CHAPTER 12 - To Purfleet

“Van Helsing is off to the British Museum, looking up some authorities on ancient medicine. The old physicians took account of things which their followers do not accept, and the Professor is searching for witch and demon cures which may be useful later.”

Dr. Seward’s Diary,

Dracula,

by Bram Stoker

4 August, 1914 Traveling to Purfleet

Lucy felt slightly guilty about being so forward in asking for the Seward letters; but only slightly. She had been teased for quite some time already about her affections for Jack, and was not easily swayed from her intentions, even if she had to bear a gibe every once and awhile. She wondered why people thought it necessary to point out her behavior to her; as if she were going to change her actions. How silly of them if they thought that!
She grabbed Camilla’s hand as they ran ahead of their mothers, leaving pleas of ‘being ladylike’ far behind them.
They waited at the Hampstead Station entrance. “I have the timetable,” Camilla said, waving it in the air towards Mrs. Harker. “Do we change at Euston or Tottenham?”
“Euston Square dear, we will need to transfer to the Metropolitan Line to Aldgate. It is a short walk to the Fenchurch Station from there. Keep the schedule handy, we will need to go a different route coming back.”
It was a short wait for their train, and all boarded, the girls rushing ahead to choose their seats, and their mothers following close behind. They placed the basket between them, and leaned over it to look at the schedule as Lady Victoria sat next to Mina.
She could see that Mina was preoccupied with her own thoughts; and struggling to maintain as cheerful a countenance as possible. Indeed, she found her own thoughts returning time and again to Transylvania. How fast events had overtaken them. They said goodbye to the two young men and the Professor less than a fortnight, and now the world was at war, or at least, threatening war.
It was a shock to watch the spiraling escalation of threats among nations after so many decades of peace, well, relative peace. She knew it was not that simple; heaven knows she had listened enough to the talk in the last two weeks. But the speed of the unraveling diplomacy took one’s breath away.
“Vicky, I haven’t mentioned how grateful I am that you have watched over Lucy and Aggie these past weeks.”
A bit startled by Mina’s overture, Lady Victoria patted her hand while gaining her composure. She was not sure what to say.
Mina continued, “I feel numb, I go through the motions of dressing and eating, and I know others depend on me,” she looked over at Lucy and smiled, “but I cannot extricate myself from this, this morass. I should not have let Jonathan go.”
Lady Victoria nodded, she could not think of anything to say.
“My, conduct, is not helping Jonathan. He is beside himself with worry about me, and, now, with my worries realized, I know it is pushing him to find any means of bringing everyone home quickly.”
Mina sighed, “And I will admit, I have done nothing to dissuade him from his efforts, although I know it is unfair of me.”
She looked at Lady Victoria. “That is why I decided to come with you today.” She smiled, “I need to join the living again and to help, instead of creating another burden, in bringing all our loved ones back into our fold.”
Lady Victoria smiled. “How wonderful! You have been missed you know. I have felt quite alone without your friendship to rely on.” She felt tears well up, not realizing until now how much she had missed Mina’s company and her support.
This time Mina grabbed Lady Victoria’s hands and squeezed them saying, “Well, I’m back now and how can I help?”
Lucy and Camilla were watching them, not close enough to hear all the words, but close enough to see something of import was being said. Their mothers smiled reassuringly at them and the girls went back to keeping track of the stations they passed.
“The Professor’s letter to me requested I perform some tasks for him.”
Mina laughed, “Yes, I too received a list of requests. And, I will admit, that is what prompted me to reconsider my selfish inactivity. I don’t know why I fell victim to this lassitude; this feeling of impending dread, that I fear to do anything. We have only heard talk of war so far, but my motivation to carry on in my regular routine these last two weeks had left me. Which, of course, serves no purpose.”
Lady Victoria smiled, “Did the professor’s requests include research at the British Museum?”
Mina nodded, “He asked that I accompany you and help in documenting any manuscripts we might find useful. By that I’m assuming you will need my abilities taking notes in shorthand?”
