Chapter 17

Collinwood

Collinsport Maine

1968

Julia sat next to Eric and studied the book that Elliott had provided describing the use of the I-Ch'ing wands to transverse and travel time in the ethereal form. The more she read the more certain she was this would not be the best way to travel back through time to find their missing loved ones. "I am saying there are too many variables that would allow us to be lost forever. I am not for this mode of travel. I say we find this closet Quentin spoke of and travel back to the four major time fames to see what we find and how we might be able to bring Quentin and Vicki home."

Eric leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Elliott seems to think we can do it. He did say there would be risks, from what I am seeing here there are very dangerous risks and frankly my love I am with you and what with you being pregnant I am not so quick to want to allow you to be a part of this. " Julia started to protest and Eric was ready for her protests. "Not that I don't think you will have your usefulness but not traveling out of your body to another time and especially now Julia, you are pregnant and I am not about to loose you and our baby."

Julia sighed deeply sat back and then closed her own eyes. Since she discovered she was pregnant Eric had been very protective of her. Almost to the point of smothering her with his concern and love. "I agree Eric, I would not wish to put our child at risk either but I am not one to just sit back and not do anything. Surely, you of all people know me better than that."

"Darling, I know how much you have invested in this family and in our love and for that makes me want to love you more than I ever could love any one person." He stood and closed the book in front of them. "I just want you to be safe too." Eric gently laid a sweet and tender kiss on her forehead then stood. "I suppose we should go on back to Collinwood and see if Elliott and Barnabas were successful in locating the closet that houses the ever appearing and disappearing stairway through time and figure out how it works."

"I thought they were going to go through Quentin's room to see if he left any notes on this phenomenon?" Julia sounded dubious to such a thing as a stairway through time could even exist but this was Collinwood and more than one unusual occurrence had been reported to happen. Rising she felt a slight twinge in the pit of her stomach. Grimacing she looked worriedly to Eric. "I think I am having growing pains with the baby." She laughed lightly straightened and sighed deeply.

Eric moved to her side and slid his arm around her waist "Come my dear perhaps we shall get you to Collinwood so you can rest and allow me time to talk with Barnabas and Elliott." Eric gently guided her to the door. His thoughts and concerns for the woman at his side that he failed to notice two of the old house residents watching them curiously.

"Why are they worried about Miss Winters Josette? Is she in danger?" Sarah peered up to Josette then watched the two close the door and secure it.

"I think Sarah they are worried about the baby that Dr. Hoffman carries and Miss Winters is in good hands so whatever danger tries to pervade itself on her they will be able to face it together. We must go to Collinwood and see what is going on before we decide if it is up to us to help or not."

Old House

Collinsport Maine

1845

Vicki silently walked next to Barnabas along the well traveled pathway between the old house and Collinwood. She sniffed and dashed the tears from her eyes in futility because with each tear wiped away new tears appeared and it was making her angry that she could not control he emotions as they traversed the pathway. "My dearest Victoria, you really should not allow Daniel's closed minded way of thinking hurt you so." He was angry with Daniel but he was far more angrier with Trask and as soon as she was asleep he was going to pay the headmaster Trask a visit, one he would not like or soon forget.

Leading her up the pathway towards the front doors of Collinwood he opened the door for them and lead her to the drawing room. Vicki was upset and hurt. Never would she have thought that Daniel would go against her like this but what did she expect he barely remembered her from so long ago. "I think am going to retire Barnabas." She had tucked her chin to hide her shame she felt for not being able to control her emotions.

Barnabas tilted her chin up, looked deep into her eyes and spoke softly to her. "My dearest Victoria, though I know what you told me of the future that we become paramours I feel so strongly for you now that I am at a loss as to how to comfort you." He gathered her close to his chest brushing her hair b ack and whispered softly in her ear. "I would like for you to come with me to my room and lay with me. We will not do anything that would comprise your principals. It is only to offer you the strength of my fortitude and comfort you."

Vicki tensed slightly then remembered in another one hundred plus years she would be this man's fiancé. Sniffing lightly she lifted her chin smiled through her tear soaked eyes and nodded, "I would like that Barnabas, it might make my life seem les confused if I find comfort from the man I shall marry in another century." Her words were spoke when such sincerity he was touched and it once again sparked a memory from long ago when he found her in Josette's room naked. Pushing back those thoughts for now he gathered her close leading her to the stairs.

They were halfway up the stairs when a hard rap resounded on the door. Barnabas turned her to him, laid a sweet little kiss on her lips and spoke softly, "Go to your room and then I will come get you after I tend to the visitor." She nodded turned and saw Magda at the head of the stairs. She frowned seeing how upset Vicki was and immediately thought to blame her distressed condition on Barnabas.

