As always, thank you to everyone reading this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Shadows, only my writing.

Barnabas and Victoria approached the house once more after their trip outside. However, once they stood on the porch, Barnabas stiffened and stopped in his tracks.

"What is it?" Victoria asked.

"Something is not right," he answered, not looking at her. Without another word, he pushed open the door.

What he saw would have made his heart stop, had it been beating in the first place. There, in the middle of the room, speaking with Elizabeth, was Angelique Bouchard herself. But instead of confronting her directly, Barnabas stood his ground as she smiled at him.

"You must be Barnabas Collins!" she called, walking over and shaking his hand. She leaned in closer to whisper, "Long time, no see."

"Madam, might I have a word?" he asked through gritted teeth, making a great effort to restrain himself.

"Certainly!" she beamed.

Before leaving, though, Barnabas cast a reassuring look at Victoria, who seemed to be set on edge from this encounter. It was obvious to her that this was very bad. After all, Barnabas had just explained to her that it was Angelique's fault that Josette had thrown herself from Widow's Peak. Victoria was more than a little afraid of what this woman could do now that her love had emerged from his box.

Now Barnabas led Angelique up the stairs and into one of the first rooms he came to, slamming the door behind them. After doing so, he was completely prepared to hurl a string of insults at her, but she immediately said, "Well, well, well. You've been back for one day and you've already found a new Josette."

"How is it that you knew I was awake?" he growled.

She laughed at this. "Times change, Barnabas. Your family's no longer at the top of the chain here; I am. And I have been for quite some time now, under one name or another. Nothing happens in this little town that I don't know about." Now she slowly began to circle him, like a vulture eyeing its meal. "So when I heard the reports that several construction workers had been brutally murdered near the very spot you were buried, I put the pieces together."

He moved to break out of her orbit. "Then prepare to be disappointed. Now that I have returned, I plan to rebuild my family's fortune."

"And what makes you think I won't just put you back in the box?"

"You wouldn't dare," he spat.

"Oh wouldn't I?" At this, she stepped closer to him so that they were only inches apart. "You do understand why I put you in there, right? You needed time to think about us. I couldn't just let you go." While talking, she was gradually inching her face closer and closer to his. "Now, after nearly two centuries, what have you decided?"

Finally, right before their lips touched, he stormed away from her. "If you think that any amount of time could make me love you, then you are gravely mistaken."

This was the only thing he could have said to shake her confidence, and when she spoke again, her words had anger in them. "You would choose that Josette imposter over me?"

"Her name is Victoria! And I would choose death over you. After nearly two centuries, it would be a welcome gift."

She spoke softly now, regaining her composure. "Oh, I don't want to kill you. I love you, and I know that you love me. But if it takes another two hundred years for you to realize that, then so be it. I can wait."

He looked into her eyes now, hoping that he might somehow be able to get this across to her. "Angelique, hear me," he spoke solemnly. "I will never love you."

Her teeth clenched. "So be it." She walked briskly to the door now, throwing it open. "But you will come around, one way or another. Just know that you brought this on yourself." With that, she descended the stairs and exited the house without as much as a glance at anyone else.

Barnabas walked back down to take a seat on the couch before the fireplace, next to Victoria. "What did she want?" she asked, trying her best to hide her fear.

He didn't want to go into detail, so he simply said, "What she has always wanted." However, even from this small piece of information, Victoria could guess how the meeting had gone.

"And?"

He looked at her now as if he was surprised that she even needed to question this. "And I explained that I would rather die than love her."

While Victoria was relieved to hear this, it didn't help to soothe her fears. "She seemed angry when she left."

He nodded. "Indeed. She will not give up easily." He now saw that Victoria's hands were fidgeting nervously, and he knew that she must be afraid of what would happen next. After all, it didn't end well the last time. So he took her hands in his, causing them to become still immediately. "My dear, you have nothing to fear. While it is true that Angelique will stop at nothing to make sure that I am hers and hers alone, I can assure you that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe."

His words washed over her in a wave of calm. Still, she had her doubts. "And if she buries you again?"

"Then I will ask that my family guard you as if you were one of them. I can promise that you will not be harmed." His voice was almost pleading, begging her to trust him.

At this, she seemed to focus not on him, but on a point somewhere behind him, and he knew that she was being guided by whatever entity had been leading her thus far. Finally, though, she looked at him once more and nodded. "Okay. I trust you." To emphasize her point, she placed a brief, soft kiss to his cheek, a gesture that would have made him blush if that were possible.

After this, she stood up, and Barnabas, ever the gentleman, did the same. "I should probably go find David now, make sure he hasn't gotten himself into too much trouble." And because he couldn't tell whether or not this was a veiled attempt to distance herself from him, his face fell almost imperceptibly as he nodded. Victoria had already crossed the room before looking back and realizing that he was not following her. "Aren't you coming?"

He brightened considerably at this and swiftly crossed the room to lock arms with her. "It would be my pleasure to accompany you," he answered. And although this appeared to be nothing to Victoria, in his mind, he had just won yet another victory.

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