Jekyll cried out in anger and threw the chair across the room, the wooden structure bouncing around, but strong enough not to crack. Jaule flinched, turning to watch his brother as he seethed with rage. Mozart was crying in a corner with Poole once more at his side, and Utterson was leaning against the wall. The lawyer closed his eyes, trying to block out the sound of Jekyll's fury, as the doctor growled and ranted about the devious nature of Lanyon.
"I thought that he was... that he was dead!" Jekyll's voice surged. "That man... he made me feel like..." He thought better of himself, catching his words before they revealed the truth to his brothers. "I could not help myself! I was devastated! I was tricked...! And then... they did not even invite me to his mock funeral!" The doctor growled.
"Brother..." Jaule began, studying him with a sad frown. "Try to contain yourself. I know that you are much grieved, but at least the man is alive. That gives me some peace. I know it does not help much, but..."
However, Jekyll was not one to be soothed. He started furiously kicking at the rug, over and over again.
"This is preposterous!" Exclaimed the doctor.
Mozart just kept weeping and weeping. He couldn't believe what he had heard. Lanyon... alive! Why had he lied? Why had he disguised himself for so long in death? Why had he put them all through so much suffering? All of these questions and more plagued and confused him. He could not cope with any of it.
"Lanyon... I do not understand. I can not understand. I do not want to understand." His words were muffled with tears.
"He is a liar!" Cried Jekyll, his face burning. Lanyon was a dear friend to him, despite everything. His staged death had been extremely hard on him, as well as the rest of his family. "The man is a fool!"
Poole looked up at Jekyll and scowled, unnoticed. He remembered the lie that Jekyll had surrounded himself with, the lie of Edward Hyde. The lie that Poole had just recently discovered. Over three years had passed, and Jekyll had dwelled in the shadows of deceit for too long. How dare he...! Poole thought. How dare he criticize a man so harshly that he himself had destroyed, and then do so in front of men who loved him! He was disgracing him, dishonouring him! Neither Jaule nor Mozart knew the truth. They could not develop an honest opinion of the situation!
Utterson himself merely grunted, turning his eyes away from the raging madman. Jaule and Mozart were pitying the wrong man. It was Lanyon that deserved the sympathy. But, alas, neither of them were knowledgeable enough to respond appropriately, and Utterson felt that he had no choice but to suffer the indignation of his dear friend, Lanyon.
And then Jekyll started flipping paintings off of the wall, sending the frames spinning to the ground, and those did crack and splinter. There were great noises as the wood split, one painting and then another and even still another.
"Jekyll!" Jaule cried, as he raced towards his furious brother. "Jekyll, stop!" He reached out and tried to grab his arm, but Jekyll ripped it out of his grasp.
Mozart stared after Jekyll in horror, while Poole jumped up and Utterson dashed over. The two men sped to Jaule's aid, assisting him in grabbing Jekyll's flailing limbs as the man struggled to free himself from restraint.
"Let me go!" Jekyll demanded, angrily. "Lanyon...! Lanyon...! How could you...?!"
Jaule, Utterson, and Poole took Jekyll to the ground. They tried to be gentle, but it was difficult. They didn't want to hurt him. However, Jekyll was putting up one hell of a fight, and while Jekyll was not being particularly dangerous, he was still difficult to restrain. The three men were not enough to properly hold him down. Jaule struggled with his arms, while Utterson and Poole each grabbed a leg.
"Mozart!" Exclaimed Jaule, but Mozart was too stricken with grief to respond. "Oh, damn it!" It didn't take long for Jaule to give up on his weeping brother. 'Jekyll! Jekyll!"
After several minutes of wrestling the doctor on the ground, Jekyll finally tired out and relaxed. The three men took the opportunity to get a better hold on him. Jaule tried to calm him, speaking to his elder brother in a soothing voice.
"Hey... Jekyll... Jekyll..." He said, calmly. "That is enough out of you, do you understand? That is quite enough. Now be still." The three of them rested there on him for a moment. "Let us get you to bed. You are in a state of disarray." Jaule began to lift him to his feet with the help of Utterson and Poole.
