Chapter 9

The whole of Collinwood was rocked by the scream that rent the air and tore through the house like a sharp knife. The scream was loud, piercing, and filled with absolute fear and as quickly as it began it was cut off and then a death pall hung over the house. Elizabeth was up immediately, along with Roger, Carolyn, and David. Rushing out into the hallway they looked from one to the other. "Where did it come from?"

Quentin had stepped from his hallway and frowned and looked up and down the hallway then offered, "I think it was in Henri's and Josephine's room." Daphne appeared in the hallway appearing to be shaken and pale as a ghost. Quentin turned seeing her tremble. "Darling? What is wrong?"

Daphne struggled to continue to stand. "Josephine just threw herself from their window. She . . . she just . . . " She began to cry hysterically and Quentin gathered her to his chest. Looking up to Elizabeth he motioned her down to him.

"Take her downstairs Elizabeth, Roger do you wish to join me so we can see what happened?" Roger tightened his sash on his robe and nodded.

"Just allow me time to get my house shoes and we will go see what is going on." He ducked back into his room then came out and followed Quentin down the hallway headed to the adjoining section of the family's sleeping quarters. Coming around the corner they saw Maggie standing next to Cousin Henri who was sobbing uncontrollably. Maggie looked up appearing to be unsettled and not sure what she should do.

"Maggie go downstairs and call Sheriff Patterson, we will need to go and collect the body if the tide has not taken it out to sea already." Roger knew that side of the house it was a clear drop to the beach below and that the tide with the storm that had been threatening them all evening would be up.

Maggie nodded and with her stomach in a knot she walked with leaden feet down the hallway to the main sleeping quarters of the current Collins family. Pausing she leaned to the wall and closed her eyes, she could not believe what she and Daphne had witnessed. She had heard the scream and she along with Daphne had rushed down the hallway to come up short in front of the door of Henri and Josephine, they could hear Josephine screaming unintelligibly to her husband, they knocked on the door.

The door flew open and before their eyes, they saw Josephine poised in the window she was screaming in a language they had never heard before at Henri who was begging her to come back from the ledge. She had shook her head and then it was so quick they were not sure what they had witnessed. She had leaned back her arms akimbo and she fell out of the window with the most horrifying scream either had heard and the scream cut off as they heard her body hit the water below.

Henri had rushed to the window and shouted in anguish. "Josephine no!" He had collapsed to the floor sobbing looking to the window then the two women that had come in at the most opportune moment for him.

Maggie had turned to Daphne and sent her for Roger and Quentin. Gently patting his back and persuading him up Maggie helped Henri to stand. He stood clutching her close and saying over and over. "I tried to stop her but she had become so despondent and it was like she was possessed by something or someone. She just kept saying she had to get them out and the only way to get them out was to jump from the window. That they wanted her to jump!" He continued to sob as she led him into the hallway.

Quentin walked into the room and saw the cards on the table and what appeared to be a make shift alter of some kind with two clay figures entwined together. One figure had female attributes while the other appeared to be male. He remembered what had happened between him and Vicki earlier and he looked to the open window and in an anticlimactic way the window's curtains seemed to blow serenely in the soft sea breeze that now whipped in from the sea.

Looking down below he could see nothing of a body on the beach or the water below, instead he saw the water roiling and rushing to shore to rush back out. He turned and shook his head to Roger. "I am going down to the beach to see if she landed in the brush. You can send George down there when he gets here, we may need to call the Coast Guard to have them send out a patrol boat to see if they can locate her body."

Henri hearing body began to sob again, Roger turned to Henri, and spoke a little abrasively, "You need to pull yourself together man We need that noble spirit now so we can try and see if she fell and is alive." He was trying to offer hope but Roger had never been very good at consoling, he was if anything at a loss how to offer compassion.

Second Floor Hallway of Collinwood

Elizabeth sent Carolyn back to her room, "Darling you need to go back to bed. You've had a big night and I am sure you are exhausted."

"Mother what is the world is going on? Has something happened to Cousin Josephine?" Carolyn was rubbing her stomach and felt her back was aching and was pretty sure she would not be able to sleep after that horrific scream had awakened her and brought her wide awake.

"I am not sure, I just need you to rest, we don't need you upset or the baby distressed, would you like for me to call Gregory for you and ask him to come and collect you?" she did not necessarily want her to leave the house but if this was going to have the whole house upset the last thing she needed was for her and Vicki to be upset with them. She was grateful that Victoria had decided to spend the night at the old house.

