August 25, 1966--Episode 44

[the_collinsport_review]

My name is Victoria Winters.
She came to Collinwood with a purpose, but it's been veiled by hypocrisy and deceit.

Bill is drinking alone in the Blue Whale when Carolyn comes in. It looks like she had her hair done while she was in Bangor.

Bill knows that she's been in Bangor and Carolyn gets upset because she thinks Joe has been spying on her. Then she notices how out of character it is for Bill to be in the Blue Whale at that time of day (which is apparently still afternoon). She asks how long he's been there, and he says he was born there, and his father before him. Carolyn laughs and clarifies that she means the bar, not the town.

He tells her he has good reason to be drinking. Carolyn asks if he got so upset because Joe told him about her meeting Burke. Bill says that anything that has to do with Burke upsets him.

She assures him it wasn't anything, and Joe deserves to be upset because he was spying on her. Bill says he wasn't spying on her, he just knew that Burke had been on the way to Bangor and so had she. Carolyn asks if Joe thought she followed Burke to Bangor, and Bill says of course not. Well, good, because it would be ridiculous to think she'd follow a man like Burke anywhere. At least, her words say that. Her eyes say she'd follow him a whole lot farther.

Bill's ordering another drink. He asks if Carolyn wants anything, but she has to go home. Bill says he has to go to Collinwood too, but when Carolyn offers him a ride, he says he doesn't want to go yet. He's in no hurry to upset Elizabeth.

Carolyn assumes he's going to tell her mother about her lunch with Burke, but Bill isn't much interested in that. He wishes it was that simple.

Carolyn says that she'll tell her mother she saw Bill, and Bill says to tell her she'll see her soon. Carolyn leaves, worried.

At Collinwood, Elizabeth brings tea into the drawing room. Then she tries to get a hold of Ned Calder again, but he's still unavailable. Just as she goes to sit down, there's a knock at the door. John is there. He's a banker, there to set up a trust fund for David. He wants to know if there's anything else she wanted to see him about, and asks if Bill is causing her any headaches.

No, Elizabeth says.

John likes Bill, he's a good man, but he's not up to running the business. And neither is Roger. She needs Ned back. Maybe what she needs is someone to run her life.

Elizabeth tells him that's almost exactly what Ned said when he asked her to marry him. John asks if Ned quit because Elizabeth turned him down. Elizabeth equivocates, but that does seem to be the reason.

John likes Ned, too. He's one of the finest men John knows. Elizabeth reminds John that she's still married, and John says that he left her eighteen years ago. John asks why she hasn't tried to get her freedom, but the phone rings.

It's Ned. Elizabeth wants him to come back and run the business, but she won't marry him, so he refuses to come back.

When they've hung up, Elizabeth says, "All right. I need him."

Once she's signed the papers for the trust fund (which will keep David set up financially for life--or as long as we have a monetary system), John tells her that because of her buying all of Roger's stock, she no longer has any loose money lying around. He reminds her that all the notes out on her company are demand notes, which means that if the holders demand payment in full, Elizabeth would have to come up with the money or risk them being sold to someone else.

Elizabeth asks why anyone else would want to buy the notes, and John agrees, it's a family company. He had to explain that to someone the other day when he came asking questions. This sets off alarm bells in Elizabeth's head. Who made inquiries?

John doesn't know, some New York syndicate. Elizabeth tells him to try to find out who.

Carolyn comes in and makes small talk with John (whose last name is Harris; he's the Mr. Harris who was supposed to be waiting for Mr. Blair's call), and says something about almost stopping in at the bank that afternoon. Now Elizabeth knows Carolyn was in Bangor. Yes, she had lunch with a friend. Elizabeth wants to talk to Carolyn alone. So they go into the foyer.

Elizabeth asks if the friend was Burke, and Carolyn admits that it was, and asks if Victoria told Elizabeth. No, she didn't. They have another round of the "I don't want you spending time with Burke," "I don't see why not" go 'round. Carolyn derails it by saying that when Bill heard she'd been with Burke, he acted as though she was going to be put in jail or something.

Elizabeth wants to know what Bill has to do with it, and Carolyn responds that that's what she'd like to know. She then tells Elizabeth that he's been in the Blue Whale, drinking, all afternoon.

"Bill Malloy?" Elizabeth asks, simply astonished by this.

Carolyn laughs, both at her mother's astonishment and Bill's atypical behavior, and says he's coming up to see Elizabeth soon. Then there's a knock at the door.

It's Bill! Elizabeth tells him John is there from Bangor and asks if this can't wait, but Bill says it can't, he's got to say what's on his mind. [This presents a problem, since they're running out of rooms for people to have private conversations in. They might have to go to the forbidden basement.] Elizabeth sends Carolyn in to talk to John so she can talk to Bill in the foyer.

What's on Bill's mind is unpleasant, and it's about Roger. Elizabeth admits Roger's shortcomings at running the business, and they get off on a tangent about Ned Calder coming back. Bill would like this very much.