“Yes, the professor is very specific about what we are to look for, but I am afraid there will be many cross references. It seems he is still not entirely comfortable with his past research as to how best to, …purify the Carfax estate, indeed if it even can be done. I suspect Professor Arminius may have suggested additional sources.”
 “And,” she continued softly, “we could also make good use of Lucy on this expedition to the Museum.”
Mina stiffened. Lady Victoria hurried on, “For the past few years she has worked closely with the Professor helping him chronicle and document ancient medicinal cures; …and such. She can save us time by helping us narrow our searches.”
“Vicky, I feel I have lost control of my children’s futures. I never wanted them to become immersed in our past, and now Jonathan is in Transylvania and Lucy is becoming an accomplished witch.” She said the last word quietly, and smiled to show she knew she was being melodramatic.
Lady Victoria smiled back; Mina’s loyalty to the Professor was unshakable, but it was evident that she had no genuine interest in his research, especially anything associated with her past.
Mina’s reluctance was understandable; if she had lived through what Mina experienced, she too might not be so eager to investigate any further mysteries.
For herself, she considered the Professor her new teacher. She was fascinated with his delving into the ancient mysteries and welcomed those times when she could participate in his projects.
She paused for a moment. “Arthur has held back doing anything so far, out of respect for John’s concern over his patients, but he is getting increasingly uncomfortable about letting that Carfax property lie undisturbed all these years. After all, the purpose of buying the property was to allow us to dispose of it as we wished. He does not want to wait any longer. He is hoping you and I can persuade Maria to come to Westenra with Jack and Bram, thinking that John would follow soon after them.”
Mina nodded. “It would be good to have all of us together at the Institute.”
Lucy moved over to sit next to Mina. “Mother, are you talking about the Sewards coming to live at Westenra?”
Mina smiled, “Would you like that?”
Lucy was about to express her joy at that thought, but saw the knowing smile on her mother’s face. She blushed instead,  but was mollified when her mother gave her an affectionate squeeze.
“Well dear, we’ll do the best we can.” Lucy went back to her seat.
Mina continued, “I have no past, neither does Jonathan. We were orphans, and, as such, we have no familial history. We have no ancestors to point to, no large family that our children can belong to.
The one blessing we received from the dreadful past is, as Jonathan has said, ‘the happiness of some of us since then is well worth the pain we endured’. And that is so true because we have found our true and loving family.”
Mina squeezed Lady Victoria’s hand, “We now have roots, and I am grateful. But I am at a loss to envision a future for my children that does not include our dreadful past.”
“Well then, it will be our mission to create a flood of happy childhood memories for our children to fondly look back on, and to be able to tell their stories to their children.” Lady Victoria smiled, “Actually that does sound like a bit of fun, doesn’t it?”
Mina laughed, it did sound like fun.”And we will make sure any time we spend on the Professor’s projects, we will give equal time to play.”
Lady Victoria patted her hand and smiled, thinking this day may contain some auspicious beginnings after all.


Lucy untied her hat and leaned back, closing her eyes; it was not often they had a chance to ride in a horse drawn carriage. She listened to Camilla chattering away with the cabby as they carriage made their way through Purfleet. She was content to listen, not wanting to interrupt her enjoyment of the warmth of the sun's rays on her face. While being gently rocked by the carriage, she watched the dappled pattern of light and dark play across her eyelids as the sunlight escaped through the canopy of trees overhead.
Her thoughts wandered to the note she received from Jack. He was excited about her coming to visit; he wanted to show her where he had found that old coin he had shown her when last he and his family visited the Westenra Institute.
Jack had acted so strange that night. He was so secretive and so possessive of that gold coin he had found. When he showed it to her, she had reached for it, only to have him pull his hand away and shove it back in his pocket. It pained her even now as she thought about it.
Lucy opened her eyes, rubbing her upper arms to  rid herself of the remembered pain.
Jack easily put her into a state of restless confusion at the best of times, and his strange actions lately further complicated her thoughts about him.