The three men started to escort the dishevelled doctor down the hallway, Mozart sitting quietly in his chair while they lead Jekyll to his bedroom. Jekyll said nothing, and Utterson merely asked him if he was okay. Still, Jekyll did not reply. Jaule sighed, and then, once they were at the room, Poole stepped aside and opened the door. The men went inside, and Jaule continued to walk Jekyll to bed, while Utterson waited by the door with Poole.
"You need your rest, Brother." Said Jaule, softly, helping Jekyll into bed. Jekyll was silent. "I know that Lanyon's sudden reappearance is a shock to you. It is a shock to us all. The man is clearly mad. We will take care of the matter at a later time. For now... rest."
Utterson grunted to himself and Poole shifted uncomfortably. Neither man would allow anything ill to happen to Doctor Lanyon. They knew the truth. Lanyon was merely weighted down with grief at Jekyll's deception and corruption, they both understood this well, and it was, in reality, Jekyll that was sick. The man that was truly going to be placed in a straitjacket was Jaule's brother. And did they literally plan on forcing him into one. How else would they restrain Hyde when he inevitably returned? The two men were still planning on how to dispose of Jekyll's split personality. Neither were psychologists. They would have to recruit the help of Jekyll's immediate family. His father and all three of his brothers were indeed in the field. They would have to get together on this and do something about Hyde.
How easy that was going to be was a mystery.
It was the next evening. Jaule and Mozart had come for Jekyll to take him to see their father, and the doctor was still readying his nerves, alone in his bedroom while his brothers waited in the living room. The two were talking quietly when Poole suddenly appeared at the door.
"Jaule, Mozart." Poole addressed them, respectfully. "Utterson is here."
"What in heaven's name is Utterson doing here?" Demanded Jaule, curiously.
"He has been waiting in the parlour room for the two of you to arrive." Explained Poole, anxiously. "Now that you are both here, he wishes to speak with you before you depart. Without Jekyll."
Jaule froze. Mozart took a glance at his elder brother.
"What ever is the matter?" Asked Jaule, cautiously.
"I think that you better ask that of Utterson yourself." Answered Poole.
Jaule sighed, frustrated. "Can this not wait? Father is waiting at home for poor Jekyll." Poole flinched at the word "poor". "He has been desperately wanting to see him for months now. It has been so long since Jekyll locked himself up in here and refused to come out and even so much as visit any of us. I am very anxious to be going."
"It will only take a moment, Sir." Lied Poole, knowing full well what Utterson wished to tell him. "I will tell Jekyll that you are both temporarily busy."
"Oh, very well." Jaule finally gave in. "Let us see what Cousin Utterson wants with us."
And the two followed Poole to the parlour room. Utterson was waiting on the couch. He looked up when the other men entered. He lifted himself up from his seat. Poole left to attend Jekyll just as Utterson was preparing to speak.
"I apologize for interrupting your day, but..." Jaule cut him off.
"There will be no interruption." Declared Jaule, severely. Mozart nodded, solemnly. "You may speak, and then we will go. Father is waiting. He is not to be disappointed."
Utterson gulped, nervously. "It is about your brother. It can not wait."
"Jekyll, I presume." Replied Jaule, eyeing his cousin carefully. "Gene has been of no interest to you as of late. What is the matter? What has Lanyon so maddened? Or do we have the time to discuss it at the moment? If not, we best be off. Father utterly requires Jekyll's presence. He will surely die if he waits another day."
"Jekyll is sick." Announced Utterson, abruptly.
"Of course he is." Scowled Jaule. "I have known of his illness for years. He is mad. Not as mad as Lanyon has become, but mad nonetheless. What of it, Utterson?"
"You do not understand, Jaule." Pleaded Utterson, pathetically. "Jekyll is more than just mad. He is... He has..."
"Will this conversation upset Jekyll?" Demanded Jaule, impatiently.
"Of course it will. Poole has been instructed to keep Jekyll away." Explained Utterson, calmly.
