De Richleau nodded. ‘I am certain of it, and I’m worried, Richard. My luck was out today. Father Brandon, whom I went to see, was unfortunately away. He has a great knowledge of this terrible “other world” that we are up against, and knowing me well, would have helped us, but the young priest I saw in his place would not entrust me with the Host, nor could I persuade him to come with it himself, and that is the only certain protection against the sort of thing Mocata may send against us.’
‘We’ll manage somehow,’ Richard smiled, trying to cheer him.
‘Yes, we’ve got to.’ A note of the old determination came into De Richleau’s voice. ‘Since the Church cannot help us we must rely upon my knowledge of Esoteric formulas. Fortunately, I have the most important aids with me already, but I should be glad if you would send down to the village blacksmith for five
horseshoes. Tell whoever you send, that they must be brand new that is essential.’
At this apparently childish request for horseshoes all Richard’s scepticism welled up with renewed force, but he concealed it with his usual tact and agreed readily enough. Then, the mention of the village having reminded him of Rex, he told the Duke how their friend had been called away to the Inn.
De Richleau’s face fell suddenly. ‘I thought Rex had more sense!’ he exclaimed bitterly. ‘We must telephone at once.’
Richard got on to Mr. Wilkes, but the landlord could give them little information. A lady had arrived at about three, and the American gentleman had joined her shortly after. Then they had gone out into the garden and he had seen nothing of them since.
De Richleau shrugged angrily. ‘The young fool! I should have thought that he would have seen enough of this horror by now to realise the danger of going off with that young woman. It’s a hundred to one that she is Mocata’s puppet if nothing else. I only pray to God that he turns up again before nightfall. Where is Simon now?’
‘With Marie Lou. They are upstairs in the nursery, I think watching Fleur bathed and put to bed.’
‘Good. Let us go up then. Fleur can help us very greatly in protecting him tonight.’
‘Fleur!’ exclaimed Richard in amazement.
The Duke nodded. ‘The prayers of a virgin woman are amazingly powerful in such instances, and the younger she is the stronger her vibrations. You see, a little child like Fleur who is old enough to pray, but absolutely unspoiled in any way, is the nearest that any human being can get to absolute purity. You will remember the words of Our Lord : “Except ye become as little children ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven”. You have no objection I take it?’
‘None,’ agreed Richard quickly. ‘Saying a prayer for Simon cannot possibly harm the child in any way. We’ll go up through the library.’
Seven sides of the great octagonal room were covered ceiling high with books and the eighth consisted of wide french windows through which half a dozen stone steps, leading up to the terrace, could be seen and beyond, a portion of the garden.
Richard led the way to one of the book-lined walls and pressed the gilded cardinal’s hat upon a morocco binding. A low doorway masked by dummy bookbacks, swung open disclosing a narrow spiral stairway hewn out of the solid wall. They ascended the stone steps and a moment later entered Fleur’s nursery on the floor above, through a sliding panel in the wall.
When they arrived the nursery was empty, but in the bathroom beyond they found Simon, with Nanny’s apron tied about his waist, quite solemnly bathing Fleur while Marie Lou sat on the edge of the bath and chortled with laughter.
It was an operation which Simon had performed on every visit that he had made to Cardinals Folly so Fleur was used to the business and regarded it as a definite treat; but this tubbing of his friend’s child was a privilege which De Richleau had never claimed, and as he entered Fleur suddenly exhibited signs of maidenly modesty surprising in one so young.
‘Oh, Mummy,’ she exclaimed. ‘He mussent see me, muss he, ‘cause he’s a man.’ On which the whole party gave way to a fit of laughter.
‘Sen’ him away!’ yelled the excited Fleur, standing up and clutching an enormous bath sponge to her chest.
De Richleau’s firm mouth twitched with his old humour, as he apologised most gravely and backed into the nursery beside Richard. A few minutes later the others joined them, and the Duke held a hurried conversation in whispers with Marie Lou.
‘Of course,’ she said. ‘If it will help, do just what you think. I will get rid of Nanny for a few minutes.’
Walking over, he smiled down at Fleur. ‘Does Mummy watch you say your prayers every night?’ he asked gently.
‘Oh, yes,’ she lisped. ‘And you shall all hear me now.’
He smiled again. ‘Have you ever heard her say hers?
Fleur thought hard for a moment, ‘No,’ she shook her dark head and the big blue eyes looked up at him seriously. ‘Mummy says her prayers to Daddy when I’se asleep.’
He nodded quietly. ‘Well, we’re all going to say them together tonight.’
‘Ooo,’ cooed Fleur. ‘Lovely. It’ll be just as though we’se playing a new game, won’t it?
‘Not a game, dearest,’ interjected Marie Lou quietly. ‘Because prayers are serious, and we mean them.’
‘Yes, we mean them very much tonight, but we could all kneel down in a circle couldn’t we and put Uncle Simon in the middle?’
‘Jus’ like kiss-in-thering,’ added Fleur.
‘That’s right,’ the Duke agreed, ‘or Postman’s Knock. And you shall be the postman. But this is very serious, and instead of touching him on the shoulder, you must hold his hand very tight.’
They knelt down then and Fleur extended her pudgy palm to Simon, but the Duke gently laid his hand on her shoulder. ‘No,’ he whispered. ‘Your left hand, my angel, in Uncle Simon’s right You shall say your prayers first, just as you always do, and then I shall say one for all of us afterwards.’
The first few lines of the Our Father came tumbling out from the child’s lips in a little breathless spate as they knelt with bowed heads and closed eyes. Then there was a short hesitation, a prompting whisper from Marie Lou, and an equally breathless ending. After that, the little personal supplication for Mummy and Daddy and Uncle Simon and Uncle Rex and Uncle Greyeyes and dear Nanny were hurried through with considerably more gusto.
‘Now,’ whispered De Richleau, ‘I want you to repeat everything I say word for word after me,’ and in a low, clear voice he offered up an entreaty that the Father of All would forgive His servants their sins and strengthen them to resist temptation, keeping at bay by His limitless power all evil things that walked in darkness, and bring them safely by His especial mercy to see again the glory of the morning light.
When all was done and Fleur, tucked up and kissed, left between Mr. Edward Bear and Golliwog, the others filed downstairs to Marie Lou’s cosy sitting-room.
De Richleau was worried about Rex, but a further phone call to the inn failed to elicit any further information. He had not returned, and they sat round silently, a little subdued. Richard, vaguely miserable because it was sherry time and the Duke had once again firmly prohibited the drinking of any alcohol, asked at length: ‘Well, what do you wish us to do now?’
‘We should have a light supper fairly early,’ De Richleau announced. ‘And after, I should like you to make it quite clear to Malin that none of the servants are to come into this wing of the house until tomorrow morning. Say, if you like, that I am going to conduct some all-night experiments with a new wireless or television apparatus, but in no circumstances must we be disturbed or any doors opened and shut.’