Chapter 3

"I am sorry about Uncle Roger." Carolyn told Adam.

"I am sorry, too. I should have controlled myself better."

"Don't blame yourself. He has been difficult for quite a while. the sheriff once threatened to lock him up unless he went in for treatment."

"Still..."

"I should not have arranged to have him released. I realize it now. But I got lonely and I wanted him back, so I bribed one of the doctors to say that he was sane. Still, he's a lot better now. Edmund helps. When I think of the things he used to do."

"What kind of things he used to do?"

"Spring up prisoners, they try to shoot them. Hoard radioactive material in his room. Assault strangers, accusing them of conspiracy. Try to kill Quentin.. You heard of his Nixon theory? That Nixon was framed?"

"I heard of it." It was hard to keep a straight face when hearing of Roger's old obsession. But he knew better than to show amusement to Carolyn.

"I hoped that he would get better all by himself. I guess that it is not so easy. But I don't want to commit him again."

She looked at Adam, begging him to support her, to say that Roger could stay at Collinwood, that he would get better by himself.

Adam understood her. And he also understood that not all the fault had been Roger's

He knew that sending Roger away would not solve his problems, that it might indeed make them worse.

"There is no reason why Roger can't stay with us He will get used to the idea of us being married."

"We don't have any summer jobs, or jobs of any kind to offer to anyone, Mr. Collins." the director said, a bit harshly "as you know, we are being cut, along with everything else. You don't know what I have to go through just to keep this place going."

"Could you take volunteers?"

"That is not possible."

"Why not? You could get a lot of things done. All the kids will be asking for is the experience. That you can give them."

"So that they can go to college, become biologists and end up in the unemployment line?"

"The situation might change. And it would give them the idea that there are more career options that what they see around them."

The man looked at Barnabas with interest.

"You used to be quite close to Representative Evans, weren't you?"

"Not anymore" Barnabas guessed what the man would say next.

"Maybe if she showed some kind of interest in this program, and if I could be sure of having the money to keep on running the center... Why don't you talk to her, Mr. Collins?"

Vicky breastfed little Phillip. She felt calm, after so many days. Things were working out. Phillip was a healthy baby, and her situation was more secure than it had ever been.

She had Carolyn's settlement, and she was training to become an adult instructor. Megan had been right. She did not need to cater to rich people, and hope that they would treat her like one of the family. She could forge her own path. She did not need to find a family, she could found her own. She had friends, and she would be making more.

There was one problematic friend. Barnabas.

She owed him much, much more than she could repay. But she knew that she could not ask him to back her against Carolyn. In the end he had not. He had chosen Carolyn and Liz over her... And given that they were his family, why would she expect otherwise?

But he had gone to see Verhoff, the first time he had left Collinsport. For no one else he had dared to leave his safe cocoon.

She should never forget what she owed him. And she had made herself a promise, to have him as little Phillip's godfather. And he would be a good one.

But never ask him to be an ally if she ever came into a collision course with Carolyn...

Her mind wandered over to Phillip. Was he really dead? Some part of her insisted that he was not, that he would come back to her..

Peter had come back to her...

And that had been a trap by the Leviathan. But he had come back...

Maybe one day Phillip would come back.

And Burke? What if he did come back? But no, they said that they had found the wreckage of the plane, and all the bodies...

Still...

She would get revenge on Angelique, yet, Yolanda thought as she patted the cat on her lap. And get the money back from her, too.

She would also get revenge on Barnabas. It had been him who had killed Uncle Schuyler, after Angelique had tricked him into marriage...

What about Megan Graham?

It was her interference that had caused Zachary's power to be lost to her. If she had not found the jewels, that would have been the end of her hopes...

Yes, Megan Graham deserved punishment, too.

The cat mewled and stretched itself on her lap. Yolanda scratched it absentmindedly. She would have to give it something to do, now that the stone had gathered strength form its blood.

The cat screamed once and went rigid. She picked it up and it screamed again.

Then it went limp. Its eyes glazed and a dark liquid oozed from its mouth.

It was dead.

Killed by the stone inside it. In spite of herself, Yolanda laid the corpse down with awe.

The dark liquid kept coming out of its mouth. Yolanda put him on top of a pile of old newspapers to avoid staining herself, and went to look for the other cats.

They were all dead or dying, black liquid coming out of their mouths...

It did not work... it could not work that way...

She gathered all the corpses, wiping out the stinking liquid as best she could. She gagged several times doing so. Their fur had been stained and she was reluctant to handle it. But she knew that she had to.

It was even harder opening them up to retrieve the stones. She came very close to vomiting as she did. If she did not want the stones so much...

Yet, when she pulled the stones out, they were bright and full of power...

She had the source of power. She had found out how to recharge them. All she needed now was a plan.

Adam was painting, trying to ignore the noises around him. He had to agree that when Edmund started going to school, the place was a lot noisier. Edmund could be a noisy child. And while his governesses., both Yolanda and Vicky had kept him subdued, now there was no one. to supervise him. The new tutor, Martha Howard came in, gave her lessons, and left. Then Edmund was left to amuse himself as he could. Roger entertained him them, but Roger was not one to keep him subdued, rather he encouraged him...

Roger had become a child again.

But did Edmund have to be so noisy?

From the window he saw Martha Howard come towards the door. Maybe he could ask her to help with keeping Edmund subdued.

"Miss Howard, can I have a moment with you?"

Martha Howard nodded. Do you have any concerns, Mr. Atwater?"

"You know that I will be married soon to Mrs. Collins. I will become Edmund's stepfather."

"Yes. I am aware of it." She was wary. Was this the beginning of a seduction? The men of the big house treated the village as their personal harem. The stories they told about Jamison Collins and his demands on the women who depended on him for wages were too notorious...

The reason why Quentin Collins had become infamous was not because of his tomcatting ways, but because he did not limit himself to the serfs of the estate, but had aimed higher, to women that he should have left alone, like his brother's wife... had he kept sleeping with maids and village women, they would have shrugged it off.

Well, those times were gone, and she was going to keep it that way. She did not want to touch the spot where Megan had bitten her, but she felt her reach... Megan would back her, if it need be. Collins men did not have an automatic right to get sexually serviced by the women beneath them.

"I know that you are a good teacher. He seems to do well in his studies."

"Thank you." She kept her demeanor calm and matter of fact. Not demure. She was a competent teacher and wanted to be seen as such.

"But can you do something about his behavior?"

"His behaves well when he is with me. He is a polite, attentive child."

"It is when you leave. Then he runs loose."

"I try to tell him what are the rules of good behavior. But I am not the one supervising him then. You should talk to the adults who do."

"I cannot get through to Roger..."

"Then I advice to bring your concerns to Mrs. Collins. "

"But you have to do something! This child makes too much noise! And he gets in my room and touches my things! And then he starts asking me why I do this, and why I use the colors the way I do! He keeps asking me to teach him to paint..."

"He is just being a normal boy. You should be glad that he wants to be a part of your life."

"But I am tired of it.! " Adam burst out. "I am tired of being pestered! I am tired of noise! You do have to do something!"

He grabbed her arm and began shaking her. "I am tired of the brat! You are supposed to keep him under control! Why don't you do it?"

"He'll help Urien if I help him with Maggie." Barnabas told George. "It is a simple as that."

"And so you have a perfect excuse to deal with Maggie... I should have seen it coming."

"I have to. Not just for Urien. Other kids in town could go there and do volunteer work, and learn skills that might give them better shots at jobs later on. I think that Elsa would love to do it. It would keep her from hunting U.F.O..s

"And of course, you have to talk to Maggie. All for the good of all... I hope you survive the encounter."