Burke makes up a story about finding the bleeder valve on the side of the road leading to Collinwood, another lie to go along with the lie he told about finding David on a sidewalk in town. In the minutes before both of these lies collapse, he and David sit on the staircase in the foyer. He tells David that they’re still friends- after all, if he were really mad at David for trying to frame him for attempted murder, he’d have told Roger the truth.
That placates David, who likes Burke and is desperate for a friend. It doesn’t do much for us, though- the lies collapse so quickly that a crafty operator like Burke can’t have thought he was giving David much cover, and he’s observed the Collinses closely enough to know that they will go to any lengths to keep a family scandal from becoming public. So we are still undecided as to what Burke wants to do and whether he is right to do it.
David’s confidence in Burke allows him to talk openly, admitting that his murder plot was “stupid” and declaring that he’s going to get back at Vicki. Burke doesn’t like that idea, but David is still on the rampage when Vicki tries to talk to him. He says that he hopes “a thousand ghosts come and strangle you and make you dead!” Burke warns her that if she’s going to keep living in the same house as David, she ought to stay away from open windows.
It may be hard for the other characters to understand why Vicki wants to stay on as David’s governess, but the audience should understand it. It only took a few minutes with the warm, upbeat Burke Devlin before David was jumping up, making jokes and laughing. Vicki has spent her whole life at the Hammond Foundling Home, at first as a resident, then as staff. Her great achievement is connecting with troubled children. If she can get David past the idea that he is working with her father to lock him up, she should be able to get at least as good a reaction from him as Burke did.
Acilius on Dark Shadows 