Chapter 25

Collinwood Rear Garden 1797

Barnabas stood in the rose garden of Collinwood. Josette stood in the gazebo weeping softly she watched her husband and her lover pace off and turn, Barnabas raised his weapon and Jeremiah raised his weapon. For that moment from where Vicki stood she saw it all in slow motion. She had remembered that morning when the sun began to peek out from behind the dark clouds of the night; she sat up with a soft gasp. This duel was not supposed to happen! Jeremiah! Was this the reason she was here, to stop this duel? Grabbing her cloak from the closet she dashed down the stairs to the door and out rushing towards the garden. When the gun powdered had cleared and Jeremiah Collins lay dead with a bullet through his heart.

Vicki held her arm feeling the pain of the bullet tear through the flesh and barely missed her bone to exit the other side of her arm and explode into the tree behind her.

That is when Joshua Collins had arrived home from a long night of riding from Portland into Collinsport. The coach ride had been rough and had been irritating but not near as irritating as arriving home in time to see his brother and son facing off in a duel. Jeremiah had been distracted by the arrival of Vicki on the edge of his peripheral vision. It had been enough for him to throw off his shot and it went towards Vicki just as Barnabas shot and hit Jeremiah in the chest. Vicki's scream of pain had drowned out the cry of anguish from Josette when Jeremiah fell to his death on the ground. She rushed towards Jeremiah to scoop his head into her lap and call out to him over and over, "Jeremiah! Jeremiah!' Then to turn her accusing gaze to Barnabas to shout at him, "YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM! I HATE YOU BARNABAS! I HATE YOU!"

Barnabas lowered his gun and looking on in shock. He had not intended to kill him, he only meant to wound him and then he was going to walk away and leave Collinsport. He had decided then and there that as much as he loved Josette, he most certainly did not wish to kill his Uncle that had almost been a second father to him. Turning away is when he saw and realized that Victoria had been hit by Jeremiah's stray shot. Turning to the young stable hand that had shown up to act as his second, Barnabas silently cursing Peter for not being there, he rushed to Vicki's side and bent to her fallen form to scoop her up in his arms and speak to her. "Please my dearest one be patient, while we get you inside." So upset he had not realized he had called her 'dearest'.

The doctor had already been present to attend any wounded. He had declared Jeremiah dead and then turned his attention to Vicki when Barnabas carried her into the house past his father's condemnation and rage filled stare. "HOW DARE YOU DISHONOR THIS FAMILY!" Joshua had followed behind Barnabas berating him with every step he had taken up the stairs. "You are despicable and do not deserve the name Collins! How dare you soil your Uncle's wife with your unwanted attentions? What is the matter with you? Are you besotted or bewitched? I hear there is a witch at Collinwood, is she the witch?"

Victoria's room in Collinwood

Barnabas carried the now near unconscious form of Vicki up the stairs to the room she had been assigned and then turned on his father, "NOT now," his word for not had been more forceful than he had intended, "Please father outside the room and allow the doctor to attend Miss Winters."

Hallway outside Victoria's bedroom

Joshua harrumphed and followed his son through the door to the hallway. "What were you thinking? Josette was your Uncle's wife; she did not need you interfering with their marriage. Could you not curb your drive and needs enough to find another for your attentions?"

Barnabas frowned, "Father, Josette and I love each other she did not wish this marriage nor did she expect that she would be married to a middle aged man that was incapable of giving her the attention so she richly deserves, and we were being discrete."

Joshua exploded, "Discrete! I heard of this dalliance all the way in Portland, how is that being discrete?"

Barnabas flushed a deep red and looked down. "We thought we were being discrete."

Joshua balled his hand into a fist and clinched it tightly, he wanted to thrash the boy and then he lowered his voice, "Just as I suppose your mother thought she was being discrete with that Alexander White. I still suspect that you may have been his son instead of mine."

Barnabas slapped his father fully across the face for defaming his mother. "No sir, but if he was more loving than you then I should hope that my mother found love with him and if I was the result of that union then perhaps that is where my tenderness to others comes from because sir, it does not come from you."

