Mina was in the middle of the dream again. The one in which she walked naked through the halls of a great estate. Not the one that belonged to her friend Lucy Westenra but a different one. Very different. It seemed older than any estate Mina had ever visited in England and for some reason, it seemed more foreign.
She looked around for clothing but there was none to be seen. Just one dark hall after another.
Then something suddenly grabbed her arm and Mina found herself opening her eyes to a more normal scene -- the guest bedroom that had been assigned her at the Westenra estate.
Before her was a familiar face -- Tara, the Irish maid who spent so much time around Lucy that they might have been sisters.
"Oh, good heavens, Tara," said Mina. "You frightened me."
"I'm sorry, Miss Murray, but I had to wake you," said Tara. "Miss Amory is still fast asleep and Miss Westenra is, well, she's er -- different."
"Different?" asked Mina. "What do you mean, 'different'?"
"You'll have to see for yourself, Miss," said Tara as she tugged at her forelock. "Now please. Follow me."
Mina reluctantly reached for her robe and followed Tara to the living room where a semi-conscious Lucy was staring into space while holding a cup of tea. Ordinarily, Mina would have thought nothing about such a sight. Lucy was hardly a punctual girl when it came to sleeping hours and this was hardly the first time Mina could remember seeing Lucy up in the middle of the night.
But Lucy usually wore something when she did that and yet tonight she was as naked as she had been the day she was born.
"Good heavens, Lucy!" cried Mina. "What happened?"
"What did you mean, 'what happened'?" asked Lucy. "Can't a girl have a proper cup of tea in her own home?"
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