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| Arabella sets a trap for Carolyn |
The wind is a powerful force that carries with it the sounds of everything it touches. The sounds of the rustling trees, the sound of the sea waves crashing against black rocks, the sounds of seagulls calling out to their friends from across a blank sky of gray. The wind, is itself listening, collecting tiny little secrets from nature and bringing it to our ears.
Secrets, you see, flow like the wind.
At the Blue Whale pub, secrets not only flow like the wind, they flow like the beer: bubbly and cold ready for complete consumption. Inside, the loud ruckus of the music blared in the early evening hour just in time to welcome the men of the fishing fleets from across Frenchmen Bay in their plump dark sweaters that smelled of the salty sea.
Arabella Stoddard, the San Francisco socialite and Paul Stoddard's sister, walked in with her fur-coat covering her shoulders while her free hands clutched the peach purse at her waist. She looked around the busy pub, all eyes were on this beautiful stranger. The fishermen gazed at her like she was this glowing goddess, and Arabella couldn't be less amused. Her eyes were scanning the bar for someone else, not the rough-around-the-edges fishermen of Collinsport, Maine.
With her stiff upper lip and turned up nose frozen in snobbish attitude, Arabella spotted her date: A detective she had hired long before she arrived on the Maine shores just a week before. After a few seconds of pretending no one was staring at her, she saw a man in the furthest booth who waved her over.
It was a detective, Collinsport native: Beau Cielvert.
"Bella, so good to see you." Beau said as he stood up for Arabella once she approached his table. He was tall man of French-Creole background with a bright white smile. His hair cut very short to his scalp and eyes that seemed to look through her, his intense nature was a perfect attribute for his detective job.
"Thank you, likewise." Arabella replied as she kissed him once on each cheek. "I'd like to make small talk, but really would love to get down to what you know about my brother's disappearance and what, if anything, Elizabeth had to do with it." she added.
"So you don't want to know about Victoria Winters?" Beau replied.
"The governess, of course! When I heard Liz say her name I instantly thought about the name mentioned to me in your research connecting Liz to some Vicky...obviously something is going on there." Arabella asked confused Beau would bring her up.
"What'll ya have doll?" a random barmaid asked in a thick east-coast accent that no one could quite place.
"Sorry?" Arabella said straining to understand her.
"To drink, hon, whatdaya want?" The barmaid asked again.
"Just some wine. White." Arabella replied to the annoyed barmaid. "Go on Beau."
"The situation about Paul is still rather grey. We only know the last time he was seen in Collinsport." Beau explained.
"Almost 20 years ago, yes." Arabella replied confirming she remembered.
"Since then, there were no sightings of him, which could mean a lot of things. But the strange thing about it is, the way he left. No one can really say how...not by car, not by train. There's absolutely no trace of him after the last day he was seen, actually, right here in this bar." Beau explained further.
"Elizabeth said the last day she saw him they had some sort of fight." Arabella added.
"Right but a fight about money, that's what the police report says. The problem with that is that most of Paul's money is actually Elizabeth's money. Paul didn't have money."
"There's no use in slandering the Stoddard name, Beau, I know very well how much money our family has lost over the years." Arabella replied hinting at embarrassment over the lost fortunes of the Stoddard clan.
"He was gambling away Collins money." Beau said.
Aarabella rolled her eyes and smacked her tongue against her teeth in disgust. "Just like daddy." She said.
Arabella knew that the Stoddards weren't cash rich anymore, in fact she herself had married for money three times, and three times she was widowed and without children and gained all three of her former husbands fortunes, making her a very wealthy person. But her brother, her brother's crushed manhood by the fact that his wife's family were the bread-winners raised all sorts of questions around the posh inner-circles of New England society, mainly why on earth would Elizabeth Collins marry Paul Stoddard? Everyone knew Paul lived off of the backs of his wife's name and that bothered him his whole life, no matter how many times Arabella tried to make him swallow his male pride about it.
"If we're going in the direction that Paul left or disappeared over issues involving money, and that Elizabeth had him bumped off because of that, well that wouldn't make sense--again the money is all hers. It would probably be the reverse." Beau added.
"Well then, if Elizabeth isn't already the number one suspect then what did you wanted to tell me. What is all this about Victoria Winters? Where does she fit in?" Arabella asked.
