The Clan of the Poes (Page 163)

//Panel 1//
Baron Portsnell:
……
Get me a cloth!
//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Horrible. She’s cut wide open from the left shoulder to her chest.
Sheila:
…Cliffo…
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
Clifford?
//Panel 4//
Baron Portsnell:
That doctor? …The doctor?
Baron Portsnell:
Sheila! Did he detect…?
Sheila:
Yes.
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
There’s at least one person who believes in folk tales.
Baron Portsnell:
We’ll leave this place immediately.
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
We ought to kill the doctor.
Baron Portsnell:
Immediately…put on your coat. We’ll hire a carriage at the station, and find another city.
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
It’s no good to move her now. We should wait at least a day, till the bleeding stops.
Baron Portsnell:
If we don’t leave now, it’s over!


Hagio has a beautiful way of depicting the glow of candlelight in this scene, and its contract with darkness and shadows.

It is interesting to speculate on whether Baron Portsnell and Sheila (and possibly Edgar) had ever discussed a contingency plan for this very type of situation...or whether they had always assumed they would evade such a critical fate. It doesn't seem here that they were prepared for injuries, or are ready to smoothly implement their plan of escape.