Queen Lucia

by E. F. Benson

  Chapter EIGHT

  Throughout August, Guruism reigned supreme over the cultured life ofRiseholme, and the priestess and dispenser of its mysteries was Lucia.Never before had she ruled from so elate a pinnacle, nor wielded sosecure a supremacy. None had access to the Guru but through her: allhis classes were held in the smoking-parlour and he meditated only inHamlet or in the sequestered arbour at the end of the laburnum walk.Once he had meditated on the village green, but Lucia did not approveof that and had led him, still rapt, home by the hand.

  The classes had swelled prodigiously, for practically all Riseholmitesnow were at some stage of instruction, with the exception of Hermy andUrsy, who pronounced the whole thing "piffle," and, as gentle chaff forGeorgie, sometimes stood on one leg in the middle of the lawn and heldtheir breath. Then Hermy would say One, Two, Three, and they shouted"Om" at the tops of their discordant voices. Now that the Guru waspractically interned in The Hurst, they had actually never set eyes onhim, for they had not chosen to come to the Hightum garden-party,preferring to have a second round of golf, and meeting Lucia next dayhad been distinctly irreverent on the subject of Eastern philosophy.Since then she had not been aware of their existence.

  Lucia now received special instruction from the Guru in a class all byherself so prodigious was her advance in Yoga, for she could hold herbreath much longer than anybody else, and had mastered six postures,while the next class which she attended also consisted of the otheroriginal members, namely Daisy Quantock, Georgie and Peppino. They hadgot on very well, too, but Lucia had quite shot away from them, and nowif the Guru had other urgent spiritual claims on him, she gaveinstruction to a less advanced class herself. For this purpose shehabited herself in a peculiarly becoming dress of white linen, whichreached to her feet and had full flowing sleeves like a surplice.It was girdled with a silver cord with long tassels, and hadmother-of-pearl buttons and a hood at the back lined with white satinwhich came over her head. Below its hem as she sat and taught in areally rather advanced posture showed the toes of her white moroccoslippers, and she called it her "Teacher's Robe." The class which shetaught consisted of Colonel Boucher, Piggy Antrobus and Mrs Weston:sometimes the Colonel brought his bull-dogs with him, who lay andsnorted precisely as if they were doing breathing exercises, too. Ageneral air of joyful mystery and spiritual endeavour blew balmilyround them all, and without any doubt the exercises and the deepbreathing were extremely good for them.

  One evening, towards the end of the month, Georgie was sitting in hisgarden, for the half hour before dressing-time, thinking how busy hewas, and yet how extraordinarily young and fresh he felt. Usually thismonth when Hermy and Ursy were with him was very fatiguing, and inordinary years he would have driven away with Foljambe and Dicky onthe day after their departure, and had a quiet week by the seaside. Butnow, though his sisters were going away tomorrow morning, he had nointention of taking a well-earned rest, in spite of the fact that notonly had he been their host all this time, but had done an amazingquantity of other things as well. There had been the daily classes tobegin with, which entailed much work in the way of meditation andexercises, as well as the actual learning, and also he had had anotherjob which might easily have taxed his energies to the utmost any otheryear. For Olga Bracely had definitely bought that house without whichshe had felt that life was not worth living, and Georgie all this monthhad at her request been exercising a semi-independent supervision overits decoration and furnishing. She had ordered the general schemeherself and had sent down from London the greater part of thefurniture, but Georgie was commissioned to report on any likely piecesof old stuff that he could find, and if expedition was necessary to acton his own responsibility and buy them. But above all secrecy was stillnecessary till the house was so complete that her Georgie might betold, and by the end of the month Riseholme generally was in a state ofprostration following on the violent and feverish curiosity as to whohad taken the house. Georgie had gone so far as to confess that heknew, but the most pathetic appeals as to the owner's identity hadfallen on obdurate, if not deaf, ears. Not the smallest hint would hegive on the subject, and though those incessant visits to the house,those searchings for furniture, the bestowal of it in suitable places,the superintendence of the making of the garden, the interviewings ofpaperhangers, plumbers, upholsterers, painters, carpenters and so forthoccupied a great deal of time, the delicious mystery about it all, andthe fact that he was doing it for so adorable a creature, rendered hisexertions a positive refreshment. Another thing which, in conjunctionwith this and his youth-giving studies, made him feel younger than everwas the discreet arrival and perfect success of his toupet. No longerwas there any need to fear the dislocation of his espaliered locks. Hefelt so secure and undetectable in that regard that he had taken towearing no hat, and was soon about to say that his hair was growingmore thickly than ever in consequence. But it was not quite time forthat yet: it would be inartistic to suggest that just a couple of weeksof hatlessness had produced so desirable a result.

