Subj: A More Consistent Origin, Parts 17-18
Date: 12/28/98 12:17:08 AM Central Standard Time
From: Whitey Pale

Chapter 17

There was a chilly wind rustling through the dim light of dawn, but Angelique did not notice as she bounced along briskly back towards the main house. She had decided that she would not confront Alexis again without Barnabas. Angelique thought that once her mother met Barnabas Collins, she would come around and stop trying to scare her away from him with fantastic stories.

However, as she drew closer to the main house, she noticed a large crowd of people gathered in front of the servant's quarters where she lived. Suddenly, she was startled as she felt a hand grab her shoulder and a man's voice yell her name. She turned to find one of the Du Pres' gardeners, Jacques, looking very concerned and holding a very large rifle. "Thank heaven, you are safe!" he exclaimed.

Angelique suddenly remembered that she had run hysterically out of her bedroom the previous afternoon without telling anyone where she was going. She thought that her mother must be worried sick about her, and sent out a search party.

"Yes, Jacques!" she laughed. "I'm sorry to have caused everyone so much worry. You see, as I'm sure my mother told you, we had an argument yesterday and I stormed out of the room. I didn't want to come back right away." Referring to the gun, she added, "I see you were prepared to bring me back with a fight."

Jacques looked at her incredulously. "You meant you weren't in your room last night?"

Seeing Jacques's reaction made Angelique somewhat nervous. "No. I assumed that you knew that. That this was the reason you went out to look for me."

Jacques dropped his face somberly and fought off tears. "You don't know how lucky--" he stopped realizing that this was really not the appropriate word to use in the situation. "Come with me. Quickly. Please." He indicated that Angelique should follow him to the servants' quarters.

Now Angelique was scared. "What is it? What's wrong? Is it my mother?"

Jacques stared straight ahead and repeated. "Please, Angelique, come with me, quickly."

The two of them quickly walked towards the servants' quarters. When Angelique came close enough to be seen, the surrounding crowd shrieked her name and ran towards her. When they reached Angelique, they crushed in, alternatively asking if she was all right and how glad they were that she was safe. Jacques attempted to disperse the crowd.

The Countess Du Pres ran up to Angelique and embraced her. In tears she cried, "Oh, Angelique. Thank heaven, you are all right! We thought that you had been killed."

By now Angelique was dazed from all of the attention. She screamed, "What is going on here? Where is my mother? Is she all right?" Suddenly the crowd broke away and was silent.

Startled, Nathalie Du Pres broke her embrace and said, "You mean you don't know?"

Jacques interrupted. "Angelique had an argument with Alexis yesterday afternoon. She ran off and did not come back last night. She does not know what happened."

Andre Du Pres stepped in front of the crowd and grasped both of Angelique's shoulders. "My child," he said, "it pains me to have to be the one to tell you this. . .but your mother is dead."

"D-Dead?" Angelique gasped, remembering her mother's prophecy of the previous day.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Andre Du Pres said. "She was killed by a wild animal in her bedroom. It was lucky that you weren't there yourself, or you too would have been killed."

"No!" Angelique screamed and ran towards the the servants' quarters. "I can't believe it! She can't be dead! I must see her!" Some of the servants grabbed her, preventing her proceeding.

Andre Du Pres advanced to Angelique again. "I'm afraid that it would not be a pleasant sight for you to see. It is better that you remember your mother as she was. There is nothing that you can do for her now." Angelique broke down into sobs and cried on Jacques's shoulder.

Andre Du Pres continued. "We have most of the servants out covering the grounds now looking for the animal. We hope to kill it as soon as possible. In the meantime, I will call in a minister and we will bury your mother this afternoon. She was a fine woman, Angelique, and she was very proud of you. Of course, you can have a few days off to recover and grieve your loss."

Suddenly Angelique was filled with terror. Her mother had said that they both would be killed. The beast would be back for her. "Monsieur Du Pres! I must not stay here! I must leave immediately!"

Andre Du Pres looked at Angelique sympathetically. "I can understand your feelings. This has been a terrible shock to you, but we will find the beast before tonight, and, if not, you can sleep with some of the other servants. We will have the men out with rifles on the lookout."

