Light And Shadows (Barnabas Collins x Reader)

Chapter 2- Hello, My Name is Victoria Winters

1972

A silver train is traveling through many terrains. Inside the train is a young women is looking down at an ad, that's looking for a Governess. "Hello. My name is Maggie Ev-" She stops and looks up at a ski ad. "Hello. My name is Victoria Winters. Please, call me Vicky." She smiles, happy about her name.

~~~

Victoria gets off the train with her suitcase in hand. She looks around, looking for the exit till she locates it. While she is walking two police officers passed her, making her look down and continue walking a bit faster till she out of the station.

~~~

Victoria is on the side of the road with an extended thumb, hoping to get a ride. A Volkswagen pulls to the side of the road lending her a ride. Inside is a bunch of hippies.

Victoria sits in the front with the driver, with all of the hippies looking at her with curiosity. "So where you from, Veronica?" A blonde girl asked.

"New York. And it's Victoria." She looks at her.

"And it's Victoria. I love this chick, man." The blonde imitates while the others laugh, but Victoria not so much.

"New York's a trip, huh?" The driver questions.

"I guess."

"What about you? What brings a New York girl out to the sticks?" Victoria thinks on what to say, "An old friend."

The Volkswagen drives through the town, Victoria seeing buildings both old and new. The harbor with many boats and fishermen pulling in fish they caught that day. The more she looks the more the town catches her attention.

The Volkswagen drives through the woods till it halts in front of a crooked, rusted iron gates of the Collinwood manor. Victoria gets off while the hippies bid her far-well and with that they drove off. She walks to the gate and pushes them open, she takes a deep breath and starts walking the path to the manor.

After a couple of minutes, Victoria walks up the front drive way seeing a pumpkin patch to her left and a few feet away a 56 Chevy Beauville station wagon sits broken with weeds covering it. She walks up the steps to the front door and knocks the door. She looks around when the door opens suddenly and a man, Willie Loomis, stands there with a unimpressed look on his face.

"Hello. I'm Victoria Winters." She says with a smile on her face.

"Congratulations." Billy says with a sarcastic smile on his face making Victoria double take. "I'm here to see Ms. Stoddard about the governess position."

"Oh, yeah. Been expecting you. Come on" Neglecting to take her bag, he leads her into the manor leaving Victoria to take her own bag and follow him.

"Sorry I couldn't grab you down in Portland. Damn wagon's been acting up, and Ms. Elizabeth won't spend the money to get it fixed." Walking into the foyer, Victoria looks around amazed. "It's beautiful."

"A bitch to dust is what it is. Place was designed for a staff of a hundred. Now they got a staff of me. Me and Mrs. Johnson." Willie says truthfully and pointing to an old lady. "She's about as useful as a bucket without a bottom."

"Still, not every family has a house like this. Or a whole town named after them." Victoria looks around while Willie looks at her already done. "Come again?"

"Collins. Collinsport." Victoria points out. "Never got that." Willie says truthfully.

Victoria looks to her left seeing a framed portrait above the fireplace. "Who's that?" It shows Barnabas standing with his cane and with a look of power.

"Barnaby, maybe. Something with a "Barn" in it. One of the real important ones from way back. Back when they were rich, rich people." They both walked up to the portrait to get a better look.

"Barnabas." A voice says capturing Victoria attention.

On the stairs stands Elizabeth Collins. "His name was Barnabas Collins. And he was the finest man this family ever knew." She descends the stairs till she was at the bottom. "Welcome to Collinwood. You'll have to imagine us on a better day."

~~~

A door opens to a Drawing Room, the oversize study lets people see the grounds and even the ocean that is a few miles away. Elizabeth leads Victoria into the room, while telling her about the manor.

"The house has some 200 rooms, most of them closed off to save on heating. We don't even go in the old wing anymore. Sit." Elizabeth walks to a table with many glass bottles of liquor, while Victoria sits on the couch that is in the middle of the room.

"There are only eight of us, after all. My daughter, Carolyn and I. My brother, Roger, and his son, David. Willie, who you who you've met, Mrs. Johnson, Dr.Hoffman who I suspect is sleeping off one of her legendary hangovers. And finally, Y/n, the other governess." Elizabeth explains.

"And where is David's mother, if you don't mind my asking?" Victoria questions after hearing about the people in the house. Elizabeth has a sad look on her face. "Laura was lost at sea when David was 5. He's had a rather difficult time accepting her passing. I brought Dr. Hoffman here to work with him for a month." Elizabeth walks and sits next to Victoria. "That was three years ago."

"Earlier you said that there was another governess, why would you want to hire another one, if you don't mind answering?" Victoria questions. "Y/n was first hire here when Carolyn was 5, but when David mother died Y/n started to become more of a other parent to both Carolyn and David. Of course when Carolyn became a teenager and Dr. Hoffman arrives, Y/n had more on her plate so I wanted to hire someone to help her out." Victoria smiles understanding.

"There are just a few questions, if you don't mind that weren't on the application." Victoria nods, "Of course." Elizabeth stands up.

"How do you feel about the President?"

"Never met him."

"The War?"

"I don't watch television."

"Do you think the sexes should be equal?"

"Heavens, no. Men would become unmanageable."

With that Elizabeth gives a slight smile. "I think we'll get along just fine, Ms. Winters." She walks up to her holding out a hand for Victoria to shake. "Vicky. Please, call me Vicky."

~~~

Elizabeth leads Victoria to a set of stairs that leads to a open doorway of a young woman's bedroom. "I'm Sick Of You" from Iggy Pop plays and Carolyn is sitting in a hanging seat. "Carolyn. This is Ms. Winters."

Carolyn turns around and walks to the door frame. "Your're from New York?"

"I am" Victoria reply.

"What's Manhattan like? I'm going to live there when I'm sixteen." Elizabeth turns to look at Victoria. "Carolyn has a fantasy that I'm going to allow this."

Carolyn throws daggers at her mother. "And Mother has a fantasy that I won't run away if she doesn't." She then turns her attention to Victoria. "So you're here to babysit the looney."

"What have Y/n and I told you about using that word?" Elizabeth says giving a stern look.

"I'm here to teach David."

"Good luck. None of the others have lasted more than a week. Ms. Winters."

"Please, call me Vicky." With that Carolyn slams the door in their faces.

~~~