Disclaimer: Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production and not mine
CHAPTER 2: CHANGES AT COLLINWOOD
The cold, dark, misty morning bleakly shrouded the Evans cottage. The mist from outside fogged up the windows and French doors in Maggie Evans' bedroom as the young woman herself fluttered open her eyes.
She just awakened from a desolate atmosphere, filled with dust, cobwebs, and deep shadows. Dreary music hovered in the air faintly, a somber vintage little piece. But all of this quickly drifted in Maggie's consciousness, and the next thing she knew, she was in the comfort familiarity of her warm small bed.
Before she opened her eyes however, Maggie felt someone lying beside her. Unsurprising to her, Maggie found Willie Loomis nestling next to her under the covers sound asleep, his arm wrapped securely around her slender frame.
This was not unsettling.
Ever since Josette Collins released them from the Old House, Maggie and Willie had suffered from some pretty severe nightmares. Willie's in particular seemed especially graphic.
Barnabas Collins forced him to do some unspeakable things, and his eyes were still haunted by them. Since living in the Evans cottage, Maggie and Willie would soothed each other when one of them suffered from these nightmares.
This would sometimes result in the two of them falling asleep together side-by-side. This became pretty comforting after a while, and whenever Willie suffered from one of his nightmares, he would sneak into Maggie's bedroom like this.
Maggie knew that was the reason why he was here.
Gazing up at the nightstand with her head resting comfortably on her soft pillow, Maggie glanced at the clock and found it was five-fifty-five in the morning. She also gazed at the little antique doll Sarah Collins left lying beside the clock.
Sarah Collins was no ordinary little girl. She was a ghost Maggie befriended when she was being held prisoner by Barnabas at the Old House. But Maggie hadn't seen the little ghost girl in weeks. Maggie wondered what became of her.
Willie began to stir beside her and slowly opened his eyes.
Maggie gently stroked his forearm.
"Hello, snuggles," she said to him in a teasing smile.
"Mornin', Maggie." Willie groaned and groggily sat up rubbing his blurry eyes.
His sandy blonde hair sticked up in all directions, and Maggie's own auburn hair was pretty ruffled itself.
"Did you have another nightmare about Barnabas?" Maggie asked him.
"I-I... think he was outta his coffin," Willie stammered. "My scars has been buggin' me all night."
At that, Maggie touched her own bite marks on the side of her neck. She couldn't possibly say if they have bugged her, but she wasn't quite as attuned to Barnabas as Willie was.
"I-I... wanted to make sure he hadn't come in here." Willie dropped his gaze on the sheets and covers.
Maggie tenderly grasped his chin, forcing him to look straight at her.
"Josette won't let him out of his coffin," she said surely.
Willie was uncertain of that.
After that gloomy silence, Maggie said, "Look, we will talk about this later. I think you should sneak out of here before pop..."
Too late. Maggie's father Sam Evans creaked open the bedroom door.
"Maggie..." He paused when he spotted Willie in his daughter's bed.
His round eyes bulged.
"Good morning, pop." Maggie smiled nervously.
"Mornin'." Willie awkwardly waved next to her.
Sam leaned against the door frame, and heaved a heavy sigh. He ran a hand through his hair.
"Look, I have no problem with you two... for some whatever reason... drift off on the couch..."
"Pop..." Maggie tried to explained.
"But this is a bed!" Sam cut her off exasperated.
"Nothing happened," Maggie exclaimed steadily. "Willie had a nightmare and he needed me."
"That gives him an excuse to climb into your bed?!" Sam demanded shrilly. "What is he? Six?!"
"I-I would n-never do anythin' t-to h-hurt Maggie." Willie got up from under the covers. He was in a white T-shirt and boxer shorts, a sight that clearly didn't pleased Sam. "Y'know that, dontcha?" Willie gave him a pleading look.
"Yes, Willie," Sam said begrudgingly. "I know you helped her, and you've been real useful around here, but an unmarried couple lying in bed together..."
At those words, a violent flash streaked across Maggie's eyelids. Horrid memories of being in Josette's wedding gown combined with Barnabas ravenously drinking her blood in a tight thirst inwardly assaulted her.
"Willie," Maggie uttered distantly, finding herself back in her bed in her bedroom.
"Is there somethin' wrong, Maggie?" Willie asked her in concerned.
"No." Maggie shook her head. "Why don't you get dressed. I'll talk to pop."
"Ya sure?"
"Yes, I'll be out shortly," Maggie told him assuredly.
Willie was clearly uncertain by this, but said, "All right."
He passed by Sam at the doorway, and Sam shut the door behind him, leaving him alone with his daughter.
"Now, you probably think I'm being annoyingly old-fashioned... I know you kids are into... loose living nowadays..."
"Pop, nothing happened," Maggie cut him off firmly. "Willie and I been through a lot together. We've been through too much. But we don't have that kind of relationship."
Sam looked at her softly and sat on the end of the bed.
"Be that as it may, you two developed a tight bond and a special closeness," he said. "And his feelings for you are obvious."
"I know," Maggie murmured. "He's sweet and he's not pressuring me into anything. And I do have feelings for him."