Carolyn frowned, she thought about it and decided it would be a good idea for Gregory to be called, but not so much for her benefit but for whatever the law thought would be needed to solve the mystery of the shrieking Josephine, poor Cousin Henri might need legal council. "Yes, mother I think that would be a good idea." Carolyn turned and made sure she did not waddle back into her bedroom. Pausing she turned. "You might call Julia and Eric, you are not sure she may be alive and if they bring her back she made need immediate medical attention."

Elizabeth nodded slowly. "Of course darling, now you go pack something so Gregory may take you home." She watched her daughter close her door to her room and Elizabeth glanced down the long hallway. Grateful Vicki was not disturbed by this sordid affair. Daphne turned to Elizabeth and began to cry.

"There, there dear. I know it must have been horrible." She held Daphne close and patted her shoulders. Maggie came around the corner to Elizabeth and Daphne.

"I need to call Sheriff Patterson, Quentin is going down to see if they can find her body." She looked at Daphne and frowned. "We saw it all, she was shouting out in some kind of strange language and then she just fell backwards out of the window and we heard her scream and Duke Henri just went to pieces with his grief."

Elizabeth sighed softly, "You go on down and call George, tell him what happened and then call Julia and Eric, just in case she is alive she may need medical help, then I have to call Gregory to come and get Carolyn." Maggie took the shaken Daphne in her arms and nodded to Elizabeth.

"You call Gregory first then I will do the other phone calls." From the end of the hallway Mrs. Johnson appeared looking shaken and confused.

"I thought you said Vicki was going to stay at the old house?" She had tied her housecoat tighter to her body.

"Yes, she is at the old house why?" Elizabeth was confused as well with that question from Mrs. Johnosn.

"Because she is unconscious on the sofa downstairs in the drawing room." Mrs. Johnson was to the point Liz thought she was about to wring her hands.

"What? Are you sure?" Elizabeth was walking Daphne to the lading of the upstairs followed by Maggie, she paused to check David's door and found it was closed tight and he was sleeping soundly in his room. For that she was glad that all that was going on would not disturb him. Closing his door tightly she continued with Maggie and Daphne to the stairs landing and turned to Mrs. Johnson.

"You might wish to put on a pot of coffee, we need to call the police to come out and I will find out what is going on with Victoria." She noticed that for once Mrs. Johnson was without any protest or words about this whole situation. She watched the housekeeper disappear down the hallway taking the servants stairs to the kitchen.

Drawing Room Collinwood

Vicki opened her eyes and sat up looking around her confusion was complete with finding herself in the drawing room of Collinwood when she had clearly gone to bed at the Old House. It had been that odd dream that had disturbed her but for the life of her she did not know how she ended up here unless she walked back to Collinwood in her sleep. That did frighten her somewhat because she had not done any sleep walking for several years.

Pushing her hair out of her face she stood and walked to the foyer. Hearing the door to the upstairs sleeping quarters she looked up to see an enclave of family walking in what appeared to be a state of shock to the head of the stairs. "Mother?" She looked at the pinch look on her mother's face.

"Oh Victoria, Mrs. Johnson said you were unconscious on the sofa and . . . " Before she could finish her words the front door of Collinwood was thrust open and Barnabas rushed into the house looking concerned and filled with fear.

"Victoria! What happened? Willie said he saw you leave and tried to follow. You were too fast he said the last he saw you were headed to Widow's Hill." He looked up to see the majority of the females in the house were up and they looked shocked.

"What has happened?" Victoria was the first to ask her concern growing with the soft sobs from Daphne. Elizabeth turned to Maggie and spoke softly.

"Will you take her to the drawing room while I make the phone calls to everyone required to be here?" Maggie nodded and took the trembling form of Daphne and walked down the stairs. Stopping briefly next to Vicki she spoke softly.

"Josephine just threw herself out of her window and we saw her do it." Leading Daphne into the drawing room she turned to Barnabas.

"Perhaps you should go find Roger and Quentin and see what you can discover." She kissed his cheek and turned to her mother. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Go help Sarah with the coffee, I fear we are up for the rest of the night. I am sure they are going to have to recover the body or if she is injured she will need attention. Regardless we will need tea and coffee and I fear Mrs. Johnson will be over whelmed with all this attention."

Vicki nodded and walked to the kitchen, leaving her mother to deal with what she was left to do and that was make all the necessary calls.

Elizabeth in her staunch New England form called Gregory first, briefly explained to him what had happened and that she did not want Carolyn upset and he needed to come and pick her up. "Can you come as quickly as possible? I don't want her here if they recover a body. It has been very upsetting for Daphne she is hysterical and I have never seen her this upset before."