Beau smirked.
"Like I said money wouldn't have been a motive for Paul to just suddenly vanish off the face of the earth but if he discovered a very dark secret that involved Elizabeth and she didn't like the fact he knew it...well, perhaps that would be it." Beau replied as the barmaid dropped off Arabella's wine.
"Enjoy doll." The barmaid quipped with a wink.
"Beau, I'm not paying you to have meetings with me in grubbing fishy bars to tell me about hypotheticals. What do you know?" Arabella demanded in frustrated reach for her wine.
Beau reached into a leather briefcase that sat on the seat in the booth next to him and pulled out a thick manila folder with papers inside. He opened the folder and laid it out like a book on the table for Arabella to see for herself.
It was a secretly voided out birth certificate of a baby girl named Victoria Collins born just three years before Carolyn.
"Mother: Elizabeth Collins, Father....unknown." Arabella read aloud. "Where did you get this?"
"I had it subpoenaed by court order from that foundling home by a friend of mine that works for the Southern District of New York. This was Victoria Winter's original birth certificate that her foundling home had on file for her. That place was given $45,000 to order a second one three days after Vicky arrived there as a baby, the second one removes the mother's information." Beau explained showing a second birth certificate with the word SURRENDER in the Mother and Father boxes. Then he pulled out a copy of cancelled check worth $45,000 marked with Elizabeth's signature.
Arabella's eyes lit up as soon as the smoking-gun in the form of a signed check fell to the table.
"This....this is it. My brother must of found out somehow that Liz had some bastard child running around New York and, well Jesus Christ, of course, if this baby is really Liz's." Arabella said connecting the dots. Then something dawned on her "Vicky older than Carolyn.... that means her share of the Collins fortune would be larger should Elizabeth die."
"How do you know that?" Beau asked.
"It's a blue-blood type of thing, the elder child always inherits more of the pie. Carolyn could be robbed blind of her rightful inheritance. Paul must of been furious when he found this out." Arabella guessed.
"Could be. But what's it to you? Why are you so worried about what Carolyn gets or doesn't get? Not that it matters, Elizabeth Stoddard seems pretty healthy to me." Beau added, still unsure how it all stacked up for Arabella.
"Physically perhaps, but Liz's lights aren't all one upstairs, if you know what I mean." Arabella said insulting Elizabeth's mental state.
"Again, I ask you" Beau said somewhat amused, "What's it to you?"
Beau could see the wheels in her mind starting to turn. Even though he had only known her since she hired him to uncover whatever it was she felt Elizabeth was hiding a month ago, he knew enough of her personality to realize that with everything attached to Arabella, even in small amounts, was enough for her to get involved.
"My brother meant a lot to me." She said with a smile. "And, Carolyn is his only child. I have to protect her."
"Protect her." Beau repeated. "She's not a minor. She can deal with this herself." He added.
Arabella knew this, but the artist of manipulation and coercion that she was, she knew that there were only a few steps between her and Carolyn's inheritance, two steps that she was not afraid to take.
"Don't you worry about the details, I'll take it from here." She replied slyly.
As the two continued to work over the twist in Paul's story involving Victoria, a regular face from town stepped into the Blue Whale ready for a light drink during happy hour after a long at work day: Roger Collins.
Roger's eyes, hungry for the appeal of a younger lady scanned the Whale but found no suitors. Bored with the whole idea, and no pretty ladies to chat up, he turned and began to make his way out, but then saw Arabella in the corner.
His curiosity peaked. He turned back and sat down at the bar.
"What'll ya have Mr. C? Same?" The bartender asked.
"Yes, please. Also, who's that man sitting over there with my sister-in-law?" He asked, trying his best to hide his face.
"Is that your sis in law? Small world 'ain it? The guy, I don't know. Came in to town about two weeks ago. He's been in and out, said he had some things to work on for someone. Before the pretty lady joined him just now I'd never seen them together." The bartender replied as he handed Roger his drink.
Roger, ever the eager and nosy man slapped a $5 bill on the bar, flung his coat over his suited arm and slowly made his way over to Arabella and Beau's table like a tiger stalking it's prey from deep behind long blades of Savannah grass. He carefully stepped through the crowd of bearded fishermen laughing and chatting through their sun tanned faces and finally bounded up to the table with a sip of his drink and a smart smirk on his face: the cat that caught the canary.
