"Facts Concerning the Strange Case of Wonderland"
Doctor Aaron Augustus Bennett's Personal Journal, December 4, 1870
Of all the things she could have done, that Mary Duckett chose to pay Theophilus Carter, arguably the most unpredictable of our unfortunates, which is mostly owed to his lucidity, an unscheduled and unaccompanied visit simply proves that she is a far cry from the adept nurse that she is thought to be. What must first and foremost be said is that she brought this upon herself.
While the circumstances are still unclear because of our inability to actually ask a sane soul what happened, what is clear is that Nurse Duckett has managed to have herself taken captive, and remains still under the lock and key of Theophilus Carter. I was informed of this by none other than Lucas Rutledge himself, who, after unceremoniously barging into my quarters, related to me on the way that he had found his nephew Daniel (I admire his ability to tell his nephews apart, I must say) loitering in front of his office in the wee hours of the morning. The child had apparently waited all night for him to arrive. The news that Daniel Rutledge had were simple: "Mister Hatter," as he had been called by the child, wanted to speak with him. Upon following his nephew to Theophilus Carter's cell, he discovered that Nurse Duckett was now a resident of Theophilus Carter's cell –his prisoner- and would be serving as hostage in what Theophilus Carter apparently termed as the negotiations forthwith.
After this brief yet illustrative introduction to the situation, Lucas Rutledge asked me to negotiate with him. I was appalled by the mere idea of such a thing – me, negotiate with an unfortunate savage? I implored him to do it himself, him being higher in the chain of authority than I was.
He refused.
That Theophilus Carter was armed with a knife came as a shock, but not a complete surprise. I reckoned that Daniel and Dean were a pair of fairly resourceful cretins, and that they had supplied the weaponry.
I was inclined to argue that Nurse Duckett's life was most likely forfeit, and that it had been forfeit from the moment she had stepped into that cell. I did not, however, as I thought it impertinent to introduce to the situation a dose of harsh truths at that moment. Thus, I accepted the task, but made it clear that I would be making my way to Theophilus Carter's cell with no less than four orderlies, and that this was not negotiable. Lucas Rutledge agreed. One of the orderlies was tasked with taking short-hand notes of my conversation with Theophilus Carter, which I will transcribe below.
I took my guard detail and proceeded to the unfortunates' ward, where I was greeted by Daniel and Dean, who were brandishing sharpened mop handles as spears. One of them even had made a makeshift helmet from a common pot. They appeared to me as very poor foot soldiers on the front lines of a decrepit war, yet the look in their eyes informed me that they would be quick to anger, and more than prone to violence. Thankfully, my orderlies were quite a bit larger than they were and better skilled, thus I felt very secure, facing down a glorified toothpick.
I told them that I was here on behalf of their uncle, to converse with Theophilus Carter. They insisted that I call him "Hatter" at all times. I decided to indulge the patient's delusion, if it meant resolving this situation posthaste.
I approached the cell door as the two makeshift armies stood in quiet stalemate. I politely knocked on the cast iron surface, and Theophilus Carter emerged from behind the bars, sporting what I am certain he thought was a cordial smile. I could not see into the cell properly to see Nurse Duckett.
Upon seeing me, his smile vanished. It was replaced by a repulsed sneer.
"Oh, for the love of the Queen... does Lucas Rutledge think this a joke, sir? I may be mad –quite mad- but I am not to be mocked or belittled!"
"Beg your pardon?"
"Why would I negotiate, converse with or otherwase engage the simplest of all dullards to presently walk this house of worship?" Theophilus Carter snarled, "You, sir, are not my equal and thus are unworthy of even beginning to negotiate my terms!"
"I am here on behalf of Lucas Rutledge to do just that, sir!" I responded, "I am the only avenue of communication you currently possess, and since I intend to resolve this situation, I suggest you come to your senses and make use of me!"
Theophilus Carter rolled his eyes.
"I cannot make use of that which is useless by design! An insect in service of the Queen is simply that and nothing more, and whether or not it has wings is insignificant in the face of what it is – an insect that dreams it is human is no different than the human who dreams himself an insect. What do they have in common, Augustus?"
I swallowed the offense I took at the use of my first name.
"I would say that they are both quite mad." I said.
Theophilus Carter's face contorted into an expression of shock and then quickly transitioned into a curious, unreadable visage.
"I could have put it better myself..." he said, "But perhaps you are not an entirely useless thing. Very well, then, sir, I ask you: are you ready to hear my terms?"
"That is why I am here."
"One: I want my watch. I can hear it ticking, even now, the self-winding mechanism clicking in the disc... it's maddening."
The irony was not lost on me. However, I did not intend to give him another weapon, as I knew what he had turned his fob watch into. Yet, I could not deny him the first and foremost of his conditions and expect anything other than sheer madness as a result. Despite my own misgivings regarding all this, I was not in any rush to further endanger Nurse Duckett.