  As he sat at ease after the labours of the day he wondered how thecoming of Olga Bracely to Riseholme would affect the economy of theplace. It was impossible to think of her with her beauty, her charm,her fame, her personality as taking any second place in its life.Unless she was really meaning to use Riseholme as a retreat, to take nopart in its life at all, it was hard to see what part she would takeexcept the first part. One who by her arrival at Lucia's ever-memorableparty had converted it in a moment from the most dire of Scrubs (in apsychical sense) to the Hightumest gathering ever known could not layaside her distinction and pre-eminence. Never had Lucia "scored" soamazingly as over Olga's late appearance, which had the effect ofbringing back all her departed guests with the compulsion of a magnetover iron-filings, and sending up the whole party like a rocket intothe zenith of social success. All Riseholme knew that Olga had come(after playing croquet with Georgie the entire afternoon) and had giventhem free gratis and for nothing, such a treat as only the wealthiestcould obtain with the most staggering fees. Lady Ambermere alone,driving back to The Hall with Pug and poor Miss Lyall, was the onlyperson who had not shared in that, and she knew all about it next day,for Georgie had driven out on purpose to tell her, and met Lucia comingaway. How, then, would the advent of Olga affect Riseholme's socialworking generally, and how would it affect Lucia in particular? Andwhat would Lucia say when she knew on whose behalf Georgie was so busywith plumbers and painters, and with buying so many of the desirabletreasures in the Ambermere Arms?

  Frankly he could not answer these conundrums: they presupposedinconceivable situations, which yet, though inconceivable, were shortlycoming to pass, for Olga's advent might be expected before October,that season of tea-parties that ushered in the multifarious gaieties ofthe winter. Would Olga form part of the moonlit circle to whom Luciaplayed the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata, and give a long sighat the end like the rest of them? And would Lucia when they had allrecovered a little from the invariable emotion go to her and say, "Olgamia, just a little bit out of the Valkyrie? It would be so pleasant."Somehow Georgie, with all his imagination, could not picture such ascene. And would Olga take the part of second citizenness or somethingof the sort when Lucia played Portia? Would Olga join the elementaryclass of Yoga, and be instructed by Lucia in her Teacher's Robe? Wouldshe sing treble in the Christmas Carols, while Lucia beat time, andsaid in syllables dictated by the rhythm, "Trebles a little flat! Mypoor ears!"? Georgie could not imagine any of these things, and yet,unless Olga took no part in the social life of Riseholme at all (andthat was equally inconceivable) what was the alternative? True, she hadsaid that she was coming here because it was so ideally lazy abackwater, but Georgie did not take that seriously. She would soon seewhat Riseholme was when its life poured down in spate, whirling herpunt along with it.

  And finally, what would happen to him, when Olga was set as a shiningstar in this firmament? Already he revolved about her, he was aware,like some eager delighted little moon, drawn away from the or
bit whereit had encircled so contentedly by the more potent planet. And themeasure of his detachment from that old orbit might be judged preciselyby the fact that the process of detachment which was already takingplace was marked by no sense of the pull of opposing forces at all. Thegreat new star sailing into the heavens had just picked him up by forceof its superior power of attraction, even as by its momentaryconjunction with Lucia at the garden-party it had raised her to amagnitude she had never possessed before. That magnitude was stillLucia's, and no doubt would be until the great star appeared again.Then without effort its shining must surely eclipse every otherillumination, just as without effort it must surely attract all thelittle moons to itself. Or would Lucia manage somehow or other, eitherby sheer force of will, by desperate and hostile endeavour, or, on theother hand, by some supreme tact and cleverness to harness the greatstar to her own chariot? He thought the desperate and hostile endeavourwas more in keeping with Lucia's methods, and this quiet evening hourrepresented itself to him as the lull before the storm.

