The Man who Killed the King

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by Dennis Wheatley


  “I wondered about his future. At best he would be a Prince living in exile, but provided with money by fellow monarchs and protected by his high birth from all ordinary laws. He would know few restraints; so would practise bestial cruelties on animals and on every human being who was unfortunate enough to fall into his power. At worst he would be crowned Louis XVII, King of France, in Rheims Cathedral. That was the most likely possibility; for I think it certain that, now a reaction has set in, it will be only a matter of time before the French people demand a restitution of the Monarchy, just as we did by recalling Charles II after the Great Rebellion. Then he would provoke a second Revolution, which might cost the lives of another million of his subjects; or perhaps start another war which might engulf all Europe. I realised then that I had with me in the boat, not only a hundred thousand pounds, but the most terrible menace to human happiness that existed in the whole world.

  “I was desperately tired, and at length decided to snatch a little sleep; but it occurred to me that the vicious little brute might wake in the night, steal my knife, and do me an injury. So I took out my opium pellets again and opened his mouth. He did not even stir, but I knew two more would do him no serious harm; so I slipped a couple down his throat.

  “When I awoke it was morning; and I was alone in the boat.”

  Amanda drew a sharp breath. “Oh, Roger! Then it was God’s will that he should wake, and, while still dazed from the drug, fall out?”

  Roger shook his head. “Nay, it was not like that. I do not recall falling asleep. I was still sitting staring at him when I heard a soft voice calling to me. I looked up, and there, walking on the water towards me, was Marie Antoinette.

  “She was not as I last saw her, haggard and grey, but radiantly beautiful, just as I first set eyes on her when a boy; and she was holding out her arms to me.

  “ ‘Monsieur de Breuc,’ she said in that sweet voice of hers, ‘my poor child’s mind is sick, and nothing but my love can cure it. What he has become is through no fault of his; but only the ending of his life while young can now save his soul. When I was in the Temple you gave me your oath that naught but God’s intervention should prevent you from restoring my son to me. I beg you do so now.’

  “I knew without her saying more how she wished me to act. Picking the boy up, I laid him gently in the water at her feet. In that moment he too seemed to have regained his innocent look and former beauty. As he went under, he never stirred; but he was still alive. So, you see, I killed the King.”

  Tears were running down Amanda’s cheeks as she drew Roger’s head on to her shoulder, and murmured, “Oh, my poor sweet! How you must have suffered while carrying this dread secret for these past weeks. But suffer no more. You gave up a great fortune, and assumed a terrible burden to do what you knew to be right; and I shall never cease to love you for it.”

  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 2014 by Bloomsbury Reader

  Bloomsbury Reader is a division of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc,

  50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP

  First published in 1951 by Hutchinson & Co. Ltd.

  Copyright © 1951 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: 9781448212910

  Visit www.bloomsburyreader.com to find out more about our authors and their books

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