Joshua glared at his son while rubbing the palm print that was plainly visible on his face. His voice had dropped dangerously low. "Perhaps you are right. However, we have a mess to clean up to keep you from going to prison for murder."

The doctor came from the room looking grave and walked towards the bag he had left on the hallway table. "Gentlemen could you please keep your voices down, you are upsetting Miss Winters and I am going to have to stitch up her arm, the ball went through cleanly but it did do muscle damage and I am worried about infection."

Both men did take the time to look contrite. "We beg your pardon Doctor."

Joshua spoke with a crispness and triteness that showed he had used poor forum and turned to Barnabas in a voice brooking no argument he hissed, "Down stairs drawing room now."

Barnabas paused, "I wish to speak with Miss Winters first; father and then I will join you."

From down the hallway there was a flurry of skirts and Naomi appeared looking worried and frightened. Seeing Barnabas she rushed to her son and hugged him. "Oh my dearest son! You are unharmed?"

Joshua snorted and pushed past the happy reunion of the two and stomped with force down the hallway. "Yes, mother I am fine unfortunately, Jeremiah is dead."

Joshua paused turned and glared, "I lay this on your head for allow your son to be indiscrete with his Uncle's wife." He had practically spewed his hatred for this situation happening and ending with the death of his brother.

Naomi gasped buried her face in her son's chest and began to weep. Barnabas held his mother and spoke softly to her while patting her back. "Please mother I had not intended to kill him. I was going to wound him and then leave Collinsport."

Naomi sniffed dabbed her eyes and looked to the room that Victoria occupied. "Miss Winters? I heard she was injured by a stray bullet?"

She was no more concerned than she thought she should. The young girl was virtually a stranger. However, for her she had connected with her and she seemed more like family.

It was a double shame for him; a woman he was coming to greatly admire had now been injured because of his need to be with Josette. "Miss Winters distracted Jeremiah and he shot wide and his bullet hit her, she is wounded but fine, the doctor is sewing up her wound now."

Naomi pushed from her son and entered the door and looked at the pale features of the girl that now lay still and unconscious on the bed. "Oh my dearest Miss Winters how horrible."

She stepped next to the doctor and looked down at the heavily bandaged arm. "She will recover?" The doctor nodded while he gathered the bloodied bandages. Lifting his bag and the bandages he walked from the room leaving Naomi to look down and then sit on the edge of the bed next to Victoria. "She looks so pale and still."

Barnabas entered the room and stood next to his mother. "I am sure the doctor gave her something for the pain while he did his surgery on her."

Naomi pushed Vicki's hair from her face. "You know I always thought since I saw her, that she is how I visualized Sarah looking when she grew up."

Barnabas looked at the similarities to his mother that this woman bore and nodded slowly. "Yes, so it would appear mother." He could not get past the accusation his father had just hurled at him and could not help but wonder if what he had said was true and did not want to think of his mother with another man and this now compounded his guilt. "Come mother, we must join father downstairs in the drawing room. He wishes to discuss how we shall handle this family crisis."

Naomi nodded and then spoke softly, "Go on son, I shall join you both shortly, I wish to make sure she is going to recover and then check on Josette, the servants says they had to carry her to her room that she is inconsolable."

Barnabas looked down and his voice dropped softly. "Yes, well I will try to see her if she will allow it." Naomi nodded her mind conflicted over the death of Jeremiah, the injury of this woman and now the pinnacle of the impetus that seemed to be the downfall of Collinwood. Barnabas fumed inwardly and felt the guilt of his action with every step he took heading to Josette's room.

There he was met by her handmaid and stopped "Madam has requested no visitors."

Barnabas glared, "But she will see me?"

The maid that Barnabas recalled was named Rachel frowned and shook her head. "She said especially you Misère." The rejection of his presence formed a hard knot of fear, anger, and hurt in his stomach and heart. He bowed his head and turned stepping away on wooden legs down the hallway and to the upstairs landing.

Standing and peering down below he saw his father now facing an outraged and delighted Reverend Trask. "You cannot deny he should be tried for murder Mr. Collins!"