Gregory coming out of his deep sleep was now wide awake. "Of course I will be right there and tell Henri not to say anything until I get there except to say what he saw, nothing else. I know the police will want to question him."

From the open doorway Rebecca who had followed Barnabas was now standing there and assessing the situation. She looked into the foyer and asked, "Who is she talking to on the phone?"

Maggie looked up and smiled at Willie's sister. "I think she was calling Gregory Trask first."

Rebecca turned to Elizabeth and spoke softly, "Tell Greg I am here and will hold things together until he can get here." Elizabeth looked up with a look of relief.

"Gregory, Rebecca Loomis is here and said she will hold things together until you get here."

"Let me Talk to her Mrs. Stoddard." Elizabeth sighed, then handed the phone over Rebecca.

"Here he wants to talk to you." She turned and walked to the drawing room and looked with a degree of concern and compassion at Daphne. "Do you need something to help you relax my dear?" She sat on the edge of the sofa and could hear the soft mumbled words between Rebecca and Gregory.

Barnabas had started up the stairs when Quentin met him halfway. "Oh good you are here you can help me. We need to go down to the beach and see if we can find her body. She apparently threw herself out of the window."

Barnabas hid his happiness behind a polite mask of cool reserve. He was certain that she was not Duchess Josephine. He was just as sure that if she had thrown herself from that window she was no more dead than he was human again. He knew he walked two sides of the coin of the undead world and the mortal world he longed to be a part. "Of course shall we take the rear trail down to the side of the beach?"

Beachhead below Collinwood to the north of

Widow's Hill

Barnabas led Quentin out the back of the house and near the area that she would have fallen. Quentin had collected flashlights. Handing one flashlight to Barnabas they began to scour the area. "She might have landed over here." Barnabas led Quentin to the edge of the cliff where a ledge protruded over the breakers below. Even with his excellent vision Barnabas could not see anything that might resemble a body. Both men approaching the beach turned to look up at the open window of the bedroom of Josephine and Henri.

"Quentin, I do not believe that woman died. If she was Angelique, who Vicki and I both believe she was, she cannot die, she is a witch through and through. I don't know how she captured the attention or the heart of Henri but of one thing I am sure, she was Angelique and she has probably returned to her master in hell." His voice had held an ominous tone as he spoke of the departed Josephine.

Quentin shined the light over the beach and noted that there was very little beach left with the tide coming in with the advancing storm. "Barnabas there is something I need to tell you. Something that happened between Vicki and myself earlier today." He did not want to besmirch Vicki's reputation but he had to tell Barnabas what they suspected and perhaps he should have allowed Vicki to tell him.

Barnabas turned to look at Quentin, "That the two of you shared an intimate moment only to discover that you were marked with a pitch fork tattoo on your hand?" He had already hear Vicki's confession and thoughts on the matter before they had retired for the night.

She had been so open and sincere and her feelings about Josephine and thoughts had just confirmed what he had already known. He had remembered clearly what had happened between him and Phyllis Wycke so long ago and they too had displayed the mark of the devil on their hands. "Rest assure Quentin, I know full well the brand the witch can cast and I am sure she was up to her old tricks. She never wanted me to be happy and she wanted Peter Bradford. You have taken care of Peter so she cannot find him. That is one reason I think she sought out Cousin Henri he is after all a part of the Collins family."

Quentin was relieved that he understood what had happened. "I just wanted you to know that I would never try to compromise your relationship with Victoria or interfere with that part of your life. I love Daphne and tonight we decided that we want to get married. I had to confess to her what had happened and she was naturally upset but not jealous just furious that someone would hurt Vicki or me that way. " He looked at the tide and how ruthless it appeared. "I guess she hit the water and the tide took her body out to sea."

Barnabas looked at the tide and shook his head. "I am telling you if that was Angelique she is not dead." From over head they could hear the wail of a siren. "I guess we should go back to the house and see what George wants to do about this whole mess."

Quentin gave one last look to the restless ocean and then sighed and nodded. "I guess it's all in their hands now." Both men made the long trek back up the side of the cliff that was the backside of Collinwood.

