“And – you think that she – does the – same,” Charisa whispered.
“I imagine all those people downstairs who have come here as Gervais’s friends worship Satan, just as he does. And that is why they are having a Service tonight.”
Charisa made a little murmur of horror and Vincent said gently,
“You realise that they intend to use you in that Service?”
Charisa’s eyes widened.
“I-I don’t – believe I – ” she began.
Then, almost as the words left her lips, she added,
“Save me – save – me!”
Vaguely at the back of her mind she remembered that the Black Mass was said over the naked body of a virgin.
She had heard that weird orgies took place later.
Now she understood why Gervais had said that she would have to marry him afterwards and why Madame Dubus had said that nobody else would want her.
“Save – me!” she begged him again.
Now she was clinging onto Vincent with both hands.
“You know I will,” he said in his deep voice, “and your father and I have been to see the Chief Constable, General Sir Henry Barker.”
“Then – you will – have Gervais – arrested?”
She spoke frantically.
She was still clinging to Vincent as if she was afraid that he might go away and leave her to her fate.
Unexpectedly he turned round so that he was sitting with his back against the pillows.
He put his arms round Charisa and held her close against him.
She put her head on his shoulder.
“Now listen, my darling,” he said.
Charisa was so surprised at the endearment that for the moment she forgot her terror and looked up at him.
He smiled as he added,
“I love you! I have loved you ever since I came back home and you were so unutterably brave.”
He pulled her a little closer before he said,
“No, that is not true. I loved you before I went away, but I thought that my love was for a child. When I saw you again, I knew that you were the only woman who has ever really mattered to me in my life!”
“Oh – Vincent – is that – true?”
“I will make you believe it, my precious one, but for the moment we must concentrate on freeing ourselves from this terrible evil which threatens you.”
“As it threatens you,” Charisa pointed out.
“With God’s help we shall both survive,” Vincent then told her. “But I am afraid, my darling little love, that you have to do something extremely unpleasant before Gervais can be arrested.”
For a moment, because his tone was so serious, Charisa trembled.
And then she said,
“If it will save you, I will do – anything – anything you ask of me.”
“I knew that was what you would say,” Vincent replied as he smiled. “Could anybody be more wonderful.”
She felt his lips against her forehead.
Then, as if he forced himself to go on, he continued,
“Your father and I drove from here to see the Chief Constable – ”
“How did you manage to get away – with Papa?” Charisa interrupted.
“I slipped out through the garden door,” Vincent explained, “and went down through the bushes to the end of the Park. No one saw me getting into the carriage. Your father was driving alone, but the hood was up.”
“That was sensible of Papa,” Charisa remarked.
“We saw no one who might have recognised me before we reached the house of the Chief Constable. As you can imagine, the General was astonished to see me.”
“But I am sure he was very glad. He was always very fond of Uncle George.”
“He was delighted,” Vincent replied, “especially because he knew a great deal about Gervais’s activities in Paris.”
“You mean – he knew – he was a – Satanist?”
“He had heard rumours that he was dabbling in Black Magic, which is very prevalent in France at the moment and he is sure that the man whom Gervais refers to as his Private Chaplain is an defrocked Priest.”
Charisa made a little murmur of disgust, but she did not interrupt.
And Vincent went on,
“The Chief Constable agreed with your father that all these people must be expelled from our country and Gervais can be arrested under the Laws regarding witchcraft.”
Charisa was about to give a sigh of relief when he added,
“But, of course, he has to have proof of it.”
There was silence and then Charisa asked in a small voice that Vincent could hardly hear,
“Do you – need me to – take part – in the – Service?”
“That is what they are hoping you will agree to do and that, my darling, is what I am asking you to do.”
“How – how can – I?”
Vincent held her so tightly that she could hardly breathe.
“I swear to you that no one will touch you, except to carry you into the Chapel,” he promised. “The Chief Constable, your father and I have planned that we will interrupt the Service before they actually touch you. Then Gervais will be arrested, as will all those present.”
His voice was very tender as he carried on,
“I know it is a great deal to ask of you, but you must believe that God will protect you, and so will I.”
His voice sharpened as he added,
“I will kill Gervais myself rather than let him touch you! At the same time, my darling, there is nothing we can do unless we have firm proof that he is actually holding a Black Mass.”
“And – what you are – saying is that he – cannot do it – without me.”
“That is true,” Vincent said, “for it might take them a long time to find another virgin for the Ceremony. In the meantime Gervais will do everything possible to try to marry you.”
There was more silence and then Charisa asked him,
“T-tell me what I – have to do.”
“You have a choice. Before the Satanists perform a Black Mass, they have a huge dinner when they eat and drink in abundance. This, of course, is to prove themselves different from the Christians, who fast before receiving the Sacrament.”
