‘Ha ha! Not a bit of it, it’s great to see you again.’
Rex gave a weak imitation of a laugh. He had only spoken to the old crone for two minutes on the previous evening and that, when he had first arrived at Simon’s party, for the purpose of detaching Tanith from her. Even if she had seen him drive up to Claridges what in the world could have made her imagine that he had come to visit her? If only he hadn’t sent up that lilac he might have politely excused himself, but he could hardly tell her now that he had meant it for someone else.
‘And how is Monseigneur le Duc this morning?’ the old lady inquired, sinking into a chair he placed for her.
‘He asked me to present his homage, Madame,’ Rex lied quickly, instinctively picking a phrase which De Richleau might have used himself.
‘Ca, c’est très gentille. ‘E is a charming man, charming an’ ‘is cigars they are superb.’ The Countess D’Urfé produced a square case from her bag and drew out a fat, dark Havana. As Rex applied a match she went on slowly: ‘But it ees not right that one Circle should make interference with the operations of another. What ‘ave you to say of your be’aviour lars’ night my young frien’?’
‘My hat,’ thought Rex, ‘the old beldame fancies we’re an opposing faction in the same line of business. I’ll have to use this if I can,’ so he answered slowly: ‘We were mighty sorry to have to do what we did, but we needed Simon Aron for our own purposes.’
‘So! You also make search for the Talisman then?’
‘Sure–that is, the Duke’s taking a big interest in it.’
‘Which of us are not, and ‘oo but le petit Juif shall lead us to it.’
‘That’s true.’
‘’Ave you yet attempted the Rite to Saturn?’
‘Yes, but things didn’t pan out quite as we thought they would,’ Rex replied cautiously, not having the faintest idea what they were talking about.
‘You ’ave satisfy yourselves that the aloes and mastic were fresh, eh?’ The wicked old eyes bored into his.
‘Yes, I’m certain of that,’ he assured her.
‘You choose a time when the planet was in the ’ouse of Capricorn, of course?’
‘Oh, surely!’
‘An’ you ‘ave not neglect to make Libation to Our Lady Babalon before’and?’
‘Oh, no, we wouldn’t do that!’
‘Then per’aps your periods of silence were not long enough?’
‘Maybe that’s so,’ he admitted hurriedly, hoping to close this madhatter’s conversation before he completely put his foot into it.
Countess D’Urfé nodded, then after drawing thoughtfully at her cigar she looked at him intently. ‘Silence,’ she murmured. ‘Silence, that ees always essential in the Ritual of Saturn, but you ’ave much courage to thwart Mocata–’e is powerful, that one.’
‘Oh, we’re not afraid of him,’ Rex declared and, recalling the highest grade of operator from his conversation with De Richleau, he added: ‘You see the Duke knows all about this thing, he’s an Ipsissimus.’
The old lady’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets at this announcement, and Rex feared that he had gone too far, but she leaned forward and placed one of her jewelled claws upon his arm. An Ipsissimus!–an’ I ’av studied the Great Work for forty years, yet I ’ave reached only the degree of Practicus. But no, ’e cannot be, or ’ow could ’e fail with the Rite to Saturn?’
‘I only said that it didn’t pan out quite as we expected,’ Rex hastened to remind her, ‘and for the full dress business he’d need Simon Aron anyway.’
‘Of course,’ she nodded again and continued in an awestruck whisper, ‘an’ De Richleau is then a real Master. You must be far advanced for one so young that ’e allow you to work with ’im.’
He flicked the ash off his cigarette but maintained a cautious silence.
‘I am not—’ow you say—associated with Mocata long, since I ’ave arrive only recently in England, but De Richleau will cast ’im down into the Abyss, for ’ow shall’e prevail against one who is of ten circles and a single square?’
Rex nodded gravely.
‘Could I not—’ her dark eyes filled with a new eagerness, ‘would it not be possible for me to prostrate before your frien’? If you spoke for me also, per’aps ’e would allow that I should occupy a minor place when ’e proceeds again to the invocation?’
‘Ho! Ho!’ said Rex to himself, ‘so the old rat wants to scuttle from the sinking ship, does she. I ought to be able to turn this to our advantage,’ while aloud he said with a lordly air: ‘All things are possible, but there would be certain conditions.’
‘Tell me’ she muttered swiftly.
‘Well, there is this question of Simon Aron.’
‘What question? Now that you ’ave ‘im with you, you can do with ’im as you will.’
Rex quickly averted his gaze from the piercing black eyes. Evidently Mocata had turned the whole party out after they had got away with Simon. The old witch obviously had no idea that Mocata had regained possession of him later. In another second he would have given away their whole position by demanding Simon’s whereabouts. Instead, searching his mind desperately for the right bits of gibberish he said: ‘When De Richleau again proceeds to the invocation it is necessary that the vibrations of all present should be attuned to those of Simon Aron.’
‘No matter, willingly I will place myself in your ’ands for preparation.’
‘Then I’ll put it up to him, but first I must obey his order and say a word to the lady who was with you at Aron’s house last night—Tanith.’ Having at last manoeuvred the conversation to this critical point, Rex mentally crossed his thumbs and offered up a prayer that he was right in assuming that they were staying at the hotel together.