When they turned into the road heading towards the asylum, she stood up in the carriage to see if she could get a glimpse of Jack. She was rewarded by the sight of him on the top stoop of the spacious porch which dominated most of the front of the building. Lucy saw him wave and shout something.
The roadway gently curved towards the front of the building, before winding its way back to the main road. The cabby went past the front porch before he brought the horses to a stop.
By now all the Sewards were on the porch to welcome their guests.
Jack ran over and grabbed Lucy's hand. "Come on, I want to show you something."
“Jack, not now,” Mrs. Seward exclaimed, “show our guests to the parlor so they can relax for a few minutes at least. You will have plenty of time to show our guests around later.”
Lucy was surprised at his urgency, and, at his exasperation in having to play host. Little Bram was already leading Camilla into the house, while Mrs. Seward led the way for Lady Victoria and her mother.
Embarrassed by his actions, she grasped his hand and said, “We will be quick as we can.” Reluctantly, he followed her in.

He was waiting for her outside the kitchen door, throwing stones across the lawn at non-existent targets. He flashed a smile that could melt any heart she thought, but it disappeared when he saw Camilla behind her.
She quickly skipped down the stairs, hoping Camilla did not notice. “Well, we’re here, what’s the big secret?”
His expression froze as he just looked at her for a moment. His eyes blazed betrayal, which frightened her, she had meant no harm inviting Camilla along, and she had not realized no one else was to be included. Stuttering an apology, she whispered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”
By this time Camilla had joined them. Jack, with one nod at Lucy, flashed another one of his smiles for Camilla, “Say Cami, have you heard from Jonathan yet?”
“Yes!” she smiled excitedly, “We just received letters today.”
Jack looked surprised, almost disappointed, but, with a shrug he turned and headed off to the corner of the building.
“Jack, where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Jack left the grounds and headed down the roadway bordering the asylum. Lucy glanced to her left. She loved the collection of old buildings that made up the asylum. Although she preferred to call it the Sanatorium.
Over the years, additions had been built on to the main house; originally some person's fine home. Lucy liked wandering among the older sections. She never went to the portion that housed the patients, but she had met some of the other doctors and assistants.
Lord Godalming had persuaded Dr. Seward some time ago to move his practise to the new research facility that had been built on the grounds of the Westrena Institute, but the doctor was concerned about moving his existing patients, so only new patients were at the new facility.
For several years now Dr. Seward had been dividing his practise between the two facilities, and now, as he spent most of his time at the Institute, he had told Lord Godalming that in the next two years he would be able to close down the asylum.
Lucy wondered if that might all change now, what with her mother and Lady Victoria were saying.
Opposite the asylum, on the other side of the roadway, was a stone wall that, in some places, still reached eight feet high, most of it covered with ivy.
Jack ran past a set of old iron gates, so covered with rust that it was difficult to make out any design. He ran alongside the wall until he came to a section overgrown with ivy. The branches were thick, and Lucy could see many spots where the vine was penetrating the wall. He squeezed into a space between the vine and the wall and completely disappeared from view. Lucy and Camilla looked at each other in amazement.
Just then Jack popped back into view. "Come on", he urged.
Lucy went first. She squeezed herself as close to the wall as she could. After a few feet, a space opened up ahead of her. She turned back and encouraged Camilla to come on in. It was cool in the shelter of the vine. Lucy looked ahead but did not see Jack.
Suddenly his head appeared through a hole in the wall. "Come over here Lucy.’
She moved ahead to give Camilla room, and stopped in front of the wall opening. She peeked through the large opening. There were huge, old trees, casting shadows onto the high grass. Everything, although overgrown, looked green and lush; almost too lush. Colours were a bit off, and the shadows under the overarching foliage were too deep for a middle of the day sunny sky.
She stepped through the opening, noticing a feeling of unease taking hold of her. The shadows cast by the trees covered more ground than seemed natural to her, and the sunlight falling across the surface of a pond created no shimmer, no ripples. Even the willow tree, perched at the edge of the pond, dominating the scene by its size, looked unnatural.