  The actual quiet of the moment was suddenly broken into. His front-doorbanged, and the house was filled with running footsteps and screams oflaughter. But it was not uncommon for Hermy and Ursy to make this sortof entrance, and at the moment Georgie had not the slightest idea ofhow much further-reaching was the disturbance of the tranquillity. Hebut drew a couple of long breaths, said "Om" once or twice, and wasquite prepared to find his deeper calm unshattered.

  Hermy and Ursy ran down the steps into the garden where he sat stillyelling with laughter, and still Georgie's imagination went no furtherthan to suppose that one of them had laid a stymie for the other attheir golf, or driven a ball out of bounds or done some other of thesethings that appeared to make the game so diverting to them.

  "Georgie, you'll never guess!" cried Hermy.

  "The Guru: the Om, of high caste and extraordinary sanctity," criedUrsy.

  "The Brahmin from Benares," shrieked Hermy.

  "The great Teacher! Who do you think he is?" said Ursy. "We never seenhim before--"

  "But we recognised him at once--"

  "He recognised us, too, and didn't he run?--"

  "Into The Hurst and shut the door--"

  Georgie's deeper calm suddenly quivered like a jelly.

  "My dears, you needn't howl so, or talk quite so loud," he said. "AllRiseholme will hear you. Tell me without shouting who it was youthought you recognised."

  "There's no think about it," said Hermy. "It was one of the cooks fromthe Calcutta Restaurant in Bedford Street--"

  "Where we often have lunch," said Ursy. "He makes the most deliciouscurries."

  "Especially when he's a little tipsy," said Hermy.

  "And is about as much a Brahmin as I am."

  "And always said he came from Madras."

  "We always tip him to make the curry himself, so he isn't quiteignorant about money."

  "O Lord!" said Hermy, wiping her eyes. "If it isn't the limit!"

  "And to think of Mrs Lucas and Colonel Boucher and you and MrsQuantock, and Piggy and all the rest of them sitting round a cook,"said Ursy, "and drinking in his wisdom. Mr Quantock was on the righttrack after all when he wanted to engage him."

  Georgie with a fallen heart had first to satisfy himself that this wasnot one of his sisters' jokes, and then tried to raise his fallen heartby remembering that the Guru had often spoken of the dignity of simplemanual work, but somehow it was a blow, if Hermy and Ursy were right,to know that this was a tipsy contriver of curry. There was nothing inthe simple manual office of curry-making that could possibly tarnishsanctity, but the amazing tissue of falsehoods with which the Guru hadmodestly masked his innocent calling was not so markedly in the spiritof the Guides, as retailed by him. It was of the first importance,however, to be assured that his sisters had not at present communicatedtheir upsetting discovery to anybody but himself, and after that to gettheir promise that they would not do so.

  This was not quite so easy, for Hermy and Ursy had projected a round ofvisits after dinner to every member of the classes with the exceptionof Lucia, who should wake up next morning to find herself the onlyillusioned person in the place.

  "She wouldn't like that, you know," said Hermy with brisk malice. "Wethought it would serve her out for never asking us to her house againafter her foolish old garden-party."

  "My dear, you never wanted to go," said Georgie.

  "I know we didn't, but we rather wanted to tell her we didn't want togo. She wasn't nice. Oh, I don't think we can give up tellingeverybody. It has made such sillies of you all. I think he's a realsport."

  "So do I," said Ursy. "We shall soon have him back at his curry-ovenagain. What a laugh we shall have with him."

  They subsided for just as long as it took Foljambe to come out of thehouse, inform them that it was a quarter of an hour to dinner-time, andreturn again. They all rose obediently.

