Laura pushes Carmilla for information about her life, but Carmilla remains secretive. Laura and Carmilla continue to draw closer during the course of her stay, although there are some things about Carmilla that deeply trouble Laura. Laura takes this as a sign that they were meant to be friends. Carmilla remembers Laura as well, and admires Laura’s own beauty. Laura herself is struck by Carmilla, and when she goes to check on her, she soon recognizes her as the girl from her dream. Laura’s father sends for a doctor to examine the young girl, Carmilla, while the governesses comment on her beauty. Laura’s father offers to keep the girl in his care until her mother can return in three month’s time. Laura’s father speaks to the mother, who informs him that her journey is urgent and she must continue on even without her daughter. However, shortly afterwards, they witness a carriage crash from which an injured young girl and the girl’s mother emerge. Some time after, Laura’s father receives a letter from his friend General Spielsdorf, and Laura is disheartened to learn that the General’s niece Bertha Rheinfeldt, who was meant to come visit them, has died. Having been sheltered and kept largely in ignorance of things such as ghost stories, this is the first time she can remember being truly afraid. She dreamt one night of a girl’s face watching her and then crawling into bed with her.

Laura recalls an event that occurred when she was six years old which has left a distinct impression on her, even years later. Despite her father’s caring nature and her tendency to get her way with everything, Laura feels lonely without any friends her age for companionship. She leads a life of isolation, with the nearest village located miles away. This young woman, whose name will later be revealed as Laura, describes her picturesque childhood living in a manor in Styria, Austria with her widowed father and her governesses, Madame Perrodon and Mademoiselle De Lafontaine. Carmilla opens by informing the reader that the events of the story- recollections from a young woman about her experiences with a vampire-will be presented from the casebook of Doctor Hesselius.

Carmilla by joseph sheridan le fanu