Vicki lifted the front of her gown and walked up to Magda, "Please join me in my room Magda I want your advice on an incident that happened and as I do not have my mother to consult I feel I can turn to you for your very good advice."

Magda watched the monster go to the door and she turned and followed behind Vicki angry and stone faced. "What has 'e done now? If 'e 'as 'urt ju I shall pull out his tongue!" When she was angry her gypsy accent seemed to be more prominent in her speech.

"No, no, no, Magda it is not him that has me so upset it is Daniel and a man called Lamar Trask. He has well let us wait until I get to my room. I am upset for many reasons and none of them have anything to do with Barnabas, if anything he has been a true gentleman and defended my honor." She sighed deeply when she moved through the open door to Josette's room. Moving to the bed she took her hat and laid it on the bed.

Magda was quick to jerk the hat from the bed. "No, Miss Victoria it iz bad luck to put a 'at on ze bed." She crossed herself and then spit over her shoulder. "It wards ze bad luck. Now turn 'around so I can undo your dress and get you ready for bed."

Vicki stood like an obedient child as Magda unbuttoned her dress and Vicki slid it off her body to pool at her feet. Stepping out of the dress she wiggled out of the petticoats to allow them to pool at her feet. Bending she picked up the dress and the petticoats and took them to the dressing room. She hung up her dress and then folded her undergarments and placed them in the cubby to which she had assigned. Feeling the cool air waft over her body she smiled. Though the nights were cool these garments were horrid for a woman to wear.

Moving to the dressing table she lifted her brush as she sat in her partially done up corset and pantaloons. Magda stepped up behind Vicki and took her brush. "Tell Magda what makes you leak tears from jur eyes and upsets ju so much ju splotch jur face." Magda watched Vicki in the mirror as she began to gently pull the brush through her curls. "I feel like jur mother when you cry and need to be held by mother. So speak what upsets ju?"

Vicki looked down the repetitive motion of the brush being drawn through her hair was relaxing her. Her shoulders dropped and she sat forward to rest her elbow on the dresser and cupped her chin with her palm. "Today, you know I went wading in the surf below Widows Hill and I was dressed in breeches and a shirt. Well, I got wet and was on my way back here when a man accosted me on the pathway."

Magda frowned deeply and tugged harder than she intended on Vicki's hair. "Oww, Magda, that hurt." Vicki shifted around and took the brush from her. "If Quentin Collins had not come along when he did I am sure he would have . . . " Her voice had grown soft and her face flushed. "He would have hurt me as no woman would wish." Vicki finished her sentence with softness to her voice that caused Magda to begin to swear softly. "Asta nu e bun fiu de balega de vaca, poate putrezi sufletul în gropi de iad pentru totdeauna!"

"Magda! What on earth are you saying? I don't understand?" Vicki spoke in s conciliatory tone. She waited for an explanation.

"I say, that no good son of a cow dung, may his soul rot in ze pits of 'ell forever!" Once again she spat on the floor. "I say ve go and take ze knife and de-man 'im" She was pacing back and forth then turned to the look of shame and fear on Vicki's face. "Oh little von, ju 'ave nothing to fear, ju must rest an not let zis man bother ju no more!" She turned putting her hands on Vicki's shoulders.

Vicki felt the threat of tears choke her and she dropped her gaze to the floor. "But Magda if I had not been dressed as a boy and Daniel said I invited his attention and I wonder if he is not right."

"Daniel! He iz a pious lout and does not deserve the love of Miz 'arriette. She is a good voman and knows who to trust. Vhat did 'arriette say about this?" Magda folded her arms over her chest and glared to the window she was growing madder by the minute hearing this from someone as nice as Victoria.

"She was upset that he would say that. She even took my side as did Barnabas, and Quentin. I swear to you Magda all I wanted was to wade in the water to cool off and to have a little innocent fun. I did not think this would snow ball into this kind of nasty accusation. I just want to know you don't think I would want to invite that man's attention do you?"

Magda began to mutter softly, rolled her eyes to the heavens., throwing her hands up in the air she spoke with so much passion she almost overwhelmed Vicki. "NEVER! Ju vould never invite such an action by any mans!" Magda was pacing madly back and forth. "'E iz zee dangerous von. Ju never did wrong. Now, ju get dressed and go lay down!" Magda rushed out of the door shouting to the top of her voice. "SANDOR! SANDOR!" Vicki watched her rush down the hallway towards he room she shared with Sandor.