"So when is the wedding?" Sam asked lightly.
Maggie tensed up her shoulders.
"Darling?" A frown creased across Sam's forehead.
"I'm not interested in marriage, pop," Maggie said hesitantly. "And neither is Willie."
"What?" Sam said softly.
"It's one of the reasons why I ended it with Joe," Maggie said miserably. "I just couldn't commit to him that way."
"Oh, Maggie..." Sam was at a lost for words.
"Ever since Barnabas..." Maggie struggled to explained. "Pop, I think he killed the aspiration of marriage for me."
After that disheartening discussion, Maggie changed out of her long pink nightgown and put on her waitressing uniform. She pulled her shoulder-length hair back in a simple ponytail and had a quick breakfast with her pop and Willie, where the three seemed to come to an unspoken agreement to not discuss what happened earlier.
After saying goodbye to Sam, Willie and Maggie got into Willie's beat up truck (which Maggie sometimes referred to as the junker mobile) and drove to work at the Collinsport Inn.
The two didn't say much on the trip there. Maggie could tell that despite Willie's polite exterior, he was immensely displeased by Sam's intrusion into Maggie's bedroom.
Maggie had the distinct impression that Willie had been in... well... mature relationships before he came to Collinsport. He clearly hadn't enjoyed Sam barging in on their privacy.
Willie seemed to wish that the older man would accept their relationship for what it was, two people who suffered from an unbelievable hell together, and would like to do nothing more than to be there for one another, comforting cuddles and all.
But Maggie knew Willie wished their relationship would grow into something more. She could see it every time she looked at him, his devotion and feelings for her flashing in his eyes. A look Maggie found both sweet and overwhelming.
It was a typical day at work. Willie made several repairs throughout the Inn, while Maggie served coffee and burgers at the diner.
Out the windows, the skies were completely gray and frosty. Curtains of winter snow fell from the sky. Christmas would be arriving soon, and after that whole ordeal with Barnabas, Maggie would like nothing more than to celebrate the season quietly with Willie and her pop at the cottage.
Around three o'clock, Willie came into the diner on break. The diner was empty of customers, and Maggie had something for her companion.
"Hey." She smiled cheerily. "I got something for you."
"Y'do?" Willie lifted his brows.
Maggie pulled out two steamy mugs from under the counter. They were filled with warm liquid chocolate and marshmallows.
"I made us hot chocolate," she said. "I figure it's a perfect day for it."
"Oh, gee, thanks Maggie." Willie took a sip. The sweet and warm liquid chocolate and marshmallows pleasantly assuaged his tongue.
"Are you on break?" Willie asked Maggie as she took a sip of her hot chocolate.
She swallowed. "Since I don't have any customers, yeah."
"So, you can keep me company," said Willie.
"If I must."
Maggie watched him take another sip of his warm and creamy hot chocolate.
"So, Christmas is coming pretty soon," Maggie said conversationally. "Are you looking forward to spending it with me and pop?"
"Christmas didn't mean much where I come from," Willie told her frankly.
Maggie's pleasant smile dramatically dropped. She knew Willie didn't come from a stable background and likely had plenty of lousy Christmases when he was growing up.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Oh, I don't mind spendin' it with ya," Willie assured her.
"I just want it to be quiet and simple," Maggie insisted. "Our first Christmas together."
"I bet you never thought you'll be spendin' a Christmas with me, didja?" Willie smirked.
"Not when we first met, no," Maggie admitted sheepishly. "But we are."
Willie's eyes plainly told her he was greatly anticipating this. Sharing a special holiday with her and experiencing something entirely new.
That soft look in his eyes caused Maggie to unthinkingly stroke his cheek. It was gentle and silent between them, and when Maggie found herself drawing closer to him, they got walked in on by two customers; her ex-boyfriend Joe Haskell and his ex-girlfriend Carolyn Stoddard.
In their searing presence, Maggie awkwardly withdrew from Willie, and quickly went up to serve them.
Joe and Carolyn picked a table in the center of the diner and hung their coats behind their chairs.
"Hello." Maggie pulled out her notebook and pencil to take their order.
"Hello, Maggie," Joe replied courteously as he and Carolyn sat down.
"Hi, Maggie, how have you been?" Carolyn asked her.
"Good. What would you two have?"
"My usual," Joe answered her.
"Same here," added Carolyn.
Maggie wrote down their usual hamburger order, and told them, "It'll be right up."
She returned behind the counter and shouted the order to the cook in the back kitchen.
As Joe and Carolyn chatted amongst themselves at their table, Maggie finished her hot chocolate with Willie at the counter. The two didn't say much. Whatever intimate spell that was cast between them was now abruptly broken due to Joe Haskell's presence.
Maggie still harbored guilty feelings for breaking his heart when she got released from her captivity. She did loved him once, but Barnabas changed her. Maggie couldn't give Joe what he needed; to live a normal life of marriage and children.
Her conversation with Sam that morning crept unwantedly into her mind, but Maggie quickly shoved them aside.
