

Roger leaned forward slightly, peering over the table. "Well, if you're done, would you mind accompanying me into the drawing room? That way, we can discuss the -" he hesitated ever so slightly. "Situation."

Victoria was all too ready to hear that, and she pushed her chair back a bit. When she noticed that no one else was moving, she looked where they did: to Elizabeth.

The woman wiped her mouth with her napkin and nodded. When she spoke, it was directed to Roger.

"That would be best," she said. Then, she looked over at Barnabas as she rose from her chair. "Mister Collins, while they talk, would you like me to show you the grounds?"

Barnabas' eyes seemed to light up. He replied, "I would love that," and stood up with her. Everyone else followed their lead, and Missus Johnson hurried about clearing the table. Victoria's attention moved back and forth from her to Elizabeth and Roger, wondering if she should help, but in a moment she was being led out of the dining room by Roger. David and Carolyn accompanied him.

"David," Roger said, looking down at his son as they walked down the hallway toward the foyer. "I want you to go upstairs and get started on your homework."

The little boy had his arms folded across his chest in a sulking manner. He looked up at his father.

"I don't want her as my tutor, Father!" he whined. "She's already my teacher. Can't you get someone else?"

They reached the foyer, and Roger stopped in his tracks, pointing toward the staircase.

"I don't want to hear another word of it, David. Now – upstairs!" he demanded.

David stood still in the foyer as well before flashing a glare of pure malice toward Victoria. Then, he huffed and stomped off upstairs. The glare unsettled Victoria, but apart from a brief bite at her lip, she tried not to show it as she was ushered into the drawing room by Carolyn and Roger. Carolyn immediately plopped down on the sofa, and Roger made a beeline for the bar and the brandy that it held. Victoria was left standing somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"Vicki, sit down," Carolyn said. She laughed and rolled her eyes as Victoria, looking a bit sheepish, came and sat down next to her. "You don't have to act so formal, you know. You're practically family."

Victoria opened her mouth to respond, but Roger made his way over with a glass of brandy.

"Now, now, Kitten," he said. "Miss Winters is only trying to be professional, I'm sure." He took a seat in one of the chairs across from the sofa. He raised an eyebrow at Carolyn that the girl was quick to catch.

"Mother knows I'm sitting in!" Carolyn insisted. "I'm not a child anymore, Uncle Roger. I know what this is for."

Roger's eyebrows arched in surprise and he looked away from her, taking a sip of his drink as he turned his attention back to Victoria.

"Obviously, you aren't here to be David's tutor," he said with a light chuckle, and Victoria managed a smile.

"I should hope not," she replied.

Roger paused to take another drink of brandy before continuing. "I assume that your father filled you in on most of your duties?"

Victoria hesitated. "A few," she said. "I think he talked more about this with Peter, actually."

"Ah, yes, Peter was supposed to take Dave's place, wasn't he?" Roger asked, and Victoria nodded. He added, "Studying, isn't he?"

"In England, yes."

"Well, I don't think that Dave wouldn't have anticipated this; Peter was always very academically-minded, wasn't he?" Roger took another drink, and Victoria smiled fondly, nodding again.

"I'm sure that both you and Peter got the information you would need, should it come to this. This is a dangerous job, and Dave Woodard wasn't a stupid man. He knew that things could happen unexpectedly." Roger drained the rest of the small glass of brandy. "If he didn't tell you what you need to know, then I'm sure you have the tools you need to find it out. And if you don't have that, you have instinct. Dave did, and so do you, Miss Winters. Your family has been doing this for ages – it's in your blood."

Victoria couldn't help the frown that crossed her face. "Peter and I are adopted," she said slowly. "We aren't Woodards, we're Guthries and Winters." That in itself was something that Victoria had always found odd. Yes, they were legally Dave's children, but, for some reason, he had never changed their surnames.

Roger waved his hand, brushing the thought aside. "A technicality," he said. "The bottom line is, I'm sure you know the gist of your duties."

"To protect the family should anything – unnatural occur," Victoria said.

Roger smiled. "Exactly." He straightened in his chair and turned to Carolyn. "Kitten, could you go fetch Miss Winters' contract? It should be sitting on my desk in the study."

Carolyn hopped up from the sofa and walked out of the room, and Victoria heard her footsteps as they echoed in the foyer.

Roger sat in his chair, plainly observing Victoria, and she felt small under his gaze until she looked up to meet it.

"Do you know the – chances of anything happening?" she asked.

Roger raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

She had to hold in a sigh. "The chances of anything supernatural happening," she elaborated. "Mostly I'm just standing guard, in a sense. Right?"

Roger didn't respond for a moment, turning the empty brandy glass around in his hands. Finally, he said, "Mostly." He sighed. "But with this family, Miss Winters, you can never be too sure."

Victoria didn't respond, and a moment later, Carolyn returned with her contract and a pen.

"Here you go," she said, handing it to Victoria, and Victoria immediately began looking over it, trying to take in everything. When she reached the last page of the contract, she looked up. She hesitated before speaking, looking nervously between Carolyn and Roger, who had gotten up and was now pouring himself another glass of brandy.

