Fanfic100-Dracula, Prompt #022.-"Enemies"
Title: With Friends Like These...
Fandom: Dracula: General Novel
Characters: Arthur Holmwood, Jack Seward
Prompt: 022. Enemies
Word Count: 1,053 wds.
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: LDT here. Even the closest of friends can have secrets from each other...
“You backstabbing liar,” were the first words out of Arthur Holmwood’s mouth when Jack Seward answered the door. Jack’s mouth opened slightly as his brain raced visibly for a response. Arthur simply stood and glared. Finally Jack gave a laugh.
“Did I double book a foxing party with one of Victoria’s teas or some such? I’ve been known to do it before, after all. Still, it doesn’t seem like anything to be getting up in arms about-”
“You know perfectly well what I’m talking about,” said Arthur coldly. From his pocket he withdrew a small leatherbound book and shoved it into Jack’s chest. Jack grunted at the impact, still giving Arthur an amusedly puzzled look. He took the book and opened it to the page marked with one of Arthur’s calling cards. After reading only a few lines his face grew serious.
“Where did you get this?” he said in a low voice.
“It was lying on your desk in your office,” replied Arthur. “Sitting in plain sight, staring me in the face, mocking me all this time but I never knew it.”
“What were you doing in my-”
“Waiting for you, yesterday noon. I would have stayed, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it.”
“Arthur-”
“All this time we’ve been friends. All this time, since we were children, and you never told me. Couldn’t work up the nerve to tell me that not only did you propose to the woman you knew I was in love with, but you also-”
Jack moved onto the top step and slammed the front door behind him, cutting off Arthur’s rising voice. His gaze too was now cold. “My wife and daughter are inside,” he stated.
A blush of anger was growing over Arthur’s face. “You think I give a damn?” he asked. His tone was still harsh, but quieter than it had been.
“You ought to,” replied Jack, “and you ought to realize what a fool you’re being about this. It’s been over fifteen years. We’re both married, we both have children for heaven’s sake, and Lucy is still dead. What does it matter?”
“You lied to me is what matters!” shouted Arthur. “You and Quincey and Van Helsing all lied to me this whole time!”
“Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead,” retorted Seward bitterly. “And I never lied to you.”
Arthur stepped onto the top step as well, using the two inches he had on Jack to as much advantage as he could as he stared him right in the face. “Tell me what that book is, and tell me what that entry means, and then tell me to my face you never lied to me.”
Jack reached back and suddenly opened the door. It swung in only slightly, followed by a muffled squeak. “Go to your room, Phoebe,” said Jack calmly. You’re too old to still be eavesdropping.” The door swung open the rest of the way as Jack’s thirteen year old daughter retreated up the stairs. Jack motioned Arthur into the parlor, closing both the front door and the parlor door behind them.
Arthur stood in the center of the room, still red with anger. When Jack turned to face him from the door, he was equally as livid. “You want to know what this means then,” he said in an even tone, holding up the book. “You really want to hear it? I’ll tell you then. Sit down.”
“I’ll stand.”
“Fine.” Jack extended his arm and dropped the book. It fell on the floor exactly between them. “That is my only copy on my dictaphone diary which I was keeping the year that…that Miss Westenra died. I made a transcription for Mrs. Harker, and fortunately too, as the original recordings were among the articles destroyed. That particular entry and the several preceding it related to my efforts to save Miss Westenra from a then undiagnosed illness.”
“Stop with the psychoanalytical doctor’s games,” said Arthur. “Be straight with me. You gave Lucy blood.”
Jack continued to stare evenly. “Yes.”
“And Quincey. And Van Helsing.”
“Yes.”
“And you lied to me about it.”
“No,” said Jack, so sharply that it almost startled Arthur. “We decided it was better not to tell you. We decided, all of us, and we made an agreement. It was not mine to decide to tell you without them.”
“So you were all going to take your secret to the grave? You were never going to tell me that the closest I ever got to consummating my relationship with the woman I loved came only after all of you got your turn, is that it? And Mina knew?”
“Mina found out about the transfusions and our agreement when she read that transcript. She decided herself to honor our wish that you not know. She told me alone, and that was the end of it with her.”
“All this time I believed you to be my friends,” said Arthur, his voice rising again. “All this time, only to find out that every last one of you has been conspiring against me!”
“And I ask again: what does it matter now?” said Jack. “Lucy’s dead, Quincey’s dead, the Professor’s dead. You’re married, to a beautiful woman who I assumed you loved, though now I’m now so sure.”
“How dare you accuse me of not loving my wife!”
“Well you certainly are carrying on enough about a fifteen years dead woman to make a man wonder.”
The room fell silent and tense. Arthur was beginning to tremble with rage; Jack was so perfectly still it was frightening. Their eyes were locked in an intense stare. Finally Arthur spoke in a hoarse, barely controlled voice.
“I trusted you. All this time I trusted you, and you lied to me.”
Jack didn’t blink.
“Don’t forget, I loved her too.”
The thud and the slam brought Victoria rushing downstairs and Phoebe to the landing. Jack, his left hand clapped to his jaw, stepped into the doorway of the parlor just as his wife reached it.
“Heavens, what happened? Who just left? Your lip is bleeding. John…” said Victoria.
Jack shook his head and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe the blood gingerly from his lip. “With friends like these,” he muttered. “Friends like these.”