Angelique knew that if the beast were supernatural, Andre Du Pres's efforts would not be enough. "Please, Monsieur Du Pres! I appreciate all that you and your family have done for my mother and myself, but I must leave immediately!"

"But child, be sensible. We are your family here. Josette will be back soon. She will comfort you. Besides, where would you go?" Andre DuPres said.

Angelique did not really want to ask her next question, but she had to test her mother's story. "I will go find my father's family and stay with them."

Andre Du Pres's shoulders sagged. The Countess Du Pres's concerned expression turned into a frown, and she whispered something into her brother's ear. "My child," he said wearily, "my sister had told me about how your mother has told you such wonderful stories about your father, and I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, particularly at this terrible time--"

Angelique interrupted. "That my mother does not even know my father's name? That she only knew him for one night? That she herself had been thrown out by her mother in similar circumstances?" Andre Du Pres bowed his head in assent. "That was the subject of our argument," Angelique said bitterly.

"Your mother only told you otherwise so that you would grow up happy." Andre Du Pres said, "I am sure that she had only the best motives."

"How did my mother come to be in your service with such a past?" Angelique asked, intending to test the remainder of the truthfulness of her mother's tirade from the previous day.

"She came highly recommended from one of the most respected employment agencies in town, one that works in concert with a philanthropic organization to integrate women of distressed circumstances into useful citizens. I have never once regretted the decision. She was an excellent worker."

Angelique thought that she was in a nightmare. Every single one of her mother's wild statements was proving true. Perhaps even the wild story about the Leviathans was true--and the person whose name filled her with such unease. "What--what is the name of this agency?" she stuttered, fully expecting to hear the name of Judah Zachary.

"I don't remember. I think that it is run by a person named Dawson." Andre Du Pres replied.

"Please Monsieur Du Pres, I cannot stay here another moment after what has happened. There are too many memories." She was lying now so that she could escape. "I would like to work somewhere else. Will you help me Monsieur! Please!"

Andre Du Pres sighed. "Josette will be very disappointed in your decision when she returns. But I fully understand it. I will have Pierre collect your things. Come to the house, and I will write you a letter of recommendation. I will give you some money and have a coachman drive you into town."

Angelique curtsied clumsily. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much Monsieur!" Some of her friends helped Angelique back to the Du Pres house.

"The poor girl." The Countess said to her brother.

"Yes. A true tragedy. Alexis was a fine servant. But I dare say that this does present an opportunity." Andre Du Pres replied.

"An opportunity!" the Countess looked at her brother in disbelief.

"Nathalie, do not look at me as if I am heartless. I am writing Angelique a recommendation that will enable her to find an extremely suitable position, and I will give her enough money to live comfortably for a month. What I mean is, that I've been looking for an excuse to bring Josette back."

"Josette?" The Countess was puzzled.

"Yes. I've been very impressed with our guest, Barnabas Collins. He is not at all like his father. Polite, a gentleman, gracious, very intelligent--and someday he will be very wealthy. I think that he would be the perfect match for my Josette."

"But Monsieur Collins is scheduled to leave in three days."

Andre smiled at his sister. "That is why you are good at running a household and I am good at running a business. Barnabas Collins is under orders to bring me back to Collinsport to negotiate the harder points of our proposed business deal. I will simply put up obstacles to his completion of that goal, but make it clear that a resolution is at hand. As I told you, Barnabas Collins is not like his father. He is earnest, but not particularly well-versed in the art of business negotiations. He will not go home empty-handed." Andre said with satisfaction at his cleverness.

"But do you mean to say that you would not have done this had Angelique not left?" Nathalie wondered.

"Of course, I would have. But I think that this will work out better. Angelique herself is very attractive, and you, yourself have told me that she seemed to have caught Barnabas' fancy that first day." Andre said. Then, he added, "I hope that the servants can kill that beast soon. Barnabas Collins is not likely to stay if he fears for his
safety."

"Then why tell him?" Nathalie suggested.

Andre rubbed his chin and considered this. "You know, Nathalie, that just might work. I did not tell Barnabas about the attack at breakfast this morning because I did not want to upset him. He left for town before we organized the search party. I will send word to tell the servants not to reveal to Monsieur Collins what has happened here this morning."

"Andre, you are brilliant!" exclaimed Nathalie.