She wished she could tell Joe what she went through. He'd always been so sweet to her, but Maggie agreed to keep a horrible secret. A secret within the Collins family, but Carolyn and the rest of the Collinses can't know about it, and it must remained that way.
Maggie also wished she could make Joe and the rest of Collinsport understand why Willie had become so important in her life and how he truly changed for the better.
Their relationship did not revolve around that fabricated tale of him rescuing her from some escaping hooligans. They really went through hell together and stared evil in the face. But Joe must never know that.
He had no choice but to accept that Willie became a part of Maggie's life. Just like how Maggie had to accept Joe becoming close to Carolyn again.
That stung a little, considering Carolyn had badly deceived and hurt Joe in the past and was dead-set on marrying a biker until she came to her senses. Maggie feared Joe might set himself up for another painful fall. But there was nothing she could do about it.
The two were no longer close as they once were. Even though Willie rescued Maggie, Joe couldn't stand him being around her and the feeling was mutual for Willie. He kept his back stiffly toward Joe, who in turn tried to keep his attention solely on Carolyn.
It was bluntly obvious Willie hated Joe's intrusion on his private moment with Maggie, even more so than Sam's. That was the second time that day an intimate moment got disrupted.
Maggie deeply wondered if all this awkward tension would ever come to an end.
Once the burgers were done, Maggie served them to Joe and Carolyn. After pouring them some coffee, Maggie quietly retreated behind the counter. Willie finished the remainder of his hot chocolate.
Just when he was about to get back to work, Victoria Winters and her fiancé Burke Devlin entered the diner enthusiastically, dressed in their winter coats. Vicki had an immensely bright smile on her face, while Burke seemed pretty pleased and happy himself.
After quickly saying hi to Joe and Carolyn at their table, Vicki and Burke hurried their way to the counter.
"Hello, Maggie, hello, Willie," Vicki said happily.
"Hi, Vicki," Maggie replied as cheerily as her friend.
Willie tried to politely excuse himself. Before he became Barnabas' slave, Willie had not got along with Burke. In fact, Willie even once vowed to kill him in a moment of petty spite. Since enduring so many horrors when he unchained Barnabas from his coffin, Willie had grown to hate himself for being that person.
Also, for a brief time, Barnabas was smitten with Vicki and viewed her of being a potential Josette. All of these things made Willie intensely uncomfortable being around the couple and he wanted nothing more than to get back to work. Besides, friendly socialization was never his strongest suit.
"We like for you to stay, Willie." Burke halted him getting up from his stool. "We got a proposition for you."
"A what?" Willie looked at him wearily.
"We got a big offer for you," Vicki proclaimed.
The governess still had that bright smile on her face.
"Well, with the way your glowing, I will say life is treating you well," Maggie remarked to Vicki.
"Well, Vicki and I are planning to get married as soon as possible," said Burke. "But we need to sort out our living arrangements before we do."
"What do you mean?" Maggie frowned.
"The Collinses decided to let us renovate the entire West Wing!" Vicki filled in ecstatically. "It will be just for me and Burke when we marry."
"Wow, that's great," Maggie responded. "But isn't there a house by the sea that you two love?"
"Yes, but it's unfortunately unavailable to us," Vicki explained glumly.
"Yes, apparently some random Collins ancestor came up with the crackpot idea to not legally sell that property until after some several hundred years," sniped Burke.
"And then there's David," Vicki went on. "He's been really withdrawn lately."
"What's wrong with David?" Maggie asked her.
"He says he's seeing more and more ghosts lately," Vicki exclaimed. "And he's been talking to Sarah a lot more."
"Oh?" Maggie wondered if that was the reason she hadn't seen Sarah lately. Barnabas' imprisonment might be keeping all those old Collins ghosts on guard.
"I honestly don't get this Sarah business," Burke stated bluntly. "At first we all thought she was David's imaginary friend, but then Sam saw her, but no other person had seen her since. Outside of David, of course."
Willie and Maggie remained silent.
"I honestly think Sarah is a ghost," Vicki told Burke.
"Vicki..." Burke was rather surprised by her fantastical statement.
"I'm telling you Burke, the ghost of Josette saved me from Matthew Morgan at the Old House. I am convinced there are ghosts at Collinwood."
Burke was at a lost for words. He wanted to put in a reasonable argument in this discussion, but was obviously afraid of being in hot water with his fiancée.
This put Willie and Maggie in an awkward spot. Not only did they know the ghosts of Sarah and Josette were real, but there was also a vampire locked up in the Old House. A vampire Josette was in love with.
But that was the dark secret that must never be revealed.
At this point, Willie wondered what Burke and Vicki possibly wanted from him.
"I need to get workin' on that heater," he muttered, attempting to get up.
"Wait, Willie." Burke once again halted him from getting up from his stool. "We haven't told you of our proposition."
"Well, what d'you want?" Willie asked a little shortly.
"Well, Willie..." Vicki began a little nervously. "I thought you did such a marvelous job renovating the Old House when you were working for Barnabas Collins. Burke and I would like to hire you to renovate the West Wing."
Willie was taken by surprise. "What?!"
