After Victor made Ethan eat an entire sandwich and a cup of broth the three of them settled themselves in the parlor and waited for the rest of their group to arrive so they could plan their next move. Elizabeth was going over a few of her notes that had been left behind and explaining them to Victor while Ethan sat in front of the fire with a glass of whiskey. This went on for approximately 20 minutes before they heard the door open accompanied by the thud of Sir Malcolm's boots on the floor as he made his way to the parlor.
"Everything we should need for the next few days should arrive tomorrow morning, did you find out anything useful?" Elizbeth answered him as she fiddled with the piece of paper in her hands,
"Yes and no, but I'd rather not repeat myself three times over, would you be alright with waiting until everyone else joins us?" Sir Malcolm released a sigh from his very bones as he replied,
"Am I to take that to mean you found nothing then?" Elizabeth shook her head and replied,
"No you impatient thing, it means that I don't want to reiterate this and would rather wait for everyone before I share what Victor and I learned." Sensing an impending argument Ethan decided to intervene,
"It'll be three weeks before we know anything for sure; we need to plan in the meantime so we can be ready as soon as we get word." Elizabeth huffed at Ethan's interruption but was ignored by Sir Malcolm as he turned his attention to Ethan,
"I'll make further arrangements tomorrow, can you see to our newest member being properly outfitted?"
"She is right here and would appreciate it if you didn't talk about her like she wasn't," she scrunched her nose as she continued, "and remind me to never speak in third person again." Both Ethan and Sir Malcolm gave a quirk of their lips at the statement while Victor made no show of hiding his smile.
"But of course, Elizabeth are you alright with accompanying Mr. Chandler tomorrow?" Elizabeth gave a grin as she replied,
"Of course I am Sir Malcolm, now that you are up to speed shall we begin preparations or should we wait for everyone else?"
"We should wait, no sense in repeating ourselves is there?" Elizabeth huffed through her nose as she placed her hands on her hips, but before she could open her mouth Victor interrupted,
"Then might I suggest eating something while we wait?" Sir Malcolm scowled at the young doctor reminding him of his less than stellar eating habits while Elizabeth and Ethan shared a smile.
A few hours later
Once Victor had cajoled Sir Malcolm into eating something and everyone had returned from their daily activities, they all gathered in the parlor to plan their next steps.
"So how do we narrow down the search in the likely event Evelyn owned more than one piece of property?" Dr. Seward asked
"Process of elimination, we know they like seclusion so they won't be anywhere public or close to town; I recommend splitting into teams and doing the bare minimum of investigation beforehand so we don't risk tipping them off, and don't also end up going in blind. Once we narrow it down to one or two we hit them together." Elizabeth answered
"And why are we supposed to trust your recommendations Ms. Reid, after all we barely know you and it was a very big coincidence that you ran into us the other night," before Elizabeth could defend herself Seward continued, "and perhaps an even Bigger coincidence is the fact that we receive our first actual break no less than 48 hours after making your acquaintance. Almost cause for suspicion wouldn't you agree?" Victor interrupted before Elizabeth could make a sound,
"That is quite enough Dr. Seward, Elizabeth has been nothing but helpful since we met her." Elizabeth put her hand over his arm before he could continue in her defense and spoke,
"Thank you Victor, but I am more than capable of defending myself." She looked at him and gave him a small smile of her appreciation and he exhaled before mirroring it. She then turned her attention back to Dr. Seward, "You don't trust me," it was not a question," fine. I will not waste my breath trying to convince you of my intentions, all I will say is this: I went to Evelyn Poole's mansion in a desperate attempt to pick up the trail I lost and avenge my father, and in return I found you all. My father is dead and nothing will change that, Vanessa is alive and while I don't know her they do," she looked to Ethan, Victor and Sir Malcolm in turn, "and they love her. Looking at them when they speak of her reminds me of my father and how much I loved him, and that is reason enough for me to help. That kind of love is hard to find; even harder to keep, and because of that I will do everything I can to help them." Elizabeth kept eye contact with Dr. Seward throughout her speech and did not break her gaze until the doctor looked down at the table and crossed her arms. Sir Malcolm took it upon himself to revive the conversation,
"Now that that's out of the way, does anyone else have any objections to Elizabeth's idea? No? Then we all agree, over the next three weeks we will prepare ourselves for yet another battle with these demons." Everyone nodded their agreement, even if some did so reluctantly and began to break away from the table. Catriona decided it was time to make her own judgement on the newest member of their little family and grabbed Elizabeth by the arm before she could leave.