Their voices could be heard as a subtle hum. Vickie choked back a subtle sob turned and saw Barnabas standing in the servant's entrance to the room. "Come my dear, allow me to give you peace." He held out his hand to her and she ran to his arms to be embraced close to his chest. Lifting her in his arms he carried her down the hallway to his bedchambers. Moving to the bed he laid her on the bed then joined her curling her body into his.

Gently, he removed her hair from her throat and began to trail small kisses down her neck to the throb of the vein. There he bit into her neck and began to drink. He held her tightly so she could not draw away from him causing him to tear her throat. He held her until he felt her grow weak and slip into unconsciousness. Licking her throat he watched as the wounds closed and she slipped into a restorative sleep. "That is right my dearest one, sleep. Let me take care of the problems that would surround and complicate your life."

Barnabas slipped from their bed. Walking to the window he smiled shifted into mist form floated from the open window and took flight as a bat. His direction was clear, he did after all get the directions to Trasks school from Quentin who had come earlier to apologize for his father's stupidity. Barnabas spread his wings with one destination in mind and one thought, Trask should be punished.

Old House

Collinsport Maine

1796

Peter looked down at his friend as he laid on his bed ready to die. "Oh no my dear friend you won't die."

"Peter why? Why did you do this?" Barnabas gasped as he held onto what threads of life he held in his body. "What are you?"

Peter smiled he felt rejuvenated with the taste of his best friends blood still filling his senses. "Because I felt you should share what I am my dear friend and together we can live an eternity. Here drink from me before you breathe your last." He bit his wrist and pressed his now bleeding arm to his lips. Barnabas tasted the blood. Choking on the blood he closed his eyes and felt the life he had just lived slowly begin to ebb from around him and his world went dark and his heart stopped beating.

Barnabas felt his body embrace the darkness and he breathed his last and laid limply on Peter's bed. From the corner Angelique appeared and smiled. "IT all begins a whole new world and a family that will remain cursed. Sleep for now Barnabas Collins for on the eve of tomorrow you shall rise and seek the blood of the innocent. The first you will seek will be one Phyllis Wycke. You will find Miss Wycke and you will kill her." She laid next to his chilling body. " Oh this is going to work out better than I thought."

From the distance she could hear voices in the drawing room. Rising from the bed she sighed looking at the now dead Barnabas. Covering him with a quilt she moved to the top of the stairs and stood listening to the two below. It was that mysterious woman Victoria Winters and the newest Collins cousin. What was his name? Oh yes, Quentin. Slipping into the darkness she got comfortable and listened to their conversation.

"You can rest here until we can get you back to the big house. I really can't be gone too long, Mr. Collins is dependent on me in this hour of their need." Vicki made him comfortable tucking a blanket around him and looked around seeing the whiskey decanter she walked to the table and poured him out a stiff drink. "Here drink this." She turned and walked to Quentin handing him the drink.

Quentin took the drink swallowed and coughed. "God that is great whiskey!" He choked and chuckled. "you know the first time we met, we were not very good friends and since then we have become very close. Now with you engaged to Barnabas and me well I found my Daphne again and we were going to plan our life together and look at us now."

Vicki smiled, "I am going to get engaged to Barnabas? I was engaged to a man that looked like Jeremiah. His name was Burke Devlin and he was very wealthy and dangerous. Nothing at all like Jeremiah. Well in some respects. They both were kind and considerate to me and they cared what happened to me and now they both are dead." She sighed and looked down at the floor and noted the floral pattern in the area carpet that covered the floor.

"I was not around to meet this Burke and I only knew Jeremiah for a short time but he is as my father said he was a good man with grand ideas and a great architect. He did after all build Collinwood." He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was a shame the true reason for his death was never properly recorded in the family history books. Just as this Barnabas was to move to London." He stopped realizing this Victoria did not know about Barnabas and his past.

Vicki looked confused, "What do you mean his was to move to London, did he not move to London?"

Quentin smiled, "Yes he did and you are going to become engaged to be married as a matter of fact that was what you were doing when . . . . well when I got brought back here, you had just put on your wedding dress to show us what a beautiful bride you were going to make. We all were admiring you and you had left Carolyn's room to go change when I heard you scream, and well the rest is what you see now. I was brought back here to this time chasing after the man that was the very same man that made an improper proposition to you in the foyer the other day."

Vicki stood and turned from Quentin with a soft gasp, "Trask?" She sounded upset and afraid. Turning she peered back at Quentin. "he is an odious man and takes advantage of poor young girls that have no defense, he is a charlatan trying to make a name for himself and now poor Miss Wycke is in his hold. I fear it will not end well for her."