"Slumming it with the men of town, I see." Roger said.
"Roger, well, I see we're starting early." Arabella said referencing Roger's un-paced drinking.
"I work for a living Bella, this is my pay off. Who's this?" Roger shot back noting Arabella's riches were inherited.
"I was just leaving Mr. Collins." Beau said quickly sliding out of the booth.
"So you know my name but I don't know yours. Seems a bit unfair. Who are you?"
"Roger, just sit down and shut up. This is a friend of mine from San Francisco. He stopped over in Collinsport on his way to Boston." Arabella answered.
"Seems a bit out of the way to come all the way to Maine, but I digress." Roger said knowing full well it was a lie and just as Beau smiled nervously.
"I'll be in touch." Beau said, as his job was to never been seen by objects of his investigation, and Roger was clearly a marked too close for comfort.
"Alight, he's gone, you can be honest with me now, who was he?" Roger asked again.
"I already told you, a friend. That's all." Arabella said, shoving the papers Beau gave her into her purse under the table.
"You know it's not good to keep secrets with family, and although I tried to tell my sister that getting herself tangled up with anyone with the last name Stoddard was a mistake, we are family none the less. That being said, I often have strange feelings about you Arabella, and this just adds to the pot." Roger shot back, unforgiving of Arabella's dismissive behavior.
"You've always had strange feelings about me? Well a crush is nothing to call strange." Arabella smirked.
"Oh Please!" he growled.
"Oh Roggie, we were so, so close once." Arabella said, her eyes twinkling in the dim light of the bar, a quick reference to a drunken one-night-stand they had when they were much younger.
"Ugh...we were both a mess. You know it. I know it. It meant nothing." Roger gagged. "Listen, I don't appreciate you coming to town and causing any more stress on my sister's life. She's dealt with it enough coming from your brother and I can already see just how must dust you're attempting to blow with Carolyn as well, whatever web you've woven, be sure you that anything you trap in it stays dead, because if anything comes up and I find out about it, you'll wish you never stepped foot in Collinsport." Roger warned.
"So feisty. I like it." Arabella grinned as she sipped her white wine.
Roger scoffed and gathered his things. He felt his warning was clear enough. He got up at the table and looked down at Arabella still sending him a sultry smile, he downed his drink and dropped the glass on the table in front of her in a thunk and bounded out of the bar to his awaiting driver outside.
Arabella's flirtatious grin quickly diminished, of course it was all a rouse to throw off Roger's poking around. He saw her now with Beau and this would mean he would stop at nothing to figure out who he really was--- a private detective-- & Arabella's connection to a private detective would not go over well at Collinwood.
Arabella sipped the last of her white wine and carefully pulled out the papers on Vicky's true family from her bag and read them over again.
"They won't get away with this, Paul. None of them. I'll make sure every last Collins gets their dues. But first---nosy Roger."
****
After late afternoon lessons of math and geography ended, India, in Victoria's body, took David on a walk through town to not only clear his mind, but hers as well. She was often distracted in their times together. Her mind never fully integrated in the lesson of the day. David would remark on how distant she was, how strange and preoccupied she seemed to be when chatting with him about their school work over the last few days. This walk, usually helped clear her mind of the things that were happening to her.
As the late afternoon overcast sky crept over the small village of Collinsport, "Vicky" and David, hand in hand, began to make their way back to the car India borrowed from Elizabeth when she noticed the car she rode in when she first arrived to down in the middle of the night. It was parked over in the parking lot across form her at the Inn's cafe: Justin Patterson's car.
"David, come!" India said pulling his hand over to cross the street.
"Why are we going in there?" He said to his future daughter inside the body of Vicky Winters.
India didn't answer, she only lugged David over and into the busy Cafe. She scanned the room for Justin and saw him sitting at a table with his father, Sheriff George Patterson. Maggie Evans, carrying a large tray for hamburgs and fries for patrons saw Vicky's tall beautiful body standing in the doorway with David and instantly called out to them.
"Early dinner for two? Sit any where! I'll be right with you!"
Maggie's attention to the new guests caused the others already at their tables to glance over at the beautiful brunette and David, who they all knew was the youngest member of the strange family from Widow's Hill. Justin looked up too but not realizing India was Vicky, gazed back down at his meal.