She heard Camilla jump down beside her. Jack was already waving at them from a distance, urging them to follow. She saw where he was heading. A large house, with windows broken and gaping holes in the walls where the mortar was crumbling. But some of its old grandeur was still evident in the structure; Lucy thought it must have been magnificent in its day.
She was still admiring the front of the estate when she saw Jack disappear around to the side. She grabbed Camilla's hand.
They made their way through the high grass, following a little path with newly trampled grass underfoot. It was easy to follow so Lucy concentrated her attention on the ancient estate.
As they rounded the corner of the house, they saw Jack disappear through a broken window. A large limb of an overgrown oak tree, showing signs of  lightning strike, had crushed a portion of the wall along with the first story window creating an easy climb into the inside of the house.
She and Camilla began climbing to reach the window. It was dark inside. Lucy could hear Jack moving around, but could not see him.
"Jack, where are you?"
"Here.”
Lucy looked in the direction of his voice, but could not see him. She bent down over the ledge of the window, hoping to adjust her eyes to the dim light inside. Camilla's shadow blocked out more of the sun. She finally made out a figure below her and to the right.
Jack waved his hand."Come on down. There's a box under the window."
Lucy looked down and saw a very large crate just below the window. She eased herself down onto the top of the box. It gave slightly with her weight. She quickly jumped down to the dirt floor.
Jack came over to her. "This is where I found that coin." He grabbed her hand and led her to the back of the room and through a doorway. Lucy looked back, sensing Jack had forgotten about Camilla. She saw Camilla occupy the ledge she had recently vacated.
"Camilla, stay there for a minute." She shouted back as Jack pulled her forward down the hallway. They entered a main chamber that was considerably lighter due to the gaping holes in the walls. Jack ran ahead and pointed to an area under a large table situated in the center of the room.
"There, that's where I found the coin. I have searched this room many times, but have not been able to find any more." Lucy heard the disappointment in his voice. She was confused.
"There may only be one coin, Jack."
"That doesn't make sense! Of course there are more." His tone was sharp. His voice silenced her.
She stood there, watching him prowl around the room, her presence forgotten.
"Lucy!" That was Camilla. Jack was still intently looking around the room. She left, not saying anything.
Lucy made her way back to the smaller room. She stopped in the entrance way, distracted by a flickering blue light in the far corner of the room. When she looked at it directly, it disappeared. But if she looked away from it, she saw the light out of the corner of her eye.
"Lucy, this room smells horrible. Can you open that door?"
Camilla was pointing at a large double door at the back of the room. Daylight was streaming through the cracks, illuminating the dust motes that had been kicked up.
“I’ll see.”
The door looked massive. She noticed the curved arch along the top, giving it the appearance of an old castle, or church, door. Leaning closer, she did not see any latch or lock, sunlight showed an  uninterrupted crack between the doors. Moving shadows beyond the door told her Camilla had joined her.
She tested one double door and it did not budge. The other one wiggled a bit.
“Is there a handle or latch on your side?”
“Yes, two big iron rings.”
She jiggled the looser door.
“See this door?”
“Yes.”
“I am going to push that door and I need you to pull on the latch.”
“Alright.”
Lucy pushed with her hands, there was a bit of movement, but when she relaxed, the door rocked back in place.
“I’m going to try a little harder this time. When I count to three, give the latch a good pull.”
“I’m ready.”
Lucy put her back to the door and bent her knees. “One, two, THREE!”
She launched forward with her legs and was rewarded with a loud metallic scraping as the door inched open. She dare not relax her stance, so she kept pushing until she slipped to the ground.
She sat there, laughing, because Camilla had landed on the ground too.
Before she could get up, she felt a stirring behind her, a whispering of wings. Nothing could be seen in the interior, but the sound was closer.
She ducked as she felt spidery threads stream over her; covering her mouth she shouted, “Get down, cover your head!”