Quentin nodded, "I agree, it will not end well at all. It is already a part of history Vicki, there is no way you can prevent it and to do so will alter the course of the future and perhaps make some disappear because they will never be born. So, when the times comes for you to travel back to 1968, you go even if I am not with you, you go."

Angelique covered her mouth with her hand; these two were from nearly two hundred years from now? What could her master do with this information? Would it be something she could bargain with to make sure that she held her position with him? It would have to wait they were making plans to leave the old house and go back to the big house on the hill. "Come on Quentin let's get you back to Collinwood and into bed so you can rest properly."

Quentin stood holding onto Vicki and allowed her to lead him out of the old house and to the pathway that lead to Collinwood. Angelique stepped out into the light and smiled. "Perhaps I can use this to my advantage."

Trask's School for Proper Gentlemen and Ladies.

Collinsport Maine

1845

Barnabas flew to Trask's school landing he transformed into his human form and moved towards the nearest window and peered inside at a lovely delicate looking blond girl that knelt before the holy cross. Her head was tucked to her hands pressed together in prayerful pose. She appeared to be praying, that is until a young man with sandy brown hair entered the room. She smiled lifted her chin and spoke softly, "Timothy, you came." She stood and walked to him, placing her arms around his neck she leaned up to kiss him.

Barnabas studied the wanton little wench, "Felicity, we should not do this here, your father could find us." He watched her turn and frowned deeply.

"he is a hypocrite the way he lusts after Rachel Drummond and then expects me to be so pious, mother would soon yank his chain if she knew how he was around Rachel." Then a thought struck her, "Wait you don't love Rachel do you?" She turned with an accusatory tone to her voice.

"No, Rachel and I are just friends, she would never wish to have a relationship with me like you think." Walking to her turned back, he laid his hands on her shoulder, "Charity Trask, you are the only girl I shall ever love. Know that one day your father's school will be our school. You must believe that."

Barnabas smiled, he knew how he could pay back Trask and there is was standing looking so deliciously tasty in front of him. Stepping back he turned to mist and floated to the window on the second floor and immediately witnessed what the one called Charity had spoken of when she spoke of her father and someone named Rachel Drummond. There he was with a poor young lady cornered in the room.

When Barnabas looked closer he saw what he thought he would never see again, he saw a young woman that strongly resembled his Josette and she was being pawed over by this man. Slipping in mist form into the room he floated to the darkness of the corner and reformed in human form. "Please Mr. Trask, don't this is not right you are married to Minerva, you must not take these liberties I do not wish them and you know this!"

She pressed her hands forward fending him off from further advances. "I said let me go! I must insist you let me go!" He pressed into her trying to steal a kiss from her.

"TRASK!" Barnabas growled out the name from the deepest part of his being glaring at the man that was so much like the one he had walled up in the old house. "YOU WILL MOVE AWAY FROM THAT YOUNG WOMAN NOW AND FACE ME!"

Trask spun around looking guilty and filled with outage. "How dare you enter my private quarters who are you!"

Barnabas advanced on the man, grabbing him by his jacket and pulling him face to face. "You sir are a philanderer and a charlatan, you will never approach my wife again and if you do so, I shall make you wish you were never alive."

He threw Trask across the room turned to the lovely young woman that had cowered from this man. "You may go now Miss Drummond and I will make sure he never harms you or tries this again." He turned to see Trask pushing himself up from the floor and straightened his jacket.

"Sir, I demand to know who you are and what are you doing in my home?" Trask was shaking somewhat and half fearful of which wife had spoken of his actions.

Rachel turned smiled tentatively to Barnabas then dashed from the room to get away from Trask. Turning back to Trask, Barnabas advanced on him. His eyes were fixed to Trask's and he now had Trask in his thrall. "I am Barnabas Collins and you attacked my wife in the woods today, I will have you never cross paths with my wife again. Is that understood?" Trask was mesmerized by the stare that now seemed to permeate his entire body down to his soul. "You will never go near Miss Drummond again and if you do try you will get an unreasoning fear that you will die if you do. Is that understood?"

Trask broke eye contact with Barnabas and turned his back on him. "I understand, now I must insist you leave my home." Barnabas smiled, reached for Trask grabbed his hand bent his wrist drew it to his mouth and bit into the wrist and drank from him. "Now you belong to me Trask and to disobey me will result in your death."

Trask looked stunned and only nodded. Barnabas smiled shifted into mist form and floated from the room, leaving Trask to look on befuddled and frightened.