Subj: The Letter, Part Five
Date: 7/2/01 12:30:12 AM Central Daylight Time
From: R J Jamison

"It's certainly nice to meet you Mr. Llewellyn." Elizabeth motioned a tall, gray haired man into the Sitting Room of Collinwood.

"Charles!" Roger stood from the desk and warmly greeted the man.

Charles Llewellyn shook hands with Roger and quietly accepted an offer of cognac.

"What brings you to Collinsport? I haven't seen you since. . ." Roger tried to retrieve the date of his last meeting with Llewellyn.

"I think it was a Board of Directors meeting for Rodgers Corporation. You and Elizabeth attended nearly four years ago in Boston." Charles calmly volunteered. Calm and placidity were Charles Llewellyn's well known traits. He was not calm, cool and collected but cold, hard and always observant. Neither Elizabeth nor Roger cared much for the man.

"What brings you here? We received the message that you would be coming."

"You received the message?" Charles smiled, acknowledging an obvious error. "I am sorry but I am here to see Dr. Hoffman."

"Dr. Hoffman?" Roger found the likelihood of Julia and Charles Llewellyn crossing paths quite unlikely.

"Yes. I am here on behalf of a client—"

"Now, wait a minute Charles," Roger held up his hand to stop Charles from continuing. "if this is about Wyndcliffe and the fire. This is inappropriate. We have provided all documentation from the fire department, it was an accident. I think visiting Dr. Hoffman at home is quite inexcusable."

"Fire? There was a fire at Wyndcliffe?" Charles leaned forward. Roger recognized that for Llewellyn, this was great interest, even animation.

"You're not here about the fire?" Elizabeth asked.

"No but my client will find that most interesting, I am sure." Charles leaned back. "How much damage was there?"

"It was destroyed completely." Elizabeth volunteered.

"Completely?" Charles contemplated it for several moments. "What is Julia doing with herself then? That place is her life."

"Hardly." Elizabeth laughed quietly. "She's been quite busy with other activities."

"What other activities could preoccupy Julia other than medicine and her hospital?" Charles' switch to the familiar use of Julia's name was noted by both Elizabeth and Roger, as was his sincerely confused expression. It was clear that Charles Llewellyn had known Julia for many years.

"Julia has become a very valued member of our family, Charles." Elizabeth informed him. "We are very fond of her. She has helped Roger's son with his school studies, particularly science and biology. She is also involved in a great deal of historical research with our cousin, Barnabas. They've been working on a book about this area's history for several years."

"History? Julia has little interest in history with the exception of medical history. I can't see her spending years working on a book about a tiny Maine community." Charles looked about the room. He had often wondered where Julia had disappeared to and now that he had found it, he was still mystified.

"Well, she is interested and has done a great deal of research since she came here five years ago."

Charles Llewellyn continued to gaze upon the Collins siblings with a confused expression. They were certainly not discussing the same woman. As Charles began to contemplate a line of questions, he heard the front door open. Past Elizabeth's shoulder he observed Julia. She stood facing him. She slowly removed her gloves, set down her purse and book. She never took her eyes from him, she did not nod or smile.

Charles stood as she entered the room. "Julia." He nodded.

"Charles." Julia closed the space between them and formally shook his hand. "I was expecting to see you yesterday in town."

"My apologies, apparently my message about the travel delays was given to Roger and Elizabeth. Can we talk now?"

Julia almost imperceptibly nodded her head. "Let's go into the Study." Julia turned on her heal without making eye contact with either Elizabeth or Roger. Charles quickly followed as she led him out of the room.

Behind them Roger and Elizabeth exchanged puzzled looks.

"Something tells me she wasn't looking forward to talking with him." Elizabeth commented.

"What person ever looks forward to talking with Charles Llewellyn?" Roger quipped.

"Roger."

In the seldom used Study, Julia motioned Charles to a chair, ensured that no one was in the corridor and closed the door. "So, this is not a surprise."

"And not a pleasant one to you." Charles sat in the wing backed chair Julia had indicated.

"Nor for you, I'm sure." Julia sat opposite him. "Now we've never needed pleasantries. Why are you here and make your story as uncomplicated as possible please."

Charles looked down at his hands for a moment and then returned Julia's glare. "Douglas now believes it is time to finalize
everything."

Upon hearing that statement, Julia's tired but smug expression was replaced with one of feigned surprise. "Now? After all these years?"

Charles nodded. "He wants you to go with him."

Julia shook her head. "No."

Charles raised an outward palm to deflect Julia's reply. "He is here Julia, in Collinsport. He will not accept no for an answer."

"Here?!" Julia jumped to her feet. "Why would he think coming here might change my mind?"

Charles stood and looked closely into her eyes. "Because it will, you know that. That is why you are afraid."

Julia raised her hands to her face and placed the flattened palms on her cheeks. It was a nervous expression those at Collinwood knew well. "Why make it more difficult for himself? I can't be anything but a reminder to him, a painful reminder."

"After it's done Julia, there is no one else, you know that. Everything will be yours, everything."

"It's not right."

