"Good morning, gentlemen! Oh, so gay today?", Lady Summers observed, when Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde and Mr. Utterson came to her room, grinning at her and her doctor like no tomorrow.
"Indeed", Dr. Jekyll responded. "But so are you two. If you pardon my indecency, Milady, but I know my friend – you finally talked about you-know-what, didn't you?"
Lady Summers and Lanyon exchanged a glance. Then they realised, that they were still holding hands and chuckled.
"Yes, Doctor", she finally answered and settled back into the pillows.
Then she let her eyes wander over the trio and frowned. "But as I see, Mr. Hyde didn't listen to my instruction to stay in his room?"
He looked away sheepishly.
"No", Mr. Utterson confirmed with a hint of frustration, "He crawled into ours and woke us up at three in the morning."
Dr. Jekyll nodded.
Mr. Hyde threw his arms up. "Oh come on! I didn't want to fuck or anything!"
"Really?", Jekyll interrupted sourly, "Then how come you couldn't keep your hands off me, when Gabriel and I were trying to sleep?!"
"Oh shut up, you miserable hypocrite! You couldn't keep your hands off me either!"
Lady Summers sighed and pinched her nose. "This kind of nonsense is why I didn't want you two to share a room. Mr. Hyde, just a friendly reminder, this is my house. And I'd rather not have to deal with the noise you two make, when you do … well, that. I would never be able to get them – or the images – out of my head, which I'd rather avoid, thank you very much."
Mr. Utterson blinked. "What do you mean?"
Her dear doctor answered no-nonsensically: "These hypersexual bitches are loud."
The looks on Dr. Jekyll's and Mr. Hyde's faces were so priceless that Lady Summers doubled over with laughter.
Poor Mr. Utterson almost fell from his chair, but somehow that made her laugh even harder.
As a result she spat blood, but that was worth it!
Oh, hanging out with these men was better than any burlesque!
…
"So you two are officially together now?", Utterson asked, as soon as everyone had calmed down.
The Lady chuckled. "Well, only officially to you, but yes."
"That's wonderful!", he cried, "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thank you, Gabriel", Lanyon replied warmly.
But Jekyll was feeling a light sting in his chest.
He was happy for them, he really, genuinely was.
But it was bittersweet.
Lanyon was happier with her than he'd ever been with him. And he deserved it, God knew he did! But it had taken so long for him to find that happiness, because he had wasted fifteen years of his life on him. Jekyll would probably never fully comprehend, how Lanyon had been able to put up with him for this long in the first place.
Lady Summers' voice brought him back to the moment. "Now, now, Dr. Jekyll. Let's not look back on our past relationships."
"On one thing we have to look back, though", Utterson spoke up. "What those people did to you is unforgivable."
She nodded grimly. "I know it's unforgivable. And I certainly haven't forgiven them a single thing. And to think that it first happened in 1845, where people died from surgeries more often than they recovered-"
"That's only one thing", Jekyll spoke up. "Notwithstanding your miraculous survival, only to be robbed of your dreams and crippled for the rest of your life – pardon my language, Milady."
"Don't worry, no offence is taken", she assured him. "I am technically a cripple, after all. Since-"
Another fit of blood spitting only served to confirm that statement.
"Since I suffer from this, because of all the things they did to me."
"I have a question, though", Hyde spoke up. Then he corrected himself. "Wait, no. It's two."
She answered them, before they were even spoken: "I managed to fight you off that one night, because of my rigorous training. After our match I was indisposed for a week, but my condition would be a lot worse without the training. Learning to control my belly muscles was quite helpful, actually. If it wasn't for that I'd likely be quite dead by now."
"Speaking of your condition", Mr. Utterson spoke up. "We need to talk about pressing charges against your attacker."
She raised a brow. "Baron Cleranescu? I don't think that will be necessary, considering he made a fool of himself and will never be able to show his face on British soil again. This is the worst thing you can do to someone belonging to the upper class."
"He must face justice!", Utterson insisted angrily, "You said yesterday night, that it's worse than usual and I will not accept the prospect of him hiding away and moping in some old castle in Rumania, while you're suffering from internal injuries! Not on my watch! I bet he wouldn't have dared to do this, if you were Lord and not Lady Summers!"
Oh right. Jekyll always forgot how adamant his love was about women's rights.
Lady Summers gaped at him.
Then she chuckled. "No, he definitely wouldn't have. He's as misogynistic as most men are, if not more."