  "Well, we'll talk about it at dinner-time," said Georgiediplomatically. "And I'll just go down to the cellar first to see if Ican find something you like."

  "Good old Georgie," said Hermy. "But if you're going to bribe us, youmust bribe us well."

  "We'll see," said he.

  Georgie was quite right to be careful over his Veuve Clicquot,especially since it was a bottle of that admirable beverage that Hermyand Ursy had looted from his cellar on the night of their burglariousentry. He remembered that well, though he had--chiefly from the desireto keep things pleasant about his hair--joined in "the fun," and hadeven produced another half-bottle. But tonight, even more than then,there was need for the abolition of all petty economies, for thesituation would be absolutely intolerable if Hermy and Ursy spreadabout Riseholme the fact that the introducers and innermost circle ofYoga philosophers had sat at the feet of no Gamaliel at all, but atthose of a curry-cook from some low restaurant. Indeed he brought up asecond bottle tonight with a view if Hermy and Ursy were not softenedby the first to administer that also. They would then hardly be in acondition to be taken seriously if they still insisted on making ahouse-to-house visit in Riseholme, and tearing the veil from off thefeatures of the Guru. Georgie was far too upright of purpose to dreamof making his sisters drunk, but he was willing to make greatsacrifices in order to render them kind. What the inner circle would doabout this cook he had no idea; he must talk to Lucia about it, beforethe advanced class tomorrow morning. But anything was better thanletting Hermy and Ursy loose in Riseholme with their rude laughs anddiscreditable exposures. This evening safely over, he could discusswith Lucia what was to be done, for Hermy and Ursy would have vanishedat cock-crow as they were going in for some golf-competition at a safedistance. Lucia might recommend doing nothing at all, and wish tocontinue enlightening studies as if nothing had happened. But Georgiefelt that the romance would have evaporated from the classes as regardshimself. Or again they might have to get rid of the Guru somehow. Heonly felt quite sure that Lucia would agree with him that DaisyQuantock must not be told. She with her thwarted ambitions of being theprime dispenser of Guruism to Riseholme might easily "turn nasty" andlet it be widely known that she and Robert had seen through that fraudlong ago, and had considered whether they should not offer the Guru thesituation of cook in their household, for which he was so much betterqualified. She might even add that his leanings towards her prettyhousemaid had alone dissuaded her.

  The evening went off with a success more brilliant than Georgie hadanticipated, and it was quite unnecessary to open the second bottle ofchampagne. Hermy and Ursy, perhaps under the influence of the first,perhaps from innate good-nature, perhaps because they were starting sovery early next morning, and wanted to be driven into Brinton, insteadof taking a slower and earlier train at this station, readily gave uptheir project of informing the whole of Riseholme of their discovery,and went to bed as soon as they had rooked their brother of elevenshillings at cut-throat bridge. They continued to say, "I'll play theGuru," whenever they had to play a knave, but Georgie found it quiteeasy to laugh at that, so long as t
he humour of it did not spread. Heeven himself said, "I'll Guru you, then," when he took a trick with theKnave of Trumps.

  The agitation and uncertainty caused him not to sleep very well, and inaddition there was a good deal of disturbance in the house, for hissisters had still all their packing in front of them when they went tobed and the doze that preceded sleep was often broken by the sound ofthe banging of luggage, the clash of golf-clubs and steps on the stairsas they made ready for their departure.

  But after a while these disturbances ceased, and it was out of a deepsleep that he awoke with the sense that some noise had awakened him.Apparently they had not finished yet, for there was surely some faintstir of movement somewhere. Anyhow they respected his legitimate desirefor quiet, for the noise, whatever it was, was extremely stealthy andsubdued. He thought of his absurd lark about burglars on the night oftheir arrival, and smiled at the notion. His _toupet_ was in adrawer close to his bed, but he had no substantial impulse to put iton, and make sure that the noise was not anything other than hissisters' preparations for their early start. For himself, he would havehad everything packed and corded long before dinner, if he was to startnext day, except just a suit case that would hold the apparatus ofimmediate necessities, but then dear Hermy and Ursy were so ramshacklein their ways. Some time he would have bells put on all the shutters ashe had determined to do a month ago, and then no sort of noise woulddisturb him any more....