"It is possible. I wish to evaluate your conditions as a whole."
"I permit this." Theophilus Carter said with a smile, "Two: I want food for two brought as regularly as it was to my cell for so long as the situation endures. I do not wish to cause any unduly discomfort to dear Mary."
"Agreed." (Dear Mary?)
"Three: I want, in writing, a temporary immunity to the restrictions that I am under. I am already in possession of Mary's key ring, thus I will not be asking for it."
I had to admit that I was beyond flabbergasted at this. If he had the key to his cell, why hadn't he escaped? Why was he, still in possession of all the keys to the unfortunates' ward, set any of the other patients free? He could have had mayhem reign in under two minutes, create a type of chaos that he, according to my observations, would most enjoy; yet, he had elected to remain right where he was, only to, it seemed, negotiate a temporary immunity.
"Temporary?"
"Lasting exactly two minutes and thirty seconds. The immunity will be such that I will be allowed to roam freely inside the asylum, though I will not be permitted to venture out of it. During this time, I will not be touched, spoken to, hindered or stopped."
"Continue."
"Do you agree to this?"
"I will have to consult Sir Rutledge. He has the authority, not me."
"Very well. A further condition of this immunity: I will be immune to any ramifications for any action taken during this two minutes and thirty seconds, for reason of incurable insanity."
I considered that perhaps he intended to sit in his cell for this time period, if only to show the rest of us that he was in control, not us. Perhaps he would get out just to wander about. Then again, perhaps he would set other patients free and create the chaos that he didn't when he first came in possession of the keys, just to insure that what would then transpire was our doing, not his. No matter what it was, however, I could not escape the fact that he was asking to be in possession of his weapon of choice during his requested two minutes and thirty seconds.
There was no doubt, then, that his intent was to do harm.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"Yes. I want Alice to be brought into my cell, as soon as she is what you call lucid, and not a moment sooner. The aforementioned immunity will start the moment she is inside."
This was the most perplexing, perhaps. In the time that he had allotted to his immunity, he could've simply gone down the hallway and into her cell if he so wished. He would have time to do whatever he would like, as per conditions. I further struggled to understand why he was insisting on her lucidity as a condition; the girl's waking periods are brief, and follow no pattern.
The inescapable conclusion was that this meant we would all have to wait for Alice to do anything.
"That is tad unreasonable, I'm afraid." I said, "There is no telling when, not to mention if, she will ever be awake again."
Something changed in his eyes the moment I said awake. He scowled at me for a few moments, seemingly just expressing his distaste for the word, and then said:
"Perhaps dear Mary would like to know how equally lost her new doctor is." (emp. add.)
Was that a comment on Hieronymous' demise? How did he know? Granted, it was not a closely-guarded secret, but such things were not shared with the patients of the asylum. Perhaps Daniel, or Dean, had eavesdropped on their uncle at an opportune moment.
"There is no need to involve her in my mistake." I said, conceding the point in order to keep from provoking him further, "What I meant to say was that I cannot tell you with any certainty when she will be asleep again."
Theophilus Carter said, after a moment of consideration:
"Your door would be proud."
I suppose that it would. But for a moment, I wondered if he was referring to my dream, but the absurdity of this thought helped clear my mind. I asked to confirm that Nurse Duckett was indeed alive, and he rewarded me with a view of the cell. She was tied up and in the corner, with a filthy rag stuffed into her mouth, but she gave me a nod. I assured her that every effort was being made, and I bid Theophilus Carter farewell. I commanded the orderlies to follow me out of the ward and back into the asylum. We made our way to Lucas Rutledge's office, where I related to him Theophilus Carter's demands. While he was reasonably skeptical about all of them, he found the final condition –a lucid Alice delivered to him- disconcerting. We were in agreement that he wanted to do something with Alice, or worse, to Alice, and remembering poor constable Ericks, I do not think it is a good idea to give him what he wants.
To play into the hands of a madman would be an error most grievous, and to hand him a defenseless patient while he is armed, willing and able to harm her would be most unethical.
Lucas reminded me of the gravity of the situation, however, that the safety of Nurse Duckett took first priority. I do not need to be reminded of this fact, but it would seem that I am far less lenient than he when it comes to discerning who was at fault at the start of this incident. I have objected to having her as my assistant, in fact, I have objected to her employ here as a nurse in the first place precisely because I have foreseeable the possibility of such an event. Nurse Duckett, despite her intentions that are unknowable to me, has brought this upon herself, and as such, I believe there are other priorities that must be managed, other than her well-being and comfort.
While this may appear heartless to some, I would also add that Theophilus Carter has not yet harmed her in any discernible way yet. Whether he is unwilling, or simply did not feel like it, is an open question.