395 - December 29, 1967

[bunniefuu]

[Elizabeth narrating] - A séance has been held in the great house of Collinwood.

A séance which is suspended time and space

and sent one girl on an uncertain

and frightening journey into the past,

back to the year .

There, each of Collins ancestors

resembles a present-day member of the Collins family

but the names and relationships have changed,

and Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger

in a sea of familiar faces.

Even in those times,

an atmosphere of terror prevailed

in the great house of Widow's Hill

for there was one in the house who practiced

the black art of witchcraft

and who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

- You wanted to see me?

- Yes, Father.

I have made an important decision

and I think you should be the first to know about it.

- Well, speak up. What is it?

- Angelique and I are going to be married tonight.

- Tonight!

Have you taken a leave your senses?

- Well, I know that it doesn't please you.

- Doesn't please me?

You have a remarkable gift for understatement.

If you're going to marry this girl at all,

it is completely appalling to me

that you have the timidity to propose,

doing it tonight is absolutely disgusting!

- Father, we might as well get things settled now.

- It is already settled, Barnabas.

Either you marry this girl when I think the time is right

or you will not marry her at all.

♪♪

[eerie music] ♪♪

- It will do no good to walk out on me.

My mind is made up.

- I will thank you to remember who is master of this house!

- I am well aware of who the master is.

- Then kindly act accordingly!

- I am going to marry the girl tonight.

- In spite of the fact that I have strictly forbidden it?

- There is no good reason for you to forbid it.

- I will decide that.

Let's forget my wishes for the moment.

So, you are prepared to go back on your word.

- I know I agreed to wait through suitable period

of mourning for Jeremiah. - Precisely.

- But who is to say how long the period is? - I am.

- I'm sorry, father, but my instincts tell me

that you are trying to keep us from being married

as long as you can.

- I am a man of my word, Barnabas.

Reluctant as I was to agree to this marriage,

I will let you go through with it, in due time.

- No, I know you too well.

What you're doing is playing for time.

- Playing for time?

What on Earth does that expression mean?

- I mean, you do everything to undermine the marriage.

- That is absurd.

- Is it?

You've already tried to undermine it once.

- Who told you that?

- What difference does it make?

The point is that within an hour after you gave me your consent,

you called Angelique into your study

and tried to buy her off.

- I did that only for your good.

- Oh, so, it's all very well for you to go back on your word.

- I was only testing girl.

Testing her to see if she was sincere

or merely a cheap little fortune hunter.

- And what did you decide?

- The girl turned down $,.

I was willing to offer more

but it became all too clear

that she was more interested in you than in your money.

- That must have come to you as a great shock.

- We have wandered from the point, Barnabas.

Why is it suddenly so imperative

that you marry this little servant tonight?

- Because Angelique and I have decided

that we don't want to wait any longer.

- Is that all the reason you have?

- It's all I need. - Rubbish.

There will be no wedding ceremony

held in this house tonight.

- Then, it will be held somewhere else.

- I told you I forbid it!

Now, put it out of your mind

and be content to wait.

- Father, there is no way you can stop me now.

- You are my son

and you will do what I tell you to do.

- No, Father. This time it's my decision.

I would prefer to have your blessing

but I'm prepared to go on without it.

- If you proceed with this folly,

my blessing is not the only thing you will be lacking.

- What do you mean?

- It is true, I would be powerless to stop you,

but I warn you to think carefully before you proceed.

For the powers I do have are formidable, Barnabas,

and I am prepared to execute each and every one of them.

- What are you going to do?

- That depends entirely on you.

If you marry this girl tonight,

I will cut you off without a penny.

I will take away your property

and your share of the family business.

You will be written out of my will.

In short, you will no longer be a member of this family.

- I can't believe that you would do that to me.

- I can and I will.

- Just because I want to lead my own life.

- If you are willing to go through this marriage,

I don't consider you capable of leading your life.

Do you understand me?

Think about that, Barnabas.

- There is nothing more to think about, Father.

I will marry her tonight.

- Very well,

then you and the girl will leave my house by nightfall.

Do you understand?

- Father.

- I am no longer your father,

and you are longer my son.

♪♪

[birds chirping]

[knocking on door]

- I must speak to you at once. Can we go to my room?

- But I have so much to do here for my mistress.

Very well, then we will have to speak here.

- Is something wrong?

- Yes. I have some rather unpleasant news for you.

- Unpleasant?

- I just had an argument with my father.

He was furious when he found out about our plans.

- Well, you didn't expect to have his approval, did you?

- No, but neither did I expect him to do what he did.

- And what was that?

- Angelique, I've been disinherited.

If I marry you, I will have no money,

no property and no part of the family business.

I can give you nothing.

- Your father told you that? - Yes.

- But Barnabas, you're his only son.

I'm sure when he realizes --

- He will never change his mind.

I've never known my father to make a hollow threat.

- What do you want to do, Barnabas?

- I only want to be honest with you.

In light of what I've said

if you would rather not go through with the marriage,

then I'll understand.

- I did fall in love of what you owned

or what you would have owned.

I fell in love with you and rich or poor,

I will be proud to be your wife

if you will still have me.

- Very well then I want you to pack your bags.

We must leave this house as soon as possible.

My father has ordered us out of the house by nightfall.

- But where will we go?

- Well, I've saved a little money.

We'll stay at the inn until I find a job somewhere else,

perhaps in Boston.

- Boston?

You don't want to be somewhere near your family?

- No. If stay in Collinsport or somewhere nearby,

I would never be able to find a job.

My father would see to that.

- I will go with you.

Can he really be that cruel?

- My father is a very proud and unforgiving man.