  The Yoga-class next morning was (unusually) to assemble at ten, sincePeppino, who would not miss it for anything, was going to have a day'sfishing in the happy stream that flowed into the Avon, and he wanted tobe off by eleven. Peppino had made great progress lately and hadcertain curious dizzy symptoms when he meditated which were highlysatisfactory.

  Georgie breakfasted with his sisters at eight (they had enticed themotor out of him to convey them to Brinton) and when they were gone,Foljambe informed him that the housemaid had a sore throat, and had not"done" the drawing-room. Foljambe herself would "do" it, when she hadcleaned the "young ladies'" rooms (there was a hint of scorn in this)upstairs, and so Georgie sat on the window seat of the dining-room, andthought how pleasant peace and quietness were. But just when it wastime to start for The Hurst in order to talk over the disclosures ofthe night before with Lucia before the class, and perhaps to frame somesecretive policy which would obviate further exposure, he rememberedthat he had left his cigarette-case (the pretty straw one with theturquoise in the corner) in the drawing-room and went to find it. Thewindow was open, and apparently Foljambe _had_ just come in to letfresh air into the atmosphere which Hermy and Ursy had souninterruptedly contaminated last night with their "fags" as theycalled them, but his cigarette-case was not on the table where hethought he had left it. He looked round, and then stood rooted to thespot.

  His glass-case of treasures was not only open but empty. Gone was theLouis XVI snuff-box, gone was the miniature of Karl Huth, gone thepiece of Bow China, and gone the Faberge cigarette case. Only the QueenAnne toy-porringer was there, and in the absence of the others, itlooked to him, as no doubt it had looked to the burglar, indescribablyinsignificant.

  Georgie gave a little low wailing cry, but did not tear his hair forobvious reasons. Then he rang the bell three times in swift succession,which was the signal to Foljambe that even if she was in her bath, shemust come at once. In she came with one of Hermy's horrid woolenjerseys that had been left behind, in her hand.

  "Yes, sir, what is it?" she asked, in an agitated manner, for nevercould she remember Georgie having rung the bell three times except oncewhen a fish-bone had stuck in his throat, and once again when a notehad announced to him that Piggy was going to call and hoped to find himalone. For answer Georgie pointed to the rifled treasure-case. "Gone!Burgled!" he said. "Oh, my God!"

  At that supreme moment the telephone bell sounded.

  "See what it is," he said to Foljambe, and put the Queen Annetoy-porringer in his pocket.

  She came hurrying back.

  "Mrs Lucas wants you to come around at once," she said.

  "I can't," said Georgie. "I must stop here and send for the police.Nothing must be moved," and he hastily replaced the toy-porringer onthe exact circle of pressed velvet where it had stood before.

  "Yes, sir," said Foljambe, but in another moment she returned.

  "She would be very much obliged if you would come at once," she said."There's been a robbery in the house."

  "Well, tell her there's been one in mine," said Georgie irritably. Thengood-nature mixed with furious curiosity came to his aid.

  "Wait here, then, Foljambe, on this very spot," he said, "and see thatnobody touches anything. I shall probably ring up the police from TheHurst. Admit them."

  In his agitation he put on his hat, instead of going bareheaded and wasreceived by Lucia, who had clearly been looking out of the music-roomwindow, at the door. She wore her Teacher's Robe.

  "Georgie," she said, quite forgetting to speak Italian in her greeting,"someone broke into Philip's safe last night, and took a hundred poundsin bank-notes. He had put them there only yesterday in order to pay incash for that cob. And my Roman pearls."

  Georgie felt a certain pride of achievement.

  "I've been burgled, too," he said. "My Louis XVI snuff-box isworth more than that, and there's the piece of Bow china, and thecigarette-case, and the Karl Huth as well."