"Hopefully that arrangement will hold. I do not wish to see him have another fit." Jaule looked away for a moment, then returned his gaze to Utterson. Mozart watched Jaule with interest, a sad look on his face. "Jekyll... is a sad case indeed. His condition is beyond poor, and he really requires commitment. However, Father would never allow it, and I do not believe that he would be treated well. Even with Jekyll's credentials and his reputation, a madman is a madman in London."
"We are keeping him here. At home." Said Utterson, sternly. "He is my family too. I will not have him in some madhouse."
"I really do not wish it, as I have said." Replied Jaule, carefully. "Jekyll simply requires more care than I can provide him with at home. To be perfectly honest, he needs constant supervision and access to sedatives. I know that Jekyll medicates himself with his own drugs, but it is not enough, and, frankly, borders on self-destruction."
"They would strap him in a straitjacket and simply put him in a room." Utterson pointed out, sternly.
"I know that, Utterson. Believe me, I do." Jaule waved him off. "Asylums for the insane are not what they should be in this country. They are all in a sad state indeed."
"We can cure him." Announced Utterson, determinedly. "I whole-heartedly believe that Jekyll is capable of being helped back to full health."
"When was he ever at full health?" Scoffed Jaule. "Even as a child, he was not right in the head. He threw constant tantrums and was very violent and disturbed. Father loved him dearly. That was why he refused to be rid of him, to put him somewhere. He taught us all to be tolerant and loving towards Jekyll. He began to heal in his late twenties, and then went downhill again once he was in his early thirties. We never could keep him stable. Jekyll has always been a lost cause. At this point, all I know to do is to force him back into family life. We need him. Father needs him. I can not bear to lose another parent. Mother died only five years ago. I believe that her death brought on this new surge of irrationality in him. For the past three years, he has been utterly mad. He has secluded himself, avoided his own family even, and he has... he has changed, Utterson. It is almost as if he has become a completely different person. A man that I dare say that I do not even know any more."
If only he knew, thought Utterson. Jekyll had indeed become a different person. He had become Edward Hyde. A man of such infamy, Utterson did not know if even his own kin could forgive him. Utterson was trying to do his best to see the good in Jekyll, to think of the bad as a disease, as the result of an out of control experiment. Poole was in like struggling. On the other hand, Richard was having the most difficult time not blaming him. Enfield was devastated to the core, in a way that Utterson and Poole could rationalize. Enfield felt like Jekyll was broken beyond repair. Sparing him was one thing. Fixing him was quite another. At least, in Richard's mind.
"Jaule..." Began Utterson, steadying himself. "It is time that you knew."
Jaule merely raised a brow in curiosity. Mozart studied Utterson carefully.
"The truth of the matter is that..." Utterson was forcing himself as hard as he could. "Jekyll has... He has developed... a split... Jekyll has developed a split personality." The words barely came out, Utterson choking on them as he spoke.
"What?" Jaule was in utter disbelief. "A man as singular as he? Impossible!"
Mozart simply gasped.
"It is true." Declared Utterson. "His name is... Edward Hyde." The name barely came out of him.
"Edward Hyde?" Spit Jaule. "Who is this Edward Hyde? I do not understand your rambling, Utterson!"
Mozart shook his head. "Jekyll can not have a split personality. He is the most narrow minded man in existence. Men with such a condition are always far less literal in nature."
"I swear to you." Assured Utterson, emotionally. " I would not lie to either of you children."
"I do not believe it!" Exclaimed Mozart, defiantly. "Your claims about Lanyon were difficult enough to accept. Now you say that my brother is divided in mind! It can not be so! I am a psychologist, Utterson. You are not. You have not worked with these people as I have. As Jaule has. As Father and even Jekyll have. We are experienced physicians. We are actual doctors. You are in no position to diagnose him, especially with such an absurd condition."
"I must agree with Mozart." Said Jaule, sternly.
Utterson shook his head.
Just then, Jekyll burst into the room. "What is all of this about, Utterson?!" He demanded, fiercely.
Poole was following close behind him. He shrugged. "I could not keep him away." He apologized, helplessly.