Chapter 9

The room was silent for a few minutes as Stanley gazed into the fire and said nothing.

Johnny and I looked at each other again. We’d agreed to ask no questions until the end of Stanley’s narrative, but as the silence dragged on, Johnny could contain himself no longer and blurted out, “Jesus, Stanley, what did you do?”

Stanley looked at him. “I did what I always do whenever there’s a crisis on. I rang for a cup of tea.”

He chuckled and smoked his cigar. He looked at us for another minute. I watched his eyes. They did not blink. He looked back at us steadily in a detached way.

He reminded me of an attorney Johnny and I once met when we were in business together. We had been asked to meet the man in his office on Wall Street. He had a corner suite from which he could see the exchange. His gray hair was brushed straight back like Stanley’s, and he had similar cold blue eyes. He didn’t rise when we entered his office but simply motioned for us to have a seat. He didn’t introduce himself.

With no preamble, he said, “I have a client who wants to invest a great deal of money with you. He is taking a risk and is willing to pay for that privilege. What valuable consideration will you be delivering to my client, and how will you be doing that exactly? Performance will be an issue, and my time is valuable. Be succinct.”

I remember looking into that man’s eyes and thinking: They are very cold eyes. Be careful here; be very careful. They looked like Stanley’s eyes now. Concerned, I sat up straighter, alert. I could tell Johnny had also subtly changed his position. He had his game face on. Even Robert raised his head. Something was up.

“I am afraid I am going to make you uncomfortable,” said Stanley. “I won’t keep you in suspense, but we have reached the point in this narrative where we have to make a decision, the three of us. I think you have some of the context you desired, but from here on, I require something more than just your silence.

“We must make a bargain, and then we need to seal it. You are both familiar with contracts, I’m sure. There must be an offer and acceptance by competent parties. There must also be the exchange of valuable consideration to create what might be called a ‘mutuality of obligation,’ and here, I emphasize the latter phrase.

“Understand this: you have me at a disadvantage. I am this house’s butler. I am not a member of the family. The valuable consideration I am giving you is this story. One that needs to be told, to be sure, but it contains information that many would consider harmful, even dangerous, if known. For a bargain or a contract to be actual, there must be something of value exchanged between the parties. So far, the movement has been in only one direction. Reciprocation is required. Let me say that it is not monetary consideration I want. Her ladyship took care of all my needs on that score. Rather, I want a promise, a pledge, from both of you, individually and together.”

Here he paused and looked at us as he smoked. He had our attention. This was a side of Stanley I knew only in glimpses. He was cold, unsympathetic, and implacable, just like the Lord Bromley he had described.

He interrupted my thoughts and said, “Here is my offer. In exchange for the rest of the story and the contents of this case, you must promise to honor the following: I will come to you at some point in the future, and I will ask you to do a service for me. You will agree to do what I ask without question or hesitation, no matter how strange, no matter how insignificant or significant. I will call upon each of you separately, or together, to honor your promise. I will tell you specifically that I am invoking the pledge you made this night, so there will be no mistake. You will be obligated to do what I ask, if we have an agreement.

“Once I have your promise, we will seal the bargain, and only then will I continue. How do you wish to respond?”

He looked at Johnny and then at me.

Johnny answered first. “May we ask you some questions and then confer in private before we give you our answer?”

“Of course.”

“First question,” asked Johnny. “What’s in the case?”

“Her ladyship’s diary. I took possession of it after her death. I thought doing so appropriate at the time.”

“I see,” said Johnny. “Have you read it?”

“Yes, I have, and I think you will find its contents engrossing.”

“What if we refuse?” I interrupted.

“Then our conversation ends here. The diary will be destroyed, and sleep follows.”

“Assuming we agree,” said Johnny. “Can you give us an idea of what you’ll expect us to do?”

“I can’t because I don’t know at this time.”

“Will it be legal?” I asked.

“Perhaps, perhaps not. Let me elaborate. First, I may choose never to redeem your pledge, but then again, I might. It is my choice. Second, I have looked after the members of this house for many years, always with its best interest in mind. I do not intend to change that policy. Lastly, in some relationships and circumstances, there can only be trust or no trust. This is one of those times when you must decide. I will leave you for a few minutes to confer.”

At this, Stanley rose and silently left the room.

Johnny eyed the case that still lay on the table.

“Don’t even think about it,” I said. “He did that deliberately. He needs to know he can trust us just as much as we need to know we can trust him.”

“Just a thought…Well, this certainly has added some zing to an already remarkable evening.”

“We seem to be prone to that sort of thing. So, what do you want to do?” I asked.