"Yes, but not so brilliant that I can bring Alexis back. I must go now to take care of Angelique."

Angelique asked that her mother be buried quickly in the servants' graveyard. The service was held as soon as the minister arrived, and then Angelique, with all of her belongings, a letter of reference and a generous gift of money from Andre Du Pres, left for town by coach. She wanted to leave a message for Barnabas before she left, but was unable to find a private opportunity to do so.

Angelique knew that Barnabas was connected to the anger of the spirits her mother had told her about, and did not want to place her beloved in danger. She fully intended to return to him, but not before she found out for herself if all of her mother's story were true--even if she risked her own death to do so.

Near dusk, the hunting party killed a large wolf roaming about two miles from the Du Pres plantation. They assumed that it was the animal that had killed Alexis, but were told to remain on guard throughout the night, just in case they were mistaken.

That night, Barnabas Collins, unaware of what had happened to Angelique and her mother, apprehensively walked to the gazebo. He had rehearsed his lines during the few spare moments he had during the day, but Barnabas knew that his task would be most unpleasant. He would try to convince Angelique that, although he cared deeply for her, they could never marry and that it would be best for both of them if they did not see each other again.

Barnabas was somewhat surprised to find Angelique not waiting for him at the gazebo when he arrived. He paced restlessly, running over what he wanted to say over and over again. Yet Angelique did not come. After waiting for more than two hours, Barnabas left, thinking that Angelique's mother had prevented her from coming. Somewhat relieved, Barnabas went back to the house and went to bed.

The next morning, at breakfast, Barnabas casually remarked to a servant about Angelique's well-being, since (he lied) he had not seen her for a few days. Andre and Nathalie Du Pres looked up from their meal and glared at the servant from beyond Barnabas' gaze. The servant nervously replied that Angelique and her mother had suddenly decided to leave the Du Pres's employ and work elsewhere.

Barnabas feigned mild interest and continued his small talk with the Du Pres, much to their relief. Inside though, Barnabas felt as if he had an enormous weight lifted from his shoulders. He reasoned that Angelique's mother had taken her away to break up their affair, not realizing that she was doing him an enormous favor. Barnabas smiled. He felt that he was safe.

Part 18

Angelique clutched the large burlap sack containing much of her belongings, as well as some of her late mother's, and slightly trembled. She was not shaking so much from the carriage ride taking her to town, as from her thoughts of what she was going to do next.

She knew that she had impulsively left the Du Pres plantation after her mother was killed because she had to. Once Angelique realized that her mother's story about her destiny might be true--and that she was might be in mortal danger--Angelique knew that she could not face death as her mother had, cowering in her bedroom, sobbing.

Angelique also knew that she was no match for the type of Leviathan creatures that her mother had described. Nor did she consider herself a match for Judah Zachary, a name without a face that for some reason she could not fathom, filled Angelique's heart with terror. Still, Angelique reasoned, she would face the danger head on, no matter what.

Angelique had left most of her mother's clothes at the Du Pres plantation, but did take along her mother's talismans, herbs and figurines. She did not know how to use most of them, but she could try. Besides, Angelique knew that if she left the objects, everyone including her beloved Barnabas, would know that her mother had been a witch, leaving her own status in question.

The carriage reached the outskirts of town near dusk. The coachman, Gavroche, stopped a few times to ask directions to the address that Andre Du Pres had given him for Evan Dawson's establishment: 19 Rue du Flambeau. Finally, the coach reached its destination, and Angelique recklessly rushed out to knock at the door.

There was no answer. Angelique knocked again. This time there was still no answer, but an older woman poked her head out of a nearby upstairs window and withdrew. Angelique knocked again, this time more
insistently.

"Go home!" an irritated middle aged man yelled from above. He had a curly white mustache with more hair than was on his head.

"Please Monsieur." Angelique begged. "I know it is late, but I am trying to find Monsieur Dawson. It is very urgent!"

The man turned up his nose. "Yes, it IS late. Too late for you!" he said. Angelique shivered. "He's gone." The man continued with disgust. "Dawson and his crew left a few days ago. Just like that-no warning--and no rent!" he spat out venomously.

"No! It cannot be! He cannot have left!" Angelique pleaded.