"You especially did a beautiful job with Josette's bedroom," Vicki praised. "I think you'll do an excellent job with the West Wing."
Willie dropped his gaze on the counter.
"I-I don't think that's not a v-very good i-idea, Vicki," he stammered guiltily. "The Collins family don't like me very much. I was pretty rotten to 'em when I came here. Now, I d-don't blame 'em. It's what I deserve."
For a time, Willie temporarily lived at Collinwood with his associate Jason McGuire when he was blackmailing Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. Willie never knew what his former friend had over the matriarch. At that time, he was more interested in being an abrasive freeloader and accosting Vicki and Carolyn.
One night he nearly went too far with Carolyn, resulting in her pulling a gun on him. That filled Willie with deep shame now. With Carolyn herself sitting a couple of tables behind him, Willie found himself too guilt-ridden to look at her, even though she long accepted his apology.
"I don't think I can help ya with that, Vicki," Willie declined.
"Oh, Willie, you have changed quite a lot," Vicki argued. "Everyone can see that, even up at Collinwood."
Willie was still unconvinced.
"Willie, Vicki and I had a long talk about this, and she is really convinced you are the right man for the job," said Burke. "I can easily hire fleets of contractors, but Vicki feels you can transform the West Wing into that old world charm she adores so much."
"Just like you did at the Old House, and especially in Josette's bedroom," Vicki said dreamily.
"We'll pay you real well, Loomis," Burke offered.
But that wasn't really tempting to Willie.
"I'm sorry, I just don't want to."
Vicki sighed and shifted her gaze to Maggie.
"Maggie, what do you think?"
"I think you should really consider it Willie."
Maggie's words threw him for a loop.
"What?"
"Vicki is right, you do have a talent for this," Maggie said encouragingly. "I think it can be better off for you. I mean, you don't want to spend the rest of your life here fixing toilets. There's plenty of old houses here and all around New England that could use some resurrection. You could make some honest money doing this."
"Y-you think I-I'm really good fixin' old houses?"
Maggie tenderly grasped his hands from across the counter and squeezed them tightly.
"Of course I do," she replied earnestly.
At her supportive words, Willie was touched and elated. Maggie thought he could do something really productive and was worth something more than just hanging around the Evans cottage eating their food.
Suddenly, he no longer minded that Joe Haskell was in the same room. (In fact, Willie sincerely hoped Joe was getting a massive ear-full of this.)
Burke and Vicki closely noted this little hand holding exchange between them.
"We will pay you real handsomely, Willie," Vicki promised.
Willie imagined buying his own cottage and cuddling up next to Maggie in the bedroom. Best of all, Sam Evans did not rudely interrupt.
"What do you say, Willie?" Burke prodded. "Will you at least come up to Collinwood to check the place out?"
"I think I will." Willie nodded solemnly.
Maggie bestowed him with a very sweet smile.
"Great, can you come after your work is done here?" Burke asked him.
"Sure." Willie shrugged.
"Maggie, why don't you come, too," Vicki suggested.
"Oh, you know I'm terribly allergic to Collinwood, Vicki," said Maggie. "It gives me the creeps."
"But do you think you should see the massive project Willie could be working on," Vicki persuaded. "He's going to make a lot of money out of it, and this could concern you, too."
Maggie reluctantly shrugged. She could not think of anything to talk her way out of this.
"Besides, you went up to Collinwood before, and you did not break out into hives," Vicki teased her.
"True." Maggie conceded in a good-natured smirk.
Deep inside Maggie knew Collinwood was not the same house Barnabas imprisoned her in. But the Old House was on the grounds of the Collinwood estate, and that alone made her not want to go back up there.
But Maggie reminded herself that Barnabas was out of her life and Josette made that possible. She had received a second chance on life and she shouldn't waste it cowering in fear.
"All right." Maggie accepted Vicki's invitation.
"That's great," Vicki said pleased.
"Willie, I tried to examine your handiwork at the Old House," Burke informed him. "But I can't seem to make myself go near that damn place. There's something about it that seems wrong, and I just don't want to get close to it for some reason. It's an odd and unsettling feeling."
Willie and Maggie gave each other a sideways glance.
After Maggie's shift ended, and Mr. Wells, (the owner of the Collinsport Inn), dismissed Willie for the day, evening arrived. Maggie phoned Sam to informed him that she and Willie are heading up to Collinwood. Maggie explained Burke and Vicki's offer to Willie, and it would be likely they would be a little late for dinner.
Afterward, Maggie put on her coat and climbed into Willie's junker mobile.
Willie had on a long brown coat Maggie gifted him recently. When winter arrived, Maggie figured Willie needed a heavy coat to keep warm. His windbreakers just wouldn't do in the harsh New England winters.
Snow continued to fall in Collinsport as they shakily ride by in the bumpy truck with the windshield wipers battling with the falling snow. Maggie noticed from the passenger seat some bright red and green lights and images of Santa Claus being displayed throughout the town, as well as other Christmas decorations.
In no time, Willie drove his way through the dark frost covered forest, and drove up Widows Hill. From a distance the massive silhouette of Collinwood was obscured by sleek curtains of falling snow from under the dark sky. The truck bumpily rode by the Old House, causing flickering emotions to course through Maggie.
