#poor mina

Seward's Diary

Seward is in his study, catching up on work that has been neglected while helping Lucy, when Renfeild comes bursting in and has somehow gotten out of his room on his own

Renfield has a dinner knife in his hand; he swipes out and cuts Seward's left wrist then swipes again

Seward is able to overpower him and push him to the floor

The fight leaves Renfield, and Seward binds the wound on his wrist

When the attendants arrive, Renfield is licking up Seward's blood off the floor like a dog

The attendants escort him from the study without a fight, and Reinfield repeats over and over, "The blood is life!"

Seward, however, cannot afford to lose anymore blood after the transfusions he's given helping Lucy; he is tired and happy VH has not summoned him, so he will not forgo sleep again tonight

Telegram VH to Seward

(The message was delivered 22 hours late)

VH urges Seward to be with Lucy at night while he is gone or to at least visit and make sure the flowers are not disturbed from their places. Seward must not fail in this task.

Memorandum left by Lucy

*Grab the tissues now*

Lucy leaves this letter to be found so that no one will get into trouble on her account, leaving an exact account of what happened during the night.

She feels as if she is dying of weakness and has almost no strength to even write, but she presses on, as this must be done.

Lucy went to bed as she normally does and made sure the flowers of garlic were where they had been placed by VH

A flapping at the window wakes her during the night; she is not afraid, but she wishes Seward was nearby, as VH had promised

Lucy attempts to go back to sleep, but that proves futile; she rises to call in the hall for someone, but no one answers. She does not want to wake her mother, so she returns to her room

Outside, there is a howling like a dog in the bushes below her room; she goes to look but sees nothing other than a large bat

Mrs. Westerna comes in, drawn by a need to check on her and make sure that she is all right

Lucy asks her mother to stay with her in her room

The flapping outside gets louder and more forceful

The wolf howls again before being followed by the sound of glass breaking, and shattered glass appears on the floor

The wolf's head pokes through the window

Mrs. Westerna becomes understandably frightened and rips the garlic off Lucy's neck in her terror; she points, gurgles, then slumps over on the bed. Her head knocks into Lucy's as she falls, making Lucy dizzy for a few moments

Mrs. Westerna has had a heart attack, cold immediately and dead in bed

When Lucy becomes conscious again, weighed down by her mother, she hears a bell ring, and all the dogs in the neighborhood begin howling and barking and making noise

A nightingale begins to sing outside

The maids hear the commotion and come in to check on Lucy as she calls for them

The maids scream and help lift Mrs. Westerna off of Lucy and let her up; they cover her with a sheet and are shaken.

Lucy instructs the maids to go for a drink of wine to calm themselves down after she gets up from the bed

The wind, all this time, is acting strangely as it blows in the windows, seemingly opening and closing the doors at will

Lucy arranges flowers over her mother despite knowing VH wouldn't like them moved; she, however, intends to have one of the maids sit up with her, but when she calls, none of them answer

When Lucy finds them in the dining room, all four are passed out on the floor; the decanter of sherry has an acrid smell to it. Someone laced the alcohol with Mrs. Westerna's medicine

Lucy's anxiety and fear become palpable as she returns to her room alone, unwilling to leave her mother; she will not leave the house as she can hear the wolf still howling outside

Lucy pens her letter and hides it in her breast to be found when someone comes; she is well aware that she is going to die and prays to God to save her and protect her. Her mother is gone, and she knows that it is her time too.

She bids Arthur goodbye should she not survive

Visual representation of me after this entry:

Mina's Letter to Lucy, unopened by Lucy

Mina, wholly unaware of what is going on, has returned to Exeter with Johnathan, where they were met by Mr. Hawkins. They go to stay with Johnathan's boss

Over dinner, Mr. Hawkins informs the newlyweds that, as he has no kids of his own, he is leaving everything to Mina and Johnathan when he passes

Mina writes of them making a home where they are staying, busy preparing the house to her satisfaction

Johnathan is busy with Hawkins, who made him a partner, and he is learning all about the clients of their firm

Mina enquires after Mrs. Westerna; she wishes she could visit, but she cannot leave yet, as Johnathan still needs looking after

Johnathan is putting on weight and color, but still wakes with nightmares during the night