384 - December 14, 1967

[bunniefuu]

[Abigail narrating] - A séance was held in a great house of Collinwood,

a séance which sent Victoria Winters back

on an uncertain and frightening journey to the past,

back to the Collins family who lived in the year ,

where she watches an off-read story in the family history

become a living nightmare.

- Papa, I had to see you.

- Oh, that is certainly an ominous sign

for such a young marriage.

- Please don't joke with me now.

- Well, to ask as old a young man as I to change

is impossible but, for you, I try.

What can I do for you?

- Oh, Angelique.

Thank you.

- Do you remember the servant, Ben?

This morning, he woke us up

and he brought a letter to Jeremiah from Barnabas.

Jeremiah read it and left.

- Uh-huh. Well, drink your coffee.

- Papa, they are going to fight today.

I thought last night it was over,

that perhaps Mr. Collins had--

- You're brother-in-law now,

you might as well call him Joshua. - Papa, please.

I thought perhaps, Mr. Collins had talked some sense into him.

You must stop him, Papa.

- And I told you that it was a matter of honor

that I could not interfere.

- But they loved each other.

They might as well had been brothers until I ruined it.

If one of them is hurt or...

I may be responsible.

Father, if you won't talk to them for their sake,

you must for mine.

I could not bury them.

- If one of them were k*lled?

Which one, Josette?

- I just don't want any more ill feeling between them.

- Well, you should have thought of that

before you married Jeremiah.

I'm sorry.

That was not necessary,

and I do not maintain be the greatest thinker of the world.

Actually, I have some irritation over knowing that not knowing

what happened in your mind when you left,

when you ran away.

However, that irritation doesn't stand in the way

of my loving you.

- You mean you will talk to Barnabas?

- As a token visit.

What's between them has to be settled.

- By blood?

- Yeah.

Men never truly solve their differences in any other way.

- Papa, you must go to him.

You must!

♪♪

[eerie music] ♪♪

- Barnabas, please, do not fight today.

- Has your mistress sent you?

- No.

- lI don't believe you.

- Once in this room, I told you that I loved you.

How easily you forget.

I should not care whether you are hurt or even k*lled,

but I do.

- You still believe in love.

- Why not?

I enjoy believing it.

Just as you enjoy your self-pity

and you must enjoy it,

or you would not be willing to fight a duel.

- I must!

- Yes.

You must do something.

- I will be - not sit here accepting this

hating to be with anybody because I know whoever it is

will be thinking, "poor Barnabas."

I will not be "poor Barnabas."

I won't even think of what's right or wrong.

I must move,

act.

I must do something.

- In Martinique, it would be so easy.

You would simply find another woman,

but we are not in Martinique.

- May I ask you a question and will you answer it honestly?

- I have never lied to you.

- Did you know she was going to marry Jeremiah?

- I suspected.

- Then, why didn't you come and tell me?

- Would you have believed me? - Yes.

- Oh, no.

You would have said I was a jealous woman

trying to make trouble between you and my mistress.

Oh, I thought about it.

- One night, she went to Jeremiah's room -- - I won't hear it.

- See your reaction now,

and what would it have been at that time?

- I'm sorry.

I think I suffered a common delusion

that I am capable of understanding everything,

of dealing with any problem. Well, I'm not.

- No.

If you were, you would not be fighting a duel.

Have you ever fought before?

- No.

- Have you ever seen a duel?

- No.

- Have you ever k*lled a man? - Of course not.

- And yet you are willing to today.

Do you think she will marry you if he dies?

- I know she would not.

- And yet, you would have her.

- Yes.

- I cannot stop the duel?

Will you do something for me?

I want you to wear this when you fight.

Now, you must.

It has always brought me luck.

I have never given it to anyone before.

It will keep you from harm! Take it!

Wear it.

- Thank you, Angelique.

[knocking on door]

Who is it?

- André.

What are you doing here?

- Oh, returning a book that Mr. Collins

left in my mistress's room.

- Go to your mistress at once. She needs you.

Oh, Barnabas, what's to say?

- If you don't know, say nothing.

- Well, my natural inclination is to follow your advice,

but being a father sometimes stops me

from following my inclination.

This duel of course is ridiculous.

- Mr. duPrés, there is no point in discussing the duel with me.

- I'm glad you say that.

I shall never mention it again.

No, we must move on to other things.

Yesterday, you loved my daughter.

- Don't ask me how I feel today.

- Ah, I have more tact.

But if you loved her,

some small part of her wishes happiness for her.

- How can you say that?

- Because it's true.

- She's ruined my life.

- Ah, bitterness leaves such angry stains, remorse.

- I will deal with that, too.

- Even if the remorse comes from one fact,

that to save some pride you destroyed her life.

♪♪

- I can't talk to you if you deny there's going to be a duel.

Jeremiah!

I followed you this morning.

I saw you go to your g*n cabinet and take out the pistols.

Jeremiah, I know!

- Then, you don't need to hear it from me.

- But you must not do it.

- I have no choice.

- But you have, if you go to Barnabas.

- When I see Barnabas, I must have a g*n in my hand.

- No.

- He has asked for satisfaction.

- Oh, Jeremiah.

I know the rules and I don't care about them.

I care about people.

Rules can be broken,

but a man cannot be brought back to life.

