'But look here, I don't understand,' said Freddy. 'Why bring a few-weeks-old royal infant millions of miles to another world to be raised by perfect strangers? It makes no sense.'
'Naturally I asked the same thing,' said the Professor. 'You mustn't imagine I undertook the responsibility of surrogate fatherhood without a good deal of discussion. The short answer is that neither mother nor daughter would have been safe as long as they remained on Venus together. To explain any further, however, would require me to tell you some little about Venusian history and society. That is, insofar as I understand it. Do you wish me to do so?'
'Do we wish it?' cried Freddy. 'Why for goodness' sake, Ludo, of course we do! We are agog!'
'Very well,' sighed the Professor resignedly. 'Then with my apologies to the others, who have heard this once already, I must begin by taking you back some two thousand years into the past, when the Venusian race was overtaken by a cataclysm so great that no record of what happened has survived.'
'You mean, like our biblical Flood?' said Freddy.
'Yes,' agreed the professor. 'But in this case without the benefit of the Book of Genesis, for even the nature of the disaster has been forgotten. The Venusians believe their civilisation was already well advanced, but no-one can read the ancient script, and all else is myth and speculation. Their known history therefore begins at some indeterminate time thereafter, when a small party of humans was discovered, ragged and starving, by a thaal hunting-party.'
'The thaalid!' exclaimed Wilfred. 'I knew those fellows would come into it somewhere.' He glanced conspiratorially at Daphne, but she was lost in a brown study and did not meet his gaze.
'And you were right, young man,' said the Professor, 'for they are absolutely central to my tale. At that time they were a dangerous and hostile race – as indeed they still are in the wild – and the defenceless humans, perhaps the last of their kind, prepared to meet a bloody end. That their lives were spared was due to an extraordinary coincidence, which I shall now describe.
'The thaalid were, and are, animists, their principal object of veneration being the voor, a small, arboreal quadruped whose distinctive feature is a pattern of red pigmentation on the fur of its belly. Now it so happened that one of the humans, a young girl, bore upon the corresponding part of her anatomy an unusual birthmark resembling to a considerable degree the marking on a voor. The thaalid, believing they had stumbled upon the sentient incarnation of their totem animal, immediately fell down and worshipped her. She became their goddess, and she and her party, numbering some twenty souls, came under the unlikely protection of those most primitive and savage beings. This was as well, for the untamed Venusian jungle is quite inimical to human life and without the thaalid to fend for them they would probably not have survived.
'Eventually the girl grew up, married, and had a girl-child of her own. By a further piece of good fortune the child also had the birthmark, for it proved to be hereditary, and the future of the little group seemed thereby assured. Among the unsophisticated thaalid, however, there was consternation. They required, perhaps not unreasonably, that their goddess be unique — there could never be two. They therefore seized the infant and despite the protestations of the mother put her in a tree, where she died.'
'Why in a tree, Professor?' asked Wilfred curiously.
The Professor glanced apprehensively at his wife. 'Er, it was a carnivorous tree. It is their method of disposing of corpses, felons and the like.'
Here Maud gave a little moan and buried her face in her hands, causing him swiftly to move on.
'The humans were now thrown into an extremity of despair,' he continued, 'for they knew their only hope for the future had lain in that child. Great was their relief, therefore, when a year later the fortunately sturdy young woman bore another daughter, also marked. This time they took no chances but immediately passed the infant to an aunt to care for, making sure she was never seen naked by the thaalid.
Eventually, the Goddess – now in middle age – was bitten by some poisonous creature, and falling into a coma seemed on the point of death. One can scarcely imagine the trepidation with which the humans dressed the daughter in her mother's revealing finery and displayed her to their savage hosts. Happily, however, they accepted her without question. It was as if they saw only the Holy Mark and not the bearer. Indeed, against all expectations, the mother subsequently recovered and was able to go about quite freely and unmolested, only taking care to cover herself as her daughter had done. To all appearances, the Voorni – for that is what the thaalid call her – had become immortal. Indeed, not only immortal but forever young, for the tradition became established of the goddess 'retiring' when her daughter married. She therefore remained available to offer advice and act as a 'spare' should the worst happen, a practice that continues to this day.