"I don't know if I'm hungry." David said pouting as they sat at a table and he opened a sticky diner menu.
"Get whatever you want, Mrs. Johnson is off today." India replied, trying to figure out how to get Justin's attention and to tell him she was really India.
"Anything? Even a banana split for dinner?" David joked.
"Sure...whatever you want I don't care." India replied as David's 10 year old eyes turned into huge happy balls of hazel colored happiness.
"Winters right? I remember you, I called you a weirdo or a jerk or something. I wanna apologize for that." Maggie said as she tucked her tray under arm.
"What?" India replied, not having any of Vicky's memories.
"The other day, when you got to town. Remember? We met." Maggie said surprised how quickly the woman she believed was Victoria had forgotten her. "Well, I guess a few days up on Widow's Hill in the Collins' presence you forget the little people in town. Maybe I was right, maybe you are a jerk."
"Oh! Yes, of course, I'm sorry. I've been a little off lately. Don't even think twice about what you said, let's pretend I forgot." India replied truthfully in Vicky's voice, clearly trying to calm the waters with someone she thought could be an ally.
Maggie smiled a toothy grin feeling her apology was accepted and took David's order and waited for India who wanted nothing only a quick moment with Justin who she hoped could help her get to Julia Hoffman.
As India ran various scenarios on how to talk to Justin, she looked over and saw his father wipe his mouth and quickly get up from his meal and patted Justin on the shoulder and rushed out of the cafe. Justin was now alone, this was now India's moment.
India took a deep breath and told David not to move an inch and to eat his banana split quietly once Maggie brought it over. She gulped a breath of air nervously and walked over to Justin who was just finishing up with a quick drink of coffee.
"Excuse me, can I sit for a second." India said in Vicky's soft voice.
Justin, unsure of who she was but guessed correctly that she was the new governess since he recognized David smiled and welcomed her to sit.
"What can I do for you?" He asked with a handsome and polite smile.
"Do you remember meeting...." India began before being interrupted by Maggie.
"All set?" the waitress asked, trying to overhear what Justin and Vicky could be talking about.
"All set." Justin said, confused because this was the second time Maggie had asked. It was clear to him that Maggie was fishing for gossip.
Maggie smiled and walked over to David and gave him his banana split. India continued.
"A few days ago, you met someone over by Collinwood. A young lady. Do you remember?" India said keeping her voice down.
Justin looked at Vicky in shock, no one had remembered India, only him. This governess, this woman with dark hair and beautiful eyes suddenly shook his little world by having this memory too, only the truth was SHE was the girl he met just trapped in another person's body.
Equally as cautious with his words, Justin replied that he did remember her.
"What do you know about her? Where did she go? What did the Collins family do to her? She just vanished and no one seems to remember her. Not even Maggie, and Maggie remembers everyone."
"I don't know how this is going to sound or if you'll even believe me, but.....I am her. She is me. Somehow...I ....I just all of a sudden left your car and came into this body. Justin I'm trapped inside this woman." India explained to a confused and somewhat frightened Justin but his fear quickly turned to upeset.
"That's not funny. I don't know what you heard about me, but playing a trick on me isn't very---" he began before interrupted.
"No, I promise you I'm not trying to trick you. Please believe me, you could be my only hope." She replied.
"Did India put you up to this? This is all some sort of weird joke you're both playing on me. What the fu....no, listen I don't need this kind of....whatever you're trying I won't fall for it ok? I'm not crazy and neither of you are going to make me crazy!" Just explained raising his voice slightly as Vicky tried to calm him and not make a scene.
"I know it sounds like it's a lie, but I swear to you Justin. I swear with everything I have, which right now is nothing, that night as you and I drove to Bangor to find Julia Hoffman the light of that lighthouse did something to me. It transferred me into Vicky's body and now I'm here: trapped. Justin, I still have to get to Julia, I have to find out what this all means. There must be a reason, and only she can help me find the man who can turn this around. The man this ring belongs to." India said pulling the necklace with Barnabas' ring out of her blouse and showing it to Justin.
"The boyfriend ring." Justin said in shock, remembering the joke he teased India with right before she vanished from his car by the power of the lighthouse's light and mostly, the power from Barnabas' ring.
