𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐦

Act II, Scene I

"It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."
~ Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

__________

The nebulous streets of London proved no match for Lucy.

Within the hour, Wilhern manor loomed before her: a mammoth beast of bricks and glass, emerging from the veil of fog while simultaneously sinking into it.

She found she could navigate well in the dense fog, her other senses more than making up for any impaired sight, much in thanks to her practice with Dr. Reed. Letting herself into the house, soundless as a specter, she smiled, remembering the exhilaration of chasing him through the courtyard. He had laughed with such elation — able to break free of his burdens, if only for a few minutes' time.

She must see him again.

Every time she closed her eyes, the image of his tired yet kind countenance filled her mind. The elegant and masculine lines and planes of his face were so clear, so vivid, that she could almost feel them on the tips of her fingers. The coolness of his cheek still lingered on her lips.

She blushed, realizing she should not be thinking of him in such a way. There was nothing to suggest he would approve of or appreciate it.

Yet...

Yet he had not stopped her from kissing him.

He could have. But he hadn't.

The crackling sound of burning wood pulled Lucy from her thoughts. Someone was awake. And building a fire in the parlor. After her brisk walk, the thought of sitting before the fireplace was appealing.

Banishing her thoughts of Dr. Reed until she could be alone to sort them out, Lucy hung her cloak in the foyer armoire, then made her way into the parlor.

Dr. Rosencrantz knelt before the hearth, stabbing at the cluster of chopped logs with the iron poker. Seeing Lucy come in, he glanced in her direction with a rueful half-smile. "Domestic skills have never been my forte," he admitted, grimacing at the underwhelming blaze.

"Dr. Rosencrantz, it's half past five in the morning!" Lucy cried. "Why are you not still sleeping?"

"Science does not wait for dawn, and neither do I," he informed her, as though the answer should be obvious. "Your jaunt was successful?"

Lucy shook her head, bemused. It was just like him to dismiss pleasantries for logistics.

Taking the bundle of surgical bandage from her satchel, Lucy presented Dr. Rosencrantz with the items Dr. Reed had given her.

"Successful, yes," she said. "I made the acquaintance of a Dr. Thomas Reed, and he proved quite helpful."

"Thomas Reed? The name is unfamiliar to me."

Dr. Rosencrantz took a pair of surgical gloves from his pocket, donned them, and began unwrapping the bandages.

"Reed, yes," Lucy repeated. "As in the plant, not what one does with a book. He was very kind. And he apologizes if the sanitation is inadequate. Have you been by London Hospital as of late? It is grossly understaffed."

Dr. Rosencrantz gave a brusque shake of his head as he inspected Lucy's spoils. "I have not. But such news does not surprise me. I'm sure an alarming number of staff members are out ill."

Dr. Rosencrantz returned the syringes and tubes to the bandage, wrapping them with the care he would give a precious artifact.

"This is extremely helpful, and more than I thought you would return with," he said, nodding in approval. "This will expedite our research considerably."