“What do you want to do?”

“I asked you first.”

Johnny smiled and said, “I think we should go with it.”

“I think we shouldn’t. Remember that devilish attorney we met down at Broad and Wall, the one that even looked like Stanley? Recall how that worked out?”

“Ah yes,” said Johnny. “I was thinking much the same thing, but we survived, and it was a tidy piece of business, if you remember. We made a chunk and so did the client, but…”

Johnny held up his hand as I opened my mouth to protest. “I know what you’re going to say. There was that performance clause, and we went through hell when we were down 20 percent the first month. Too true, but we made it back, and we did manage to avoid a massive penalty by the skin of our teeth.”

“Oh, how quickly you forget. Do you even remember the number of sleepless nights we went through — the endless stress? Somehow, I was always the one who had to talk to that nasty little man and explain how we were only down a little bit more. The experience was positively awful.”

“You thought we’d made a deal with the devil. The pressure was a bit wearing, I agree, but everything did work out, didn’t it?”

“It did,” I said reluctantly.

“Besides,” said Johnny, leaning forward and looking at the case, “don’t you want to know what’s in the damn thing? I do. More to the point, as Stanley said, it’s all about trust. Do you trust Stanley, yes or no? That, right there, is the crux of the matter and is really all that counts.”

“Well, yes, I…”

“It’s settled then. We’re in agreement.”

Before I could voice any more protests, Johnny was up and at the door, calling for Stanley.

Stanley walked in as quietly as he had left and sat down. He looked down at the diary on the table and then asked, “You’ve made your decision?”

Johnny answered for both of us, just like in the old days.

“We have. Trust is a commodity that seems to defy what others might consider to be good sense, but that is the basis of our decision. We trust you, and that’s the truth of it. We agree to your terms.”

Stanley looked at us and said nothing for a time.

“Sometimes I am surprised by what others decide — not that I had much doubt as to the outcome. Just the same, I thank you for your agreement.”

Johnny and I nodded. I realized as I did so that we had crossed into territory that would once again change our lives forever. I did trust Stanley for the most part, but I knew that few victims of unspeakable crimes were ever dragged down into a cellar kicking and screaming — rather, they walked in of their own volition.

“So, gentlemen, we need to seal this bargain properly. Allow me a few minutes to prepare.”

Stanley got up and left, leaving Johnny and me alone once again.

“Well,” said Johnny, “I don’t know what he has in mind, but this evening has been extraordinarily entertaining at the very least.”

I put aside my negative thoughts but couldn’t help saying, “It is all a bit peculiar, you must admit.”

“Peculiar, I think, might be too strong a word. Mysterious would be more appropriate.”

“Okay, mysterious then, but, Johnny, I really think we’re in over our heads. I swore I wasn’t going to go off the deep end anytime soon, and yet here I am again. I can hardly believe it.”

“I wouldn’t beat yourself up too badly,” said Johnny. “It’s the nature of this place, so you might as well enjoy it. Besides, I’ll be right there with you. Just like old times.”

I sighed heavily as Stanley entered with a tray on which were placed three tiny crystal glasses and a small emerald-green bottle caged in silver. He placed the tray on the table and removed a small black book from under his arm.

He laid the volume next to the leather case and poured out three thimble-size measures of a dark liquid.

“Gentlemen, it is time to seal our bargain. We will do it the old way. First, you must place both of your hands on this book and swear to follow without question, and to completion, my instructions or suffer the consequences. Do you so agree?”

Johnny and I looked at each other. Consequences? What consequences? my thoughts screamed, but there was no backing out.

We stretched out our hands and placed them on the book. I looked at it carefully as I did so. The volume had wooden boards covered with black leather and certainly was no Bible.

“Repeat after me: I so swear.”

“I so swear,” Johnny and I repeated in unison.

“Very good,” said Stanley briskly. “Now we seal the bargain this way.” He held up one of the glasses. “Drink in one gulp, but only after you hear what I have to say.”

Johnny and I reached for the two glasses and raised them up. Robert the Bruce sat up and watched us, his eyes inscrutable.

Stanley spoke: “We have made an oath. May faith rule our fears, may trust overcome adversity, and may we be guided by the gods that now stand silent around us, watching.”

Stanley drank it off and put down his glass. Johnny and I did the same. The liquid burned hot down my throat and tasted of meadow grasses and flowers but with a strong metallic aftertaste.

I managed to say, “Was there blood in that drink?”

“I will answer all your questions, but only when the tale is done. Shall we adjourn for a quick break, or are you both ready to continue?”