"The Law Hath Slept; Now 'tis Awake" - Dracula fan fiction (1/?)
Title: The Law Hath Slept; Now 'tis Awake
Fandom: Dracula
Character/Pairing: Mina, Jonathan, Jack, Arthur
Summary: Six months after the end of the story, Mina, Jonathan, Jack and Arthur find that the government has finally started to take an interest in their recent actions. And under the cold scrutiny of the court, those actions may not seem so reasonable.
Rating: PG (for this chapter)
Warnings: Not much in this chapter.
A/N: Yes, this is the one that I've been rambling about. I don't write many multi-chapter stories, so this should be interesting. For the "Unforgiving" prompt at 50_darkfics
Chapter One: Arrest
Warrant for the Arrest of Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker
Issued on the fourth of April, year of our Lord 1894.
She has been accused of the murders of Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and Miss Adriana Dracula, as well as conspiring with those who attempted the murder of Count Vlad Dracula.
She will be brought before the Courts of Assizes with Mr. Jonathan Harker, Lord Arthur Godalming and Dr. John Seward on the sixteenth of April, year of our Lord 1894. Until that time she and those accused of conspiring with her shall be held in prison.
This warrant has been issued by the Justice of the Peace Richard Brakenbury.
Mina had been teaching at the time. Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, it had been. It was her first year teaching a class on her own rather than simply being the assistant schoolmistress, and her class was mainly made up of twelve year olds. She had just instructed a short blonde girl named Rebecca to read Isabella’s speech in which she pled for her brother’s life when Mina heard the door to the classroom pushed open and several police officers enter, the tramp of their boots heavy on the floor. That moment became forever imprinted on her mind, how she lifted her head, pushing her hair away from her face. There were murmurs from the students, and then one of the policemen said in a gravelly voice, holding up a piece of thick paper, “We have a warrant for the arrest of Wilhelmina Harker.”
The words hadn’t registered for an instant, even as the students began to gasp. It was probably only a second, but to her it felt like forever until she began to panic slightly, her mind repeating over and over I’m innocent, I’m innocent, I didn’t do anything wrong. She somehow had the presence of mind to speak. “What are the charges?”
The policeman holding the warrant cleared his throat and began to read. “She has been accused of the murders of Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and conspiring to attempt the murder of Count Vlad Dracula.”
That was when she really began to panic, remembering Professor Van Helsing coming back with a bloody stake as she saw in her mind’s eye his knife coming down and severing head from neck three times, each time horrible in a new way. Professor Van Helsing who had died a few months ago of some commonplace illness that no one had expected the genius doctor to fall victim to.
The injustice in the fact that she was being arrested for this, that the legal system had finally decided to do something now, while the Count was able to kill all those sailors, and Mrs. Westerna, and poor dear Lucy, and Renfield and brave Quincey without anyone interfering, made her want to protest, to yell. But then another part of what they had said sunk in.
To attempt the murder of Count Vlad Dracula?
She knew then that there was no point in fighting, in protesting her unjust imprisonment. She lowered her head, and she heard the tramp of boots near her again, and then she felt someone putting shackles around her wrists. Ah, yes, she was a dangerous murderess now, and such precautions had to be taken. Almost instinctively she tried to pull her hands apart, to test the strength of the shackles, but they held firm. Determinedly, she willed herself not to cry, not to show weakness. It was as though the Count was there now, and she couldn’t let him see her weak, could she?
Her students were whispering and some of the bolder ones were asking questions of the policemen, but she made no attempt to talk to them. For an instant she worried that it might trouble them to see their teacher arrested, but she only dwelled on that for a moment before beginning to worry about Jonathan.
~
Warrant for the arrest of Mr. Jonathan Harker.
Issued on the fourth of April, year of our Lord 1894.
He has been accused of attempting the murder of Count Vlad Dracula, of conspiring to accomplish the murders of Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and Miss Adriana Dracula, and of breaking into the London residence of Count Vlad Dracula (under the name Count Vlad Deville).
He will be brought before the Courts of Assizes with Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker, Lord Arthur Godalming and Dr. John Seward on the sixteenth of April, year of our Lord 1894. Until that time he and those accused of conspiring with him shall be held in prison.
This warrant has been issued by the Justice of the Peace Richard Brakenbury.
