Chapter Sixteen:

Skinner…

Even though he said he wouldn't go anywhere with her, Skinner silently followed Jekyll and Kathryn into the man's home. His name was, evidently, Sir Lucas, and he was well-off in his own way. He lived alone, since all his children had married and moved into their own homes, and his wife died of a fierce fever. Skinner noticed that Kathryn seemed almost nervous, but still confident, to go to his house.

Kathryn and Jekyll went straight to the front door and knocked. When a maid answered, Jekyll said, "My name is Dr. Jekyll. This is my wife, Mrs. Kathryn Bennet Jekyll. We've come to call on your lord, Sir Lucas. Is he at home?"

The maid looked positively white. Her slightly pink complexion paled at the sound of Kathryn's name. "No, doctor," she said. "I'm afraid he isn't at home. He's away on business."

Kathryn smiled. "Then would you be so kind as to tell him that we were here?" she asked. "When you do, tell him that we were so terribly sorry that we were not able to speak with him. Will you do that for us?" The maid nodded silently. "Thank you. Come, darling. We mustn't keep this lovely young lady from her chores." Kathryn slipped her arm through the crook in Jekyll's and the two left the house, Skinner following close behind them. "Did you notice she seemed afraid of us?" she asked Jekyll as they skirted around the house and peered into the windows as they did.

"She seemed more afraid of you," Jekyll said, looking into a window that seemed to be for the study. "Miss Kathryn! Here, quickly!" Kathryn joined Jekyll at the window and looked in. She nodded to him, then carefully and silently worked the window open.

The window was open only slightly, but the three of them could hear what was said between Sir Lucas and the timid maid. "Sir," she said. "She looked exactly as you thought she would. Her name was Kathryn Bennet."

"So she's come for me at last," Sir Lucas muttered. "Lottie, go. Thank you." The door opened and closed. "I knew she would come to understand what had happened. And now she's come to accuse me of it. Well, if she's insistent, she'll be back. Tonight, too, if I'm not mistaken. But, I'll not let her catch me."

They heard a drawer open and close. Kathryn, Jekyll and Skinner peered into the window. Sir Lucas, a great, fat man with dark hair and no trace of old age in his features, was holding a clear glass vial filled with a green liquid. Skinner noticed Kathryn's eyes narrowed as she examined the vial. Sir Lucas drank the liquid and leaned back in his chair. Presently, his eyes closed and he appeared dead.

Jekyll turned to Kathryn. "Did he poison himself?" he asked.

"Possibly," she said, working on the window again. "Help me. We need to find his laboratory." They got the window completely open and Jekyll helped Kathryn into the building.

As Jekyll climbed through the window, Kathryn discarded her black cloak, revealing that she wasn't wearing a dress as Skinner thought she was. She was wearing black leather pants, a black leather bodice over a black shirt that had sleeves that only reached her elbows. She wore black leather gloves with the fingertips cut off, and black boots. She reminded Skinner a little of Mina, but he thought nothing of it.

Once Jekyll and Skinner were inside the house, Jekyll and Kathryn began looking around the study. She went over to Sir Lucas and examined his body. Then she examined the vial. A puzzled look crossed her face, but she didn't voice any concerns she might have. Finding nothing, she and Jekyll left the study. Skinner followed closely. He wanted to know what they would do. Whatever he said to the contrary, he was genuinely curious about this particular task.

Kathryn and Jekyll silently made their way through the halls of the house. Whenever they came across a room, Jekyll would open the door a crack and look inside. Then he would shake his head. And whenever they came across any of the servants of the house, Kathryn quickly shoved them against a wall and forced something into their mouth, making them swallow.

"What is it you're making them eat?" Jekyll asked after she had done this to her fifth victim.

She stood, after carefully depositing her victim on the floor. "It's a sleeping pill," she explained. "They force the ingestor to sleep for a minimum of twelve hours. Which should give us plenty of time to find what we're looking for and get out. Come on. There's only three more servants, and if we find them, it'll be all the more easier to get this done." They continued on their search.

However, they didn't come across any more servants before they found the laboratory. It was in the cellar of the house and locked extremely well. Kathryn pulled a knife out of nowhere, flipped it open and worked it between the bolt and the wall. Then she pulled out a stiff metal card and ran it down the door, unlocking the doorknob. She quickly opened the door. She put her tools away as she and Jekyll entered the room.

It was unlike any room Skinner had ever been in before. There were tables everywhere, covered with the oddest collection of bottles, jars, flasks and small burners. There were shelves lining the walls on all four sides, all harbouring vials and bottles of oddly coloured liquids. He looked around in amazement. He was even more surprised when he realised that Kathryn was looking through everything very thoroughly and she understood what she was looking at, even without if being labelled.

"Don't touch that!" she said suddenly. Skinner looked over at Jekyll who had been about to move a bottle of a sinisterly red liquid. "It's a rare poison." She walked over to Jekyll. "I know this seems slightly improbable, but if you get even the smallest drop of this on your skin, you will die in a matter of minutes."

"What is it?" Jekyll asked, stepping away from it.

She examined it. "I've never been very familiar with it," she said. "But, it's an extremely potent acid-based solution, containing powdered Deadly Nightshade, Meadow Saffron, and Poison Hemlock. Occasionally, the poisoner will make it even more deadly and add a bit of Arsenic to it. It's the only poison I've ever dealt with or read of that kills its victim almost immediately and merely by physical contact. Most poisons containing Deadly Nightshade, Meadow Saffron, and Poison Hemlock need to be ingested before the poison takes effect. Just be careful, doctor." He nodded.

Kathryn returned to her search of the laboratory. Presently, she held up a vial of a brilliantly bright purple liquid. "Here it is," she said. Jekyll crossed to her. "Here, you take it. Get out of the house as soon as possible. I'll look for the calculations. I'm almost certain they're in the study."

"I can't leave you in here alone," he said, taking the Elixir from her. "Not even with him dead."

"Just go!" she said, pushing him towards the door. Jekyll left, throwing her a look. Skinner watched her as she rifled through a cupboard that held odd ingredients. She pulled out two vials containing bits of different plants. "I knew it," she muttered, then ran out of the laboratory.