- We have broken too many rules now.

I cannot break this one.

- But you must!

What would happen to you if - if you k*ll Barnabas?

- I would know he was trying to k*ll me.

- Would that make your suffering any easier?

We're talking about Barnabas.

You talk about him as if he is a stranger.

- I know it is Barnabas.

We grew up as brothers.

We shared our lives.

- Until I appeared.

- You mustn't blame yourself, Josette.

I begged you to come away with me.

I wouldn't let you alone.

- And yet, we didn't really love each other.

Don't deny it, Jeremiah.

There are moments we shared a kind of madness

but it wasn't really love.

We don't really know each other.

- You still love him.

- If I did, I wouldn't even admit that to myself.

- If I live, we will have a good live together

as good as I can make it.

- If you will live?

- If I die, you will be free.

- No.

I will never be free.

Jeremiah, no one must die.

If you won't go to Barnabas, I will.

- I will not go nor will you. - I will!

- You are my wife. You will obey my orders.

- He might listen to me.

- And think me a coward for sending you.

No, Josette.

You must stay out of this.

- But how could I stay out of something that I started?

- We ran away without considering the cost.

We both knew without thinking that

eventually we would have to pay.

The payment is simply due sooner than we - expected.

- You want him to k*ll you.

- Perhaps that is the cost.

- You want to die?

- It is not what I want.

- It is what Barnabas wants.

- Um... I'm sorry.

- Oh, Papa.

- Barnabas wishes to see you, Jeremiah.

- You had interfered, sir.

- I am her father.

I've not lost interest in her happiness

because she is your wife.

- I will not see him. - You must.

- What can we say to each other?

Can I turn back our friendship?

- No.

But you can settle this so you both can live

without each other's friendship.

- Jeremiah, you must go to him.

- You owe him an explanation. - There is none to give.

- Perhaps ou go to him and tell him. - No.

- Make him understand.

- It is useless.

- Jeremiah, if you must be punished,

so must I.

Let our punishment be our life, not your death.

♪♪

[knocking on door]

- Come in.

I'm glad you came.

- I'm glad you asked me to come.

No.

That isn't true, is it?

You're not glad I came and I'm not glad I'm here.

- Well, after all these years,

we have nothing to talk about, do we?

- Nothing we can talk about safely, no.

- Why did you let him talk you into seeing me?

What did you want me to say?

That I'm sorry?

- How sad if you are.

- I am sorry.

I am.

- Then I have reason to hate you.

Because, if you do not love her,

you ruined all our lives for nothing.

- Don't you think I would have avoided it if I could?

- It should have been easy!

You knew she was mine!

- She came to me.

- I don't believe you.

- No, of course, you don't.

I should have gone away.

I tried when I realized what was happening.

- Why didn't you come to me then?

- Because... because it was so illogical,

so mad.

It was as if we were under a spell.

- You know yourself better than that.

- No, it's true. It's true.

There was no sense to it. No sense in it.

- Father told you to say that.

- No one told me to say anything.

- You'll be talking about witchcraft next,

anything to stop yourself from admitting the truth.

- What is the truth, Barnabas?

You tell me then.

- That you wanted her the first time you saw her,

but you went behind my back,

but you didn't care what happened to me. - I did.

- But somehow you made her love you,

that you took every advantage of her. - I couldn't help myself.

- Knowing what would happen,

knowing the trouble you would cause. - Yes, yes.

- You must have hated me all your life.

- Oh no.

No, I --

I don't know how I feel about anyone anymore.

I only know that Josette and I had to be together.

- So, you would do it again.

- If it happened as it did, I would have no choice.

- Then I have none either.

♪♪

- Jeremiah?

Where have you been?

- They have gone.

- Who? What are you talking about?

- Barnabas and your husband.

- Why? What's happened?

- My lady, they have taken the pistols and gone. - No.

- There's going to be a duel.

- No.

- Oh, madam.

Oh, madam, here.

The rose water will wake you.

The rose water will make you better.

Oh, madam, you must stop them before it's too late.

You must go and stop the duel.

Wake.

- What?

Jeremiah? Jeremiah?

- Oh, madam.

- What?

- You fainted. - What?

- The rose water brought you back to consciousness.

Here, you must rest.

- No.

I must go to them.

- But you can't.

- He will k*ll him.

He will k*ll him!

♪♪

- Ten paces and turn,

count to three.

- Then fire.

- Is that understood?

- Yes.

- Are you ready?

- You must believe that in all these years,

I never lied to you until this

and that lie made me a stranger even to myself.

- Then, I will fight a stranger and not the man you were.

Now, let us get it over with.

- I am ready.

- Turn.

One,

two,

three --

- Barnabas!

Jeremiah! Stop!

[g*n shots]

No! No!

Angelique, run quickly, get help.

Oh, Jeremiah, my darling.

Jeremiah, please.

You monster!

You mad man!

You're so full of pride

you couldn't stand to see us happy.

What you have done?

What?

You k*lled him.

You k*lled the only man I ever loved.

Don't you come any closer.

I will take care of him.

He is my husband and my life.

Why couldn't you accept that?

Why couldn't you let him be my life?

- I must help him. - No!

- He will die. - Don't you touch him.

- He will die without help.

- And you would have k*lled him.

♪♪

♪♪

[eerie music] ♪♪