"Indeed?"

Barnabas sat carefully on the edge of the bed and took her left hand in his. "I don't want to wait for Julia's serum to take effect. I want us to be married as soon as possible."

"But - the curse -"

"I know. It's unfair to you, but I will not take the chance of losing you."

"You're forgetting Amy. If we marry, won't she expect to move into the Old House as well?"

"Remember that I told you I spoke to Amy? She understands my reason for wanting to marry you as soon as possible. And she suggested that we might appreciate some time alone together before she moves in. It will also give you the chance to personally oversee the work being done on the house. Now, have you any other obstacles to put in our path?"

"It sounds wonderful, my darling, but we must be sensible."

"Why? I've done what was expected of me for too long, Angelique. Not this time. I refuse to live by someone else's rules any longer." He pulled a square, black velvet box

from his pocket. "This is for you. I placed the order with the jeweler the day after you arrived in Collinsport. Willie picked it up this morning."

Angelique's eyes grew wide as he opened the box to reveal a smaller version of his own black onyx ring. "Oh, Barnabas."

"Shall I put it on?"

"Y-Yes," she said, her voice a whisper.

He slid the ring onto her finger. "It looks right there." His kiss was a promise. "No more obstacles?"

"No," she said, smiling. "No more obstacles." She touched his face. It was a change, having him so in charge. He reminded her more of Aaron now than he ever had before. "I'll marry you whenever you want me to."

Julia had other ideas, however. She tried every argument she could think of to convince Barnabas to wait until he was cured, but he refused to listen. She even tried to recruit Quentin to help, but he wouldn't do so. "They're grown ups, Julia," he'd said. "They're both aware of the danger of what they're planning, and they're willing to take that risk because they love each other. Leave them alone."

In the end, Julia gave up and did all she could to help with the wedding preparations.

During that week at Collinwood, Elizabeth, Carolyn, Julia, Maggie and Amy helped to plan a small ceremony at the Old House. So it was that - two weeks after the accident - Angelique again became Mrs. Barnabas Collins.

But this time there were differences. The entire family was present, approving this marriage. And the room was filled with fresh-cut flowers. Barnabas admitted that it had been his idea, once everyone had gone.

"I wanted this time to be different," he told her. "A happy memory to erase the old one."79.

"It is a happy memory, Barnabas. Thank you."

Willie came down the stairs as Barnabas ended the kiss. "Excuse me. Everything's ready."

"Thank you, Willie."

Willie had extinguished all but a few candles in the bedroom. When she entered, Angelique felt for a moment that the clock had somehow been turned back almost 200 years. Their wedding night then had been spoiled by her jealousy. Not this time, she vowed. This time, there was no music-box- she gasped upon seeing the beribboned box on the dressing table. "What is - that?" she asked uncertainly.

"My wedding gift to you. Open it."

She did so, lifting the silver box from inside. "it's - lovely." When the lid was opened to reveal the red-velvet interior, the music-box mechanism began to play a tune she recalled hearing the Countess play on the harpsichord the night after she and Barnabas had become lovers on Martinique.

"Do you like it?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you. I - haven't anything for you."

"Your being here is enough, my darling." He pulled her into his arms...

Maggie snuggled into Quentin's arms as they sat watching the fire in his West Wing rooms. "It was a nice wedding, wasn't it?" she commented.

"If you like weddings, I suppose so." She looked up at him. He had been in a strange mood all evening. "Quentin, is there something wrong?"

"No. Why do you ask?" "You haven't been yourself -" He smiled. "Of course I have. Who else would I be?"

"Angelique made a lovely bride -" Quentin moved away and rose to pour himself a drink, hovering for a moment over the whiskey before picking up his usual

brandy. "Would you stop talking about the wedding? If I were suspicious, I'd think you were hinting."

"No. Of course not. We agreed -"

"Ah, yes. But people change their minds, decide they don't want just a friendly relationship. They suddenly want rings, pieces of paper that make everything all legal and neat -"

"Quentin," she began, but he wasn't listening.

"Well you can just put any of those thoughts out of your pretty little head, Maggie Evans. Because I've no intention of marrying you - or anyone else. Do you understand me?"

"Yes. Yes, I understand. I think I'll go to my room now. Good night, Quentin."

Once the door closed, Quentin shook his head, trying to clear it. What on earth had gotten into him? He hadn't intended to do that, hadn't meant to say those things, hurt Maggie. He downed the brandy and poured another. It was going to be a long night.

The next evening, Angelique was waiting in the parlour when Barnabas came in. She went into his arms, expecting a kiss. But Barnabas made no move to pull her closer, just looked down into her face for several moments. Something about that look chilled Angelique, making her shiver and move away. "Is - something wrong, dar-ling?"

"What could possibly be wrong, Angelique?"

"The way you looked at me just now -"

"What about it?"

"It - frightened me."

"You? Afraid? That doesn't sound at all like you, my dear."

"Perhaps I just imagined it," she said at last, knowing full well that she hadn't imagined anything. "Are you ready to go to Collinwood? Amy's expecting us."

"Yes."80.

After watching Barnabas covertly all evening, Angelique was still unable to say with any clarity what the difference was in him. But there was a difference. What could have happened between the time he left her the previous night and dawn? She couldn't very well discuss it with Julia or Quentin since all she had were a few vague feelings with no evidence to give them credence.

Back at the Old House, she sipped a gla.s.s of port and watched him staring into the fire. "Barnabas, where did you go after you left me last night?"

He turned to look at her. "Why do you ask?"