It was over in an instant; by the time it took Lucy to lift her head, she could barely make out dark stringy wisps fluttering away from the house.
Camilla looked at Lucy in terror. “What is it? I couldn’t see anything.”
“You didn’t see those dark wisps?”
“No, nothing.”
“You didn’t feel anything?”
“Nooo…,” she said, visibly shaking. “I want to leave this place.”
“What’s going on? I heard someone yell! What are you doing on the ground?” Jack looked from one to the other, still panting from his run through the house.
“How did you get the door open? I tried a couple of times and it wouldn’t budge.”
Lucy sighed. “Help us up will you?” She extended her arms to him.
Jack bent down to grasp her arms, and lifted her up; then went over to help Camilla.
Lucy began brushing herself off, “We opened the door together, she on one side and I on the other. I yelled because, I think, I felt something rushing past me once the door was open.”
Camilla came over and started to brush the back of Lucy’s dress. “And now, we both would like to go back to the house.”
“But I still haven’t finished searching.”
“We can find our own way back then.”
“No, wait,we need to go back together. Just give me a few more minutes.”
Lucy looked at him with displeasure. “We will stay out here and get cleaned up.”
Jack turned and rushed back into the dark interior. Lucy turned Camilla around to brush off the back of her dress too. This had turned into a miserable day.
“Lucy,” Jack shouted, “did you look around in this room at all?”
Exasperated she shouted back, “No, but I did see something…, shiny, in the far corner by the door.” She decided not to mention the blue light.
For a while she heard little scuffling sounds, and then a long silence.
Going to the door, she poked her head in, “Are you still there?”
Jack jumped up from his position in the corner, ”I will be out in a minute.”
“Good.” Lucy backed out into the daylight, ”Camilla, is there any dirt on my face.”
As they continued their toiletries, Jack emerged, hands filthy, and dirt ground into the knees of his pants.
“Oh Jack!” Lucy bemoaned. “What will your mother say?”
“I can go in through the kitchen and get cleaned up, I have done this before.”
“Well let’s hurry back, I do not want us to be late for tea.”
Lucy and Camilla proceeded hurriedly along the walk; neglecting Jack for the moment. As they neared the wall, Lucy looked back. To her dismay, Jack was wandering about, heading towards the large willow tree by the pond.
But, to her utter horror, she watched black wisps swirl around Jack, and, if she could believe her eyes, push him towards the willow!
“Jack!” She screamed,running back to him, waving her arms to get his attention. He looked at her lazily, and waved; still walking towards the pond.
Lucy was crying now, terror gripping her throat as she stared at the swirling mass. She had no idea what to do, so she barreled into him and knocked him down. There was a moment’s hesitation before the wisps assaulted him again. She began waving her arms to scatter them.
“Jack! Help me!”
“What are you doing?” Jack asked calmly.
“I’m trying to get these things off you.”
“What things?”
That stopped Lucy. She looked at him. There was no terror in his eyes. She was trying not to gag at the sight, and he could not even see them. It was then that she noticed the coins spilling out of his pockets. Gold Coins.
Acting on a strong suspicion, she frantically emptied his pockets of the remaining gold coins, and pulled him up onto his feet. He was so heavy and drowsy she had to wrap his arm around her shoulder and half-carry, half-drag him towards the wall. Camilla came running over to help.
Jack started struggling.“What are you doing?” He lurched around. “I can’t leave my treasure.”
“Jack! You’re being attacked.”
“Where?” He swayed as he tried to look back.
“Camilla! Tell him!”
“Tell him what?” A note of hysteria creeping into her voice.
Lucy looked at them both. Was she seeing things? But there they were, wisps, buzzing around the coins like a swarm of flying insects.
Jack started pulling away from her.
Beside herself with worry, she held on to him, pleading, “Jack, we can come back later. I’ll help you gather them all.”
“No! I found them. I’ll go get them now.”
She let go, “Alright, we’ll help you, and then we will be able to show everyone what you found.”
