Subj: 1795 Challenge
Date: 8/2/99 12:50:47 AM Central Daylight Time
From: Doreen Gregoire

Angelique had just finished fashioning the crude poppet that was supposed to represent Josette. She tied one of her mistress' hair ribbons around its waist then held it up to survey her handiwork.

At that moment the door to her room opened and in walked Josette.

"Angelique! Didn't you hear me? I rang the bell, but you didn't answer me." She noticed her maid seemed to be trying to hide something behind her back. "What is that?" Josette asked.

"Nothing, Mademoiselle," Angelique replied innocently.

"If it is nothing, Angelique, then you won't mind giving it to me, will you?" Josette replied reasonably.

"Really, Mademoiselle, it's just a little thing I found that I was going to throw out."

Josette was beginning to get impatient. "Give it to me. Now." She demanded. It really did feel good to stand up for herself and be firm with the help.

Angelique sighed and held out the doll.

"Why, that's my hair ribbon!" Josette exclaimed when she held the thing her maid had tried to hide from her. "Why did you steal my ribbon?"

"I didn't steal it, mademoiselle, I -"

"But you did!" Josette insisted. "It's right here." She looked into the dresser drawer, which was still opened, and saw a scrap of blue cloth, incongruous amongst Angelique's dull-coloured clothing. She held it up. "And this is Jeremiah's handkerchief! Really, Angelique, this is just too much. You've been impertinent with me, and far too familiar for a mere servant. I've seen the way you look at Barnabas. And now I catch you stealing? That's it! I'm going to talk to Father and have you dismissed."

And that's what happened. Angelique was sent packing on the next boat back
to Martinique. Once there, she tried to get service in another rich family who'd take her back to the Maine Territory so she could extract her revenge on the Collins family. However, she was hired by a French diplomat and his family. The family's posting changed, and they moved to Indonesia, insisting on bringing Angelique. She caught an illness that had the strange effect of wiping her memory, leaving her a very pretty, but very ordinary, servant, who didn't know a voodoo doll from a wash cloth.

Barnabas married his Josette, and they lived in the Old House for many, many years and had several beautiful, accomplished children. People all around the district remarked on Barnabas' and Josette's devotion to each other with envy.

Jeremiah followed his brother's wishes and married his distant, empty-headed cousin Millicent, thus amalgamating the two fortunes into one vast holding. He had several mistresses on the side, simply because he couldn't bear his wife's prattling about dresses and gossip.

Sarah grew up into a beautiful, accomplished musician (yes, she *did* learn to play more than one tune on that flute!), and married a composer who delighted in creating new tunes for his wife to play.

And that's it. The Collins family, though very wealthy and powerful, was also very ordinary. They all lived very happy and boring lives, forever after.

The end.

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.