"You remember the ring?!" India exclaimed.
"Yes, India was wearing it just like you are now." Justin replied.
"Justin, please, help me. I swear to you, I am India. You were going to help me get to Bangor to find Julia, please can you still get me there? Can you still help me find Julia?" India said sounding desperate. "Only she knows the secret that can help me find the person this ring belongs to and only he can change things back." She added.
Justin looked deep into Vicky's eyes, he believed her. He believed Vicky, or India, was really trapped in a different body. It was the only way he could reconcile why she vanished, no matter how preposterous it all sounded. He believed it was true. The two women were trapped together, linked, by Barnabas for one mysterious reason or another and they would not be separated unless he was found and India believed that his secret whereabouts would only be revealed by Julia Hoffman. The link between past and present was too strong not to be a true.
"You really think this Julia will know what to do to help you?" Justin asked.
"There's some sort of secret I haven't figured out yet, and it's the reason he's done this. Something about this connection to this place and time, this Collins secret is why I'm here. Julia is the closest person to him. I do think she can help.
Maggie wasn't the only person trying to listen to the conversation. A second pair of ears had walked up without them noticing and heard half of the thing, but much more successfully than the waitress Maggie.
It was David.
"Collins secret? What secret?" He asked with chocolate staining his cheek.
India gasped, surprised to see her future father standing in front of her. She cleaned his face and told him to go back to their table.
"Fine, but I know a lot of secrets about our family. I guess I'll keep them to myself." David said with a grin.
This sparked Justin and India's attention, India grabbed David's arm and pulled him back to the table.
"Ok. Ok. What do you know? Tell us everything." India said looking deep into her future father's eyes with both her hands on his shoulders.
"Well, whatever you want to know you'll find it at the Collins family mausoleum." David said to a surprised India and Justin.
"A mausoleum???" Justin replied horrified by the suggestion. "A cemetery?"
"Yes!" David exclaimed. "It's the family's most sacred place where there are things buried deep in the walls to keep safe. Like documents, and jewels, and treasure maps. At least that's what I've always heard." David said smirking.
"What kind of documents?" Justin wondered.
"Secret love letters. Maps to treasures. All kinds of stuff. I've been there twice myself but I never had anything with me to break down the cement walls. You know, they say the Jewels that are buried there are pirate jewels." The boy replied excitedly.
"David, go on back to the table, I'll be right over." India said as David complied.
"I don't know about this." Justin told India now that they were alone. "This all seems to be just folk stories the Collins family have lived off of for years."
"But he mentioned documents. What if there really are documents there that can help us find where Barnabas is? No one here seems to know, at least they don't seem eager to talk about it, but if there is a document, a paper trail, explaining where he is, where he's been, that could help us a lot." India replied.
Justin looked at Vicky's face but only saw the equally as beautiful India. It was as if he was actually hearing her voice come out of Vicky's mouth instead of the other way around. There was something about this woman, this India do Arco, that was grabbing at his heart. He was suddenly realizing he would do anything for her. Even break down whatever walls necessary to find this Barnabas person. Even walls in an old mausoleum.
"What about Julia?" Justin asked.
"We'll figure that part out later. Barnabas first." India said switching course.
"Let's do it." He said grabbing her hand and squeezing.
India smiled Vicky's smile, and said she'd make plans with him as soon as she could get a minute away from Collinwood that evening. Justin agreed said he'd be up there within 5 minutes of her call. Together they'd find Barnabas one way or another and hopefully fix everything that had done.
As India, in Vicky's body, and David left the Inn's cafe, Maggie walked over to her friend Justin and shook her head in disbelief.
"What? What now?" Justin said, pulling out cash to pay for his part of the meal.
"I can't believe you're getting involved with someone else up at Collinwood." Maggie replied.
"This isn't the same as Carolyn. Ind---Uh--Vicky--and I are just friends. And She needs me to help her." Justin explained after catching himself almost use the wrong name.
"Help her how?" Maggie asked suspiciously.
"With David. She wants to help him learn some sports to keep him active and she doesn't feel like she can do it, she needs me to help." Justin lied.
"And how did she even know to ask you?" Maggie asked again suspiciously.
Justin had to think fast and connected the dots and replied with his ex-girlfriend's name.