“Do I have to be – at the dinner?”
“Not if you allow them to render you unconscious before it starts,” Vincent replied.
“That is – what they – mean to do,” Charisa whispered. “Gervais said when I was – driving with – him that he would – send up a – special drink to my bedroom to make me – feel well for this – evening because it is such a very important – occasion.”
“If you drink what he sends you,” Vincent said, “you will be unaware of anything that happens afterwards. It is, in fact, a merciful action on the part of the Satanists rather than submit their victim, fully conscious, to the appalling horrors that happen at the end of the Service.”
“What – is the – alternative?” Charisa questioned.
“It is that you pretend to be unconscious, which means that just the same you will not have to dine with the party.”
He paused before he went on.
“Afterwards they will carry you to the Chapel and lay you on the altar, thinking that you have no idea of what is happening.”
Charisa did not speak and he added very quietly,
“It is entirely up to you, my darling. You must do what you wish.”
“I think I – would rather – know what is – happening and especially be – aware of the moment when – you save me.”
“You are quite sure?” Vincent asked,
“It is more – frightening to be – unconscious and not to – know when I – shall wake up.”
“Very well,” he said. “But somehow you must be clever enough to make them believe you have drunk the drugged wine.”
“I-I am sure – I can do – that,” Charisa said, “but you – promise me you will – not be far – away?”
&nbs
p; “I shall be on the other side of the panel just in case something goes wrong before they leave you to go downstairs and gorge themselves.”
He smiled at her reassuringly before he continued,
“After that, when they carry you to the Chapel, remember that it will only be a few minutes before your father and I, with the help of the Police, will save you.”
Chapter Seven
Vincent sat with Charisa for a long time.
He kissed her, comforted her and reassured her.
Finally he glanced at the clock by her bed and said,
“I think, my darling, I must leave you now. You must unlock your door, otherwise people will think it strange that you have barred yourself in.”
'Yes – of course,” Charisa replied in a trembling voice.
“I know you are frightened,” Vincent comforted her, “but I swear to you that once this is over, we will never think of it again. We will make The Priory a happy place, where there is only love, starting with you and me.”
He kissed her as he spoke.
Charisa knew that the love he was giving her was the perfect, sacred love that she had always believed in.
It was the love that came from God and nothing evil or cruel could destroy it.
At the same time when Vincent rose to leave her she was trembling.
“You – will be – near me?” she asked.
“I will be near you,” he answered, “thinking about you, praying for you and loving you.”
The way he spoke was so moving that she felt the tears come into her eyes.
Then, with a last kiss, he walked across the room. He unlocked the door so that she would not have to get out of bed.
He smiled at her reassuringly before he disappeared through the secret panel.
She closed her eyes, praying that everything would go right and that Gervais and his evil Satanists would be defeated.
When they all went back to France, she need never think of them again.
She knew that the Vicar would bless the Chapel and take away the evil that they had left behind them.
She understood now why Gervais had removed the cross and the ancient candlesticks and she wondered what he intended to put in their place.
Then she remembered reading that for a Black Mass they placed on the altar a crucifix that was upside down.
The thought made her tremble again all over her body.
For a moment she wanted to run to the panel and tell Vincent that she could not go ahead with it.
Then she remembered that she was saving him, saving him so that he could take his rightful place at The Priory as the Marquis of Mawdelyn.
‘I would do – anything – anything in the – world to save – Vincent,’ she told herself.
She was not alone for long, for Bessy soon came in to say,
“I’m bringin’ in your bath, Miss Charisa, then 1 gets your gown ready.”
She was followed into the room as she spoke by two housemaids carrying a bath, which they set down in front of the fireplace.
It was, of course, too hot for there to be any need for a fire.
Next they brought in two large brass cans, one containing hot water the other cold and Charisa knew that a footman would have carried them upstairs, as they were too heavy for a woman.
Bessy scented the bath with oil of violets.
The flowers were distilled every year at The Priory ever since Charisa could remember.
It was her mother who had asked for violets when previously they had always used heliotrope.
The soft sweet scent reminded Charisa of her mother and, as she washed herself, she prayed that her mother would be near her in the ordeal that lay ahead.
She had just finished drying herself with a large towel when there was a knock on the door.
Bessy went to see who it was.
Then she stood back to allow Madame Dubus to come into the room.
“I came to see how you are feeling, ma petite,” she began in her usual gushing manner. “Your cousin, Gervais, who is always thinking of you, has sent this delicious drink, which will sweep away your headache and make you enjoy the very special evening that we have ahead of us.”
Still wrapped in the towel, Charisa asked,
“Do tell me what is being – planned.”
“I will in a moment,” Madame Dubus answered, “but I think your maid wants to remove your bath.”
