Late summer, 1795, Martinique

Barnabas, glancing nervously over his shoulder, hurried down the corridor that led to Angelique's room. He was painfully aroused, and was tempted to cover his protruding pants from with his hands. There was no one around, and he dropped his hands and hurried on.

Angelique! She had been giving him so many come-hither signals since he had first arrived on the island! She surely was the loveliest young woman he had ever seen, and while he had given Josette some chaste kisses, he knew he could not sully his host's lovely daughter.

Angelique was another matter. She had met him the night before, far from the duPres plantation, in a gazebo overgrown with flowers and criss-crossing trails of ivy. She had kissed him, her mouth open wide, she had touched him in places where Josette had never ventured--and had allowed him to touch her bare breasts. Yes, she would give herself to him, he was sure of that. His conscience pricked him a bit. Yes, he was assuaging his lust for Josette in the arms of another. . .he thrust such thoughts away, his desire ruling his sense of morals.

Angelique was waiting for him, wearing a night dress with nothing on under it. All Barnabas had to do to ascertain this for certain was to hold her pressed closely against him. She removed his clothing with practiced speed, and they fell together on her narrow, squeaky bed.

Just as he was leaning up on his arms, about to enter her, however, Barnabas Collins was assailed with a vivid vision of himself, and knew instinctively it was his future: He was holding a woman in his arms, biting into her throat. When he drew away, the woman collapsed to the ground, obviously dead. He was transformed into a hideous creature with sharp fangs, blood running down his mouth--my God, what was this?

And Barnabas Collins lost his erection, rolled away from Angelique, got dressed, and raced from her room as fast as his trembling legs could carry him. He did not approach her again, and when he left Martinique, he was engaged to Josette.

The Old House basement, 1971 - Professor Stokes stood up with a sigh of exhaustion. He, Sebastian Shaw and Roxanne Drew had pooled their knowledge and psychic gifts, gone back in time using the I-Ching, and inserted a very special vision into the mind of Barnabas Collins when he needed it most. "It worked," Professor Stokes reported to a smiling Julia. "We nipped it in the bud."

When Julia ran upstairs, however, she could not find Barnabas. He was gone. Then it hit her--in stopping the curse at its very source, she had prevented him from ever coming to her time! She returned to Collinwood and called Stokes on the phone. "Eliot," she said wheedlingly, "I hate to ask, but could you. . ."

Eliot Stokes suggested she go f**k herself when he heard her request.


Love, RobinV