Chapter Five:

~V~V~

Morgan's plan of revenge took form in a wicked scheme to make Catherine and Bramwell pay for their affair. He had a servant deliver a note to his betrothed as well as a similar message to Bramwell, his cousin. Catherine was in her bedroom, reading the short letter from Morgan. Her heart was aching because she knew that Morgan loved her, but she wasn't in love with him. Her heart belonged to Bramwell. She didn't want to marry Morgan. She wanted to marry Bramwell, and she was wondering if they should just run away together. She needed to speak with him as soon as possible.

The letter from Morgan read-

My Darling Catherine,

I wish to see you. I have something very important I must discuss with you. It's about our wedding day.

Meet me in the library as soon as you receive this message.

Your Beloved Morgan

~V~V~

Morgan had given a similar message to his cousin. Bramwell's letter read:

Dearest Bramwell,

I need to speak to you. I wish to ask you a very important question. Please come to the library at once.

Your Cousin, Morgan Collins

~V~V~

As Bramwell held the message in his hand, he wondered what Morgan wished to discuss with him. His greatest fear was that Morgan would discover his indiscretion with Catherine. He loved Morgan like a brother. He did not wish to hurt him, but his love for Catherine was so deep and all consuming. He couldn't bear to let her go. He had to speak with her. He had to make her see that he loved her and they belonged together. If only he hadn't fallen in love with his cousin's wife-to-be... but he had and he wanted Catherine for his own. She was his destiny.

With a heavy sigh, Bramwell headed down the great staircase. He was met outside the library by Catherine, who had also came to the library to speak to Morgan. "Bramwell, what are you doing here?" she asked him quietly.

"I got a note from Morgan. He said he needed to see me immediately in the library,' Bramwell explained.

"I got one as well," Catherine stated.

Bramwell gave Catherine a puzzled look as they walked into the library to find Morgan seated in a high-backed chair before the fireplace. "Well, hello," he said. "I am so glad the two of you could join me. I have so much to discuss with you. It's about the wedding."

"Morgan, what is this about?" Catherine asked him nervously. Had he discovered the truth? Did he know that she and Bramwell had shared a night of passion?

"Ohhh don't worry, my darling. You'll find out my surprise soon enough... but first, I have something to show you," Morgan said as he stood up. "And Bramwell, too, of course.'

Bramwell frowned. Morgan was acting quite strange. He felt uneasy as he followed his cousin down a long narrow hallway which had been hidden behind a bookcase in the library. The walls were unfinished in this area of Collinwood.

"What is this place?" Bramwell asked. He'd never been in this hidden passage, and he had lived in Collinwood all of his life.

"I am taking you and Catherine into a special room," Morgan stated when they reached a door at the end of the hallway. "Everything will be explained when you step inside."

"I don't like this," Catherine said as she pushed cobwebs aside.

It was dark and creepy here, reminding her of something from a horror novel she once read. As Morgan placed the key into the keyhole and turned it, the door creaked in protest as he pushed it open to reveal the secret room. It was so dark inside the room that Catherine could see nothing. She stepped inside with Morgan and Bramwell, feeling very uneasy as Morgan lit a candle.

A gasp of horror immediately left Catherine's lips, seeing that the room was empty save for three skeletal figures and a few odds and ends which were scattered on the floor. "What in the world happened in this room?!" she heard Bramwell exclaim. "Morgan, WHAT is this?"

Catherine was so greatly distraught that she nearly fainted. She nearly lost her balance. She pitched forward and Bramwell had to catch her. "Catherine, are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Ohhh I am sure she'll be fine," Morgan said, his words cruel and punishing. "But she is with child, didn't you know?"

Bramwell stared at Morgan in shock, then he looked at Catherine. She was clinging to him in dizziness. Her face was ashen. He searched her eyes and he knew it was true.

"I haven't touched her," Morgan went on to say. "So if she carries a child, then you're responsible."

"Morgan..." Bramwell began, but his cousin cut him off.

"I know that the two of you have betrayed me," he said coldly as he walked slowly toward the entrance of the room.

He was blocking the doorway when he said, "I loved you like a brother, but you took her from me!"

His voice was rising as the ghost of Brutus whispered wickedly in his ear, "Punish them! Lock them in the room. Leave them here to DIE!"

"You deserve to suffer, just as you made me suffer," Morgan said hatefully to his cousin and his betrothed. "Good bye... and good riddance!"

With those words, he walked out of the hidden room, locking the door behind him. He heard Catherine and Bramwell calling out to him in distress, but he did not stop. He retraced his steps down the long, narrow hallway. Then he entered the library, closing the secret door securely behind him.

After he was gone, Catherine realized he wasn't coming back. She was trembling in Bramwell's embrace. The single, flickering candle was all they had for light. There was no food and no way of escape.

"Ohhh Bramwell, what will we do?" she asked him sadly.

"We shall pray," he answered. "We must pray that someone will find us... or that Morgan will have a chance of heart."

"He'll never forgive us," Catherine lamented. "We cannot survive in this room. I don't want to die."

"You mustn't fret, my dearest," Bramwell said as he held her in his arms. "I will find a way... a means of escape."

"But Bramwell... Morgan seemed so strange. I fear he's lost his mind... and I fear what he might do next. What if he...?"

"What if he what?"

"What if he hurts someone else?"

Staring into Catherine's gorgeous green eyes, Bramwell wanted to reassure her, but he couldn't. He too had sensed that something supernatural had overtaken his cousin. Morgan wasn't the same. He seemed to be possessed by something evil and sinister. The Morgan Collins he knew and loved would never have locked them in a room, leaving them to die.

"We'll search this room from top to bottom," Bramwell said. "If there is a way out, we'll find it. You must not worry, my love."

"Maybe I am not worried for myself."

Bramwell had been searching the room, but when he heard Catherine's words, he stopped immediately. "Morgan said that you are with child."

"It's true," she told him quietly.

Before he could ask, she stated, "And the child is yours. I haven't been with anyone else."

His face softened as she told him the news. His heart wanted to rejoice, but he knew that they were in a terrible state. Their lives were in danger.

"It was meant to be. You and me," he said. "Even if we die, Catherine, I will always love you."

"I would think of no other way I would wish to die... than in your arms..." she said.

Tears fell as she ran to him. He held her close as she pressed herself against his chest. He locked her in a fierce embrace. "We will survive this," he whispered.

~V~V~

Meanwhile, upstairs, Morgan was roaming the halls. He was headed toward Samantha's bedchamber. He stood over her still form, watching her as she slept. She was simply exquisite. He wanted her so much as he gazed at her with desire. Samantha didn't stir, not until she felt his hot breath as it moved across her cheek.

"Morgan," she said softly. "What are you doing? Why are you in my bedchamber?"

"Bramwell took the woman I was to marry," he stated as he lifted her into his arms. "He ruined my bride-to-be, so I am taking you, his sister."

Samantha fought him desperately; with all of her strength, but Morgan was possessed by the spirit of Brutus Collins. It gave him supernatural abilities. She was powerless as he carried her down the steps and out of Collinwood. She was screaming loudly as he whisked her away into the night.