Joshua was blustering as loud as Trask; "I can deny it and will deny it sir and ask you to leave this house now!"

Trask looked to the tiny woman hiding behind him. "Abigail?" Trask snagged her arm and pulled her forward.

Abigail turned and spewed forth her ignorance and hatred. "A nest brother we are living in a nest of witches and witchcraft is afoot in this house and we must blame that Miss Wycke and that Miss Winters."

Barnabas was not going to listen to this any more and he joined his father, "That is enough! Aunt Abigail, you are demented to try and blame two innocent beautiful women for this and say it is witchcraft! You are a jealous old maid that wants attention and you want it from Mr. Trask who is a depraved perverse man that sees witches around every corner." Barnabas advanced from the upstairs landing like an avenging angry angel.

Trask looked about to have a fit of apoplexy when Barnabas advanced down the stairs towards him and Abigail. "Sir! You will take that back or face the wrath of my God!"

Barnabas marched forward directed towards Trask coming up to face him and towered over him. "I will not allow you into this house or any house that would allow you to take advantage of poor innocent girls whose only true fault is that they attract that darker perverse side of what you justify as an act of your God! Sir you are a menace and should be taken out of society!"

Abigail stepped forward with her eyes blazing with indignation. "Barnabas! You will not speak to a man of God like that."

Barnabas sneered, "A man of God? Where is this man of God? What I see is a rapist and a murderer of innocence, no Aunt Abigail I will not apologize nor will I take back one word of what I have said. Father this man nearly raped Miss Winters in the old house and he damn near raped Miss Wycke in her room at the old house and you want to allow him in this house with Abigail's blessing?"

Abigail turned her wide shocked gaze on Trask. "You said you were testing them, not raping them?"

Trask was feeling the pressure from his rash actions against Miss Winters while in the old house and had that nosey bitch not come in when she did, he would have had Miss Wycke and compromised her to beg him for her release and to not be persecuted. "No Abigail, that is not true, Miss Winters and Miss Wycke tried to use their ungodly wiles on me. They tried to seduce me and were it not for my God, I would have succumb as any man would such as your nephew or your brother!"

Abigail looked from Barnabas to Joshua and snorted, "There you have it the words from a man of god that says these women were trying to use their spells on him! So they got what they deserved."

Joshua had heard enough to know a charlatan when he saw one or heard one. "I want you out of this house and you Abigail will not invite this man back ever again do I make myself as head of this household understood?"

Trask took Abigail by the arm, "Come my dear obviously they are under the witches charms to protect them so." Trask looked back with a smile and triumph. He had successfully fooled Abigail and now he was lording it over Barnabas and Joshua, "This is not over and I will be back with a warrant for both women. Be prepared to turn them over to the Bailiff!"

Turning and holding tightly to Abigail he lead her from the house and to the driveway. "This is far worse than even I thought, those two women have clearly bewitched your nephew and your brother."

Old House

Darkness was coming upon the town with its cloying sickly thickness of black deceptive velvet calm. Peter felt a growing need, a hunger so intense he thought he would die unless he found what he wanted or needed. Rising from the bed he stood on shaky legs and it hit him with an intensity of such a great need that he staggered to the door to open and see Barnabas standing at his door. Peter could smell it then hear it, the rush of his blood through his veins and the loud beating of his heart. "Peter! You look horrible. Are you ill?"

Peter felt his warmth when he brushed past him to enter the room. "Yeah, yeah I am ill." He turned his feelings rushing over him in a flood of confusion and need. He needed what Barnabas had.

Barnabas sighed deeply with his back turned to Peter, "Since you were not there you might as well know I killed Jeremiah, and now Josette will not see me or talk to me." Peter did not care, all he cared about was what Barnabas had and he wanted. Turning, Barnabas looked at the glazed eyes and they now glowed with an ice blue intensity. "Peter?" Barnabas asked with concern now noting his friend's pallor and his odd look.