As she spoke, she looked at Bessy, who hurriedly called in the two housemaids and they then carried the bath and the cans out of the bedroom.
As they did so, Charisa had an idea.
She rose and opened a drawer of the chest of drawers.
It was where she had put her jewel case, which she had brought with her from home.
It was a large leather case that had belonged to her mother and much of her mother’s jewellery was in it.
Not the tiara or the huge necklace that she had worn on special occasions, nor the rings that her husband had given her on every anniversary.
Instead there was a small necklace of pearls and brooches that were not too overwhelmingly grand for a young girl. There was also a collection of charm bracelets, pendants, and jewelled clips for the hair.
As soon as Bessy and the housemaids had gone, Madame Dubus picked up the glass that she had put down on the side table.
She carried it across the room to Charisa, who had deliberately chosen to sit on the side of her bed.
She had no wish for Madame Dubus to touch her more than was necessary.
“Now drink this,” Madame Dubus urged her. “You will really enjoy it and I know that you will feel when you have taken it as if you are flying up into the sky.”
Charisa remembered what Gervais had said about ‘dancing amongst the stars’. She knew that the drink must contain a powerful drug.
She took the glass in her hand and said,
“It is so kind of Gervais to think of me and, while I am drinking it, will you be kind enough to choose what jewellery you think I should wear tonight? It is in the top drawer over there.”
She pointed as she spoke to the chest of drawers.
She knew that, while Madame Dubus was looking at her jewellery, she would have her back to her.
“I am delighted to do so,” Madame Dubus said, “and tonight you must look like a Fairy Princess.”
Charisa laughed.
“I think that is unlikely, but perhaps I had better wear some of my mother’s diamonds.”
As if she found the idea of looking at them irresistible, Madame Dubus walked across the room.
As soon as she did so, Charisa tipped the contents of the glass onto the carpet between the bed and the bedside table.
There was no possibility of anybody noticing it there unless they were brushing the carpet.
Holding the empty glass as if her hand suddenly felt limp, Charisa said in a faltering voice,
“I-I feel – strange – I-I think I am – going – to – ”
Her voice trailed away and she fell backwards onto the bed.
“Tiens!” Madame Dubus exclaimed.
She turned round and hurried back to the bed.
Charisa could not see her, but she felt sure that she was inspecting her with satisfaction.
Then she lifted her legs up onto the bed.
Taking away the towel that she had dried herself with, Madame Dubus pulled over her one of the satin and lace bedcovers.
She stood for a moment looking down at Charisa before she picked up the glass that had rolled onto the floor.
Then she walked towards the door.
She opened it and as she did so she must have found Bessy standing just outside.
Charisa heard her say,
“Your Mistress is not feeling well and has gone back to sleep. No one is to disturb her, no one, do you understand? You are not to go in and wake her up, but let her sleep.”
“Do you mean then, Miss Charisa ain’t goin’ down to dinner?” Bessy asked in astonishment.
“I mean exactly that,” Madame Dubus replied. “If you wake her up, his Lordship will be very angry.”
“I’ll leave ’er alone, ma’am,” Bessy said, “but it seems strange to me!”
‘You are here to obey orders,” Madame Dubus said aggressively, “and, if you don’t do as you are told, you will be sent away without a reference.”
Charisa could imagine Bessy’s consternation at being spoken to in such a manner.
Then, as if Madame Dubus thought that she could not trust her, she said,
“To make sure you don’t interfere, I am going to lock the door.”
As she spoke, she took the key from inside the room and put it in the lock on the other side.
She pulled the door to and Charisa heard the key turn in the lock.
When it did so, she sat up, and was acutely aware that she was naked.
She pulled the satin cover over her breasts, and as she did so Vincent opened the panel.
Charisa would have cried out in her delight at seeing him, but he put his finger to his lips.
He quietly came across to the bed.
Only when he was very close did he say in a whisper,
“You were marvellous, my precious.”
“You heard what she said?”
“I heard everything,” he answered. “I cannot imagine how I could have been so lucky as to have found anyone as wonderful and clever as you.”
He put his arms around her and was conscious as he did so that her back was bare.
He kissed her very gently.
Then, as Charisa smiled, he laid her back against the pillows.
“I have to leave you now, my little love,” he said, “because your father may want to have a last word with me before he attends that revolting dinner when they are going to gorge themselves.”
“Does Papa have – to go to it?” Charisa asked him.
“He is not certain. He thinks that he may be offered the same drink that they tried to give you,” Vincent replied. “In point of fact I shall be surprised if that does not happen.”
“But he – will not – drink it?”
“Of course not,” Vincent said as he smiled.
He kissed her very gently before he said,
“Leave everything to me and just remember that after tonight we shall be free to love each other and be married.”
Love Strikes a Devil Page 11