On April fourth, Jonathan went to work late. Mina had left early, as she always did, but he hadn’t needed to be at the office until a little later, so he made himself another cup of tea and decided to read for a few minutes. But that was soon interrupted by an insistent rapping on the front door. Sighing, Jonathan put down his book and went to answer the door.
Standing outside were three policemen, their expressions determinedly stern. “Are you Mr. Jonathan Harker?” asked one of them.
Jonathan frowned, worried about what these policemen could need from him. Perhaps there had been some sort of legal trouble, and someone had forged a document with his name or some such thing? He was sure that there could be no reason why the policemen actually wanted him; he was, after all, a good, law-abiding citizen.
He ran a hand through his white hair, a nervous habit, as he replied in the affirmative. “Yes, I am.”
“Well, we’re supposed to arrest you. We have a warrant here.”
Jonathan shuddered, but didn’t, couldn’t believe it. “I’m sure you must have made a mistake. I haven’t done anything wrong. Perhaps you confused my name with someone else’s -“
But the one who had been replying to his previous statements spoke again, seeming almost amused at Jonathan’s denial of the situation, and looked down at the slip of paper (presumably the warrant) that he held in one hand. “It says on this warrant that you attempted to murder Count Vlad Dracula, conspired with others to murder a bunch of women with that same last name, and broke into Count Dracula’s London house. If all that isn’t true, then you can take if up with the Judge at your trial. We’re only here to take you to prison.”
The realization of what was going on seemed to come to Jonathan in one fell sweep, and it was so horrific that it reminded him of some sort of nightmare. “Oh God…”
Even in his shock, he was dimly aware of the rattling of chains, and then the voice of one of the police officers that hadn’t yet spoken. “Arms out. We need to shackle you.”
As if in a trance, Jonathan lifted his arms, the absurd thought coming into his head that he would now surely be late to work. He closed his eyes as he felt the metal being fastened around his wrists, and only then did it occur to him to wonder: Was Mina being arrested as well?
~
Warrant for the arrest of Dr. John Seward.
Issued on the fourth of April, year of our Lord 1894.
He has been accused of the murder of R. M. Renfield, of conspiring to accomplish the murders of Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and Miss Adriana Dracula, and of conspiring to attempt the murder of Count Vlad Dracula.
He will be brought before the Court of Assizes with Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker, Mr. Jonathan Harker and Lord Arthur Godalming on the sixteenth of April, year of our Lord 1894. Until that time, he and those accused of conspiring with him shall be held in prison.
This warrant has been issued by Justice of the Peace Richard Brakenbury.
That day, Jack was sitting in his study filling out monotonous paperwork. It would the most tedious part of his job, but necessary. His mind had only begun to stray from the task when he heard a knock on the door. Absentmindedly, he called out, “Come in.”
It was Amy, the maid, and she barely waited a second before speaking. “There are two policemen at the door to see you, Sir.”
Jack only allowed himself a brief second of worry before saying, “Send them up,” like any good, professional Doctor. But as soon as Amy left, possibilities about the reason for the policemen’s visit began to enter his mind at a swift pace, one after the other. Could they be bringing back one of the inmates that he had discharged who had been causing trouble? If so, Jack sincerely hoped that it wasn’t Bailey. He had seemed to be doing so well when they discharged him, and it would be such a severe disappointment to have him brought back to them like this…
But Jack barely had time to consider such things, for the door to his study was soon abruptly opened - no knock this time - and two policemen entered, one short and one tall, the tall one holding a slip of cream colored paper of the sort that official documents were printed on, and the other holding a pair of shackles. “We’re here to arrest you,” said the tall one.
This was simply impossible. Jack had tried his best to abide by the law at all times, and, to his knowledge, he had not broken it. And even if he had accidentally filled out something wrong on a form or some such thing, that would not be the sort of thing that he would be arrested for. And so surprise made him stutter. “Wh…why?”
This time, it was the shorter officer who spoke. “Because you’ve been accused of murder and attempted murder. Of R.M. Renfield, Count Dracula, Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and Miss Adriana Dracula, the warrant says. Now we’re going to have to bring you with us to the prison, and we’re supposed to have you shackled, so you better not struggle. We’ve both dealt with more dangerous murderers than you.”
Something within Jack exploded with indignation. “I’m not a murderer! Renfield was my patient, and I was utterly horrified to find him dead! As for the Count…” There, Jack’s voice trailed off. He remembered Quincey, his knife bloody with the Count’s tainted blood, the Count fading into dust. Surely, he wasn’t wholly innocent of that murder at least, even if it was likely the most justified murder ever committed.
