In a tavern, in a tavern...

One day later, close to sundown:

"Oh, my!" cried Lucy as she rode along with Lucy, Tara and Fifi in a coach they had hired at the train station. "My throat is parched. I simply have to stop somewhere and imbibe a bit of liquid refreshment."

"Must you, Lucy?" asked Mina. "I had a bad dream about Jane last night and I feel the need to see her as soon as possible."

"Oh, don't you worry your little head, Mina," said Lucy. "I'm sure Jane is all right. Her host Count Dracula may be a bit eccentric like most of the aristocracy but I really doubt he's all that bad. No matter what that Van Helsing lady says."

"Wait!" cried Mina. "What Van Helsing lady? What have you heard?"

"No time to get into that right now," said Lucy. "It's almost sunset and we have to stop for the night anyway. Er, Mr. Coachman, if you would? Please stop right here."

"Right here, Miss?" asked the coachman.

"Yes," said Lucy, pointing at a nearby building that was covered with garlic bulbs. "My friend and I wish to go into that tavern over there."

"You and your friend wish to go into that tavern?" asked the coachman.

"Why, yes, we do," said Lucy. "Now can you please refrain from making parrot imitations and stop this couch so that we can get out?"

"Certainly, Miss," said the coachman.

As Lucy got out of the coach, she took one look at the tavern's exterior and sniffed.

"Whew!" she cried. "With all this garlic around, you would think we were still in Italy."

She turned up and spoke to the coachman. "I don't suppose you took a wrong turn, did you?"

"Of course not, Miss," said the coachman.

"So why all the garlic?" asked Lucy. "I thought we were in Transylvania, not Italy."

"It's a local custom in these parts, Miss," said the coachman. "The townspeople put them up to ward off -- er -- fairies."

"Fairies?" asked Lucy. "That's a strange thing to be scared of."

"Why, they say the fairies in these parts are a lot more scary than most fairies," said the coachman.

"And here I always thought that there was no such things as fairies," said Lucy. "I guess some people will believe anything."

"Er, Mistress Westenra, if you please?" asked Fifi. "I really need to go in and -- like you English say -- polish my nose."

"Why don't you do it out here?" asked Lucy. "You have a perfectly good makeup case in your purse. I know. I've seen it."

"Er, that's not the type of nose-polishing I need to do," said Fifi.

"Very well," said Lucy. "Go on in. I have to wait for the other coach anyway."

"You do know you could have saved time and money by bringing fewer servants, right?" asked Mina.

"And leave myself dependent on foreign servants?" asked Lucy. "What sort of woman do you think I am?"

"But most of your servants are fore -- oh, forget it," said Mina, quickly realizing the folly of reviving this topic yet again. "Anyway, why don't we go inside and wait for them?"

"Good idea," said Lucy. "I really need to rinse the dust of the road out of my mouth and a good glass of wine is just the way to do it."

"Er, you're drinking wine this early in the evening?" asked Mina.

"Yes, I am," said Lucy. "Not that that's any of your business. Besides, I'm starting to get a bit of a headache and wine helps keep that in check."

"A headache?" asked Tara. "Does that mean --"

"No, Tara, it doesn't mean that," said Lucy. "You don't need to fetch the rope again. Which reminds me..."

Lucy walked into the tavern and called out to the tavern keeper, "A bottle of wine for my party, kind sir."

"Certainly, Miss," said the tavern keeper. "How many glasses to go with that bottle?"

"Glasses? Oh, as many as you can get," said Lucy. "I have a large party."

"Very well, Miss," said the tavern keeper. "Anything else?"

"Why, yes, there is now that I think of it," said Lucy. "Does anyone around here know the location of Castle Dracula?"

At that point, all the noisy patrons in the tavern stopped talking and the place became so quiet that you could hear a fig leaf drop.

"Castle Dracula, did you say?" asked the tavern keeper.

"Why, yes," said Lucy. "Have you heard of it?"

The tavern keeper hastily shook his head. "Er, no. I haven't heard of it. No one here has. And we know nothing about all these rumors about the Count. As far as we're concerned, his affairs are his own business. And vampires? Why, everyone knows that there is no such thing as vampires. How could there be?"

"Well, if you say so, I guess that must be right," said Lucy. "Only I was quite sure... Oh, never mind. I think I see a familiar face over there in the darkest part of the tavern. The part furthest away from the doors and the windows."

And with that, Lucy walked over to the more shadowier part of the tavern and spoke to a little blonde girl who was sitting alone in the corner.

"Hello," said Lucy. "My name is Lucy Westenra. We haven't officially met yet but I could swear that I saw you on the Orient Express. I don't suppose you know anything about Castle Dracula."

"As a matter of fact, I don't, Lucy," said the girl whom Professor Van Helsing had called Claudia. "Which is probably just as well. I've heard rumors that the place is filled with vampires and everyone knows that there is no such thing as vampires."