Willie noticed her obvious distress, and said, "I can turn this truck right 'round and take you home."
"No, it's all right Willie," Maggie insisted. "We passed that place. There's no need to turn back now. We're almost there."
"Yeah, but you don't wanna be here," Willie said instinctively. "I can tell."
"No, I don't," Maggie admitted. "But this is important to Vicki, and I am her friend."
"Are ya sure you wanna go to Collinwood?" Willie asked her gently.
"Yes," Maggie answered him. "I really do want to see this project you might be working on. I hope it would be good for you."
"I hope it would be good for you, too," said Willie. "I want this to be good for both of us."
"I can't believe Vicki and Burke are getting married." Maggie smiled fondly. "It wasn't all that long ago when they came to town together. I was working in the diner the night Vicki arrived here. It was how we first met."
"I was there when Burke asked Vicki to marry him," Willie revealed to her.
Maggie raised a delicate brow.
"You were there when he asked her?"
"Yeah, I was hidin' in the bushes when he asked her in the garden," Willie exclaimed.
"Why?" Maggie looked at him baffled.
"For a while Barnabas was... I dunno." Willie wearily looked downward at the steering wheel. "He liked her more than you for bein' his Josette."
"Oh, I see Barnabas liked having his bases covered," Maggie huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"But the real Josette is watchin' him now," Willie reminded her.
"Yes, she is," Maggie conceded.
Willie drove closer to the towering shadowy form of Collinwood. The wide gothic three-story mansion was rather imposing and very eerie.
"I wonder if we'll see Josette," Maggie mused. "Or Sarah."
Willie gave her a silent look.
"Hey, if we're going to a haunted house we might as well see our ghost friends," Maggie reasoned.
"I don't wanna see Jeremiah," Willie muttered seriously.
Maggie agreed with him. Jeremiah Collins was the most frightening ghost they'd ever encountered, and they'd encountered quite a bit of ghosts when Barnabas imprisoned them at the Old House. But Jeremiah was the one who took great pleasure in scaring them.
Finally, Willie parked his truck close to the Great House. He and Maggie got out, and trudged their way through the curtain of snow and stepped up to the front double doors of the gothic mansion.
Willie used the knocker to rapped on the doors. Much to their great surprise, the Collins family matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard answered the doors.
"Hello, Mrs. Stoddard," Maggie said politely.
"Hello, Maggie," Elizabeth replied just as polite.
She was noticeably reserved toward Willie. Clearly, memories of Jason McGuire was still raw for her, and Willie seemed to be a constant reminder of that.
"Burke and Vicki invited us over to see the West Wing," Maggie explained to her.
"Yes, they informed me they'd like for Willie to do the renovations," confirmed Elizabeth. "They are upstairs. Please come on in."
Elizabeth invited them in and shut the doors behind them.
"I'm afraid you caught us at an inopportune time. We're expecting Roger back from his trip to Boston, but he hasn't returned yet."
"I hope the weather isn't giving him trouble," said Maggie.
"I hope so, too," said Elizabeth. "I'd like to say that it's wonderful seeing you doing so well after that ordeal you suffered through."
"Thank you," Maggie replied graciously. "Am I to expect you at the diner anytime soon?"
Since Jason departed, Elizabeth made some surprise and sporadic appearances in Collinsport. Apparently, this was an attempt to gradually shed her reclusive image. She made two visits to the Collinsport Inn where Maggie served her a cup of coffee with a slice of apple pie.
"You... may," Elizabeth answered with some hesitation in her voice.
It was clear she was still pretty reclusive.
"We've been busy making some changes to the house," Elizabeth exclaimed to Maggie. "So much so I'm actually looking for a second maid to help out Mrs. Johnson."
"Oh." Maggie nodded.
"You two wait here," said Elizabeth. "I'll get Vicki and Burke."
The matriarch ascended up the staircase, leaving Maggie and Willie alone in the spacious gothic foyer, with its stone floors and paneled walls. Maggie turned her gaze to Willie, who clearly hadn't listened to her and Elizabeth's small talk.
He was staring at the portrait of Barnabas Collins. The portrait the Collinses hung in the foyer. Maggie honestly didn't know why the family insisted on hanging these unflattering ancestral portraits all over their home.
Maggie had completely forgotten about this one of Barnabas. She hadn't been up here for so long, she didn't count on seeing it.
Barnabas looked pretty severe in the portrait. He was stylishly garbed in his dark eighteenth century suit and cape, clutching his wolf-head cane, and displaying his black onyx ring, medallion, and other flashy jewelry. But the most striking feature was his eyes. They were black and soulless and perfectly suited for his oval face.
Maggie felt as if his eyes could penetrate right through her.
Willie had an intense reaction to the portrait. A cold sweat dripped down his brow, and his eyes were wide and petrified. He began to shake uncontrollably, causing Maggie to break out of the portrait's spell. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Willie, are you alright?"
Willie didn't respond to her. He continued to be mesmerized by the portrait, and was still shaking and turning paler.