'Thereafter the years passed in relative peace and harmony, the two races continuing to live and work side by side. Gradually, however, and perhaps inevitably, there occurred a complete revolution in the relations between them. The thaalid were, after all, little more than brute beasts and it was not long before the human Venusians began to manifest their innate superiority. From modest beginnings – the smelting of metals and so on – they passed remarkably rapidly through the various stages of civilisation, eventually rediscovering their illustrious past in a great scientific and technological renaissance. In only two millennia they have again become the masters of Venus, while their erstwhile captors, trapped by the unquestioning worship of their goddess into supplying all the humans' needs, have been reduced to the condition of slaves. This, of course, is the great advantage that the human Venusians have over us on Earth, for the thaalid labour indefatigably to provide them not only with food and raw materials but all the simpler manufactured goods, besides providing an inexhaustible supply of domestic servants and craftsmen in the simpler trades. Thus the Venusians enjoy unlimited leisure in which to develop those arts and sciences that are now so far in advance of our own.
'There is, however, a price to pay, and it is a considerable one, for to this day Venusian society is arranged entirely to pander to the primitive prejudices and superstitions of the thaalid. They must at all costs have their goddess, for without her they would probably turn upon and slaughter their human masters – who, incidently, they greatly outnumber – or else melt into the limitless Venusian jungle, never to serve again. Also, since no-one can be seen to challenge the Voorni's authority, she must of necessity be the queen of the human Venusians as well. There is nothing of democracy on Venus, nor can there be. The queen's rule is absolute and her word is law. All must prostrate themselves before her, human and thaal alike. Naturally after so many years, the thaalid know well enough that only the Holy mark itself is immortal, but their religion still requires that it must only ever have one bearer and woe betide the princess whose own mark is revealed before her time. She will either lose her life or see her mother murdered in front of her.'
The Professor paused and smiled shyly. 'You will begin to see, I hope, how very different their world is from ours, and how the apparently inexplicable can make perfect sense once you know the facts of the matter.'
'Ludo,' said Freddy, slapping his knees, 'That was, if I may say so, a most excellent exposition. And of course I now understand why my goddaughter had to be sent away from her poor mother, even though it must have been a great sadness for Her Majesty. But why Earth? And why you, come to that?'
'If Venus is not safe, where else is there to go?' said the Professor. 'There is Mars, I suppose, but I know nothing of it. Perhaps it is not inhabited; although there are, of course, the famous canals. As to why I was chosen, that is easily answered; I was recommended to the Venusians by our predecessors, the foster-parents of the old Queen. It is how these things are done. No doubt our childless state had something to do with their choice, as was my being a man of science. Then there is the convenience of our living in the depths of the countryside, for I am sure I do not need to dwell upon wh
at would happen if news of our visitors got out.'
'And who were these other foster-parents? Do you know?'
'No, they do not wish to be identified, though I understand they are among the highest in the land. Indeed, there can be few among our great families who have not raised to maturity a Venusian princess, or unknowingly met one, for the connection goes back, I believe, over a hundred years.'
Wilfred stroked his chin thoughtfully. There seemed to him to be something lacking in Lord Lambent's account.
'Excuse me asking, Professor,' he said, 'but provided the princess is careful to remain covered in the presence of the thaalid, can the risk of discovery be any greater now than it was in earlier times, before the advent of space travel and so on? One would have thought rather the reverse. Yet they presumably managed well enough then.'