"What do I do if someone dies?" she finally said, but her voice was much softer than she'd meant it to be. "From something supernatural?"

Roger glanced over at her and answered immediately. "Then you've failed, haven't you?"

Victoria's eyes widened and Carolyn gasped.

"Uncle Roger!" she exclaimed.

Roger laughed as he approached the two. Victoria tried to think that she imagined the harshness in it as she looked back at the contract, and a moment later, she felt Roger's hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," he said.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before uncapping the pen and signing her name.

o o o

"And over there is the Old House," Elizabeth pointed out. She gestured with her hand to a building ahead of them, one that had plainly once been grand, but now sat, abandoned and run-down. It took a moment for Barnabas to speak as a pang of nostalgia hit him.

"Our ancestors once lived there, didn't they?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. In truth, he could have walked these entire grounds by himself if he had wanted to, but he knew that there was no way to let Elizabeth know that.

The woman nodded. "Yes, they did. How did you know?"

"Letters," Barnabas replied quickly. He turned away from her, pointing in the other direction with his cane as he walked ahead. "Up there. That's Widows' Hill, is it not?"

He paused and waited a moment for Elizabeth to catch up with him. When she did, she stopped next to him and nodded solemnly. A cool wind blew past them, and neither of them spoke. In a way, Barnabas was glad for it. The cliff had a sickening, eerie past about it, that much he knew all too well, and just being in a close proximity to it brought the memories back in full-force.

The cold rain stung his cheeks as he ran after her, almost catching her as she tripped in the bushes, cutting and bloodying her feet. He slowed as she did as they approached the edge of the cliff. He tried to be quiet as he reached for her, begging, pleading with her to step away. She looked at him, wide-eyed and frantic, her hair dark and heavy with the rain, and her nightgown clinging to her form – still a vision of beauty even on the edge of death.

Josette took another step.

He screamed her name.

She fell.

Barnabas snapped back out of the memory, reality washing over him like icy water. Josette. He nearly uttered her name aloud but stopped himself just in time, and her name was replaced with another: Victoria. Without another word to Elizabeth, Barnabas turned on his heel to head back to the Great House. Elizabeth called after him and hurried to catch up.

"I'm sorry, Missus Stoddard, I'm afraid I let time get away from me," he said, sparing the woman a glance. "It's late. I should go." He walked faster. If he was lucky, he might be able to catch Victoria before she left. The need to see her was overwhelming.

o o o

"Miss Winters."

Victoria, still sitting on the sofa, jolted; Barnabas had sneaked up on her. She turned to look at him. He stood in the doorway, still in his coat from his walk with Elizabeth.

"What is it, Mister Collins?" she asked.

"Please, call me Barnabas," he requested, and then his gaze moved to Roger. He cleared his throat before looking back at her. "I was hoping I might speak to you alone for a moment."

Victoria hesitated and took a glance at Roger, who only gave her the vaguest questioning look. Carolyn had taken out her cell phone and began fiddling with it. Victoria rose from the couch.

"Of course. It's getting late – I should probably leave, anyway."

"Then allow me to walk you to the door," Barnabas suggested.

She nodded and made sure to thank Roger for the evening, and she asked him to tell Elizabeth the same for her before meeting Barnabas in the foyer. They walked to the door together, and Barnabas took Victoria's coat off the rack and helped her into it. She bit her lip once she had her back turned to him; being that close to him gave her an odd feeling.

"I hope you don't think me too forward," he began, "but I hoped that I might be able to see you again soon."

"I'm sure you will be," Victoria said. "I'll be spending much more time here, now that I'm David's tutor. How long are you staying for?"

Barnabas opened the front door for Victoria, and they stepped out into the night together, Barnabas closing the door behind him. He chuckled.

"That isn't what I meant."

Victoria didn't respond except for a small, "oh." She looked down at her feet and shoved her hands into her pockets as the two of them walked down the driveway toward her car.

"You disagree," Barnabas said. They came to a stop beside Victoria's car and she looked up at him as she unlocked the door. She shook her head.

"No, of course not! I just – this is rather unexpected."

He smiled at her. "I'm afraid you've enchanted me, Miss Winters." He paused and she blushed, thankful that it was dark out. "Would you mind if I were to call on you? Perhaps this weekend? I could take you to dinner."

Victoria met his eyes again, and for a moment, she forgot to answer. For some reason that she couldn't explain, she felt drawn to him, as though a part of her mind weren't hers anymore. Barnabas didn't press her for an answer, but once she came to her senses again, she nodded.

"Yes. Yes, that would be wonderful."

"Excellent. I look forward to it." Barnabas opened up Victoria's door and she slid inside the car, letting him shut it behind her. She fumbled with putting the key in the ignition, but once she got it started, she was quick to turn the car around and drive away after waving at Barnabas.

She didn't have to look into her mirror to see him standing there; she could feel his eyes watching her as she drove down the hill.