The door opened just far enough to admit a man, and then closed as quietly. The man was Max.
‘Ah,’ he said softly; ‘I thought I’d find you here.’
My skirts were bunched up under me. I had to stand before I could get at my gun. Max watched interestedly while I fumbled in my pockets. John didn’t move a muscle. His mouth was still open and his eyes were glazed. Finally I got the gun out and pointed it at Max.
‘Don’t call for help,’ I said.
‘My dear Dr Bliss, I had time to recite an entire sonnet while you were trying to locate that weapon,’ Max said. ‘Something by Shakespeare or Mrs Browning, perhaps? I am not as familiar with your English poets as I would like to be.’
John closed his mouth and cleared his throat, but he was not yet capable of speech. I said, ‘Turn around, Max.’
‘So you can strike me unconscious with the butt of the gun? I think not, Dr Bliss. It would be painful for me and counterproductive for you.’
John got unsteadily to his feet and took the gun from me. He squinted at it, and then slipped it into his belt. ‘Would you care to elaborate on that, Max?’
‘My meaning should be clear,’ Max said. ‘I am going to help you escape.’
Chapter Eleven
IT WAS FORTUNATE John was too petrified to argue or make long-winded, sarcastic speeches. Time was running out on us. The meeting had broken up; people were dispersing, to dress for dinner – and for other purposes.
Max was waiting for Mary. He had told us what we were to do, but he wouldn’t answer my questions. There was no time, he had said, and when I heard that shrill, arrogant voice outside the door where we stood listening, I understood. He had expected she would want to amuse herself for a while before she changed.
‘Get out of my way, Max.’
‘No, I forbid it. You have done enough already.’
‘You have no authority over me!’
‘Then I will appeal to someone who does.’ His voice hardened. ‘He will not allow you to endanger the entire enterprise.’
She spat out a string of nouns and adjectives. I thought she was applying them to Max until he replied dryly, ‘I have no fondness for Tregarth either, but business must take precedence over personal resentment. He cannot be forced to carry out his part of the plan unless we hold a hostage as surety for his compliance, and he will be unable to carry it out if you go on playing your little games with him. I have locked the door and I will keep the key, so don’t bother coming back after I have gone.’
She stormed off, using language no lady should employ, and I heard the reverberation as she slammed her door. Max moved away without speaking to us. He’d already given us our instructions, and I couldn’t blame him for minimizing the risk to himself. They probably kept Mary happy by letting her play with traitors and other expendable individuals before disposing of them. Her brother had been fond of knives, too.
Max had given me the key and told me to lock the door. My hand was clenched so tightly John had to pry my fingers loose one by one before he could take it from me.
‘What are you doing?’ I demanded in a hoarse whisper. ‘He told us to stay here.’
‘He told us not to attempt to leave the house for an hour,’ John corrected. ‘I’d prefer to wait elsewhere. I don’t entirely share your blind faith in Maxie.’
‘Why is he doing this then?’
‘God knows. But you can be certain it isn’t because his heart was touched by an appeal to sentiment, of which he has none. Possibly he’s come to think of you as a kind of mascot or good-luck charm. He’s frightfully superstitious – look at those ghastly silhouettes of his. They aren’t a hobby any longer, they have become an obsession.’ He unlocked the door and then turned to look at me. ‘Do you want your gun back?’
‘No.’
‘Then get the knife. You left it on the floor by the chair. And don’t put it in your pocket! Keep hold of it. Stay close behind me. If we’re spotted and I tell you to run, do it, without one of those interminable arguments of yours, and without looking back. Is that clear?’
I nodded. His orders had been perfectly clear. Whether or not I would follow them was another matter.
‘Come on, then.’
Either he had explored the house more systematically than I had had the opportunity of doing or he had stayed there before. Instead of heading for the main stairs he turned in the opposite direction. We had to pass several of the bedrooms, including Mary’s, and if I had not reached a state of total emotional paralysis I would have dropped in my tracks when I heard a crash and an inarticulate shriek from her room. The cry had been one of rage. She must be relieving her feelings by smashing lamps, vases, and other fragile objects.
John’s long, even stride didn’t alter. He was moving more easily now. The end of the corridor was in shadow, there were no wall sconces near it. What I had taken to be a dead end turned out to be a door, painted the same neutral colour as the wall. When he opened it I saw a landing with narrow, uncarpeted steps leading down, and another flight going up. It was lighted by a single bulb on the ceiling. I ought to have known there would be a separate staircase for the servants. Not that the knowledge would have helped. There would be people in that part of the house too.
I felt somewhat easier after John had closed the door, but when he sat down on the topmost step I said nervously, ‘What are you waiting for? The servants will be coming this way.’
‘No, they won’t. Not for a while.’ leaning back, supporting his weight on his elbows, he went on in the same subdued voice, ‘It’s obvious that you have never seriously contemplated a career in crime. If you do, bear in mind that strict attention to schedules is vitally important. Human beings are creatures of habit, and the older they get, the more they insist on regularity. Blenkiron always dines at seven-fifteen. The servants will be preparing dinner for the guests and eating their own; they don’t come upstairs to turn down the beds and so on until the guests have retired to – ’
‘John, if you don’t stop lecturing and start answering questions I am going to scream.’
‘Ask a sensible question, then.’
‘How did you get involved with – ’
‘No, no. That is a reasonable question, I admit, but under the present circumstances it is less relevant than a number of others, and the answer would involve a prolonged explanation which you probably wouldn’t believe anyhow. Try again, keeping in mind that our primary concern at this moment – ’
‘All right! Are we going to stay here until eight o’clock?’
‘What time is it?’
‘Seven-fifteen.’
‘How time flies when one is enjoying oneself,’ John murmured. ‘For the next half hour this is as safe a place as any. I’ve a little errand to do before we leave. You wait here while I – ’
‘No.’
‘It may be a bit tricky – ’
‘No. I’m not letting you out of my sight.’
John studied me speculatively. I scooted back, out of his reach. ‘Oh, no, you don’t. Not another sock on the jaw, for my own good.’
‘It’s a tempting idea. But in this case it might do more harm than good. Besides, you’d probably hit me back. Come along, then. And don’t forget what I told you.’