"Willie!"
Maggie shook his shoulders and forced him away from the portrait's direction.
"Willie, listen to my voice."
The wild look in his eyes subsided and he realized Maggie was standing right in front of him with her hands grasping tightly to his shoulders.
"Willie, are you alright?" Maggie repeated.
"H-He was... lookin' at me," Willie whispered to her fearfully.
"I know, I could feel him staring straight at me, too," Maggie murmured.
She placed a hand on the bite marks on her neck, and felt some prickling beneath her skin. She assumed Willie's own bite marks were doing the same, given how jumpy he was.
"I think coming up here was a bad idea," Maggie said regrettably.
"Hi, Willie, hi, Maggie."
Little David Collins stepped through the back door leading into the kitchen and came up to the pair.
"Has father come home yet?"
"No," Maggie answered him.
Willie was still shaky and pale over his episode with the portrait.
"What's wrong, Willie?" David tilted his head. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Willie shook his head. David's guess was a little off but not by much.
"I'm fine, David," Willie shakily insisted to the boy.
"Vicki and Burke invited us over to see the West Wing," Maggie exclaimed.
"Oh, well, I'm looking for Sarah," said David.
"Sarah?" Maggie's eyes alight.
"Yeah, she's my ghost friend," David exclaimed. "She's around here somewhere. Your father saw her when you were missing."
"Yes, I know," Maggie murmured softly.
"I think that proves she is real," David said defensively. "But not everyone can see her."
Burke and Elizabeth emerged from the door on the second story landing.
"Willie, Maggie, come on up." Burke motioned for them to come up the staircase.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Maggie whispered to Willie.
"I'm okay," he assured her quietly.
They'd passed by Elizabeth as they went up the staircase, and followed Burke down a series of corridors and met up with Vicki who waited in front of a closed door that Maggie and Willie assumed opened up into the West Wing.
Vicki handed them some lit candlesticks and unlocked the door. Burke led the group carrying a flashlight.
Once inside, the area was dark and drafty, so drafty, Willie and Maggie were glad they hadn't taken off their coats downstairs. They'd followed Burke down a series of dark cluttered corridors as he gave them a tour using the flashlight to guide their way. Vicki stayed closely by his side.
The massive West Wing was covered in heavy dust and cobwebs. The engaged couple showed Willie and Maggie a number of rooms that they'd wish to transform; a master suite up a spiral staircase, a luxurious bathroom next to the suite, an elegant lounge in the second story, an office space for Burke, a study area for Vicki to tutor David, a private and intimate dining area, a place for extra storage for the antiques, and so on.
There was nothing about this place that seemed homey for Maggie. Like the rest of Collinwood, she found it dreary and creepy. The dust, cobwebs, and clutter of old furniture, antique knickknacks, and fading portraits of people forgotten in time, reminded Maggie of her old prison; the Old House.
But for Willie, the West Wing provided him with enough to visualize how he could fix it up. Obviously, this place had been neglected for quite some time, but Willie noted there wasn't much structural damage. He could easily patch up the holes in the walls and ceilings, and rectify any water damage caused by eons of stormy weather.
Burke was genuinely impressed by Willie's expertise.
"Well, working for Barnabas Collins must've made a man out of you," he commented. "There's no trace of that punk you were before."
"I guess." Willie shrugged.
"You came to Maggie's rescue," Vicki reminded him. "You two seem so close."
"Maggie's been good to me," Willie said simply.
"Yeah," said Vicki, "she helped you get a job and a place to stay after Mr. Collins left."
Wanting to veer the conversation away from herself and Willie, Maggie asked, "So, Vicki, what else do you want to do with this place?"
"Mrs. Stoddard is going to allow me to pick out any portrait and antique item I wish to incorporate with. I really want this to feel like you're stepping into another time... into the past."
"As long as we also have electricity, heat, and other amenities," Burke added humorously.
"Of course." Vicki smirked at him through the beam of the flashlight. "But there is a portrait I'm just mesmerized with. I'm going to hang it up in the lounge as soon as that room is finished."
"What is it?" Maggie asked curiously.
"Oh... Burke, hand me the flashlight," said Vicki anxiously, "I want to show them this portrait."
Burke handed the flashlight over to his fiancée, and Vicki led the group to a cramped storage area where a collection of old forgotten portraits were lined up. Vicki returned the flashlight back to Burke, and picked up one of the portraits. Burke pointed the beam on the old painting.
It was of a young woman probably from the eighteenth century. From the little light from the flashlight beam and the flickering flames from the candles, Willie and Maggie tried to make out the portrait. They could tell the portrait was in bold colors of orange and red. The colors reminded Maggie of the provocative and risqué portraits her father used to inexplicably create of Laura Collins. She was the former elusive wife of Roger Collins, and the mother of David. She also had a relationship with Burke.
Those portraits Sam created used to have some strange supernatural hold over him. He claimed several times he created them against his will. Maggie remembered how those portraits depicted Laura being surrounded by brilliant red flames. Maggie recalled when Laura came to town, (just a few months before Willie entered her life), she brought along with her the old legend of a mystical bird known as the Phoenix, with its incredible ability to perish in flames and rise majestically from the ashes.