"Carolyn recommended me and David recognized me so Vicky came over to ask. Easy as that. Anyway, thanks Mags, I gotta go." Justin said lying as he quickly left the Cafe to await India's call.
Maggie crossed her arms and shook her head. She knew it, deep in her blood that Justin was way in over his head, but she had no idea just how much.
****
Arriving at Collinwood India quickly ushered David inside away from the cold wind that was rushing over the Collinwood grounds like a river of ice cold air. She hung both of their heavy wool coats up on the coat hanger by the door as David ran into the drawing room. India knew time was of the essence, if she wanted to get back to her time, she needed to find and release Barnabas from his cold crypt -- it was his plan. It had to be.
As India slowly made her way through the foyer she came across Barnabas' 18th century portrait hanging on the wall just off to the side of the main door. She could she Vicky's reflection staring back at her in the darkest parts of Barnabas' portrait. It was Vicky's face she had on. It was Vicky's body she was in. It was Vicky's world she was plunged into and Vicky's destiny that she was somehow mixed with but it was India's mind. It was India's entire future at stake if she did not find the man in this portrait and free herself from the impending doom of a life inside of Vicky's body in 1966.
India closed her eyes---Vicky's eyes---and said a silent little prayer. She had no idea what she would find in that crypt, she had no idea if David even knew what he was talking about but she had to trust it, she had to trust what the universe was handing her. The information David gave her at the Cafe had to be real, it had to be accurate and it had to be what she used to begin her journey home.
After her prayer, India turned to go into the drawing after David, and as she did, Carolyn was standing directly behind her with her arms crossed and a cold look in her eyes.
"Carolyn!" India said in Vicky's voice, surprised to see her so close.
"Vicky." Carolyn replied still seeming cross with India for some reason.
"Where's David? It's time he wash up and get ready for dinner." India replied.
"Dinner? Eat again? David just told me you're both coming from the Cafe in town. Didn't you eat?" Carolyn replied, the tone of her voice saying she was fishing for answers.
"We did, that's right." India replied feeling as if she were going to get the third degree from Carolyn.
"David also mentioned you ran into Justin Patterson. How do you know him?" Carolyn questioned.
"We met when I came to town. The first night." India replied with a sort of half truth. India did meet him the first night, but Justin met her as India not Vicky. The complication of who's body was who's wasn't the issue at the moment, the issue now was why was Carolyn so cross.
"I know that you're new to town, Vicky, I know that you have a lot on your plate with this family and dealing with my cousin who at his best can be a little monster, at worst, well---I'd let his father describe that. My cousin, when in your care, for which you are being paid, should not be used to lure men into your good graces. That certainly is not why my mother hired you. I can't imagine what lesson you were teaching him while you were....well doing whatever you were doing with Justin. Who, by the way, I hear is seeing a girl named India." Carolyn said, the jealousy seeping from her voice like a leaky sieve and not knowing she was talking to India herself.
"David and I had a day out and ran into Justin, nothing more. I didn't try to lure him into anything. And I didn't use David for that either. I would never do that." India replied appalled at Carolyn's notion.
David peeked from around the corner of the drawing room's great oak doors with wooden squares carved into them. His fingers gripped the door frame so tightly his 10 year old finger nails were turning white; it was as if he were holding on for dear life.
"David, come here, what did you tell Carolyn?" India asked, catching David in the corner of her eye.
David did not move.
"Leave him alone! He's just a boy who told me what you did this afternoon. Listen Vicky, I don't know how they act down in New York City, but you have one job to do here, and that's to help with my cousin and to do what my mother asks of you. In fact, you're the highest paid governess we've ever had here. So my advice is for you to leave Justin Patterson alone." Carolyn scolded.
"Justin and I are just friends, Carolyn. That's it. But from the sense of this conversation this seems to be more about Justin and myself than it is about David. If there is something between you and Justin, trust me, I have no intention of being the person that comes between it." India informed.
"They're not together anymore." David said from his not-so-good hiding place in the door way.
"David!! Go upstairs!" Carolyn scratched as David rushed passed the two dueling divas in the foyer.
"I see." India said, turning towards the front door and being faced with Barnabas' portrait again, seeing Vicky's reflection one again in the black parts of the picture.