From the dark corner of the room, her spirit stood and she whispered to him, "You want it, take it Peter, go to your friend and bring him over to what you are, you want it take it Peter." Angelique smiled with a sense of glee and triumph hearing Barnabas cry of pain and shock as Peter leapt on him and drove his fangs into his throat and drank his blood draining him to brink of death.

Peter then bit into his wrist and pressing his blood to Barnabas' mouth, "Drink my friend and join me in the hunt. Drink and live again!" Peter felt Barnabas' lips pressed to his wrist and waited while he drank and then laid him down on the bed and stood back looking around the room.

Still whispering from her corner, Angelique laughed, "Now go to Josette and take from her what you want Peter, go to Josette and take her from Barnabas." Peter was not sure why but felt that he was being driven into the night that now became overcast and leaving the area in darkness the darkness that was much like what had over taken him and his driving need and want.

He wanted more and could not control himself from his need. "Go to Josette and take from her. Then take her from Barnabas. You want to take her from Barnabas so go to her Peter." Peter moved out into the night watching the lightening streak across the night sky and he disappeared. It was an odd sensation, his body felt light then it had a tingling odd sensation and he looked down at his hand. It was fading and changing into mist. He was reforming his whole body into mist form. Something inherent took over the mist he had become and he found he was now in bat form flying and drifting over the ground watching below and being directed. All his senses were alive and he was aware of every movement, every heartbeat and voice from blow. He was heading to the Collinwood and the bedroom window that opened to Josette's room.

Angelique stepped from the darkness into view of the now dying Barnabas and sat on the edge of the bed, "Oh what to do with you my dear Barnabas, what to do with you?" She tapped her fingertip to her lips and smiled. "Shall I send you to Miss Wycke?" She sighed dramatically then laughed and that mocking laughter echoed around the room. "No, I think I shall make Trask take her as a witch, then you can have her before she is hanged, you can take her life because of what Peter will do to Josette, you will seek your vengeance for your Josette through the fair Miss Wycke."

The laughter was filled with rancor she stood up from the bed and laughed turning around in a circle in the room she threw her head back. "YOU thought to hide my body in an unmarked grave and yet here I am. Neither of you knew what you were facing when you chose to use me then reject me. All of this has happened; because I was not good enough for you. Well let us see who now is good enough for you both." She laughed again and then faded from the room when Barnabas took his last breath and died.

Joshua had followed his son to the room occupied by Peter. Watching Peter leave the room and disappear into the night he thought no more of it than the man was going out and had left his son in the room. Wishing to continue their discussion, Joshua walked to the door and knocked watching the door slowly creak opened and then saw his son lying on the bed. Joshua rushed to Barnabas side seeing his neck had been torn by a bite and he had bled onto his shirt and now lay pale as death. When he could not find any breath from him, he became more alarmed and rushed from the room, summoning the doctor. He was torn with what he had found and not thinking of why Peter had so callously left his best friend dead in his bed from such a vicious attack.

Getting the servants to remove Barnabas from Peter's room and taking Barnabas to his bedroom, Joshua rushed down the stairs to the drawing room and waited not patiently he paced furiously back and forth. Joshua finally tired of waiting and sat locked in his own guilt and anguish that his son was dying and he had never told him he loved him. The doctor walked down the steps and stood looking at Joshua and shook his head. Joshua dropped his chin to his chest and he moaned out in anguish the only outward sign of emotions that he would show towards his son from that day forward. "He is dead Joshua, it appeared he suffered a lot of blood loss from the wounds on his neck, but I could not find signs of where the blood went. I am sorry for so much tragedy this family have suffered from such losses in one day." The doctor clapped a hand to Joshua's shoulder in an offer of comfort.

Joshua took a deep breath held it and then let it out slowly. "I have to inform his mother and his sister. You will excuse me?" Joshua stood feeling his whole world was crashing in on him and spinning out of control.

The doctor nodded turning and walking from the house. His own concern and thoughts conflicted with his concern growing over the type of death this man had just suffered. Entering his carried he drove off towards town he thoughts sill trying to determine where all that blood had gone and what kind of animal could cause such damage.

