'Rise and shine, lovebirds!'
This boisterous announcement was followed by a hammering at the door. Jane and Max exchanged glances.
'Doctor Porter is not known for her discretion,' Jane groaned.
'Probably a job as a town crier would have been more appropriate,' Max agreed.
The doctor yelled out that she would see them across the road at a coffeehouse called The Brown Door. It was only a few minutes before Jane and Max were seated opposite Doctor Porter and Eddy. They sipped gingerly at the obsidian liquid as the doctor spoke.
'I have a course of action,' the doctor said. 'It may, or may not, move us forward.'
'What is it?' Jane asked.
'There was that list of properties the Baroness owned. One of them was a coal mine near Dover.'
'You think we should go there?' Max asked.
'It's the only thing that fits with keeping the engineer alive,' Porter said.
'But wasn't Bradshaw famous for his bridges?' Jane said.
'Absolutely,' Porter agreed. 'But engineers are capable of building a great many things. Maybe there's something valuable to be found in that mine. Besides,' she added, 'we have no other leads.'
'So it's the mine or nothing?' Eddy said.
'That's it,' Porter said.
They returned to their coach. As per usual, Eddy had looked after the horses. Jane stroked the velvet muzzle of one and turned to the horseman. 'You do a magnificent job,' she said.
'Thank you, miss.'
Jane thought he looked sad. 'Are you all right, Eddy?'
He gave her a wan, grief-stricken smile. 'You remind me of my Susan sometimes. Oh, you don't look alike. Not at all. But there's something in your smile that's the same.'
'Thank you, Eddy,' Jane said, touched. 'I will remember her in my prayers.'
Eddy nodded.
Soon they were back on the road again. The day passed slowly as they each took turns driving the coach. Jane's confidence had grown since her first time at the reins.
'Jane,' Max said, sitting beside her. 'What will we do after all this is over?'
'What do you mean?'
'Well, it seems I must speak to your father.'
Jane's attention was diverted entirely from the road. 'Is it my behaviour?'
'Pardon?'
'Must you speak to him because I'm so unruly?'
Max smiled. 'Well,' he said. 'There's that…'
'And? Why else must you speak to my father?'
'To ask for your hand in marriage.'
'What if I do not wish to marry you?' Jane asked. 'There are many more handsome men out there. They have better prospects. Careers. And their breath does not stink.'
'Are you saying my breath is bad?'
'I'm not sure. Let me see.' She planted a quick kiss on his proffered lips. 'Your breath is agreeable. But you must also inquire as to whether I am interested in marrying you. After all, it is me you're marrying. Not my father.'
'Jane Austen,' Max said. 'Will you marry me?'
'Max Filador,' Jane said. 'I will—but on one condition.'
'And that is?'
'That I will still be able to write.'
'Jane,' Max said patiently. 'I want you to write. No. You will write.' He stopped. 'The world needs to know what you have to say.'
'In that case,' Jane said. 'My answer is yes.'
Despite her frivolity, Jane's heart was singing. She wasn't sure how this would work. How would her father accept this union? Both he and her mother would be shocked. Their family would be scandalised. Steventon would be in an uproar.
Well, Jane thought. Let them.
She would marry for love and hang the consequences.
'There is one thing,' Max added.
'What is it?'
'I do not have a ring for you yet.'
'I would be much concerned if you were carrying one around with you.'
'This is not a ring,' he said, reaching into his pocket. 'But I want you to have it.'
Taking over the reins, he handed a small box to Jane, who peered inside and saw pieces of glass that looked like teardrops. They had big heads that tapered back to long tails that vanished to nothing. The heads contained tiny air bubbles.
'They're called Prussian Tears,' Max explained. 'Glassmakers manufacture them. The head of the tear is almost impossible to break. You can stand on it. Hit it with a hammer. Anything. But if you snap the tail, the whole tear shatters.'
Jane peered down at the glass decorations. 'Max,' she said. 'They're the most beautiful things I have ever seen.'
Max put an arm around her. 'The most beautiful thing I have ever seen is you.'
They reached Dover late in the day. By then, they were tired, but Doctor Porter thought they still had time to examine the mine. They asked a local for directions and were soon following a road through narrow hills to a place about a mile from the sea. Turning a corner, Jane pointed to the house ahead.
'Look,' she said. 'A coach is already here.'
Climbing from the Fruitful Vine, Doctor Porter scrutinised the dilapidated house. 'The building's not in good condition.'
'The baroness may not have had the money to maintain it,' Eddy said.
'Perhaps. Let's introduce ourselves to the owners.'
They walked to the front door and knocked. There was no answer. The doctor glanced in a side window. 'This place is empty. There's no furniture in there. Nothing.'
They rounded the building looking for life, but it was apparent that no one was about. Max suggested they break in, but Porter declined.
'We would be breaking the law,' she said. 'And there may be an innocent reason for the coach's presence. I suggest we take a look at the mine.'
Some old mine structures were visible among some sinuous slopes several hundred feet away. Jane and the others followed the trail to them. It was afternoon, but still hours till sunset. Reaching the mine entrance, Eddy pointed to the ground.
'There are footprints here,' he said.
Porter examined them. 'Several of them. Dracula and his followers may have come this way.'
Max snatched a lantern from a nearby hook, lit it, and they started down the tunnel. It was deathly quiet. The only sound was their reverberating footsteps on the hard ground. Jane felt as if the earth was constricting around them.
Cassandra, she thought. Please be alive.
Jane and the others reached a turn in the tunnel where it widened into a vast, echoing cavern. They could see little by the feeble light of the lantern.
'Be ready,' Porter said. 'I fear all is not as it seems.'
'You're right, doctor,' Eddy said, cocking his gun and placing it at the doctor's head. 'All is not as it seems.'