But while he was lost in consideration, he felt the shackles being fastened around his wrists. His sleeves were rolled up, so he felt the cold, rusty metal directly against his skin. One of the officers grabbed his arm the second after fastening the shackles there and said, his voice impatient, “Come on,” as he began to drag Jack toward the door.
And what could he do but follow?
~
Warrant for the Arrest of Lord Arthur Godalming.
Issued on the fourth of April, year of our Lord 1894.
He has been accused of the murder of Count Vlad Dracula, and conspiring with those who attempted the murder of. Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and Miss Adriana Dracula, as well as breaking into the London residence of Count Vlad Dracula (under the name Count Vlad Deville).
He will be brought before the Courts of Assizes with Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker, Mr. Jonathan Harker, and Dr. John Seward on the sixteenth of April, year of our Lord 1894. Until that time he and those accused of conspiring with him shall be held in prison.
This warrant has been issued by the Justice of the Peace Richard Brakenbury.
Arthur’s younger sister, Alice, had convinced him to give a party. Truly, her intentions were good, for she had been doing her absolute best to help him get over Lucy and Quincey’s deaths, but she didn’t seem to realize that pretending to be pleasant to a bunch of people who he hardly knew was not the way to do that. It used to be that the only way he enjoyed parties was either Lucy or Quincey’s company - for they both loved parties, and were charming and kind and wonderful at all of them - and so now every young woman who tried to flirt with him reminded Arthur of his fiancée, and every young man who tried to speak to him reminded him of his old friend. And even talking to the older gentlemen there didn’t help - he saw echoed in all their eyes the image of his father, who had also died during all that a year ago, but not as a casualty of the Count’s malice.
And so it was while he was listening to Miss Cecily Weaver prattling on about something, and quite truly wishing for an interruption, when the front door was pushed violently open, and everyone sitting in the parlor turned to see four policemen entering. There were gasps from all the high bred nobles sitting there, and Alice, as the hostess, stood up and practically shouted, her voice filled with righteous indignation, “What right do you have to barge in on the homes of respectable people?”
“We’re sorry to bother you, miss,” said one of them, inclining his head a little in what might have been a hint of a bow, “we just need to see Lord Arthur Godalming.”
Arthur felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he stood up nevertheless, doing his very best to keep his voice from shaking. “That would be me.”
“You’re under arrest,” said another one of the policemen without ceremony, the boredom in his voice making it sound like he had done this a thousand times today.
If there had been gasps from the guests at the unannounced arrival of the policemen, they were multiplied tenfold now. Cecily Weaver began to inch away from him, and he heard her whisper to another girl, “I always thought there was something not quite right about that man…”
“What have I done?” Arthur asked, nearly whispering. But even as he said that, he knew that it must have something to do with that whole awful mess with the Count. Often during that they had all done things that were perhaps not quite in keeping with societal norms, though he had never thought that they were the sorts of things that he would end up being arrested for.
“Read the charges yourself,” said the first policeman who had spoken, and he handed Arthur a piece of paper that turned out to be a warrant for his arrest. Looking over them, he saw that he had been correct about the reason for his arrest. And yet, it was worse than he had imagined. He was being accused of murder.
As though in reply to his very thoughts, the policeman who had handed him the warrant said, “Now, as you can see, though are some serious crimes there. We’re going to have to bring you to prison.”
He didn’t even have a chance to think about that, because Alice, who was reading over his shoulder, asked him, her face showing all the confusion and horror that Arthur felt, and her voice thick with desperation as she pleaded for him to tell her that all of this wasn’t true, that it was all some awful mistake and none of this should have been connected with him in the first place, “What’s he talking about, Art? What’s going on?”
But Arthur had to be the responsible older brother and head of his family. He couldn’t worry Alice; he couldn’t show his own panic and disbelief. He would go to prison like a good citizen who had nothing to hide. He would talk to his family lawyer who had, after all, gotten his relatives out of quite bad scrapes, and would do so at the earliest possible time. And, most of all, he wouldn’t get angry. “I’ll explain it all later, Alice. Don’t worry about me. Just telegraph our lawyer and arrange a meeting as soon as possible.”
She nodded, and looked about to say something else, but appeared to have decided against it. And so Arthur turned away from the group of guests in the parlor, resolutely not listening to anything they were saying, and lifted his hands to be shackled, trying not to wonder about the future.