  "My dear! Come inside," said she. "It's a gang. And I was feeling sopeaceful and exalted. It will make a terrible atmosphere in the house.My Guru will be profoundly affected. An atmosphere where thieves havebeen will stifle him. He has often told me how he cannot stop in ahouse where there have been wicked emotions at play. I must keep itfrom him. I cannot lose him."

  Lucia had sunk down on a spacious Elizabethan settle in the hall. Thehumorous spider mocked them from the window, the humorous stone fruitfrom the plate beside the pot-pourri bowl. Even as she repeated, "Icannot lose him," again, a tremendous rap came on the front door, andGeorgie, at a sign from his queen, admitted Mrs Quantock.

  "Robert and I have been burgled," she said. "Four silver spoons--thankGod, most of our things are plate--eight silver forks and a Georgiantankard. I could have spared all but the last."

  A faint sign of relief escaped Lucia. If the foul atmosphere of thievespermeated Daisy's house, too, there was no great danger that her Guruwould go back there. She instantly became sublime.

  "Peace!" she said. "Let us have our class first, for it is ten already,and not let any thought of revenge or evil spoil that for us. If I sentfor the police now I could not concentrate. I will not tell my Guruwhat has happened to any of us, but for poor Peppino's sake I will askhim to give us rather a short lesson. I feel completely calm. Om."

  Vague nightmare images began to take shape in Georgie's mind, unworthysuspicions based on his sisters' information the evening before. Butwith Foljambe keeping guard over the Queen Anne porringer, there wasnothing more to fear, and he followed Lucia, her silver cord withtassels gently swinging as she moved, to the smoking-parlour, wherePeppino was already sitting on the floor, and breathing in a rathermore agitated manner than was usual with the advanced class. There werefresh flowers on the table, and the scented morning breeze blew in fromthe garden. According to custom they all sat down and waited, gettingcalmer and more peaceful every moment. Soon there would be the tappingof slippered heels on the walk of broken paving-stones outside, and forthe time they would forget all these disturbances. But they were allrather glad that Lucia was to ask the Guru to give them a shorterlesson than usual.

  They waited. Presently the hands of the Cromwellian timepiece which wasthe nearest approach to an Elizabethan clock that Lucia had been ableat present to obtain, pointed to a quarter past ten.

  "My Guru is a little late," said she.

  Two minutes afterwards, Peppino sneezed. Two minutes after that Daisyspoke, using irony.

  "Would it not be well to see what has happened to your Guru, dear?" sheasked. "Have you seen your Guru this morning?"


  "No, dear," said Lucia, not opening her eyes, for she was"concentrating," "he always meditates before a class."

  "So do I," said Daisy, "but I have meditated long enough."

  "Hush!" said Lucia. "He is coming."

  That proved to be a false alarm, for it was nothing but Lucia's Persiancat, who had a quarrel with some dead laurel leaves. Lucia rose.

  "I don't like to interrupt him," she said, "but time is getting on."

  She left the smoking-parlour with the slow supple walk that she adoptedwhen she wore her Teacher's Robes. Before many seconds had passed, shecame back more quickly and with no suppleness.

  "His door is locked", she said; "and yet there's no key in it."

  "Did you look through the keyhole, _Lucia mia_?" asked MrsQuantock, with irrepressible irony.

  Naturally Lucia disregarded this.

  "I knocked," she said, "and there was no reply. I said, 'Master, we arewaiting,' and he didn't answer."

  Suddenly Georgie spoke, as with the report of a cork flying out of abottle.

  "My sisters told me last night that he was the curry-cook at theCalcutta restaurant," he said. "They recognised him, and they thoughthe recognised them. He comes from Madras, and is no more a Brahmin thanFoljambe."

  Peppino bounded to his feet.

  "What?" he said. "Let's get a poker and break in the door! I believehe's gone and I believe he's the burglar. Ring for the police."

  "Curry-cook, is he?" said Daisy. "Robert and I were right after all. Weknew what your Guru was best fitted for, dear Lucia, but then of courseyou always know best, and you and he have been fooling us finely. Butyou didn't fool me. I knew when you took him away from me, what sort ofa bargain you had made. Guru, indeed! He's the same class as Mrs Eddy,and I saw through her fast enough. And now what are we to do? For mypart, I shall just get home, and ring up for the police, and say thatthe Indian who has been living with you all these weeks has stolen myspoons and forks and my Georgian tankard. Guru, indeed! Burglaroo, Icall him! There!"