The man looked down with disapproval. "You know, I think my wife was right all along. Dawson used to say that he placed all these poor ladies that came here into good homes for charity. Well, from the way he dressed, I think he was selling these women for some reason other than charity." He eyed Angelique up and down. "Go to the docks! It won't get you as much money, but the way you look, you'll make a few francs." The man laughed and left the window.

Angelique reddened with anger. Gavroche touched her shoulder, "Let's go back Angelique," he said tenderly. "Monsieur Du Pres will understand. He will let you have your position back."

"No!" Angelique turned on him furiously. Then, collecting herself, she said, "Monsieur Dawson is the only man who can tell me the truth about my mother and father. I must find him."

"But Angelique, you heard what the man said. Dawson has disappeared. In fact, it seems that he left suddenly and does not want to be found."

A little too suddenly, Angelique thought. "Gavroche, you have the money that Monsieur Du Pres gave me."

"Yes, but--"

"Give it to me!" Gavroche resisted. Angelique softened. "Please Gavroche, I must get into that building and look for clues. Afterwards, I promise I will let you take me back."

"The master will not like you using his money this way."

"We will just say that we needed to feed the horses and were overcharged," Angelique laughed. "Besides Gavroche," Angelique smiled, "I always looked up to you when I was growing up. I always felt that you would be there if I needed you."

Gavroche blushed. He was about two years older than Angelique and had silently admired her beauty and manner for years. He felt excitement at Angelique's sudden unexpected revelation. He gave her the money.

"Monsieur! Monsieur!" Angelique yelled up to the now closed upstairs window. Soon the landlord peered his head out again.

"You're still here! If you don't leave right now, I will call a gendarme."

"Monsieur, please hear me out! I was sent from the home of Andre Du Pres. He must get in touch with Monsieur Dawson urgently! I know that he is gone, but if I could just take a look around inside. . ."

"Impossible!" the man thundered, "A likely story! You don't look like you come from Andre Du Pres," he sneered indicating their servants' clothes.

"If you let us in, I will make it worth your while." Angelique said, holding up some coins.

The man peered skeptically. "Where did you get that? It's probably stolen!" He paused and said, "then again, I need to make up my rent somehow and the few bits of furniture those bastards left aren't going to get me many francs. Wait there, I'll be right down."

After what seemed like an eternity, the man arrived and opened the door--only after Angelique and Gavroche convinced him that they would not give him any money until after he had done his part. In fact, they gave him an extra coin so that Angelique could borrow the man's candle, for by now, it was very dark. "If you do not mind Monsieurs, I wish to go alone. I shall not be long."

The man grumbled his assent. There was nothing worth anything up there anyway, he said. Gavroche protested, but Angelique was sweetly insistent. "Wait here." Angelique told Gavroche "I will not be long."

Angelique began walking up the creaky dark stairs, feeling great unease with each step. Her temples pounded with tension. She thought that maybe she should have let Gavroche go with her. Then again, she thought, what good would Gavroche be if there were some spirit or monster up there?

When Angelique reached the top of the stairs she found what had apparently once been an office, but was now completely deserted except for a relatively shabby looking wooden desk, a chair and a barrel. Angelique could tell that Dawson had not been gone long, because it did not look as if there were more than a couple of days dust covering the desk.

Angelique immediately opened the drawers. They were empty. Frustrated, she pulled out the drawers. Behind the second drawer, she was able to make out what appeared to be a crumpled slip of paper. She pulled it out and held it close to the candle. The paper had an address on it, and a list of items, like a marketing list. But Angelique recognized some of the herbs on the list--the person who made it was not looking for food.

Angelique put the paper in her pocket and ran her hands in the empty drawer slots. However, all she got from this was several splinters, nothing else. Disappointed, she paced around the room and then, almost as an afterthought, turned over the barrel. Angelique saw that stuck to the bottom of the barrel was a piece of paper that had apparently been soaked in some liquid. When she brought the candle closer, Angelique was stunned to discover that the paper was a map, apparently of the island.

Angelique put down the candle and reached to carefully pry the paper loose, when she suddenly heard a low growling sound. She dropped the barrel and leaped up. In the corner shadows she saw two slanted red eyes peering right at her. . .