"Ok. I admit it. Perhaps I was a bit jealous. Justin and I were ....well, we were steady for a good two years and just recently he broke it off and I've had a hard time dealing with it. But I'm warning you about him, Vicky, he's a heart-breaker." Carolyn replied, her voice now calmer but still the reason for the break-up hidden behind a veil of secrets.
India didn't care about what Carolyn's love troubles. She only wanted to get home. She only wanted Justin's help to get to Barnabas and release him so that he could finally set her free and back to 2019. The entire melodrama of Carolyn's love live was just another layer to the whole bizarre story. But India knew she had to play along, the time warp wasn't allowing for her to confess that she was really India from 2019 and not Vicky from 1966.
India knew, if she tried to fight the course and events of what was happening to her right there and right then, she could alter the future. The break in thread in time could be catastrophic. India took a deep breath, filled Vicky's lungs with fresh air and bit down on the proverbial bullet.
"You're probably right. I don't want anything to do with Justin, but perhaps he was trying with me. Trust me Carolyn, there will be nothing with Justin. Nothing at all." India replied to Carolyn who at face value pretended to believe her new family governess.
"Alright." Carolyn said with a lifted brow as India flashed Vicky's megawatt smile and rushed up the main staircase after David.
In the foyer, Carolyn rolled her eyes at her own behavior and at her own rude way of handling something that technically she shouldn't have been worried about. She felt awful with how her jealousy of Vicky came off, it wasn't Vicky's fault. None of it was. But inside, Carolyn could not control what she felt for Justin and how she was dealing with what really happened between them.
All of Carolyn's relationships ended this way, whether it were with Justin or Joe or...any of them. Carolyn couldn't connect. She couldn't let go of her own hangups that caused her to constantly be cold and distant to the men she loved and when they moved on to someone new, Carolyn jealousy peaked. It was a cycle she repeated over and over again.
The truth was simple: Two years ago Carolyn came between two friends. Her boyfriend at the time Justin and the man she would cheat on him with Joe Haskell. She felt so much guilt inside for coming between two friends like Justin and Joe, and the truth was because of her deceit and her lies to keep her secret cheating under wraps, she eventually lost them both. Carolyn's life was in such tatters that she would lash out at anyone who threatened her, but there was another serpent who was willing to play off of this pain, her aunt Arabella Stoddard who had been listening to the argument from a side door that lead to the dining room the whole time.
"Darling." Arabella said softly with a face that showed she heard the whole thing and slowing making her way from the shadowy corner of the room where the dining room door was.
"Aunt Bella!" Carolyn said, noticing Arabella had heard it all. "Where you eavesdropping?"
"I'm sorry honey, I heard people chatting and I wanted to come and visit with you all too but I had no idea what I was walking in on, I didn't mean to." Arabella said lying, she loved every minute of it. "But It's good that I did."
"Why's that?" Carolyn questioned.
"You know that I've been working hard on trying to find out what happened to your father, and I've come here for that specific reason. Well, in the hopes to discover what happened to him, I've discovered something else." Arabella began.
"I don't understand." Carolyn replied as the two made their way into the dimly lit drawing room where a fire cast an orange glow around the entire wood paneled room.
"I think you should sit down." Arabella instructed.
"You're scaring me Aunt Bella, what is it?"
Arabella pulled out a small envelope that she had folded the paperwork Beau had given her about Vicky's connection to the Collins family. Arabella then handed it to Carolyn and lifted the lip of the envelope up so that the papers were exposed. Carolyn looked at Arabella confused and pulled out the paperwork.
"I hired a private detective named Beau Cielvert," Arabella began, Carolyn knew the name well. "he was supposed to help me uncover what happened to Paul. Your mother hasn't been very helpful in discussing his whereabouts and I, for the life of me, can't figure her out. I hope you're not hurt that I did this, but I needed to find out what happened to my brother--your father." Arabella explained.
"No, of course not, I understand and actually I'm very grateful to you for doing this. My mother hasn't been herself in years. She's barley even left this house. I can't get a straight word about daddy's vanishing or anything. Even Uncle Roger can't figure it out. Are these papers information about where daddy is?" Carolyn asked.
"No, honey." Arabella said, her face forcing a sad reaction but in truth Arabella was thrilled of the secret she uncovered.
"What is it?" Carolyn began to unfold the paperwork without another word from Arabella who let the secret reveal itself to the one ally she truly needed.
