All language subtitles for Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu Chapter 8 Search Read by Elise Bauman.eng.eng

hello and welcome back today i'll be

reading

chapter eight entitled search

at sight of the room perfectly

undisturbed except for our violent

entrance

we began to cool a little and soon

recovered our senses sufficiently to

dismiss the men

it had struck mademoiselle that possibly

carmilla had been weakened by the uproar

at her door

and in her first panic had jumped from

her bed and hid herself in a press or

behind a curtain

from which she could not of course

emerge until the majority major domo

and his mira myrmidons

had withdrawn so glad english has

progressed the way that it has we now

recommend star search and began to call

her name again

it was all to no purpose our perplexity

and agitation increased

we examined the windows but they were

secured i implored of carmilla

if she had concealed herself to play

this cruel trick no longer

to come out and to end our anxieties it

was all useless

i was by this time convinced that she

was not in the room nor the dressing

room

the door of which was still locked on

this side she could not have passed it

i was utterly puzzled had carmilla

discovered one of those secret

passages which the old housekeeper said

were known to exist in the schloss

although the tradition of their exact

situation had been lost

a little time would no doubt explain all

utterly perplexed as for the present we

were it was past four o'clock and i

preferred passing the remaining hours of

darkness in madame's room

daylight brought no solution of the

difficulty the whole household

with my father at its head was in a

state of agitation next morning

every part of the chateau was searched

the grounds were explored

no trace of the missing lady could be

discovered the stream was about to be

dragged

and my father was in distraction what a

tale to tell the poor girl's mother on

her return

i too was almost beside myself though my

grief was quite of a different kind

the morning was passed in alarm and

excitement it was now one o'clock

and still no tidings i ran up to

carmela's room and found her standing

at her dressing table i was astounded i

could not believe my eyes

she beckoned me to her with her pretty

finger in silence

her face expressed extreme fear

i ran to her in an ecstasy of joy i

kissed and embraced her again and again

i ran to the bell and rang it vehemently

to bring others to the spot who might at

once relieve my father's anxiety

dear carmilla what has become of you all

this time we have been an

angities of anxiety about you exclaimed

where have you been how did you come

back last night

has been a night of wonders she said for

mercy's sake explain

all you can it was past two last night

she said when i went to sleep as usual

in my bed

with my doors locked that of the

dressing room and that opening

upon the gallery my sleep was

uninterrupted and

so far as i know dreamless but i woke

just now on the sofa in the dressing

room there

and i found the door between the rooms

open and the other door forced

how could all this have happened without

my being awakened it must have been

accompanied with a great deal of noise

and i am particularly easily awakened

and how could i have been carried out of

my bed without my sleep having been

interrupted i whom the slightest stir

startles

by this time madame mademoiselle my

father and a number of the servants were

in the room

carmilla was of course overwhelmed with

inquiries congratulations and welcomes

she had but one story to tell

and seemed the least able of all the

party to suggest any way of accounting

for what had happened my father took a

turn

up and down the room thinking i saw

carmilla's eyes follow him for a moment

with a sly dark glance

when my father had sent the servants

away mademoiselle having gone in search

of a little

bottle of valerian and salvation and

there being no one in the room with

carmilla except my father madam and

myself

he came to her thoughtfully took her

hand very kindly led her to the sofa and

sat down beside her

will you forgive me my dear if i risk a

conjecture and ask a question

you can have a better right she said ask

what you please and i will tell you

everything but my story is simply one of

bewilderment and darkness

i know absolutely nothing but any

question you please but you know of

course

the limitations mama has placed me under

perfectly my dear child

i need not approach the topics in which

she desires our silence

now the marvel of last night consists in

your having been removed from your bed

and your room without being awakened

and this removal having occurred

apparently while the windows were still

secured and the two doors locked upon

the inside

i will tell you my theory and ask you a

question carmilla was leaning on her

hand

dejectedly madame and i were listening

breathlessly now my question

is this have you ever been suspected of

waking in your sleep

never since i was very young indeed but

you did

walk in your sleep when you were young

yes i know i did

i have been told so often by my old

nurse my father smiled and nodded

well what has happened is this you got

up in your sleep unlocked the door not

leaving the key as usual in the lock

but taking it out and locking it on the

outside you again took the key out

and carried it away with you to some one

of the five and 20 rooms on this floor

it's a lot of rooms or perhaps upstairs

or downstairs there are so many rooms in

closets so much heavy furniture and such

accumulations of lumber that it would

require a week to search this house

thoroughly

do you see now what i mean i do but not

all

she answered and how papa do you account

for her finding herself on the sofa in

the dressing room

which we had searched so carefully she

came there after you had searched it

still in her sleep

and at last awoke spontaneously and was

as much surprised to find herself where

she was as anyone else

i wish all mysteries were as easily and

innocently explained as yours carmilla

he said laughing and so we may

congratulate ourselves on the certainty

that the most natural explanation of the

occurrence is one that involves no

drugging

no tampering with locks no burglars or

poisoners or

witches nothing that need alarm carmilla

or anyone else for our safety

certainly no vampires carmilla was

looking

charmingly nothing could be more

beautiful than her

tints her beauty was i think enhanced by

that graceful anger

that was peculiar to her i think my

father was silently contrasting her

looks with mine for he said

i wish my poor laura was looking more

like herself and he sighed

so our alarms were happily ended and

carmilla restored

to her friends

and so concludes my portion of reading

carmilla the novella

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