She smiled, showing two rows of white false teeth. ‘I know it, and you must pardon, I beg, that we ’ave our little joke with you.’
‘Oh, don’t worry about that,’ he shrugged, wondering anxiously to what new mystery she was alluding, but to his relief she hurried on.
‘Each morning we look into the crystal an’ when she see you walk into the ’otel she exclaim, “It is for me ’e comes—the tall American,” but we ‘ave no knowledge that you are more than a Neophyte or a Zelator at the most, so when you send up the flowers she say to me, “You shall go down to ’im instead an’ after we will laugh at the discomfiture of this would-be lover.”’
The smile broadened on Rex’s full mouth as he listened to the explanation of much that had been troubling him in the last hour, but it faded suddenly as he realised that, natural as it seemed compared to all this meaningless drivel which he had been exchanging with the old woman, it was in reality one more demonstration of the occult. These two women had actually seen him walk into the hotel lounge when they were sitting upstairs in their room peering into a piece of glass.
‘In some ways I suffer the disappointment,’ said the old Countess suddenly, and Rex found her studying him with a strange, disconcerting look. ‘I know well that promiscuity gives a great power for all ’oo follow the Path an’ that ’uman love ’inders our development, but nevair ’ave I been able to free myself from a so stupid sentimentality, an’ you would, I think, ’ave made a good lover for ’er.’
Rex stared in astonished silence, then looked quickly away, as she added: ‘No matter—the other ees of real importance. I will send for ’er that you may give your message.’
With a little jerk she stood up and, gripping her ebony cane, stumped across to the hall porter’s desk while he relaxed, unutterably glad that this extraordinary interview was over.
However, he felt a glow of satisfaction in the thought that he had duped her into the belief that De Richleau and himself were even more powerful adepts than Mocata, and at having played his cards sufficiently well to secure a meeting with Tanith under such favourable circumstances. If only he could get her into his car, he was determined to inveigle her into giving him any information she possessed which might lead to the discovery of Simon’s whereabouts, although, since Madame D’Urfé was ignorant of the fact that he was no longer with the Duke, it was hardly likely that Tanith would actually be able to take them to him.
With new anxiety Rex realised the gravity of the check. They had practically counted on Tanith having the knowledge, if only they could get it out of her, and even if he could persuade her to talk about Mocata the man might have a dozen haunts. If so it would be no easy task to visit all before sundown and the urgency of the Duke’s instructions still rang in his ears.
Today was May Day Eve. The Great Sabbat of the year would be held tonight. It was absolutely imperative that they should trace and secure Simon before dusk or else, under the evil influence which now dominated his mentality, he would be taken to participate in those unholy rites and jeopardise for ever the flame of goodness, wisdom and right thinking which men term the soul.
After a moment Madame D’Urfé rejoined him. ‘For tonight at least,’ she whispered, ‘things in dispute between the followers of the Path will be in abeyance, is it not? For all must make their ’omage to the One.’
He nodded and she bent towards him, lowering her voice still further: ‘If I could but see De Richleau for one moment—as Ipsissimus ’e must possess the unguent?’
‘That’s so,’ Rex agreed, but he was horribly uncertain of his ground again as he added cryptically: ‘But what of the Moon?’
‘Ah, fatality,’ she sighed. ‘I ’ad forgotten that we are in the dark quarter.’
He blessed the providence which had guided his tongue as she went on sadly: ‘I ’ave try so often but nevair yet ’ave I succeeded. I know all things necessary to its preparation, an’ ’ave gathered every ’erb at the right period. I ’ave even rendered down the fat, but they must ’ave cheated me. It was from a mortuary per’aps, but not from a graveyard as it should ‘ave been.’
Rex felt the hair bristle on the back of his neck and his whole body stiffened slightly as he heard this gruesome confession. Surely it was inconceivable that people still practised these medieval barbarities, yet he recalled the terrible manifestation that he had witnessed with the Duke on the previous night. After that he could no longer employ modern standards of belief or unbelief to the possibilities which might result from the strange and horrible doings of these people who had given themselves over to ancient cults.
The old Countess was regarding him again with that disconcerting look. ‘It matters not,’ she murmured. ‘We shall get there just the same, Tanith and I, an’ it should be interesting for nevair before ’as she attended the Great Sabbat.’
The lift gates clicked at that moment and Tanith stepped out into the corridor. For a fleeting instant Rex caught a glimpse of her wise, beautiful face, over the old woman’s shoulder, but the Countess was speaking again in a husky whisper, so he was forced to look back at her.
‘Nevair before,’ she repeated with unholy glee, ‘and after the One ’as done that which there is to do, ‘oo knows but you may be the next—if you are quick.’
Forcing himself out of his chair Rex shut his ears to the infernal implication. His general reading had been enough for him to be aware that in the old days the most incredible orgies took place as the climax to every Sabbat, and his whole body crept at the thought of Tanith being subjected to such abominations. His impulse was to seize this iniquitous old woman by the throat and choke the bestial life out of her fat body, but with a supreme effort he schooled himself to remain outwardly normal.
As Tanith approached, and taking his hand smiled into his eyes, he knew that she, as well as Simon, must be saved before nightfall from—yes, the old biblical quotation leapt to his mind, ‘The Power of the Dog,’ that was strong upon them.