Victoria quickly became indispensable to Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (played by Joan Bennett), both as governess to Elizabeth's troubled young nephew David Collins and companion to Elizabeth herself (although her initial quest to learn her true identity dismayed the family matriarch). For her own mysterious reasons, Elizabeth did not want Victoria to learn the truth. Victoria also became important as a family peacemaker, not to mention a stabilizing influence on Elizabeth's daughter, the rebellious Carolyn Stoddard (Nancy Barrett) and on the troubled David (David Henesy), son of Elizabeth's pompous and rather emotionally cold younger brother, Roger (Louis Edmonds). Slowly but surely, Victoria managed to form a bond with David. As she grew closer to Burke, she became embroiled in his old feud with the Collins family, all while she attempted to discover her origins. One early plotline involved Roger nearly dying in a car accident due to a part being taken from his car. Burke was a key suspect, but when Roger learned his own son David was the culprit, he dropped the investigation.