Barnabas stares out the window at a storm when Vicki comes downstairs. She's come looking for Sarah's sewing box. She says they were planning to go into town, but will skip it because of the weather. He apologizes for being distracted, and says he's concerned about his fiancée, who is more than a week overdue. Vicki assures him that she'll arrive safely. He asks if she can see the future, and while she denies it, he believes she must be psychic. She says she wouldn't tell him the future, even if she could.
He asks her when Josette's boat will dock. Joshua interrupts them to say that he hired her to manage his daughter. She goes to attend to Sarah, and Joshua asks why Barnabas isn't at the shipyards. He explains that he felt it best to stay at the house. Joshua suggests that a woman is not important. There's a knock at the door, and Barnabas opens it to find Angelique.
He introduces her to Joshua as the Countess duPrés' maid. She explains that their carriage is stuck, and Joshua dispatches Barnabas to the carriage house with Angelique to collect her.
Joshua finds Naomi sitting with a cup of sherry. He takes it and pours it back into the bottle. He complains about how the house is run. He couldn't find a cook or maid anywhere.
Naomi asks what he wants, and he tells her to watch her tone. He explains they have guests—Josette's aunt and maid. Naomi gets up to take care of preparations as a carriage is heard outside.
The Countess says she cannot arrive before her niece, with no one there to greet her. Barnabas welcomes her as she wanders through the house, waving the feathers from her hat in his face as she dismisses the house and its furnishings. He explains that the house will be a wedding gift from his parents, who will move to the new house upon its completion. The Countess is unimpressed. He offers to show them their rooms, and explains that Josette will be happy there.
His parents enter, and he introduces them to the Countess. She complains about her travels and her stay in New York. Joshua explains that he enjoys New York when he visits on business. Naomi offers to take the Countess to her room. Joshua tells Barnabas he'll be in his study and is not to be disturbed. He tells Barnabas to go to the yards and attend to the work to be done.
Joshua tells Naomi the Countess is snobby. He says if Josette is anything like her aunt, he'll cancel the wedding. She says the wedding is Barnabas' business. He corrects her, saying that it is his business, and he's looking forward to the exclusive business with Josette's father, who is the largest producer of sugarcane on the islands.
The Countess and Barnabas sit at a table with Tarot cards laid out before them. Barnabas says she is too sophisticated for the cards. She points to the magician, and says that's his card. He asks about a sign on the top of his card, which she describes as the sign of infinity.
The Countess asks if he'd like to live forever and he responds, "Of course!" Vicki walks in and the Countess looks at the cards and exclaims that he wouldn't. Barnabas introduces the Countess, and Vicki calls her Julia. He tells the Countess that Vicki will be interested in the Tarot cards. She continues describing Josette's card as the high priestess.
She explains she is safe as long as death is not near. Barnabas points out where it is. He then asks about a card next to Josette. The Countess calls out the wicked woman, but then collects the cards. Barnabas asks for an explanation, and she says there is a wicked woman in the house, but the cards won't tell them who it is, as she looks towards Vicki.
Barnabas sits in a chair thinking that if there's a wicked woman in the house, it's the Countess herself. There's a knock at his door, and Angelique sneaks in. She explains she's been waiting for this moment all day. She asks if he remembers her, and he says he does. She clutches him, and says she has thought of him regularly since they parted. He pushes her away, and he says it was a mistake.
He says it was his fault—his weakness. He says he loves Josette. She asks if he was glad to see her. He says Josette will arrive soon. Angelique says he's cold. He explains that the two of them cannot be together. Angelique is very angry. She asks if she is to be stuck as the maid to the Countess. He tells her that they can't be together, and she tells him that he will see, before running out of the room.
Our thoughts
John: Angelique arrives upon the scene! I didn't know previously when or how she would be introduced, but it's now clear that she was there to drive a wedge between Barnabas and Josette from the outset.
Christine: So, Angelique and Barnabas had a fling in Martinique and she fell madly in love with him. From his side of things, he was having a dalliance with Angelique because he thought his love for Josette was unrequited. Now that he's hooked up with Josette, he's kicking Angelique to the curb, and she's not having it. She seems to be just as obsessed with Barnabas as he is with Josette. We'll have to wait until we meet Josette to find out if she really does love Barnabas, or if she is being pressed into marriage as part of a business deal between the fathers.
John: The Countess seems to enjoy chewing up scenery, and I have to admit, it's perhaps a more convincing performance than we have gotten thus far with Julia Hoffman. I particularly enjoyed her Tarot reading, how excited Barnabas was by it. Looks like there's no shortage of Wicked Women in Collinwood right now.
Christine: I love how she tossed her feathers into Barnabas' face and the way she seemed to delight in sneering at the Collins family. In just a few episodes, we're already beginning to see why Barnabas is so messed up. His dad is gruff and overbearing, and his mom is off in her room sneaking a tipple to escape her loveless marriage. The actors appear to be thriving in their new roles and have effectively made us forget their present day characters. That being said, I wonder if it means to suggest that these folks from the past have been reincarnated as their present day counterparts.
John: I'm curious to see how Vicki is going to just sit back and watch events transpire without using her knowledge of what's to come to influence things.
Christine: I think she realizes that she needs to adhere to the Temporal Prime Directive or risk screwing things up for the Collins family. One little slip could prevent Roger and Liz from being born. It seems that Barnabas has been staring out that window for centuries waiting for his beloved Josette to return to him.
John: Additions to our 1795 scorecard:
Present Day/1795
- TBD/Angelique
- Julia Hoffman/Countess duPrés
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