Flame Beaufort's house Santa Barbara

Home   This page in English

We can only congratulate writers and decorators with having created, in this year of 1990, the surprising and disturbing house of the most disturbing Flame Beaufort. At first sight, nothing differentiates this house of the tens of the other seen in the show. We enter it by a wooden door, directly in a big lounge. At once on the left by entering, a staircase gives access on the next floor up, which we shall never see on-screen. Farther, we find a fireplace, a sofa, a window.

It is after several appearances that the house reveals its first secret, once Flame's dark intentions revealed in broad daylight : to imprison Robert Barr and to make him disappear in order to leave the place free for his twin brother Quinn Armitage, who will take his place in society. So, we discover that the sofa at the bottom of the room is removable. It indeed gives access to a trapdoor in the wall which allows Flame to get rid of Robert by making him slide directly in the basement of the house.

Flame, as for her, has another way of access to the basement : a secret elevator, from which the access is hidden behind the partition to the left of the sofa. A tapping on the wall is enough so that the door opens and allows to come down at the lower level of the house.

The elevator opens then on a long dark corridor, sometimes enlightened by a red light. An indicator light to the right of the elevator indicates when this latter is in service, and when it leads a visitor towards the basement.

On the right of the corridor, we discover long bars constituting a cell in which Robert is taken prisoner. A small opening between bars allows Flame to slide tray meals for Robert, without risking to see this latter escaping.

A remote control allows to activate the opening and the closure of mechanical shutters which can block completely the view on the cell and its bars, and to give the impression of a wall. A good way for Flame to hide the presence of the cell in case of surprise visits (Craig Hunt in particular).

Inside the cell, we find the basic furniture : a bed, a table, a chair, and a bathroom on the right by entering the cell, fortunately out of sight. Robert will try to escape, in vain, by two finally blocked accesses : the fireplace and a ventilation grill situated in the ceiling.

On the other side of the corridor, on the opposite from the cell, a sliding double door gives access to Flame's bedroom.

The inside, more clear than the rest of the basement, is occupied by a big bed, a desk, and a closet inlayed in the left wall. From her bedroom, Flame can watch Robert, and even have a dialogue with him. Robert will so hear Flame and Quinn to discuss and quarrel repeatedly, even before knowing the real identity of his gaolers.

After Robert, it is Flame who will be for a while prisoner of the cell when this latter will succeed in escaping. Eden Capwell and Craig Hunt will discover the first ones the existence of the basement and the cell, but will still take time to know the identity of the one who was taken prisoner there...