The Professor nodded. 'I am glad I have your full attention, Mr Carstairs, and you are right, although even now the risk cannot be negligible. However, the existence of an all-powerful and irreplaceable queen-goddess produces consequences that extend far beyond those that I have already described, indeed into every aspect of contemporary Venusian life. Although the queen is an absolute monarch, she clearly cannot rule directly an entire world. There has therefore grown up something akin to our feudal system, with power devolved to a class of hereditary noblewomen, considered to be the descendants of the original goddess's sisters. These are the migraaniid, one of whom you have, of course, met. Each is the head of a great clan or 'house' as it is known, and she is, to all intents and purposes, a queen herself in her own land.'
'Then our Migraani is a very important personage,' said Freddy. 'I had rather guessed it.'
'I understand her province is about the size of India,' said the Professor. 'She is immensely powerful.'
'And the Tuuntu?'
'Being male, nothing by comparison. And, I regret to say, a very vain and foolish young man.'
'So are you saying that Venus is ruled entirely by women?' asked Freddy. 'What a peculiar world that must be!'
'Indeed it must,' agreed the Professor, 'Although remember that this arrangement has evolved purely to retain the loyalty of the thaalid. Human nature is no different on Venus than it is here, and a man will continue to behave like one, if only in the privacy of his own home. In the eyes of the thaalid, however, ultimate authority lies with his wife. Indeed he is nothing without her, for the Venusian system of inheritance follows the royal example in being matrilineal. Just as the crown can pass only from mother to daughter, so it is throughout society, with the family name and fortune passing always down the female line.
'For an ambitious Venusian man, therefore, the only sure path to advancement is to marry well, just as for a woman here. Unlike a woman, however, he is unlikely to wait passively to be asked. Neither is he likely to give up the struggle and settle for an obscure and impoverished bachelorhood. If he has the right connections, a suitable alliance may usually be arranged. However, those without such an advantage will often stop at nothing to elevate themselves; murdering their rivals, shamelessly seducing unguarded maidens, or even resorting to abduction.'
'But what of the law?' asked Wilfred. 'Surely in such an advanced society . . .'
The Professor shook his head. 'There are laws, of course, but they are not the same as ours. For example, a man has only to capture a young woman and hold her prisoner until she is of age and he is legally entitled to marry her. Indeed, it is only necessary to know her carnally to seal the union, both in the eyes of society and the law.'
'But that is anarchy!' exclaimed Freddy.
'On the face of it, yes,' agreed the professor. 'But as with everything Venusian it is more complicated than it first appears. Once again it is the highest level of Venusian society that sets the example. It is the tuuntuid, the unmarried sons of the nobility, who have most to lose by failing to marry well, and there are, of course, only so many migraanituid to go round. The result is that these unfortunate young women are but pawns in an endless struggle for power and influence between the houses. Whilst her mother lives, a daughter must accept the husband selected for her, usually to cement an alliance or as a surety of neighbourly good behaviour. It must be a rare migraanitu who marries for love. Indeed, it would seem that in many cases they are nothing loath to be abducted by some handsome swain, given the possible alternative. All in all, I believe it is more appropriate to see the thing as a kind of courtly game than mere anarchy.
'But our migraani is unmarried,' said Wilfred. 'She told Miss Lambent so. I mean,' he corrected himself, 'she told Her Highness.'
'I believe she is a widow,' said the Professor. 'Not a rarity there, I should imagine.'
Freddy nodded sagely. 'I think I can begin to see where all this is leading, for while there is a limited number of migraanituid, there is only one princess. Am I right, Ludo?'
'You have guessed it, Freddy,' nodded the Professor. 'If a man is prepared to go to such lengths to secure himself a suitable wife, what will he not do to become the queen's consort, the tantuun, the highest tuun of all? Every house wants to marry its tuuntu to the future queen; it is the ultimate prize for a Venusian male. I regret to say that even the theft of a royal infant from her cradle is not unknown.'
'And that infant is therefore safer on Earth, where she cannot possibly be discovered,' said Freddy.
