“You wonderful, wonderful, darling!” Richard seized her in his arms and hugged her to him.
Simon spoke with sudden bitterness. “Thought as much. You’ll be able to buy Woolwich Arsenal for the Rebels now.”
When Marie-Lou could free herself from Richard’s embrace, she said softly, “No, Simon. It’s to be devoted to the people who’ve been rendered homeless by the war, irrespective of their political creed, in memory of Cristoval.”
Rex looked up quickly. “So you’ve heard already? Poor devil. His committing suicide couldn’t help Lucretia any, though, and our rescue party arrived too late by a matter of minutes.”
Marie-Lou’s violet eyes grew as round as marbles. “But—but, I thought you knew,” she stammered. “He didn’t commit suicide. He gave his life for her.”
“You’re wrong there. That’s why we’re all so darned miserable. We saw that tough, Mudra, shoot her down ourselves.”
“No, Rex, no!”
De Richleau roused himself and sighed. “As she was shot she fell over the precipice. I saw her body afterwards. There was no mistaking her lovely golden hair.”
“He fooled you too, then,” Marie-Lou cried excitedly. “Cristoval’s own men adored him. They reported to Mudra that he’d committed suicide while he was busy rigging Lucretia out in a fresh disguise.”
“Disguise?” echoed Richard, light dawning in his mind.
“Yes. She didn’t know then that he meant to take her place. A man called Sandoval smuggled her out of the monastery just before dawn and she was passing the foot of the cliff when Cristoval’s body came hurtling down within fifty yards of her. They were much of a height and to change her appearance he’d cut off her hair. It was the sight of her own hair, made up as a rough wig, and the oilskins on the body that told her what he’d done.”
“Holy snakes!” Rex cried. “She’s safe, then?”
“She’s down in my cabin, utterly prostrated by Cristoval’s death.”
Then a strange thing happened. In the ensuing silence, broken only by the hum of the yacht’s engines as she turned towards the Straits of Gibraltar and home, there came a fierce rasping sob. De Richleau, the iron man, had suddenly broken down. With a gasp that was half a moan he stood up, lurched towards the companion-way and staggered down it.
His friends stared after him in amazement, and Richard exclaimed, “Well, I’m damned! For weeks past I’ve known he was in love with her, but I’d no idea he’d got it as badly as all that.”
Marie-Lou reached up and put her arms round his neck. “You dear, stupid darling. Haven’t you realised it yet? I think I guessed from the very beginning, and when I saw her grey eyes last night I knew. Lucretia-José is his daughter.”
A Note on the Author
DENNIS WHEATLEY
Dennis Wheatley (1897 – 1977) was an English author whose prolific output of stylish thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling writers from the 1930s through the 1960s.
Wheatley was the eldest of three children, and his parents were the owners of Wheatley & Son of Mayfair, a wine business. He admitted to little aptitude for schooling, and was expelled from Dulwich College, London. In 1919 he assumed management of the family wine business but in 1931, after a decline in business due to the depression, he began writing.
His first book, The Forbidden Territory, became a bestseller overnight, and since then his books have sold over 50 million copies worldwide. During the 1960s, his publishers sold one million copies of Wheatley titles per year, and his Gregory Sallust series was one of the main inspirations for Ian Fleming’s James Bond stories.
During the Second World War, Wheatley was a member of the London Controlling Section, which secretly coordinated strategic military deception and cover plans. His literary talents gained him employment with planning staffs for the War Office. He wrote numerous papers for the War Office, including suggestions for dealing with a German invasion of Britain.
Dennis Wheatley died on 11th November 1977. During his life he wrote over 70 books and sold over 50 million copies.
Discover books by Dennis Wheatley published by Bloomsbury Reader at
www.bloomsbury.com/DennisWheatley
Duke de Richleau
The Forbidden Territory
The Devil Rides Out
The Golden Spaniard
Three Inquisitive People
Strange Conflict
Codeword Golden Fleece
The Second Seal
The Prisoner in the Mask
Vendetta in Spain
Dangerous Inheritance
Gateway to Hell
Gregory Sallust
Black August
Contraband
The Scarlet Impostor
Faked Passports
The Black Baroness
V for Vengeance
Come into My Parlour
The Island Where Time Stands Still
Traitors’ Gate
They Used Dark Forces
The White Witch of the South Seas
Julian Day
The Quest of Julian Day
The Sword of Fate
Bill for the Use of a Body
Roger Brook
The Launching of Roger Brook
The Shadow of Tyburn Tree
The Rising Storm
The Man Who Killed the King
The Dark Secret of Josephine
The Rape of Venice
The Sultan’s Daughter
The Wanton Princess
Evil in a Mask
The Ravishing of Lady Mary Ware
The Irish Witch
Desperate Measures
Molly Fountain
To the Devil a Daughter
The Satanist
Lost World
They Found Atlantis
Uncharted Seas
The Man Who Missed the War
Espionage
Mayhem in Greece
The Eunuch of Stamboul
The Fabulous Valley
The Strange Story of Linda Lee
Such Power is Dangerous
The Secret War
Science Fiction
Sixty Days to Live
Star of Ill-Omen
Black Magic
The Haunting of Toby Jugg
The KA of Gifford Hillary
Unholy Crusade
Short Stories
Mediterranean Nights
Gunmen, Gallants and Ghosts
This electronic edition published in 2013 by Bloomsbury Reader
Bloomsbury Reader is a division of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 50 Bedford Square,
London WC1B 3DP
First published in 1938 by Hutchinson & Co. Ltd.
Copyright © 1983 by Dennis Wheatley
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise
make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means
(including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying,
printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the
publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The moral right of the author is asserted.
eISBN: 9781448212576
Visit www.bloomsburyreader.com to find out more about our authors and their books
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newsletters to be the first to hear about our latest releases and special offers.
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