He stopped. “They are mine.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Then it’s probably safer to keep them here. No one but us know about the hole in the wall. And Camilla and I will be leaving soon. That way you can find a safe place where you can keep them secure.”
Jack hesitated, still looking at the pile.
“Or, we can take them back with us.”
“Never mind; but I need to cover them before we leave.”
He strode off purposely, with Lucy following him. They both kicked dirt over the pile, scattering the wisps, Jack oblivious to them, and Lucy, trying not to gag.

Tea was served in the second floor reception area. Lucy loved the huge bay window overlooking the commons area surrounding a modest church. It reminded her a bit of Exeter; and of the cathedral grounds where she, Aggie and Jonathan used to play. A momentary stab of loneliness washed over her.
But, it was pleasant right now, as she sat on the cushioned bench, her knees drawn up and her tea cup balanced on top of them. The conversations murmured on behind her as she drank in the summer greens and the sky blues displayed outside the window.
She had no wish to recall what happened earlier; hoping it would all fade into some kind of forgotten memory. Even now, she was beginning to doubt her recollection of what really happened.
A small commotion at the entrance of the room announced Jack’s arrival. She turned to look, relieved to see that no remnant of their adventure showed; at least outwardly. He flashed her a big smile which, to her dismay, made her feel all puddly inside. How does he do that? She blushed and turned back to the window.
But that did not prevent her from knowing where Jack was; or who he was speaking to.
With a switch in focus, she could see his reflection overlay the scene in front of her. At this vantage point, she felt concealed; until he looked up and smiled directly at her. Even as a reflection, it dazzled her. A hot flash spread across her cheeks, and a thrill across her body, but her gaze did not waver; she was in no hurry to break the spell.
Abruptly his image blurred; turning around she saw Bram, Jack’s young brother, barreling into him. He grabbed Bram and swung him in the air, eliciting squeals of delight.
Bram adored his older brother, and Jack, who could be so distant sometimes, was always gentle and kind to him. Lucy smiled as she watched them play, they eventually tagging Camilla to get her to join them.
She sighed, momentarily thinking of Jonathan, and of missing him, then, swinging her feet around, she rested her back on the bench pillows; all the while watching the scene in front of her.
Dr. Seward had joined them a while ago, and Lucy caught enough of their conversation to know they were now discussing when and how quickly the Sewards could close the asylum. Knowing her mother’s and Lady Victoria’s mission, it was fun to watch how they approached their subject. Although she noted that neither Seward was really objecting to anything that was being said.
She was somewhat aware that the play had stopped, but was still surprised when Jack flopped down beside her; head laid back on the pillows, feet dangling over the edge.
She looked at him; thoroughly amused at how easily he could ruin a mood. So much for her prince in shining armour! Now he looked like a fretful little boy.
He turned to her and asked,”Would you like us to move to the Westenra Institute?”
The question surprised her, she was unaware that he was even following the conversation; warily she answered, “Yes, I would like that very much.”
He turned back to the room saying nothing.
Camilla was now reading to Bram, and Lady Victoria was displaying the items from the basket they had brought; she and Dr. Seward discussing medicinal virtues of some of the items.
She was interested in what they had to say, and so was content with Jack’s silence.
Eventually he did turn to her and announce, “All right then, we go to London.”
His response confused her. Was he thinking it was all up to him? Or had he been unsure of how he felt about it? This move had been discussed for years, so it was certainly not a new idea. Or, and she suspected this might be the case, the idea had been around for so long that it faded into the background and was never really considered a possibility.
Nevertheless, she was pleased that he was at least agreeable to the idea.
“Well we better get along now.” Lady Victoria fussed with her skirt as she prepared to leave the table. “We still have a stop at Ludgate we must make, before Mr. Leo’s office closes for the day.”
Bits of conversation added to the commotion of scraping chairs and clattering teacups. Above it all, Dr. Seward chimed in, “Let us take you to the station in our new Wolseley, it’s a great day for a drive.” To which everyone agreed.