"That much was clear", Hyde threw in, "I was there, I heard it all. She handed his arse to him with each sentence she spoke! Then he talked shit about Lanyon and his own wife, the Lady informed him that she's cheating on him with the king of Rumania and he lost it."
Jekyll's jaw dropped. That bastard had kicked her in the abdomen – right where her weakest spot was – just because she had told him that his wife favoured another man?!
"I have an idea", Hyde continued, "How about instead of suing him, we sic Alma onto him? She would love to-"
"Did somebody say my name?", the very person asked, as she walked into the room to the Lady's bedside and took her hand.
"How are you feeling, Luise?", she asked worriedly.
The Prussian chuckled. "Well, I'm spitting blood and my abdomen hurts, but apart from that, I'm fine."
"It's that bastard's fault", Miss Donovan snarled, "I'll cut his junk off and shove it into his mouth, before setting him on fire!"
"Sounds good, I'll help you", Hyde agreed nonchalantly.
"No!", Lady Summers spoke firmly. "You will do nothing of that sort. You will not get violent on me. Be the better person-"
"To hell with being the better person!", Miss Donovan snapped, "I don't give a damn! That bastard hurt you and your health is already fragile! He must suffer! At least let me castrate him!"
Lady Summers frowned. "Give it one month and see what will happen."
The red-haired girl huffed, but nodded.
…
Still before the evening all of London knew of the incident at the gala.
A foreigner had attacked and gravely injured one of the most high-ranking aristocrats of England, who was now bed-bound.
The Prince and Princess of Wales had requested that he be stripped of his rank and diplomatic immunity and the ambassador of Rumania had already complied.
The baron had already fled London.
Lanyon wasn't satisfied with that. He wanted the bastard to suffer for hurting his Lady. He wanted him to writhe in agony and beg for mercy.
"Now, now", Lady Summers spoke up, when she saw him frown at the punchline on the newspaper. "Things need their time. Now that he no longer has his diplomatic immunity, he can be charged for his crimes. And if it doesn't happen in England, it'll be in Rumania."
Lanyon hoped that she was right, he really did.
…
Lady Summers was unable to leave her bed for two weeks.
So when Lanyon allowed her to get up briefly and move around in a wheelchair, she was ecstatic.
It was a wonderful day, so she used the opportunity to get some fresh air.
"I really would love to go outside again", she said. "And I hope that I won't be assaulted by a bunch of news reporters, who want an interview. Jesus Christ, I never asked for all this hustle!"
Mr. Utterson opened the window and looked outside. "I don't see any out there", he told her.
She nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Perhaps I will enjoy just a few moments in the park, between all the people who recognise me and ask what happened."
Dr. Jekyll lifted an eyebrow. "Considering how prominent you are? I doubt that."
The Prussian huffed: "Crush my hopes, why don't you!"
Unfortunately, it turned out that Dr. Jekyll was right.
The group needed ages to get to the park; Lanyon had to stop the Lady's wheelchair every thirty feet, because someone recognised her and inquired after her wellbeing.
But finally they made it there and by the time it was forenoon, when most people were at home or at work.
"Perhaps it was good that it took us so long to get here", Lady Summers remarked, "I love when the park is so empty."
"I reckon you do", her dear doctor remarked.
"And I can't sense anyone stalking us", she continued cheerfully, "I think this will truly be a good day!"
Mr. Hyde cleared his throat, making her turn her head. "About that … I was wondering …"
"Yes?"
"Should Jekyll and I be worried too? That …"
"Absolutely."
Maybe not the most reassuring answer, but they all knew that it was true.
The organisation was hunting for test subjects and if they found out the truth about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde …
The two needed to watch their backs in the near future.
"I have a question too", Dr. Jekyll spoke up. "Those strange friends you mentioned … do they really live here in London?"
Lady Summers nodded. "Oh yes! They live in Soho, actually. Not that far away from Mr. Hyde's flat. I'm sure he passed by their house several times, without knowing."
She chuckled fondly and shook her head. "You would like them, Dr. Jekyll. They're a lot like you."
The blond doctor chuckled as well. "You attract people like me, don't you?"
"Somehow I do", she replied nonchalantly and shrugged. "But you know what? I think I should introduce you four to them. I have told them a lot about you and am sure that they would love to meet you as well."
Dr. Jekyll beamed at her. "I would love to meet them!"
"Same here", Mr. Hyde agreed, "I'd be delighted to learn whose house I passed by without knowing."
The other two men nodded as well.
Lady Summers was quite pleased at that. "Perfect. I will send them a note and inquire, if they receive."