Chapter Two
Fandom: Dracula
Character/Pairing: Mina, Jonathan, Jack, Arthur
Summary: Six months after the end of the story, Mina, Jonathan, Jack and Arthur find that the government has finally started to take an interest in their recent actions. And under the cold scrutiny of the court, those actions may not seem so reasonable.
Rating: PG (for this chapter)
Warnings: Not much in this chapter.
A/N: Yes, this is the one that I've been rambling about. I don't write many multi-chapter stories, so this should be interesting. For the "Unforgiving" prompt at 50_darkfics
Chapter One: Arrest
Warrant for the Arrest of Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker
Issued on the fourth of April, year of our Lord 1894.
She has been accused of the murders of Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and Miss Adriana Dracula, as well as conspiring with those who attempted the murder of Count Vlad Dracula.
She will be brought before the Courts of Assizes with Mr. Jonathan Harker, Lord Arthur Godalming and Dr. John Seward on the sixteenth of April, year of our Lord 1894. Until that time she and those accused of conspiring with her shall be held in prison.
This warrant has been issued by the Justice of the Peace Richard Brakenbury.
Mina had been teaching at the time. Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, it had been. It was her first year teaching a class on her own rather than simply being the assistant schoolmistress, and her class was mainly made up of twelve year olds. She had just instructed a short blonde girl named Rebecca to read Isabella’s speech in which she pled for her brother’s life when Mina heard the door to the classroom pushed open and several police officers enter, the tramp of their boots heavy on the floor. That moment became forever imprinted on her mind, how she lifted her head, pushing her hair away from her face. There were murmurs from the students, and then one of the policemen said in a gravelly voice, holding up a piece of thick paper, “We have a warrant for the arrest of Wilhelmina Harker.”
The words hadn’t registered for an instant, even as the students began to gasp. It was probably only a second, but to her it felt like forever until she began to panic slightly, her mind repeating over and over I’m innocent, I’m innocent, I didn’t do anything wrong. She somehow had the presence of mind to speak. “What are the charges?”
The policeman holding the warrant cleared his throat and began to read. “She has been accused of the murders of Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and conspiring to attempt the murder of Count Vlad Dracula.”
That was when she really began to panic, remembering Professor Van Helsing coming back with a bloody stake as she saw in her mind’s eye his knife coming down and severing head from neck three times, each time horrible in a new way. Professor Van Helsing who had died a few months ago of some commonplace illness that no one had expected the genius doctor to fall victim to.
The injustice in the fact that she was being arrested for this, that the legal system had finally decided to do something now, while the Count was able to kill all those sailors, and Mrs. Westerna, and poor dear Lucy, and Renfield and brave Quincey without anyone interfering, made her want to protest, to yell. But then another part of what they had said sunk in.
To attempt the murder of Count Vlad Dracula?
She knew then that there was no point in fighting, in protesting her unjust imprisonment. She lowered her head, and she heard the tramp of boots near her again, and then she felt someone putting shackles around her wrists. Ah, yes, she was a dangerous murderess now, and such precautions had to be taken. Almost instinctively she tried to pull her hands apart, to test the strength of the shackles, but they held firm. Determinedly, she willed herself not to cry, not to show weakness. It was as though the Count was there now, and she couldn’t let him see her weak, could she?
Her students were whispering and some of the bolder ones were asking questions of the policemen, but she made no attempt to talk to them. For an instant she worried that it might trouble them to see their teacher arrested, but she only dwelled on that for a moment before beginning to worry about Jonathan.
~
Warrant for the arrest of Mr. Jonathan Harker.
Issued on the fourth of April, year of our Lord 1894.
He has been accused of attempting the murder of Count Vlad Dracula, of conspiring to accomplish the murders of Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and Miss Adriana Dracula, and of breaking into the London residence of Count Vlad Dracula (under the name Count Vlad Deville).
He will be brought before the Courts of Assizes with Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker, Lord Arthur Godalming and Dr. John Seward on the sixteenth of April, year of our Lord 1894. Until that time he and those accused of conspiring with him shall be held in prison.
This warrant has been issued by the Justice of the Peace Richard Brakenbury.
On April fourth, Jonathan went to work late. Mina had left early, as she always did, but he hadn’t needed to be at the office until a little later, so he made himself another cup of tea and decided to read for a few minutes. But that was soon interrupted by an insistent rapping on the front door. Sighing, Jonathan put down his book and went to answer the door.