Collinwood Josette's room

Josette tossed and turned in her anguished filled sleep. The room filled with a white mist and reformed to that of Peter Bradford. "Josette Collins, wake up!" Peter commanded standing at the foot of her bed. Josette opened her eyes, her drug induced brain not fully comprehending what was going on.

"Who is there?" She asked sleepily. Peter smiled, "It is me Peter Bradford. Josette, I bring you news of Barnabas, he is dying and wants you to come to him."

Josette not wishing to see Barnabas sat up afraid her manner now growing with concern. "Barnabas is dying? Why is he dying?" She stood weakly from her bed, pulling on her housecoat and looking at Peter not sure why he was in her locked room but worried about Barnabas she waited looking at him expectantly for further explanation.

"He is dying because I killed him Josette and now I want from you what he did not want to give to me willingly." Peter was on her in a rush of speed that was overwhelming and she felt his strong hands pull her close. Looking up with wide frightened eyes she watched in horror his opened mouth and long teeth had grown and were dripping with anticipation. The scream she started was cut off when he sank his teeth into her neck and began to drink. From the outside of her door he could hear them pounding on the door, demanding the door be opened. Peter flung her near lifeless body to the bed when the door was breached and the servants rushed in with Naomi by their side they watched in horror the figure of a man shifting to mist form and drift out of the window. Josette lay on the bed, her face pale and her breath shallow.

Naomi rushed to her side and peered down at her sister in law's body lying limply on the bed pale as death. Checking her for breathing she turned and ordered. "Someone send for the doctor he must hurry and come quickly! We also need someone to find Joshua. We need him here now. Also call the Bailiff. We need the authorities here, Josette has been attacked!"

The house was now up was bustling with a frantic expediency to do as the new mistress of Collinwood was requesting. When the flurry of activity began to abate, the sunlight of a new day was beginning to peak into the windows of Collinwood but there was no joy with this coming day, a pall of death had hung over the estate since Jeremiah's death and once Joshua informed Naomi her son was dead just sent the house into a deep depression.

The whole of Collinwood was now morning two deaths and there would be two funerals to plan. Joshua had left Barnabas in his room at the Old House. Joshua was to overwrought with both deaths to deal with them together. He would deal with Jeremiah's funereal first, and then he would deal with his own grief and the death of his son. Joshua sat in the library of Collinwood he looked up to see the sweet sad face of his daughter, "Sarah, why are you not in bed?"

Sarah walked to her father and crawled into his lap. "Poppa is it true? Is Barnabas dead?" Joshua felt his breath catch in his throat and then he nodded, not trusting his voice to answer his daughter. The enormity of what had happened hit Sarah, she tucked her head against her father's chest and began to weep long drawn out sorrowful tears of grief.

Joshua not good with the grief of his daughter or for that matter good with the emotions of love for any of his family members felt his heart soften while he held his daughter and she wept for her brother. "There, there my dear. It will be all right we shall persevere."

Her small pitiful voice muffled she spoke into her father's chest. "I don't want to persevere I want my brother."

Joshua lifted his child in his arms and carried her to the hallway and up the stairs, "As do I my dear, as do I." He spoke gently while carrying her to her room and putting her on her bed. "Rest now Sarah, I will send your mother to you."

He turned to leave and she reached for his coattails and tugged, "But I want you father, please don't leave me."

Joshua sighed and then turned and lowered himself to the side of her bed and looked down on the innocent sweet face that was his daughter and gently stroked his fingertips through her hair and from her face. "We will face this together my dear."

From the doorway, the small form of Daniel Collins appeared and he looked with great sadness to his cousin. "Sarah, don't cry, I will stay with you and be your brother now."

Sarah looked over to her cousin and offered him a sad smile and nodded, "But you are not Barnabas."

He shook his head, "No but I am Daniel and I love you like a sister."

Joshua looked from the young boy to Sarah and nodded, "And from this day forward you shall be treated as my son." For the first time in his fifty plus years Joshua extended his arm to the shy young boy that stood in the doorway. Daniel moved forward to the extended arm and moved in for an embrace by his cousin Joshua. "Yes, together we will learn to live and go on."