"No one disagrees with that, Julia." Charles said coldly. "But you are the only one and Douglas, he saw things in you that no one else ever saw, maybe except Taylor and these people." Charles noted a photograph on the desk. It was the entire Collins family at a recent Christmas gathering. Amongst them he noted Julia, smiling and happy. Beside her stood a tall, thin, elegantly dressed man.

"If only I –"

"If only Julia. If only you had been less ambitious and more willing to make Taylor happy by traveling with him," Charles turned back toward Julia. "but then again I don't want to get into that old argument with you. It is and was true that no one ever chided me for my ambition and I've undoubtedly left more bodies in my wake than you."

Julia continued to stare at Charles without a readable expression. When they used to argue about Taylor his statement was true but not it no longer was. There were many bodies and lives lying in waste piles due to Julia and her associations.

"I'll bring him here if you do not come to the Inn tomorrow. I suspect that you do not want that." Charles picked up the Christmas photograph.

"No, I'll meet you for lunch." Julia aggressively removed the photo from Charles's hands and replaced it on the table.

"Nice photo Julia, except you're with the wrong family, aren't you?"

Julia escorted Charles Llewellyn out of Collinwood and to his car. When she returned to the foyer, she found David waiting. "Dr. Hoffman, I wanted to ask you a favor."

She smiled warmly. She loved this child, his sweetness had always charmed her since she first met him. Now his struggles with raging hormones amused her greatly. Talking with him after Charles Llewellyn seemed a cruel irony. "Yes, David?"

"You know, Maggie has given me a summer reading list and I'm working on it but some of the science classes that will be coming up in my studies this fall, biology, human anatomy and stuff. Well, I wanted to get a head start, I wondered if you had or could recommend some books."

"What type of books?"

"Well some basic stuff about the human body, what it does and how it does it. . . all of it .. . food, breathing, growing. .from birth to death. We'll be studying anatomy too—"

"Will you also be studying evolution and procreation?" Julia asked, trying to hide a smile.

David worked hard to appear as if that idea was new to him. "Sure, if you think I should read up on that." Julia wrapped an arm around David's shoulders.

"I think you should read about that and the sooner the better." Julia moved David toward the stairs. "In my room, on my desk you'll find a book that can get you started. I'll bring home some others when you've finished that one."

"Thanks, Julia." David turned to go up the stairs and attempted to look nonchalant as he headed toward the book he hoped would explain it all.

Julia shook her head with mild amusement as she headed toward Roger and Elizabeth. She was grateful to have already cleared the book with Roger last week. She had also strongly suggested that they cease home schooling David and return him to a regular school. She hoped that suggestion was being seriously contemplated. But focusing on David's hormonal problems did not relieve her of the task before her. While she had only told Barnabas thirty minutes ago that she would not discuss her marriage with him, it now seemed she had to say something. Charles Llewellyn was not someone who popped up unnoticed, particularly by Roger. But with what Charles had just told her, she could now easily explain the situation and with a few firm glances defer questions. The last thing she wanted was multiple prying questions, a few would come and the explanations were fairly easy.

"Roger and Elizabeth," Julia walked into the room and shut the doors. "May we speak for a few minutes?"

"If this has to do with why Charles Llewellyn was here, was can speak as long as you like." Roger smirked.

"Roger."

"Is that all you can say tonight, Liz?" Roger threw an irritated glance toward his older sister. "Honestly, one of the most prominent attorneys of the country doesn't just show up to visit a country doctor without good reason."

Julia sat on the couch near Elizabeth. "You are right Roger and that's what I'd like to share with you."

"Only if you want to Julia. We have always respected your privacy." Elizabeth placed a cool hand on Julia's. She could see that Julia might finally relieve herself of the burden she had been carrying for several days.

"Yes, you've always been very courteous regarding me, perhaps too much so." Julia looked down at her hands and Elizabeth's. "Charles Llewellyn is the attorney of Douglas Blaylock—"

"Yes, I've met him too. Incredible man, if I had half of his business sense—"

"Roger, you interrupted Julia." Elizabeth shot him an annoyed look.

"I apologize Julia." Roger took a quick sip of his cognac to hide his continuing irritation.

"I would like thousands of interruptions, delays, anything to stave off what is going to happen—" Julia threw her head back in another one of her nervous mannerisms.

"Julia, what is it? I've been so worried about you, you've been so upset and I know, the other day, you were crying in the Library." Elizabeth's concern was not being abated.

"Douglas Blaylock is here in Collinsport. He came here to discuss finalizing his estate."

"Finalize his estate?" Roger leaned forward. "Why would he do that here and involve you? Julia, are you related to the Blaylocks?"

"Yes." Julia tried to smile but it was twisted into a strange grimace of pain. "Yes, I am."

"How? It must be distant; I know people have been speculating as to whom Blaylock would leave his sizable estate too. I thought Blaylock was practically without family, his wife is dead, his brothers, he was estranged from his son —" Roger stopped cold. He faintly remembered a story. "His son had a wife." Roger met Julia's gaze. "She was a doctor."

Elizabeth's shocked gaze fell upon Julia. "His wife?"

Julia nodded. "Yes. I am Taylor Blaylock's wife."

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.