The truth of Vicky being Elizabeth's daughter, and thus Carolyn's half sister slowly began to seep into Carolyn's mind as she read what Arabella had discovered. Dots were being connected and Carolyn's eyes began to well up in tears.
"This can't be true." Carolyn said in a hushed voice over the crackling fire as she tossed the papers to on the soft green sofa.
"I'm afraid it is, darling. But this is where we can take things back. This is where you and I step in and make sure that the truth is told and that the people involved in this....this...horrible cover up and lie are exposed. This is an attempt to take what's yours darling!" Arabella explained.
"To take what's mine? What are you talking about?" Carolyn questioned as she wiped a tear from her perfect face.
"Victoria is older than you darling and she is Elizabeth's daughter. That means the lion's share of your mother's trust of the Collins fortune will go to her once your mother dies. Why do you think Vicky is here? It's not because she wants to be some governess to a strange child in a mansion, not at all, she wants her money. Don't you see? Your mother is trying to cut you out. She's pushing her hatred of my brother on to you and choosing her bastard daughter instead to be her heiress! We cannot let this stand. You are a Collins AND a Stoddard! This family's name will go on through your blood too, Victoria---well who the hell knows what kind of man her father was. Clearly someone that your mother couldn't bare bringing a child into this world and raising. She had to push her away... but she wants her back into this fold, into this world. Vicky's appearance is no coincidence my love, your future is in jeopardy." Arabella explained, her whole motivation now switching from finding Paul Stoddard to saving Carolyn's future as the heiress of Elizabeth's half of the Collin's fortune.
"I just --- I can't believe this. I can't. How could my mother do this to me? Why would she do this to me? Why would she try to ....this can't be true Aunt Bella. My mother wouldn't do that. She wouldn't blame me for my father's mistakes and disinherit me by bringing her other child into her life. She just wouldn't do that!" Carolyn said standing up as it if to remove herself from the ick of the conversation.
"She already has. Why would she specially choose Victoria to come here for David and not tell anyone she's her daughter. She's doing it under wraps. I believe that. And you must too, if you don't my darling, I can tell you you'll be out of so much more than you know once Elizabeth has passed." Arabella warned.
Carolyn wasn't sure what was happening. She couldn't even imagine this being true but Arabella did have good points. It was all happening so fast, and the information that she read was so real and so much, but then, Carolyn's jealousy the twitch in her brain that made her want nothing but to scratch out Vicky's eyes for even being in the same room as Justin Patterson suddenly reared it's head and spoke.
"What do we do?" Carolyn asked to Arabella's delight.
"We have to eliminate her. There's no other way."
"Eliminate?" Carolyn asked, unsure exactly of the meaning.
"She has to die, love. Its really the only way out. If she lives, gets married, has a child, that's it. The money, the life--everything. Everything that that is rightfully yours will be gone into her pockets and to whatever spawn she gives birth to too. It's all for Vicky if that happens. We can't let it. We have to get rid of her. I can take care of it all, you don't have to worry. I just want your blessing." Arabella explained, knowing that eventually Carolyn would be in her debt.
Carolyn turned from her scheming aunt and crossed her arms. She stared off into the burning fire of the hearth and felt an emotion she could not explain if someone had asked her what it was. It was overcoming her like the fire she was staring at, it was rage but with a bit of fear and terror. She could feel an aching in the pit of her stomach, a sign of regret perhaps, but it was too late. She was mentally unable to divorce herself from what was about to happen next. Carolyn agreed to allow Arabella to have Vicky killed and free her of what Vicky could lord over her.
The trap was set. Arabella grinned from ear to ear knowing what would come next. The death of Vicky and a payment from Carolyn to keep her silence. But one set at a time.
As Arabella stepped close to Carolyn and embraced her tightly a loud bang came from the foyer that startled the two Stoddard women in their hug. They rushed into the foyer to find Barnabas' portrait had fallen to the ground.
Where ever he was....he was not pleased at the threat to his own plan Arabella had placed. Now more than ever, Barnabas had to be set free. His plan was in jeopardy and only India, in Vicky's body could save him.
Vicky's Life was at steak and Arabella's plotting was unknowingly putting Barnabas' plans to fix all his wrongs at risk, and thus putting all the lives at Collinwood in danger.