Fandom: Dracula: General Novel
Characters: Arthur Holmwood, Jack Seward
Prompt: 022. Enemies
Word Count: 1,053 wds.
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: LDT here. Even the closest of friends can have secrets from each other...
“You backstabbing liar,” were the first words out of Arthur Holmwood’s mouth when Jack Seward answered the door. Jack’s mouth opened slightly as his brain raced visibly for a response. Arthur simply stood and glared. Finally Jack gave a laugh.
“Did I double book a foxing party with one of Victoria’s teas or some such? I’ve been known to do it before, after all. Still, it doesn’t seem like anything to be getting up in arms about-”
“You know perfectly well what I’m talking about,” said Arthur coldly. From his pocket he withdrew a small leatherbound book and shoved it into Jack’s chest. Jack grunted at the impact, still giving Arthur an amusedly puzzled look. He took the book and opened it to the page marked with one of Arthur’s calling cards. After reading only a few lines his face grew serious.
“Where did you get this?” he said in a low voice.
“It was lying on your desk in your office,” replied Arthur. “Sitting in plain sight, staring me in the face, mocking me all this time but I never knew it.”
“What were you doing in my-”
“Waiting for you, yesterday noon. I would have stayed, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it.”
“Arthur-”
“All this time we’ve been friends. All this time, since we were children, and you never told me. Couldn’t work up the nerve to tell me that not only did you propose to the woman you knew I was in love with, but you also-”
Jack moved onto the top step and slammed the front door behind him, cutting off Arthur’s rising voice. His gaze too was now cold. “My wife and daughter are inside,” he stated.
A blush of anger was growing over Arthur’s face. “You think I give a damn?” he asked. His tone was still harsh, but quieter than it had been.
“You ought to,” replied Jack, “and you ought to realize what a fool you’re being about this. It’s been over fifteen years. We’re both married, we both have children for heaven’s sake, and Lucy is still dead. What does it matter?”
“You lied to me is what matters!” shouted Arthur. “You and Quincey and Van Helsing all lied to me this whole time!”
“Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead,” retorted Seward bitterly. “And I never lied to you.”
Arthur stepped onto the top step as well, using the two inches he had on Jack to as much advantage as he could as he stared him right in the face. “Tell me what that book is, and tell me what that entry means, and then tell me to my face you never lied to me.”
Jack reached back and suddenly opened the door. It swung in only slightly, followed by a muffled squeak. “Go to your room, Phoebe,” said Jack calmly. You’re too old to still be eavesdropping.” The door swung open the rest of the way as Jack’s thirteen year old daughter retreated up the stairs. Jack motioned Arthur into the parlor, closing both the front door and the parlor door behind them.
Arthur stood in the center of the room, still red with anger. When Jack turned to face him from the door, he was equally as livid. “You want to know what this means then,” he said in an even tone, holding up the book. “You really want to hear it? I’ll tell you then. Sit down.”
“I’ll stand.”
“Fine.” Jack extended his arm and dropped the book. It fell on the floor exactly between them. “That is my only copy on my dictaphone diary which I was keeping the year that…that Miss Westenra died. I made a transcription for Mrs. Harker, and fortunately too, as the original recordings were among the articles destroyed. That particular entry and the several preceding it related to my efforts to save Miss Westenra from a then undiagnosed illness.”
“Stop with the psychoanalytical doctor’s games,” said Arthur. “Be straight with me. You gave Lucy blood.”
Jack continued to stare evenly. “Yes.”
“And Quincey. And Van Helsing.”
“Yes.”
“And you lied to me about it.”
“No,” said Jack, so sharply that it almost startled Arthur. “We decided it was better not to tell you. We decided, all of us, and we made an agreement. It was not mine to decide to tell you without them.”
“So you were all going to take your secret to the grave? You were never going to tell me that the closest I ever got to consummating my relationship with the woman I loved came only after all of you got your turn, is that it? And Mina knew?”
“Mina found out about the transfusions and our agreement when she read that transcript. She decided herself to honor our wish that you not know. She told me alone, and that was the end of it with her.”
“All this time I believed you to be my friends,” said Arthur, his voice rising again. “All this time, only to find out that every last one of you has been conspiring against me!”
“And I ask again: what does it matter now?” said Jack. “Lucy’s dead, Quincey’s dead, the Professor’s dead. You’re married, to a beautiful woman who I assumed you loved, though now I’m now so sure.”
“How dare you accuse me of not loving my wife!”
“Well you certainly are carrying on enough about a fifteen years dead woman to make a man wonder.”
The room fell silent and tense. Arthur was beginning to tremble with rage; Jack was so perfectly still it was frightening. Their eyes were locked in an intense stare. Finally Arthur spoke in a hoarse, barely controlled voice.
“I trusted you. All this time I trusted you, and you lied to me.”
Jack didn’t blink.
“Don’t forget, I loved her too.”
The thud and the slam brought Victoria rushing downstairs and Phoebe to the landing. Jack, his left hand clapped to his jaw, stepped into the doorway of the parlor just as his wife reached it.
“Heavens, what happened? Who just left? Your lip is bleeding. John…” said Victoria.
Jack shook his head and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe the blood gingerly from his lip. “With friends like these,” he muttered. “Friends like these.”