"Do you mind if we talk for a bit?" Elizabeth shook her head with a slight smile as she responded,
"Not at all, Catriona was it?"
"Yes, that's the name. Now I have a question for you, do you know how to fence?" Elizabeth laughed as she replied,
"Yes I do, I read about it in a book and pestered my father endlessly until he taught me the basics. I kept practicing what little he did teach me and it has served me well, even if my weapon of choice is shorter." Catriona grinned as she linked her arm through Elizabeth's and began leading her towards the basement,
"Good! It'll give us something to do while we talk." Elizabeth upon seeing where they were headed asked,
"Why does everyone use the basement? There has to be more rooms in this house?" Catriona shrugged as they went down the stairs,
"Don't know." Elizabeth shook her head at her answer as Catriona grabbed two practice swords from the corner and handed her one before walking to the middle of the basement. "Now then, first question, why chase after the monsters you say invaded your home instead of- oh I don't know running for the hills like most people?" Elizabeth took her stance in front of Catriona and raised her blade before she replied,
"After I overcame the shock of losing my father, I was filled with a rage the likes of which I had never experienced," Catriona made the first move, a quick lunge for Elizabeth's middle; Elizabeth parried the move before continuing," I became… obsessed for lack of a better term. I had to know why, why us, why now? Thus began my quest for answers," Elizabeth took the initiative and lunged for Catriona only to be blocked and riposted, "as for why wasn't I afraid I couldn't tell you, all I see whenever I look at those things is red," Elizabeth parried once again and scuttled back out of Catriona's reach to plan her next move, "Does that answer your question?" Catriona moved in closer and Elizabeth quickly lunged causing her to step back out of reach,
"One of them yes, but it's your turn to ask me a question now." Elizabeth huffed a laugh as she and Catriona continued to dance around one another,
"Alright then, why aren't you afraid of the monsters?"
"No points for originality Lizzie but alright. I grew up hearing stories about these monsters from my grandfather, in fact he's why I came to London, he was found murdered in an alley a few years back." She advanced once again and Elizabeth couldn't retreat due to the wall she had placed at her back.
"Who's your grandfather?" Catriona lunged and Elizabeth attempted to parried the move and quickly ran out away from the wall but stumbled over her own feet. Catriona took advantage of the blunder and had her practice blade under Elizabeth's chin before she could regain her footing,
"Abraham Van Helsing." Elizabeth raised her arms in defeat with a smile as she replied,
"You'll have to tell me more of him and the stories he told you but first did you really call me Lizzie?!" she spoke the nickname with disgust and Catriona only grinned at her,
"Sure did Lizzie, now what do you say to meeting me for coffee tomorrow so I can regale you with the stories of my childhood?" Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at the nickname once again as she handed over her sword,
"Alright, I have to go with Ethan to be 'outfitted' tomorrow but I can meet you after that." Catriona returned their blades to the corner and replied,
"Excellent!" The two headed back up the stairs and Catriona made her way to the door while Elizabeth went to go find Ethan and set up a time for their outing tomorrow, only to be stopped by Dr. Seward.
"This secret of yours…will it harm Vanessa in any way?" Elizabeth swallowed hard before shaking her head,
"I don't know, but I can tell you that I will do whatever I can to spare her from it. As long as you don't pry no one should ever find out and thus the only one who can be harmed is myself." Dr. Seward searched Elizabeth's gaze for a minute before she nodded once and crossed her arms,
"Good, than you and I have an agreement. We focus on saving Vanessa, nothing else matters. All those skeletons in your closet can stay there so long as you help us bring her home safely." Elizabeth opened her mouth to reply but was stopped at the sound of Victor's voice,
"Elizabeth I was hoping to catch you before you left, I do believe you and I have some unfinished business regarding a certain deal we made?" Elizabeth turned to face him as Dr. Seward took the opportunity to gather her things and leave for the night.
"Deal? What-oh." She spoke as their earlier conversation came to the forefront of her mind.
"Yes our deal that I teach you to dance in the absence of your father. No time like the present eh?" He offered her his arm with a broad smile. She gave him one in return as she took his arm and replied,
"No time like the present."