𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐦

Act IV, Scene II

"With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to the truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two."
~ Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

__________

Lucy's eyes fluttered open.

As her vision focused on a large chandelier above her, she attempted to orient herself. She was lying on something soft, and a cool compress was being held to her forehead.

"You came back."

Hearing Dr. Reed's voice, she blinked, turning her head to the side. She was lying on the sofa in the parlor. Dr. Reed knelt by her side. As he watched her, his expression changed from concern to relief.

She blinked again. "Where did I go?"

"You fainted," a feminine disembodied voice informed her.

Evelyne appeared in Lucy's line of vision, standing behind Dr. Reed with a silver tray laden with the settings for tea.

"I've never seen someone go down so fast, and I've witnessed my fair share of women on their backs," Evelyne continued. "But your doctor here is quite the white knight. Swiftest hands I've ever seen. He caught you before you hit the floor."

Dr. Reed smoothed his thumb across Lucy's cheek. "Are you alright?"

"I–" Lucy began. She bit her lip. "I'm not entirely sure."

"That's fair," Evelyne stated. "Were I you, I'd be royally pissed."

Evelyne set the tea tray down on the cocktail table off to the side of the room. She poured the steaming liquid into cups.

Dr. Reed helped Lucy into a sitting position, one hand gently cupping the back of her neck.

"Don't try to stand just yet," he soothed. "You may be quite dizzy."

Evelyne set a teacup upon a saucer and brought it to Lucy. "Here you are, pet. Bit of refreshment will help clear the twirls."

Virgil appeared by Evelyne's side. "One final touch," he said.

He punctured the pad of his index finger with the tip of his eye tooth, and squeezed two drops of his blood into Lucy's teacup.

"Dhampir blood increases awareness and comprehension," he explained. "And it does wonders for the skin."

"Do you know," Lucy said, staring down at the dark liquid in her cup, "that just one month ago, I would have found that beyond repulsive."

"And now?"

She picked up the teacup, raised it to her lip, and sipped.

"Delicious," she said.

Virgil teetered, pleased with himself.

"How did I get down here?" Lucy asked. "The last thing I remember is being in Sir Wilhern's suite, and hearing him say..."

Her stomach dropped as she recalled the last words he had spoken before all went dark. She swallowed, feeling suddenly ill.

"I carried you down here when he suggested a change of venue," Dr. Reed answered.

"Yes, well, my bedroom hardly seemed the appropriate place for a discussion of this magnitude," came Sir Wilhern's voice from the parlor doorway.

Lucy watched as Sir Wilhern walked into the room. His footfalls were slow but steady, and he took a seat in the large cushioned chair adjacent to the sofa. Dr. Rosencrantz followed in his wake, at the ready should he stumble.