'Exactly. You will, I am sure, begin to appreciate just how insecure is the position of the Venusian heiress to the throne. Not only must she never display her body to the thaalid but she cannot even have normal relations with her own kind. In the past, the royal princesses have therefore led very restricted lives, immured in fortified palaces or apartments from which all thaalid and any but the most trusted members of the royal household are banned. It should therefore come as no surprise that on the discovery of our own peaceful and well-ordered nation, successive royal families lost no time in sending their precious offspring here, both for the unparalleled safety and freedom that England provides and to be educated at our better schools. The perils of a long space voyage are apparently as nothing compared with those of the Venusian Court.'
'Which is how our Venusians came to speak English!' said Wilfred. 'I should never have thought of such an explanation.'
'Yes. It is out of deference to their queen, who at least initially can speak nothing else. It would seem that the Venusians now attempt to model their behaviour and even their fashions on ours, and after so many generations of contact consider themselves almost English by association, though I doubt if any of us would agree.'
'And that is where my Daphne is to be taken!' cried Maud. 'To that terrible, faraway place where trees eat babies and innocent young women are seduced by their own cousins! Even if she were to arrive safely, who knows what might happen to her there?'
'You need have no fear on that score,' said Charles fiercely, 'because she's not going. I cannot possibly allow it. It is out of the question.'
'Would that it were so simple,' sighed the Professor, 'but of course it is not. For one thing I have given them my word as a gentleman.'
'I shouldn't wish you to break your word, My Lord,' said Charles, 'but you cannot deliver what is not in your gift. Daphne is twenty-one now and can do as she likes. Also, she is engaged to me. I suggest we bring forward the wedding date. That will immediately remove one danger, for she cannot be carried off and made to marry some rapacious young Venusian upstart if she is already my wife. Then it might be a good idea if we were to go away for a while, to somewhere they cannot possibly find us. I have a friend in Vermont whom I have long intended to visit. I am told it is very beautiful in the autumn. It would be the perfect place for a honeymoon.'
'Why yes!' said Lady Maud, brightening. 'If we make haste, it might be possible to arrange a simple wedding in as little as five or six weeks. Tongues will wag of course, but let them! Ludo, you must send these beastly people away. Tell them that what they ask is impossible.'
'My dear Maudy, sighed the Professor. 'If tha
t were an answer, I should happily see her married next week in some dismal registry office. But it will not do, for our visitors would not recognise the union. By their reckoning Daphne is not yet of marriageable age, and will not be for some months yet. However, all is not lost, for after long negotiations I have secured various concessions. The Venusians are not eager for their new queen to marry an Earthling but I have obliged them to admit that with her mother dead she is free to choose whomever she pleases. They have therefore agreed that Charles may, if he wishes, travel to Venus with her, only insisting that he will then have to press his suit along with all the others. Considering I had nothing to bargain with I believe I have done rather well.'
'But you have given in to them!' cried Maud incredulously. 'Why, you did not even tell me what you were about. You did not even tell Daphne!'
Shaking his head, the Professor gazed at her in exasperation. 'My dear, you fail entirely to understand. None of you understands. I had no choice! For one thing, Daphne is a Venusian; I have no rights in the matter. Also, you have seen for yourselves their technological superiority. Do you suppose they would meekly allow their irreplaceable queen-goddess, to be taken away from them? It would mean war — a war they would certainly win.'
'War!' thundered Charles. 'They wouldn't dare declare war on the British Empire. I don't give a hang for their confounded technology. If they want a war, they can jolly well have one!'
'I really think, Ludo,' began Freddy crossly. But then he stopped and they all turned to look at Daphne, who had quietly risen to her feet.
'There won't be a war,' she said.
'Why not dear?' asked Maud.
'Because I'm going. I'm going to Venus. Not one of you has troubled to ask me what I think. You've all been talking and arguing as if I wasn't here. I've always known there was something different about me, ever since I was a little girl, and now I know what it is. Of course I'm afraid – who wouldn't be? – but how can I do anything else? I'm their queen, and it's clearly my duty to go. Do you really think I could just settle down to an ordinary life here on Earth knowing I'm supposed to be the queen of Venus?'
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