The farther away we are,

the better that it will be for both of us.

I will go with you wherever you want

and I will make you very happy.

You will see.

Oh, madam, forgive me.

- I'm sorry.

I did not mean to eavesdrop.

I just came to get something.

I could not help overhearing what you said, Barnabas.

I'm sorry that your father was not more understanding.

- So am I.

- So, I'm losing the service and companionship,

my dear, Angelique.

- Yes, madam.

- You will have to leave the house tonight?

- Yes.

- Well, then, you better gather your things

together immediately.

- Oh, but there's so much I wanted to do -- - No, Angelique.

No.

I release you from many further obligations to me.

I hope you will be very happy.

- Thank you, madam.

- And I want you to know that I will miss you very much.

- I will miss you, too, Barnabas.

Do you think it was wrong for me to say that?

- No.

- Perhaps we should leave it at that then.

- Perhaps we should.

I hope that what you're doing is for the best

and I hope that in time you will forgive me

and think well of me again.

- Why did it have to happen like this?

- Barnabas, I think that I will be asking myself that question

the rest of my life.

It could have been so different.

What different it could have been?

Good and beautiful.

- Good bye, Josette.

- Good bye, Barnabas.

♪♪

- Barnabas.

- Oh, Mother.

I was just coming to find you.

Angelique and I are leaving. - I know.

I've just spoken with your father.

I think what he did was shocking.

- I hope you didn't tried to persuade him to change his mind.

- I did my best.

- You might have known

what a waste of time that might have been.

- I did know, but I did what I had to do.

- I know you would. Thank you for trying.

- Will you come into the drawing room?

There's something we must talk over before you leave.

- No, Mother, I think it's best that we just leave.

There's no point of staying here now.

It's almost dark now, and knowing Father,

well, he will wait until the sun sets

and then he will search the entire house

to see that we've left.

- Your father doesn't know it yet.

He is not going to have the last word in this matter.

I am. - What do you mean?

- Come in to the drawing room and I will tell you.

It will only take a minute.

- Very well.

- Do you want me to wait here?

- No, Angelique.

You'll soon to be a member of the family,

I want you to hear this, too.

Where are you planning to go when you leave here?

- We're going to stay at the inn for a few days.

- That won't be necessary.

You can live in the old house.

- Old house?

- Mother, that's impossible? - No, it isn't.

The deed is in my name.

I'm giving it to you as a wedding present.

- A wedding present?

Oh, Mrs. Collins, how can we ever thank you?

- Mother, I cannot allow you to do this.

- I already have.

You have the deed to the house. It's yours.

- No. I know what trouble this will mean for you

when Father finds out about it.

- The house is mine to do as I choose,

and I choose to give it to you.

- You know, he won't accept this when he finds out.

- Oh, he'll rage and he'll rant

but I've learned to live with that.

- I'm sorry, Mother.

I cannot let you be subjected to this.

- Then, I will have to put it on a different basis.

Will you accept house as a favor to me?

- A favor?

- I'm doing this for your father

as much as I'm doing it for you, Barnabas.

- I don't understand.

- Deep down inside he knows that what he did is wrong.

It may take some time for him to admit it but he will.

And if you are far away

and he can't find you to ask you for your forgiveness,

it will k*ll him.

Will you stay on as master of the old house?

- Yes.

For you, I will stay.

♪♪

- He is gone and he took the girl with him.

- Yes, I know.

I saw them before they left.

- I expect he won't be gone very long.

- Why do you think that?

- Where would he go? What will he do?

He won't be able to get a job in Collinsport.

No. He will realize the blunder that he's made

and he'll come crawling back home.

- You seem very sure of that.

- Well, of course, I'm sure.

He hasn't got any money to speak of,

and he is quite mistaken if he thinks he can stay on

at the inn on credit.

- He is not staying at the inn.

- Well, then if he is off in refuge by some friend,

their hospitality will cool

as soon as they learn that he has been disinherited.

- He is not staying with friends.

- How do you know that?

- Joshua, he and Angelique are living at the old house.

- The old house?

- Yes.

- Of all of the impudence.

Well, he is not going to get away with that.

- I'm afraid there's nothing that you can do about it.

- Well, he can be out of that house immediately.

If he refuses, I will have a constable remove him. - You can't --

- By force if necessary! - You can't do that.

- Don't tell me I can't, Naomi.

Are you insane?

If he is on my property,

I can have him arrested if I so choose.

- You seem to forget that the deed of that house

has always been in my name,

and I gave it to them this afternoon as a wedding gift.

- You gave the old house to Barnabas.

- Yes.

- You did it to spite me, didn't you?

- No.

I did it because he is our only son.

- He was our only son. - He is our only son.

- I want you to promise me that you will never see

or have anything to do with either of them again.

- I can't make a promise like that.

- I insist that you do,

and I warn you Naomi I expect to be obeyed.

[wind whistling]

- Will you be long?

- No more than an hour.

- Are you sure the minister will come with such short notice?

- Yes, he is an old friend of the family.

Now, are you sure you don't mind staying alone? - No.

- I could ask Ben to keep you company while I'm away.

- No. I will be all right.

Just hurry back.

- I will.

[clock chiming]

- What are you doing here?

Why did you suddenly materialize now

in front of me?

I did not summon you. You should not be here.

You cannot be here.

Listen to me.

I'm through with you.

Go back to your grave.

I have no further use for you.

Do you understand?

I banish you.

Return to your grave and rest in peace.

Listen to me.

I control you.

It is I who summoned you and only I can return you.

Now, go back!

Go back!

♪♪

[eerie music] ♪♪