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| A Friday
Evening at Collinwood by Magda |
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Things had been quiet
at Collinwood for several months. No ghosts, no
supernatural events, no attacks during the full
moon, no beasts without a soul, not even a
spirited poltergeist to stir things up a bit. In
fact, things had been downright boring, and Julia
Hoffman decided to do something about it. She was
going to liven things up a little. She requested
that Roger, Barnabas, Quentin, Carolyn and
Elizabeth meet her in the study at Collinwood at
precisely eight o'clock on Friday evening.
Elizabeth, who had a previous engagement, had to
decline, but each of the others accepted. On Friday evening, they all arrived at the study door within moments of one another. Roger looked at the others, a frown coming to his face. "What on earth could Julia possibly want with each of us," he wanted to know. "Could this be some kind of support group for the terminally bored?" Roger ventured. Quentin shook his head, restraining himself from answering as he would like. They were all there to have a good time - he hoped - and it wouldn't do to start a spat with his terminally boring cousin, Roger. Instead Quentin reached for the door knob and gave it an easy turn. "We shall never know it we don't go in, Roger." Collins harumphed in response and entered the study first. The others followed and stared at the scene before them. Julia Hoffman sat in a chair on the far side of a green felt covered card table, deftly shuffling a new deck of cards. She smiled when she saw her guests had arrived. "I'm glad you could all come. Would anyone care to play a little poker?" Quentin's gaze lit up as he cast his gaze first on Carolyn, then on Julia. He smiled wolfishly and asked, "Would that be strip poker, my dear Julia?" Hoffman met his gaze levelly and continued to shuffle the cards, giving Quentin a glimpse of one of the best 'poker faces' he would ever encounter. She would like to nothing better than to see Roger, or Barnabas especially, stripped down to nothing but their dignity. However Julia knew better than to press her luck this early in the evening. "I think we should play for more... conventional stakes this time, Quentin," Julia replied. Barnabas gave a silent sigh of relief and sent Julia a slightly embarrassed look. She smiled and glanced down. It was nice to know he'd been contemplating seeing her the same way she'd been thinking about seeing him. It was not something she would soon forget. Barnabas took a seat next to Roger and across from Julia. The elder Collins wasn't sure he'd be able to control his libido if he saw Julia in anything less than the unflattering suits she usually wore. Carolyn too seemed less tense. It was probably the idea of seeing her uncle in his altogether that had made her begin to inch back toward the door. Quentin sat on the other side of Barnabas, and Carolyn took the seat between him and Julia. They decided on the limit of the bets and what the ante would be, then got down to some serious card playing. Barnabas, perhaps the least experienced poker player of the five, caught on quickly and won several hands in a row. Quentin, who had spent some time on the gambling boats that plied the Mississippi River, quickly realized that Julia Hoffman, who had learned to play poker in medical school from a very competitive group, watched his every move, and knew when he was even thinking about cheating. When she slyly dealt him nothing but garbage for three hands, he subtly nodded to her, acknowledging that her skill was equal to or perhaps a little better than his own. After that Quentin played every hand straight, and promised himself then and there he would never again play cards with a shrink. They knew way too much about body language. Carolyn was an adept player, having learned from Buzz Hackett and his gang. She was much more astute than Roger, who fancied himself better than he actually was. Quentin speculated Roger would be ripe for the picking had they actually been on a river boat and not under Hoffman's watchful eye. Elizabeth's meeting ended earlier than she anticipated, so upon her return to Collinwood, she made her way down the hall to the study, hoping Julia's little gathering had not yet broken up. She paused in the open doorway to the study, more astonished by what she heard than by what she saw. The card players were intent on their current hand, and it had been a very interesting one if the pile of chips in the middle of the table was any indication. Carolyn and Roger had already folded, and the bet was now up to Barnabas. He studied Quentin, then Julia carefully, considering the private bet he had made with her during one of the lulls in the game. He glanced down at his cards, and reached for his stack of chips. "Very well, Quentin," Barnabas stated, "I will see your three werewolves and raise you an evil being of darkness." The younger Collins smiled and looked to Julia Hoffman, who did not bother to look down at her hand. She knew what she had and was reasonably sure of what she was going to get. She glanced at Barnabas, then reached for her chips and added a nice stack to the pot. "I see your raise, Barnabas, and raise... a headless man and two artificially created beings," Julia stated in a tone that would have melted a glacier. The smile she gave him let Barnabas know he wouldn't be getting much sleep that night, after they had their own private game of strip poker. Barnabas drew back, his voice filled with frustration and anticipation. Even though it wasn't his turn, he did not hesitate to make his next play. "Fold," he stated in no uncertain terms. Quentin smiled. He studied Julia carefully, fascinated by her skill, determination and control. Slowly he nodded, carefully counting out his chips. "I see your bet, and raise you four ghosts," he countered. Hoffman smiled and added more of her poker chips to the pile. "Call," she said simply. Quentin met Julia's gaze then laid his hand on the table. "Four of a kind - all Charles Delaware Tate portraits," he chuckled as the others nodded and gasped, glad they folded when they had. Julia bit her lower lip as she met Quentin's gaze. He smiled more widely, and reached to rake in the pot, when Julia's smile widened and she reached out to stop his hands. "You may want to wait a moment before you do that Quentin," Julia cooed. "Why?" he asked cautiously. Julia just smiled and placed her cards face up on the table. "I have a full house, vampires over gypsies." Collins groaned while his relatives chuckled in appreciation. Julia pulled the chips toward her, meeting Barnabas' gaze across the table. She gave him a quick smile that was so sultry it made a hot summer's evening seem like the dead of winter. Barnabas felt his temperature rise, and was glad he was sitting down, for that wasn't the only thing that had suddenly gone up. Behind them Elizabeth shook her head in dismay, turned and headed back toward the drawing room. "Can't they do anything in this house without bringing the supernatural into it?" she asked herself aloud.
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