Standing outside were three policemen, their expressions determinedly stern. “Are you Mr. Jonathan Harker?” asked one of them.
Jonathan frowned, worried about what these policemen could need from him. Perhaps there had been some sort of legal trouble, and someone had forged a document with his name or some such thing? He was sure that there could be no reason why the policemen actually wanted him; he was, after all, a good, law-abiding citizen.
He ran a hand through his white hair, a nervous habit, as he replied in the affirmative. “Yes, I am.”
“Well, we’re supposed to arrest you. We have a warrant here.”
Jonathan shuddered, but didn’t, couldn’t believe it. “I’m sure you must have made a mistake. I haven’t done anything wrong. Perhaps you confused my name with someone else’s -“
But the one who had been replying to his previous statements spoke again, seeming almost amused at Jonathan’s denial of the situation, and looked down at the slip of paper (presumably the warrant) that he held in one hand. “It says on this warrant that you attempted to murder Count Vlad Dracula, conspired with others to murder a bunch of women with that same last name, and broke into Count Dracula’s London house. If all that isn’t true, then you can take if up with the Judge at your trial. We’re only here to take you to prison.”
The realization of what was going on seemed to come to Jonathan in one fell sweep, and it was so horrific that it reminded him of some sort of nightmare. “Oh God…”
Even in his shock, he was dimly aware of the rattling of chains, and then the voice of one of the police officers that hadn’t yet spoken. “Arms out. We need to shackle you.”
As if in a trance, Jonathan lifted his arms, the absurd thought coming into his head that he would now surely be late to work. He closed his eyes as he felt the metal being fastened around his wrists, and only then did it occur to him to wonder: Was Mina being arrested as well?
~
Warrant for the arrest of Dr. John Seward.
Issued on the fourth of April, year of our Lord 1894.
He has been accused of the murder of R. M. Renfield, of conspiring to accomplish the murders of Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and Miss Adriana Dracula, and of conspiring to attempt the murder of Count Vlad Dracula.
He will be brought before the Court of Assizes with Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker, Mr. Jonathan Harker and Lord Arthur Godalming on the sixteenth of April, year of our Lord 1894. Until that time, he and those accused of conspiring with him shall be held in prison.
This warrant has been issued by Justice of the Peace Richard Brakenbury.
That day, Jack was sitting in his study filling out monotonous paperwork. It would the most tedious part of his job, but necessary. His mind had only begun to stray from the task when he heard a knock on the door. Absentmindedly, he called out, “Come in.”
It was Amy, the maid, and she barely waited a second before speaking. “There are two policemen at the door to see you, Sir.”
Jack only allowed himself a brief second of worry before saying, “Send them up,” like any good, professional Doctor. But as soon as Amy left, possibilities about the reason for the policemen’s visit began to enter his mind at a swift pace, one after the other. Could they be bringing back one of the inmates that he had discharged who had been causing trouble? If so, Jack sincerely hoped that it wasn’t Bailey. He had seemed to be doing so well when they discharged him, and it would be such a severe disappointment to have him brought back to them like this…
But Jack barely had time to consider such things, for the door to his study was soon abruptly opened - no knock this time - and two policemen entered, one short and one tall, the tall one holding a slip of cream colored paper of the sort that official documents were printed on, and the other holding a pair of shackles. “We’re here to arrest you,” said the tall one.
This was simply impossible. Jack had tried his best to abide by the law at all times, and, to his knowledge, he had not broken it. And even if he had accidentally filled out something wrong on a form or some such thing, that would not be the sort of thing that he would be arrested for. And so surprise made him stutter. “Wh…why?”
This time, it was the shorter officer who spoke. “Because you’ve been accused of murder and attempted murder. Of R.M. Renfield, Count Dracula, Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and Miss Adriana Dracula, the warrant says. Now we’re going to have to bring you with us to the prison, and we’re supposed to have you shackled, so you better not struggle. We’ve both dealt with more dangerous murderers than you.”
Something within Jack exploded with indignation. “I’m not a murderer! Renfield was my patient, and I was utterly horrified to find him dead! As for the Count…” There, Jack’s voice trailed off. He remembered Quincey, his knife bloody with the Count’s tainted blood, the Count fading into dust. Surely, he wasn’t wholly innocent of that murder at least, even if it was likely the most justified murder ever committed.