  Her passion, like Hyperion's, had lifted her upon her feet, and shestood there defying the whole of the advanced class, short and stoutand wholly ridiculous, but with some revolutionary menace about her.She was not exactly "terrible as an army with banners," but she wasterrible as an elderly lady with a long-standing grievance that hadbeen accentuated by the loss of a Georgian tankard, and that wasterrible enough to make Lucia adopt a conciliatory attitude. Bitterlyshe repented having stolen Daisy's Guru at all, if the suspicions nowthickening in the air proved to be true, but after all they were notproved yet. The Guru might still walk in from the arbor on the laburnumalley which they had not yet searched, or he might be levitating withthe door key in his pocket. It was not probable but it was possible,and at this crisis possibilities were things that must be clung to, forotherwise you would simply have to submerge, like those U-boats.

  They searched all the garden, but found no trace of the curry-cook:they made guarded enquiries of the servants as to whether he had beenseen, but nothing whatever could be learned about him. So when Peppinotook a ponderous hammer and a stout chisel from his tool chest and ledthe way upstairs, they all knew that the decisive moment had come.Perhaps he might be meditating (for indeed it was likely that he had agood deal to meditate about), but perhaps--Peppino called to him in hismost sonorous tones, and said that he would be obliged to break hislock if no answer came, and presently the house resounded withknockings as terrible as those in Macbeth, and much louder. Thensuddenly the lock gave, and the door was open.

  The room was empty, and as they had all conjectured by now, the bed wasunslept in. They opened the drawers of the wardrobe and they were asempty as the room. Finally, Peppino unlocked the door of a largecupboard that stood in the corner, and with a clinking and crashing ofglass there poured out a cataract of empty brandy bottles. Emptiness:that was the key-note of the whole scene, and blank consternation itseffect.

  "My brandy!" said Mrs Quantock in a strangled voice. "There arefourteen or fifteen bottles. That accounts for the glazed look in hiseyes which you, dear Lucia, thought was concentration. I call itdistillation."

  "Did he take it from your cellar?" asked Lucia, too shattered to feelresentment, but still capable of intense curiosity.

  "No: he had a standing order from me to order any little things hemight want from my tradesmen. I wish I had my bills sent in everyweek."

  "Yes, dear," said Lucia.

  Georgie's eyes sought hers.

  "I saw him buy the first bottle," he said. "I remember telling youabout it. It was at Rush's."

  Peppino gathered up his hammer and chisel.

  "Well, it's no use sitting here and thinking of old times," heobserved. "I shall ring up the police-station and put the whole matterinto their hands, as far as I am concerned. They'll soon lay hands onhim, and he can do his postures in prison for the next few years."

  "But we don't know that it was he who committed all these burglariesyet," said Lucia.

  No one felt it was worth answering this, for the others had all triedand convicted him already.

  "I shall do the same," said Georgie.

  "My tankard," said Mrs Quantock. Lucia got up.

  _"Peppino mio,"_ she said, "and you, Georgie, and you, Daisy, Iwant you before you do anything at all to listen to me for fiveminutes. Just consider this. What sort of figure shall we all cut if weput the matter into the hands of the police? They will probably catchhim, and it will all come out that we have been the dupes of acurry-cook. Think what we have all been doing for this last month,think of our classes, our exercises, our--everything. We have been madefools of, but for my part, I simply couldn't bear that everybody shouldknow I had been made a fool of. Anything but that. What's a hundredpounds compared to that, or a tankard--"

  "My Louis XVI snuff-box was worth at least that without the otherthings," said Georgie, still with a secret satisfaction in being thegreatest sufferer.

  "And it was my hundred pounds, not yours, _carissima,"_ saidPeppino. But it was clear that Lucia's words were working within himlike leaven.