One night the Evans cottage nearly burned down, and Sam claimed one of Laura's portraits was the caused of that. (As opposed to his drunken carelessness.) Then Laura herself wound up being in a fishing shack that was engulfed in flames, and she somehow disappeared. David nearly perished in the fire, but Vicki fortunately came to his rescue.
At the time, Maggie didn't want to believe in all the strange occurrences surrounding her, but she had to come to terms with the fact that strange things were happening in Collinsport, even before Barnabas Collins fatefully arrived.
Like Laura Collins, the woman in Vicki's portrait had blonde hair. Her face and vivid round blue eyes were hauntingly familiar, but she wasn't Laura Collins.
Willie and Maggie encountered this face, quite literally, on their last night at the Old House. A bizarre ghost with a disembodied head taunted Barnabas when Willie and Maggie wounded him in self-defense.
She was a witch who apparently cursed Barnabas of his vampirism and caused his and Josette's love to end in tragedy.
Was this the woman Willie and Maggie were seeing in this portrait?
Even though this portrait wasn't as off-putting as the Laura Collins ones, there was something unnerving about it. Something not quite right.
"Where did you find this?" Maggie asked Vicki.
"In storage along with the other portraits," Vicki answered with a light shrug.
"D-Do ya think t-that there's somethin' not right w-with it?" Willie stammered to her.
"I don't know what you mean, Willie." Vicki blinked. "It's just a portrait. I don't know why I'm so drawn to it, but I am."
"There's something intense about it," Burke observed.
"It might just be the bold colors and the shading," Vicki said reasonably.
"Perhaps." Burke shrugged.
Shortly afterward, the group split up. Willie wanted to better observe the West Wing. With Maggie by his side, and the little flames from their candlesticks offering dim light, the two wandered the empty, dusty, cobwebbed infested corridors with their footsteps echoing through the darkness. No natural light filtered through the filthy windows. It was a cold moonless night.
"Do you think that portrait is of Barnabas' witch Angelique?" Maggie whispered to Willie.
"I dunno," Willie answered her quietly. "I hope not. Then her portrait would have scary powers like Barnabas and Josette's."
This once again caused Maggie to be reminded of the Laura Collins portraits.
"I've had it up to here with all these mystical portraits," she bit off petulantly.
Wanting to changed the subject to something more decidedly normal, Maggie asked Willie, "So, are you going to take the job?"
"I know I can do it," Willie said confidently. "But there's somethin' 'bout this place. I know it's a lot bigger than the Old House, but it doesn't seem all that different."
"It has the exact same spooky vibe," Maggie concurred. "Another thing to consider is your reaction to that portrait downstairs. You scared me. I thought you were going to have a heart attack or something."
"It seems no matter how hard I tried, Barnabas..." Willie trailed off, his voice cracking.
Maggie didn't know what to say to him. She gently placed a comforting hand on his back shoulder.
They'd turned a corner to enter the next corridor where they spotted a flash of white light. Something was floating by a paneled wall. Something shadowy and transparent. They didn't need the small flames of the lit candles to know what they were seeing. This figure illuminated the dark corridor. It was a ghost. A ghost of a woman.
Willie and Maggie froze on their tracks. Maggie half expected to see a ghost when she arrived here, but she was hoping it would be of Sarah or Josette.
This ghost woman was a complete stranger. She was tall and slender with a pointed face and pale eyes. She had long curly blonde hair pulled up into a bun, and wore a long flowing white gown.
She looked at Willie and Maggie sharply like a hawk, as if in a warning, and disappeared behind the panel wall. She took her ghostly light with her, leaving Willie and Maggie alone in the shadows and the dim flames from their candlesticks.
Willie and Maggie were a little shaken. Even though they'd encountered ghosts all the time during their imprisonment at the Old House, it was still something they found incredibly unnerving. That, and they'd never seen this woman before.
"Oh, Maggie, who is she?" Willie whimpered. "And why doesn't she look like anyone from right now?"
"I don't know," Maggie said breathlessly.
She was shocked by that encounter. If she didn't know any better, Maggie swore this corridor seemed familiar somehow. But she'd never even been here.
"London Bridge is falling down..."
Willie and Maggie shrieked, and whirled around in alarm with Maggie's puzzling déjà vu now locked up in the back of her mind.
Another ghost came upon them, but it was a ghost they knew very well.
Little Sarah Collins, with her white pure glow shrouding around her, had snuck up to greet them.
Smiling relieved, Maggie bend over to her with her candle in hand, and said delightedly, "Hello, Sarah. You scared me and Willie."
"What are you two doing here?" queried Sarah.
"Vicki and Burke invited us," Maggie exclaimed presently. "I haven't seen you in quite a while. I've heard you've been spending a lot of time with David. He's even looking for you downstairs. What are you two kids up to?"
"I'm watching over David," Sarah said vaguely.
Maggie nodded patiently. She had grown used to the ghost girl's evasive and often unhelpful answers.