But while he was lost in consideration, he felt the shackles being fastened around his wrists. His sleeves were rolled up, so he felt the cold, rusty metal directly against his skin. One of the officers grabbed his arm the second after fastening the shackles there and said, his voice impatient, “Come on,” as he began to drag Jack toward the door.
And what could he do but follow?
~
Warrant for the Arrest of Lord Arthur Godalming.
Issued on the fourth of April, year of our Lord 1894.
He has been accused of the murder of Count Vlad Dracula, and conspiring with those who attempted the murder of. Countess Ecaterina Dracula, Miss Ileana Dracula and Miss Adriana Dracula, as well as breaking into the London residence of Count Vlad Dracula (under the name Count Vlad Deville).
He will be brought before the Courts of Assizes with Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker, Mr. Jonathan Harker, and Dr. John Seward on the sixteenth of April, year of our Lord 1894. Until that time he and those accused of conspiring with him shall be held in prison.
This warrant has been issued by the Justice of the Peace Richard Brakenbury.
Arthur’s younger sister, Alice, had convinced him to give a party. Truly, her intentions were good, for she had been doing her absolute best to help him get over Lucy and Quincey’s deaths, but she didn’t seem to realize that pretending to be pleasant to a bunch of people who he hardly knew was not the way to do that. It used to be that the only way he enjoyed parties was either Lucy or Quincey’s company - for they both loved parties, and were charming and kind and wonderful at all of them - and so now every young woman who tried to flirt with him reminded Arthur of his fiancée, and every young man who tried to speak to him reminded him of his old friend. And even talking to the older gentlemen there didn’t help - he saw echoed in all their eyes the image of his father, who had also died during all that a year ago, but not as a casualty of the Count’s malice.
And so it was while he was listening to Miss Cecily Weaver prattling on about something, and quite truly wishing for an interruption, when the front door was pushed violently open, and everyone sitting in the parlor turned to see four policemen entering. There were gasps from all the high bred nobles sitting there, and Alice, as the hostess, stood up and practically shouted, her voice filled with righteous indignation, “What right do you have to barge in on the homes of respectable people?”
“We’re sorry to bother you, miss,” said one of them, inclining his head a little in what might have been a hint of a bow, “we just need to see Lord Arthur Godalming.”
Arthur felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he stood up nevertheless, doing his very best to keep his voice from shaking. “That would be me.”
“You’re under arrest,” said another one of the policemen without ceremony, the boredom in his voice making it sound like he had done this a thousand times today.
If there had been gasps from the guests at the unannounced arrival of the policemen, they were multiplied tenfold now. Cecily Weaver began to inch away from him, and he heard her whisper to another girl, “I always thought there was something not quite right about that man…”
“What have I done?” Arthur asked, nearly whispering. But even as he said that, he knew that it must have something to do with that whole awful mess with the Count. Often during that they had all done things that were perhaps not quite in keeping with societal norms, though he had never thought that they were the sorts of things that he would end up being arrested for.
“Read the charges yourself,” said the first policeman who had spoken, and he handed Arthur a piece of paper that turned out to be a warrant for his arrest. Looking over them, he saw that he had been correct about the reason for his arrest. And yet, it was worse than he had imagined. He was being accused of murder.
As though in reply to his very thoughts, the policeman who had handed him the warrant said, “Now, as you can see, though are some serious crimes there. We’re going to have to bring you to prison.”
He didn’t even have a chance to think about that, because Alice, who was reading over his shoulder, asked him, her face showing all the confusion and horror that Arthur felt, and her voice thick with desperation as she pleaded for him to tell her that all of this wasn’t true, that it was all some awful mistake and none of this should have been connected with him in the first place, “What’s he talking about, Art? What’s going on?”
But Arthur had to be the responsible older brother and head of his family. He couldn’t worry Alice; he couldn’t show his own panic and disbelief. He would go to prison like a good citizen who had nothing to hide. He would talk to his family lawyer who had, after all, gotten his relatives out of quite bad scrapes, and would do so at the earliest possible time. And, most of all, he wouldn’t get angry. “I’ll explain it all later, Alice. Don’t worry about me. Just telegraph our lawyer and arrange a meeting as soon as possible.”
She nodded, and looked about to say something else, but appeared to have decided against it. And so Arthur turned away from the group of guests in the parlor, resolutely not listening to anything they were saying, and lifted his hands to be shackled, trying not to wonder about the future.
Chapter Two