Chapter 13.

Dr. Seward's Diary continued.

The funeral was arranged for the next succeeding day so that Lucy and her mother might be buried

together.

I attended to all the ghastly formalities, and the urbane undertaker proved that his staff

or afflicted or blessed was something of his own obsequious, swavity.

From the woman who performed the last offices for the dead remarked to me in a confidential,

brother-professional way when she'd come out from the death chamber.

She makes a very beautiful corpse, sir.

It's quite a privilege to attend on her.

It's not too much to say that she will do credit to our establishment.

I noticed that Van Helsing never kept far away.

This was possible from the distorted state of things in the household.

There were no relatives at hand, and his Arthur had to be back the next day to attend

it as Father's funeral.

We were unable to notify anyone who should have been bitten.

Under the circumstances Van Helsing and I took it upon ourselves to examine papers, etc.

He insisted upon looking over Lucy's papers himself.

I asked him why.

For I feared that he, being a foreigner, might not be quite aware of English legal requirements.

And so might an ignorance make some unnecessary trouble.

He answered me, I know, I know.

...