Collinwood Drawing Room

Roger led Henri to the drawing room where he sat with a haunted look on his face. He folded his arm and pushed his fist to his mouth and closed his eyes. The look he was assuming was one of anguish and loss. He had loss a great deal in his lifetime and now he drew on those emotions to portray the right emotions for those that surrounded him. The one person he had hoped to see and gain her sympathy was Victoria and she was no where to be found. He knew he had left her on the sofa earlier and she was totally unconscious and now the room was filled with his two witnesses, Elizabeth, Roger and coming through the door was the man that was Victoria's father

He assumed the look and position of a man that had lost the love of his life. George was sympathetic and consoling but did tell him that he would need a complete statement from him. That was when Eric and Julia Lang arrived and he then assumed the look of a man going into shock over something as horrendous as watching his wife throw herself from their bedroom window. When in actuality he had sent her back to Judah Zachary. That has been a very satisfying moment for him Watching her try to defend against his powers with her own pathetic powers as she screamed out her spell only to feel her body flung out of the window giving the appearance of her falling backwards.

He could easily with the makeshift alter she had made explain it as a possession but he needed the local law enforcement to determine that with him leading them to that conclusion with his two witnesses. He sat stoically appearing to be going into shock and only nodded when Julia offered to sedate him. He listened ideally as he heard Maggie Evans describe to George what she had seen.

"We heard her scream and then went to the room, the door was partially opened I think right Daphne?" She looked to Daphne who only nodded. "We entered and she was speaking in a language I did not recognize then she just laid back out of the window and fell, she screamed as she fell and well that is about it Sheriff Patterson." She looked at Daphne.

"She said something about . . . " Daphne spoke up in a soft voice and closed her eyes. "That she had to get them out, they were forcing her to do this and that the only way to get them out was to jump and that is what she did." Daphne sighed deeply closed her eyes and the tears slid down her cheeks.

"Come Daphne, Eric and I will take you home with us and you can spend the night at our house. I want to give you something to calm your nerves." Julia reached down to help Daphne stand. Looking at Eric she spoke softly, "Can you get her to the car after I give her a shot?" Eric nodded and waited patiently for his wife to finish sedating Daphne.

Barnabas and Quentin entered the foyer pausing to speak softly to George. "We checked the beach head and there is no sign of a body. You might want to call the Coast guard and have them search the area George. We checked the best we could with what you can see with a flash light." Quentin handed his flashlight over to Elizabeth who had followed George into the hallway.

George hooked his fingers over his gun belt and shifted his weight on the balls of his feet. His back was hurting and he just wanted to lean against something or sit. "I did that when I got the call, they were going to get a boat out to see what they could find. But it will be hard in the storm blowing in and with hardly any light. We may need to do it in the morning."

The door from over head opened and Greg walked out carrying Carolyn. "You need to relax darling. We will get you home and in bed and then I will come back to make sure that Henri does not need me for anything." He looked down at the Sheriff leaning against Elizabeth and looking tired. "Sheriff Patterson will you be needing a statement from Duke Henri?"

George did not like lawyers they were a pain in the ass and right now his back hurt so he did not need an irritated hemorrhoid annoying him. "No, we can deal with that tomorrow besides Julia just gave him a sedative and it would not be a good time to take his statement. I will need him in the office tomorrow so we can have a stenographer take his statement."

He watched Greg carry the pale looking Carolyn down the stairs. "Excuse me while I get her comfortable in the car." He stepped past the gathering in the hallway and carried Carolyn out to his car. "Babe you sit tight and I will be right back." He kissed her forehead and backed out of the car. Greg walked back to the house and looked at Sheriff Patterson then he looked at Henri in the drawing room.

From where he stood he could have sworn he saw Henri smile when he thought no one was watching him, only to assume a tragic look of someone that had lost the love of his life. Greg frowned slightly and then sighed, thinking he must have imagined seeing him smile. Shaking his head he walked past the sheriff and into the drawing room looking for Rebecca.

"Hey I wanted to thank you for being here and covering for me while I was on my way over, if ever I can return the favor you can give me a call anytime." He smiled turned to Henri. "Duke Henri, they want a statement from you tomorrow. So, I will meet you and we can go to the Sheriff's Department together."

Henri nodded and looked past Gregory. "Oh in our room, on a desk it looked like she had built some kind of alter for some pagan ritual she was always dabbling in. You might let the Sheriff know if they want to get pictures of it." He had sounded so lifeless with his statement that he was sure the man was now under the influence of the drugs Julia had shot into him.

Greg clapped his shoulder and nodded, turning he looked for Elizabeth. "We might want to secure that room for evidentiary values. I will be right back." He watched Greg walk to the foyer and a part of him was relieved that now he was rid of Angelique he would use Daphne to help distract Barnabas.