"Hey, Sarah," said Willie. "Me and Maggie just saw a ghost of a woman with blonde hair. D'you know who I'm talkin' 'bout?"
"There are many ghosts here," said Sarah eerily.
"I know," Willie said a little frustratingly. "But this ghost..."
"Willie!? Maggie!?"
Burke's distant call caused Sarah to fade away abruptly, nearly blowing out the small flames from the candlesticks.
Willie and Maggie retraced their steps, and reunited with Burke and Vicki in one of the deserted and dusty corridors with cobwebs sticking from the rafters.
"So, how about it, Loomis?" Burke said eagerly. "Will you accept our offer?"
"I don't think I can do this," Willie answered with a shake of his head.
At this, Vicki was crestfallen.
"How come?"
The real reason was because Willie was creeped out by the ghosts and the sinister hypnotic portraits, but he instead said, "I don't think Mr. Collins and Mrs. Stoddard wants me workin' here. I know they don't like me, and Mrs. Stoddard didn't look happy to see me."
"Willie, you were pretty rotten when you first came here," Burke said levelly. "But you obviously changed for the better. Maggie seems to like you just fine, and while I admittedly find you quite weird and peculiar at times, you seem all right."
"Thanks, but no," Willie said firmly.
"This might be your chance to really make something of yourself," Burke said pointedly. "I myself worked my way up from the bottom."
"Thanks, but I'll find my own way," Willie strongly insisted.
Burke shrugged and gave up trying to persuade him. Vicki was clearly disappointed.
The engaged couple escorted Willie and Maggie out of the West Wing, where they snuffed out their candles and returned them back to Vicki. She placed them on a small table in a corridor outside of the West Wing.
"Sorry it didn't work out," Maggie told the couple sincerely as they headed in the direction of the foyer.
"We'll find someone to do the job," Burke said with great certainty.
"Yeah." Vicki heaved a deep sigh.
When they opened the door leading out to the foyer, some commotion was taking place downstairs.
Over the upstairs railing, the group spotted Roger Collins conferring with his sister Elizabeth and his son David in the foyer down below. Roger was in a checkered coat and brown fedora hat with two suitcases by his side. Evidently he just returned from his trip to Boston, and there was a young woman by his side. A lady with short brown hair.
She was smiling pleasantly at Elizabeth, who stared at the new-comer skeptically.
As the four descended down the staircase, Roger greeted them with a broad smile, and gestured for them to come over.
"Oh, Cassandra, I'd like for you to meet my son's governess Victoria Winters, and her fiancé Burke Devlin."
Burke and Vicki shook hands with Cassandra.
Upon closer inspection, Willie and Maggie noticed this woman had round blue eyes. They looked exactly the same as the woman in the portrait. The two didn't know what to make of that.
"Burke and Vicki," said Roger contentedly, "please meet my wife Cassandra."
Burke and Vicki looked at each other stunned.
"Yes, Roger was just telling David and I how he impulsively married her in Boston," Elizabeth exclaimed, failing to mask the flippant tone in her voice.
"Oh, come now, Liz." Roger scoffed. "We merely crossed paths and in this instantaneous moment, we knew we were right for each other." He affectionately took his wife's hand. "We just couldn't wait to start our lives together."
Cassandra smiled warmly, while an obvious fuming look etched across Elizabeth's face. Combined by the uncomfortable and uncertain looks from David, Willie and Maggie would like nothing more than to bolt out of this unpleasant and impromptu family reunion.
But Cassandra swing her ever blue gaze at the pair.
"Is this more of your family, Roger?" she asked.
"No, this is Willie Loomis and Maggie Evans," Roger informed her drollery. "I haven't the slightest idea why they're here."
"Vicki and I invited them over," Burke exclaimed.
"Well, it is very nice to meet you." Cassandra shook Willie and Maggie's hands.
Willie was very clumsy with this motion with nervous shaky hands, causing Cassandra to frown. For Maggie this woman did seem familiar.
"We were just leaving," Maggie told the family at large. "My father is waiting for us."
"Oh, I'm sure we'll meet again soon," said Cassandra.
"I'm sure we will," said Maggie. "Good night everyone."
"Good night," said David, who perhaps was wishing he could come along with them.
Willie and Maggie hurried their way to the front doors. Once they flung them wide open, they became paralyzed by shock.
Barnabas Collins regally stood at the doorway wearing his cloak-like overcoat, and carrying his wolf-head cane. The cane Maggie splintered in two when she fatally struggled with Barnabas. Willie and Maggie even used it to stake him in the heart, but his curse prevented the demise. But now his cane was somehow repaired.
What more, Dr. Julia Hoffman stood by Barnabas' side dressed in a green winter coat.
Willie and Maggie were just as shocked to see her. She was a psychologist from Windcliff that knew Dr. Woodard, who was a close friend of Sam's.
"Well, hello, Willie," Barnabas said formally to his former servant. "And Miss Evans," he added smoothly. "What an unexpected surprise to see you both again, here of all places."
He gave them a pleasant smile, but Willie and Maggie found nothing pleasant about it.
Next Chapter: Unwanted Reunions