The alcohol stung Alice’s ankle terribly, but the cold cream felt soothing going on. Once her ankle was properly bandaged, Miss Trelawny said, “All right, that’s better. Come on, I’ll show you to your room.” Alice followed Miss Trelawny up the stairs to the ground floor, limping a little. Mrs. Raymond walked behind them, still grim and disapproving.
Yes, this was the English branch of the Alchemical Society. Alice recognized it now for certain. But how different it looked from the last time she had been here. Then, dim light had come through cracks in the boarded windows. Everything had been covered with a layer of dust. Clearly, the building had not been used in a long time. Now, sunlight filtered through the lace under-curtains, and the damask over-curtains were bright from washing. Everything had been dusted—wooden tables gleamed, and the gilding on the picture frames shone with a soft luster. They were ugly pictures, Alice decided as she followed Miss Trelawny along the front hall. Most were of men wearing wigs, presumably members of the Alchemical Society from the last century. Surely the English branch had been around that long?
The house still seemed empty, and silence reigned over all, although when they passed the entrance to the large common room, Alice could smell a cigar and hear the murmur of male voices.
As they passed, one of those male voices called out, “Miss Trelawny, is that you?”
Miss Trelawny stopped so abruptly that Alice almost bumped into her. “What does he want?” she said to Mrs. Raymond, so low that Alice could barely hear.
“It’s always best to humor them,” said Mrs. Raymond in the same low tones.
Miss Trelawny sighed with what seemed to be exasperation. “Come on,” she said to Alice. “This won’t take long, and then we’ll go to your room and make sure you have a proper bath.”
She took Alice’s hand and pulled her into the common room. Mrs. Raymond followed behind them. Three men rose from armchairs drawn up to the fireplace, although there was no fire. One of them moved toward her.
“My dear Dr. Seward,” she said, holding out her hand and shaking his when it was extended. Her voice sounded like treacle, rich and sweet. Alice looked at her, startled. She was smiling, and seemed pleased to meet him. So this was Dr. Seward, the director of the Purfleet Asylum, who had helped Professor Van Helsing perform experiments on his daughter Lucinda! And who had confined Archibald to the same coal cellar where Alice had been held captive. She looked at him with a frown. He seemed ordinary enough—of average height, with middling brown hair that was starting to recede, and a not particularly noticeable face. Strange, that evil should look so bland.
“How lovely to see you again.” Miss Trelawny turned to the other two men. “Lord Godalming, a pleasure as always. And this must be your friend Mr. Morris. One cannot mistake the American adventurer.” Lord Godalming bowed. He was a handsome man, with golden hair just starting to turn gray at the temples and a mustache that reminded Alice of a nailbrush. His companion was clearly Mr. Morris. So this was what Americans looked like! He had dark brown hair curling down to his shoulders, and a long mustache that made Alice think of the walrus from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. His jacket and trousers were made of leather, with a leather fringe. Hanging from his waist was a long sheath—Alice could see the hilt of a knife sticking out from the top. It must be a large knife! He looked so theatrical that she felt an impulse to laugh. It did not seem a very practical outfit for walking around London. His face was brown from the sun, and his blue eyes crinkled up at the corners. It was he who had been smoking a cigar, which was now in an ashtray.
“Hello, little lady,” he said to Alice. She stared at him without answering.
“This is my daughter, Lydia,” said Mrs. Raymond.
Alice looked at her, startled. She had never been introduced as anyone’s daughter before! But she was even more startled by Mrs. Raymond’s appearance. Gone was the gray hair—now it was entirely black, piled in an elegant chignon, and her plain gray dress had become a watered silk afternoon gown. It was still gray, but with lace at the low bodice and around the cuffs. She could have been Miss Trelawny’s sister!
Alice looked down at herself, ashamed of her nightgown, but she too had miraculously changed clothes. She was wearing a blue silk dress with an apron of white lawn, and on her feet were button boots. Goodness, she had never worn such an outfit in her life! The dress was far too fine for a kitchen maid, and what would she have done with such an apron? Why, it would have torn almost immediately, if she had worn it for her daily work. But none of this was real—she could still feel the wooden floor beneath her bare feet.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Raymond,” said Lord Godalming, bowing to her. She could not tell whether it was a mocking bow—he seemed sincere? After all, gentlemen did bow to young ladies like Lydia Raymond. “I assume you’re all here for the meeting this afternoon?”
“Of course,” said Miss Trelawny. “Who else are we expecting?”
“Just Harker and Raymond,” said Seward. “I don’t suppose you’ll have some time later for a walk? Although we are not in a prepossessing area of the city, there is a park.…”
Alice could not help looking at him with a startled expression. The Raymond he had mentioned must be Dr. Raymond! So he was involved with Mrs. Raymond and Moriarty. She truly was in the lion’s den. Luckily, at this particular moment no one seemed to be paying attention to her.
“I’m afraid not,” said Miss Trelawny. “Mrs. Raymond and I have a great deal to do—you understand, I’m sure.” She smiled at him again, but Alice thought there was something dismissive in her smile. Could Dr. Seward see it? She thought not. Miss Trelawny held out her other hand to Mr. Morris, who took it in his large brown one. “It’s such a pleasure to meet a man who has traveled to all corners of the earth. You must tell me more about your travels at dinner. I’ll make certain we’re seated together, shall I?”
Mr. Morris bowed over her hand, looking inordinately pleased, while Dr. Seward glared at him.
“Come, Lydia,” said Mrs. Raymond, taking Alice’s other hand and pulling her back toward the hall. She did not look like Mrs. Raymond anymore. Should Alice still think of her as Mrs. Raymond? But she could not think of her as Mother.
She felt herself tugged between the two women. Inadvertently, she pulled Miss Trelawny along behind her.
“Must you provoke them?” Mrs. Raymond asked when they were standing in the hall again. Miss Trelawny seemed to be laughing to herself.
“Divide and conquer, my dear Helen,” she responded with a smile. It was the same treacly smile she had given Dr. Seward, but now it seemed just a bit sinister. What in the world was going on in this house? Was this once again the Alchemical Society at work? It must be—after all, this was the headquarters of the society in England, and Dr. Raymond, who was expected later, had been the head of the English chapter. But what did Professor Moriarty have to do with the Alchemical Society? And who were those other men—Lord Godalming, Mr. Morris, and that other one, the Mr. Harker they had mentioned? Were they alchemists as well?
Alice was frightened, of course. But then, she had been frightened most of her life—of the bigger girls at the orphanage, who would steal food from the smaller ones because they were so hungry themselves; of Mrs. Poole finding out that she was just an orphan, rather than a respectable girl with a family in the country; of starving on the streets of London after Mary had let the servants go; of dying in the warehouse from Beatrice’s poison. Fear was familiar, almost comfortable, like an old coat. And in addition to being afraid, she felt terribly curious. What was going on here? Why had she been kidnapped?