‘But you do know more, darling,’ interceded Sarah. ‘I can tell!’
Harris glanced thoughtfully at his wife, then looked down.
‘Well, yes. But I don’t know whether one should place too much confidence on a testimony passed along by three people, one after another. It seems that the principal character in the book is none other than Harvey’s own father, the time and manner of whose death were predicted precisely.’
A ripple ran through the audience. Harris coughed and continued:
‘The attitude of his family hurt Harvey profoundly. He treated them as ignorant and illiterate: how could they ignore and despise a genius like himself? His father’s death? It had been written, he could do nothing about it. He shut himself up for good in his room and wrote many other books. The years went by. Stephen and Thomas did everything possible to conceal the existence of someone they considered to be unbalanced and who brought dishonour to the family name. Here, I need to mention that Thomas had been decorated by the queen for services to the crown and any hint of scandal would ruin his career. Their brother was mad, so be it, but as long as nobody else knew, there was no reason to be alarmed. The bombshell exploded when a London publisher sought them out to talk to them about manuscripts which their brother Harvey had submitted for publication. Needless to say, there was no question of him printing them, but he wished to draw their attention to the fact they had been written by someone who was clearly mad, which could turn out to be dangerous if they were indeed published, given that they had been sent to several other publishers as well. Thomas and our grandfather took all the necessary precautions: enquiring of other editors and increased surveillance of their brother. After a while, the panic died down and became nothing more than an unfortunate memory.
‘A few more words before I finish. It was rare for anyone to go into Harvey’s study — he slept and worked there — but if they did cross the threshold, they were immediately seized by a curious and indefinable sense of unease, as if the premises were really and truly unhealthy. Another curious fact: Harvey stocked up with large quantities of water every day. He filled two or three bottles which he took back to his room and one might assume it was purely to quench his thirst. Except that, every time anyone entered his room, whether he was there or not, there at the centre of the table was a sort of large glass full to the brim with water!’
‘Hardly surprising,’ observed Sarah, ‘if he liked to drink so much.’
‘I don’t know,’ retorted Mr. Hilton, tongue in cheek. ‘Why would a heavy drinker of any kind leave behind a full glass?’
‘Of course not,’ said Francis with a shrug of the shoulders aimed at Sarah. ‘But I assume that detail is important somehow?’
‘Yes, indeed. Which leads us to the last act. One day, cries and moans were heard coming from Harvey’s room. He was found on the floor, on the sill of the open door, suffering from atrocious convulsions. He was rolling around on the floor, wild with rage and pain. His suffering ended just a few minutes later: he was dead. The doctors who examined the body were uncertain as to the cause of death. Heart attack? Due to a fit of anger or fear? They certified he wasn’t poisoned or victim of any other kind of foul play and that he died of a heart attack. There were no clues to be found in his room which could explain the mysterious circumstances of his death. The only peculiar thing — and, if my memory is correct, it was told to my mother by one of the maids, not my father — was that there was a wet patch on the carpet in front of the fireplace. And that’s not alclass="underline" just before he died in agony Harvey had babbled out strange and disconcerting words: “Will perish… sinned… will perish by fire… will perish by fire.”’
Harris struck a match and contemplated the flame before finishing his story:
‘And, some time later, at a party given by some friends, Thomas, Stephen and Agatha all perished in a terrible fire. Only our grandmother Rosemary — Stephen’s wife — escaped. She was pregnant at the time. But before she delivered our father, she gave orders for Harvey’s room to be permanently sealed. Grandmother lived long enough to see us both born, Brian and me, but we have no personal memories of her or our father, because they both perished in a ship that went down… as the result of a fire.’
6
‘Well,’ sighed Sarah, ‘what a story! And you said there was nothing extraordinary about it… What’s more, you told it as if you had no doubts about its accuracy.’
‘I did get a bit carried away,’ admitted Harris, ‘but you have to try and treat the story seriously, don’t you think?’
‘Even so,’ observed Howard Hilton thoughtfully, ‘your great-uncle must have had the gift of clairvoyance. First, the death of his father, then his last words about death by fire—.’
‘Hang on, Mr. Hilton,’ cut in Harris. ‘As I said, one has to be wary of any testimony that’s not first hand. Changes can occur in the retelling: details, nuances, additions and omissions reflecting subconscious desires. In addition to which, dying words are often indistinct. Maybe Harvey only uttered the single word “fire.” As for fire being responsible for the death of some family members, that could be sheer coincidence. Unless anyone has another explanation?’
No one said a word.
‘Good,’ said Harris, stretching his arms. ‘Nevertheless, I won’t hide from you that there are several points I do find peculiar. So peculiar, I can’t imagine they could have been invented.’
‘The strange atmosphere in the room?’ asked Paula eagerly.
Harris smiled indulgently:
‘No. That’s exactly the kind of retrospective impression created by the appropriate atmosphere, evil in this case. What I was thinking of, in the first place, were the circumstances of Harvey’s death. From what we know about him, he was the quiet type. Which in and of itself, obviously, doesn’t rule out a heart attack. But how does one explain that convulsive state, and the fact that he was found on the sill of the room? That last point is what bothers me the most, because it’s not the kind of detail that’s likely to have been invented. After all, it’s hardly dramatic.’
‘So, if I understand you correctly,’ interjected Mr. Hilton, ‘the more absurd the detail, the more you are likely to believe it?’
‘Exactly. And then there’s that other detaiclass="underline" the damp patch on the carpet.’
‘Quite,’ agreed Mr. Hilton. ‘It seems highly unlikely anyone would graft such a detail on to the story to make it appear more sinister.’
‘Maybe there’s a simple explanation,’ suggested Francis. ‘The glass on the table and the bottles he’d brought in. He just knocked them all over during his convulsions.’
Harris shook his head:
‘My mother asked the same question of the maid, who was categoricaclass="underline" that explanation wasn’t possible because of the position of the table — against the wall opposite the fireplace. At least, it couldn’t have happened accidentally. Of course, one can’t rule out that Harvey deliberately splashed water on the carpet, for whatever reason… to amuse himself? But I don’t believe so. He was mad, but not to that point.’