Elizabeth says Ned Calder has turned down her offer (but doesn't mention the marriage proposal that was part of his conditions) and adds that he's very stubborn. In fact, Bill and Ned are about equally stubborn. Bill admits that, he's stubborn when it's about something important.

And you're the one who decides what's important? Elizabeth asks. Bill says he has to be when it's about Roger because he's Elizabeth's brother and she'd just sweep it under the carpet.

Elizabeth tells him he's not making any sense. Well, it makes sense to Bill. Elizabeth tells him to explain it to her.

Bill starts by asking if Elizabeth knows why Burke came back to town. Elizabeth says it was to stir up a lot of trouble, and she thinks he's succeeded.

Bill says that wasn't the only reason. He also came back to prove he wasn't guilty, that he wasn't the one who should have gone to prison. Elizabeth turns her back on Bill and asks how he expects to do that.

He's commissioned Sam to do his portrait, and Burke isn't the type of man to want his portrait painted. What he's commissioned Sam for is to get information from him.

About the accident? Elizabeth asks.

What else? Bill replies.

If Burke wasn't driving that car when it hit that man, then Roger was. Is that what Bill is trying to tell her?

Bill thinks that Elizabeth always suspected this, but wouldn't admit it even to herself. Elizabeth denies this and asks if Bill thinks she'd allow an innocent man to take her brother's place in jail?

Bill asks if she really wants him to answer that. Elizabeth says that Burke had a perfectly fair trial. The jury chose to find him guilty and she choses to accept their verdict. Is that quite clear?

What if there was evidence that wasn't introduced at that trial? Bill asks. What then? Does she want to hear about it?

In the drawing room, Carolyn is asking John what would happen if everybody wanted to withdraw their money at once. Would the bank go bankrupt? John laughs and says that they're insured for that now, so she doesn't have to worry, her money is safe. Carolyn says she doesn't have enough money to worry about, and that all she knows about banking is that they keep her money and she gets the interest. John agrees with that.

Carolyn asks is John knew Burke. John did, though he hasn't seen him in some time. Carolyn tells him that Burke is back in town. John had heard that. Carolyn asks if she seems to be trembling or anything, and John asks if she should be. Well, her mother and Roger think that Burke has come back to cause trouble for them. John asks what Carolyn thinks. Oh, she thinks he's as nice as can be. He's the one she had lunch with this afternoon.

John says he's heard quite a bit about him. Anything good? Carolyn wants to know? She's tired of hearing people knock him. All John can report on is his financial standing. Carolyn isn't interested in this; she just likes him. They get to talking about the difference between someone who has always had money and someone who started with nothing. Then John says he wishes he could handle Burke's finances.

Carolyn says he doesn't have a chance because he seems to travel with his own banker. She met him today. She then tells John the banker's name is Mr. Blair. And he's from New York. [Right now I want to make a joke about New York City, like in those Pace barbeque commercials. But I won't.]

John is concerned. A Mr. James Blair? he asks, and Carolyn confirms this. John is now really worried, and says he has to talk to Elizabeth about James Blair. Carolyn asks if John knows him, and John says he does. And he had no idea that he was working for Burke Devlin.

Back in the foyer, Bill says that he has information that could be damaging to Roger. What sort of information? Elizabeth wants to know. Bill would rather not tell her, until he's confirmed the facts. But it has to do with Burke's conviction ten years ago.

That was settled at the time, Elizabeth says. He was guilty. He says he wasn't, Bill counters. And you think he'd be satisfied if you could proved that? Elizabeth asks, and when Bill says he does, Elizabeth calls him a fool. He's served his prison sentence, and no matter what Bill proves, he can't give him back those five years.

But Bill can give him back his dignity, and that may be what he really wants.

Elizabeth says that no matter what her personal feelings about Burke are, she doesn't believe he ever lost his dignity. He must care that people call him an ex-convict, Bill says. He wants to be cleared.

And for that Bill wants her to sacrifice Roger? Bill doesn't know her very well.

Just then there's a knock on the drawing room door. It's John, wanting to come out. He tells Elizabeth about the connection between James Blair and Burke Devlin.

Now Bill is even more upset. He says that Elizabeth has to do what he wants, it's either that or lose everything because of that precious brother of hers. (Carolyn looks aghast at this.) Elizabeth starts to argue with him, but Bill says that he's going to do what he has to, even if it's without her approval. It's the first time since he's been working for her that he's gone against Elizabeth's wishes. to do. Elizabeth makes a minor effort to stop him, but Bill rushes out the front door.

John asks what that was all about, and Elizabeth downplays it, saying that Bill's been drinking, but it's nothing to worry about. But Elizabeth is worried.

Bill has gone back to the Blue Whale. He calls Roger at his office and says he has to see him right away. Roger doesn't want to do that, but Bill says either Roger sees him or he's going to the police.