Angelique's Revenge Part 5
Date: 1/11/98
From: AngeliqueBouchard

Darkness settled over the great Collins estate. Inside, Vicki and Carolyn had just ushered in Julia and Elliot Stokes who had brought Jeb Hawkes to meet them.

"Thank you for coming," Carolyn greeted Jeb. "The Stokes highly recommend you for your work.

Vicki eyed Jeb. He was nothing she expected. He looked quite respectable in his gray suit and serious expression. His face softened at the sight of Carolyn however.

"Jeb has been quite successful at locating missing persons," Julia said, interrupting Vicki's assessment of Jeb.

"Did you find something that belonged to your father?" Elliot inquired.

"Yes," Carolyn said, "before our mother threw out his belongings I took some things he left behind and hid them. I was just a young girl."

Carolyn gave Jeb a small box. Jeb sat down and sifted through the items. He choose a watch. "This will do," Jeb said. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. An intense expression formed on his face and he was silent for several minutes. Jeb finally opened his eyes. The room was thick with anticipation. Everyone waited for Jeb to speak. "I'm sorry, the man who owns this watch is...dead."

"Ohh no," Carolyn murmured raising her hand to her mouth, tears springing to her eyes."

Vicki inhaled sharply.

"Are you positive?" Elliot asked.

"Yes. I'm very sorry to give you both this news," Jeb said solemnly.

The front door opened and Elizabeth came inside. She entered the drawing room and greeted the Stokes, "Good evening Julia, Elliot. I didn't know you were visiting tonight." Her eyes darted over to Jeb and then to the box sitting on the floor in front of him, which held Paul's belongings. The smile fell from Elizabeth's face. "Just what is going on here?"

Elliot rose. "This is Jeb Hawkes, a personal friend of ours."

"It's all right Elliot," Carolyn interrupted. She felt a sudden anger rise up and tighten her chest. If it hadn't been for her mother's stubborn silence regarding her father she may have tracked him down years earlier when he was alive. "Mother, Vicki and I have employed Mr. Hawkes to find our father."

"Carolyn you have no idea what you're getting yourself into," Elizabeth said coldly. Elizabeth had dreaded the day when Vicki or Carolyn disobeyed her wishes and sought to locate their father. Elizabeth suspected this was Carolyn's idea. Carolyn's personality was much more fiery than Vicki's and was much more likely to be the catalyst in this endeavor.

"I know exactly what I am getting into," Carolyn replied in a hard tone. "I am getting into nothing. Nothing at all. My father is dead."

Elizabeth's expression softened. "I'm sorry you found out this way."

"You knew!?" Carolyn yelled. "You knew our father was dead and you didn't even tell us?"

Vicki looked at her mother in disbelief. Elizabeth returned her gaze, but Vicki looked away.

"Mother?" Carolyn demanded an exclamation without speaking another word.

"All right," Elizabeth said. She knew the time had come to include her daughters in her personal life. She was a private woman, even when it came to her own family.

Julia felt the need for Elizabeth to have privacy with her daughters. "We had better leave."

"No, you all can stay. She looked at Julia and Elliot intently. "I'm sure Carolyn has already provided everyone with enough information to write my biography."

A blush reddened Julia's cheeks. She felt uncomfortable in Elizabeth's presence. Had she betrayed her good friend by assisting Carolyn in her effort to find her father? "I'm sorry if the help we provided Carolyn and Vicki has hurt our friendship, Liz. I certainly didn't intend for that to happen."

Elizabeth was silent for a moment while she reflected upon herself. "No, Julia. You haven't done anything to hurt our friendship. I didn't mean to take this out on you and Elliot. Perhaps my greatest mistake was not being open with my friends and family." Elizabeth sat down and looked at the five faces staring, waiting with baited breath for her to begin speaking. "Paul and I had a stormy marriage. I guess we weren't suited for each other. We seemed to be from two different worlds, him and I. We decided to divorce. Carolyn was very young at the time. On the night Paul decided to leave we had a heated argument. Paul told me... he was interested in another woman. He packed a suitcase and left. Later that night he returned. He came to our room around midnight. He didn't say much, but I thought by his actions that he meant to reconcile. We made love that night. Paul was more passionate than I had ever known him to be. He was..." Elizabeth trailed off as she realized that the memory of that night had almost caused her to forget the five other people in the room. "Let's just say, it is a night I will never forget," Elizabeth continued. "In the morning, Paul was gone. I never saw him again. I was heartbroken that day when I finally realized he had gone. It felt like a dream, but I know it wasn't because that was the night Vicki was conceived. The only news I heard about him was several years later when I received a letter informing me of his death."

"Ohh mother, I'm so sorry," Carolyn said, understanding her mother better than she had ever before.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Julia decided to be the one to break the awkward silence. "I'm glad you shared this with us Liz. You shouldn't have to carry such burdens by yourself."

Across Collinsport, another watched the scene unfold, unbeknownst to anyone in the drawing room. Through a large square mirror Nicholas Blair peered, observing this evenings events at Collinwood. He focused his attention on Elizabeth and smiled mysteriously. "Yes Elizabeth, that was a night to remember. Pleasure such as you experienced is not a privilege many mortals have." Nicholas turned his attention to Vicki. "Ahh Victoria, everything is falling place nicely. I'm coming for you Victoria. I'm coming for you very soon." Nicholas laughed demonically.

TO BE CONTINUED

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