  "I'll go halves with you," she said. "I'll give you a cheque for fiftypounds."

  "And who would like to go halves in my tankard?" said Daisy with bitterirony. "I want my tankard."

  Georgie said nothing, but his mind was extremely busy. There was Olgasoon coming to Riseholme, and it would be awful if she found it ringingwith the tale of the Guru, and glancing across to Peppino, he saw athoughtful and sympathetic look in his eyes, that seemed to indicatethat his mind was working on parallel lines. Certainly Lucia hadgiven them all something to meditate upon. He tried to imagine thewhole story being shouted into Mrs Antrobus's ear-trumpet on thevillage-green, and could not endure the idea. He tried to imagine MrsWeston ever ceasing to talk about it, and could not picture her silence.No doubt they had all been taken in, too, but here in this empty bedroomwere the original dupes, who encouraged the rest.

  After Mrs Quantock's enquiry a dead silence fell.

  "What do you propose, then?" asked Peppino, showing signs of surrender.

  Lucia exerted her utmost wiles.

  _"Caro!"_ she said. "I want 'oo to propose. Daisy and me, we sillywomen, we want 'oo and Georgie to tell us what to do. But if Lucia mustspeak, I fink--"

  She paused a moment, and observing strong disgust at her playfulness onMrs Quantock's face, reverted to ordinary English again.

  "I should do something of this sort," she said. "I should say that dearDaisy's Guru had left us quite suddenly, and that he has had a callsomewhere else. His work here was done; he had established our classes,and set all our feet upon the Way. He always said that something of thesort might happen to him----"

  "I believe he had planned it all along," said Georgie. "He knew thething couldn't last for ever, and when my sisters recognised him, heconcluded it was time to bolt."

  "With all the available property he could lay hands on," said MrsQuantock.

  Lucia fingered her tassel. />
  "Now about the burglaries," she said. "It won't do to let it be knownthat three burglaries were committed in one night, and thatsimultaneously Daisy's Guru was called away--"

  "My Guru, indeed!" said Mrs Quantock, fizzing with indignation at therepetition of this insult.

  "That might give rise to suspicion," continued Lucia calmly,disregarding the interruption, "and we must stop the news fromspreading. Now with regard to our burglary ... let me think a moment."

  She had got such complete control of them all now that no one spoke.

  "I have it," she said. "Only Boaler knows, for Peppino told her not tosay a word till the police had been sent for. You must tell her,_carissimo,_ that you have found the hundred pounds. That settlesthat. Now you, Georgie."

  "Foljambe knows," said Georgie.

  "Then tell her not to say a word about it. Put some more things out inyour lovely treasure-case, no one will notice. And you, Daisy."

  "Robert is away," said she, quite meekly, for she had been thinkingthings over. "My maid knows."

  "And when he comes back, will he notice the loss of the tankard? Didyou often use it?"

  "About once in ten years."

  "Chance it, then," said Lucia. "Just tell your maid to say nothingabout it."

  She became deliciously modest again.

  "There!" she said. "That's just a little rough idea of mine and nowPeppino and Georgie will put their wise heads together, and tell uswhat to do."

  That was easily done: they repeated what she had said, and shecorrected them if they went wrong. Then once again she stood fingeringthe tassels of her Teacher's Robe.

  "About our studies," she said. "I for one should be very sorry to dropthem altogether, because they made such a wonderful difference to me,and I think you all felt the same. Look at Georgie now: he looks tenyears younger than he did a month ago, and as for Daisy, I wish I couldtrip about as she does. And it wouldn't do, would it, to dropeverything just because Daisy's Guru--I mean our Guru--had been calledaway. It would look as if we weren't really interested in what hetaught us, as if it was only the novelty of having a--a Brahmin amongus that had attracted us."

  Lucia smiled benignly at them all.

  "Perhaps we shall find, bye and bye, that we can't progress much all byourselves," she said, "and it will all drop quietly. But don't let usdrop it with a bang. I shall certainly take my elementary class asusual this afternoon."

  She paused.

  "In my Robe, just as usual," she said.