My lady the Countess D"Evreux was all sadness and unhappiness, but there was neither fear nor evil there. She smiled politely and talked quietly. Father Bright would have been willing to bet that not one of the four of them would remember a word that had been spoken.
Father Bright had placed his chair so that he could keep an eye on the open doorway and the long hall that led in from the Great Keep. He hoped Lord Darcy would hurry. Neither of the guests had been told that the Duke"s Investigator was here, and Father Bright was just a little apprehensive about the meeting. The Duncans had not even been told that the Count"s death had been murder, but he was certain that they knew.
Father Bright saw Lord Darcy come in through the door at the far end of the hall. He murmured a polite excuse and rose. The other three accepted his excuses with the same politeness and went on with their talk. Father Bright met Lord Darcy in the hall.
"Did you find what you were looking for, Lord Darcy?" the priest asked in a low tone.
"Yes," Lord Darcy said. "I"m afraid we shall have to arrest Laird Duncan."
"Murder?"
"Perhaps. I"m not yet certain of that. But the charge will be black magic. He has all the paraphernalia in a chest in his room. Master Sean reports that a ritual was enacted in the bedroom last night. Of course, that"s out of my jurisdiction. You, as a representative of the Church, will have to be the arresting officer." He paused. "You don"t seem surprised, Reverence."
"I"m not," Father Bright admitted. "I felt it. You and Master Sean will have to make out a sworn deposition before I can act."
"I understand. Can you do me a favor?"
"If I can."
"Get my lady the Countess out of the room on some pretext or other.
Leave me alone with her guests. I do not wish to upset my lady any more than absolutely necessary."
"I think I can do that. Shall we go in together?"
"Why not? But don"t mention why I am here. Let them a.s.sume I am just another guest."
"Very well."
All three occupants of the room glanced up as Father Bright came in with Lord Darcy. The introductions were made: Lord Darcy humbly begged the pardon of his hostess for his lateness. Father Bright noticed the same sad smile on Lord Darcy"s handsome face as the others were wearing.
Lord Darcy helped himself from the buffet table and allowed the Countess to pour him a large cup of hot tea. He mentioned nothing about the recent death. Instead, he turned the conversation toward the wild beauty of Scotland and the excellence of the grouse shooting there.
Father Bright had not sat down again. Instead, he left the room once more. When he returned, he went directly to the Countess and said, in a low, but clearly audible voice: "My lady, Sir Pierre Morlaix has informed me that there are a few matters that require your attention immediately. It will require only a few moments."
My lady the Countess did not hesitate, but made her excuses immediately. "Do finish your tea," she added. "I don"t think I shall be long."
Lord Darcy knew the priest would not lie, and he wondered what sort of arrangement had been made with Sir Pierre. Not that it mattered except that Lord Darcy had hoped it would be sufficiently involved for it to keep the Countess busy for at least ten minutes.
The conversation, interrupted but momentarily, returned to grouse.
"I haven"t done any shooting since my accident," said Laird Duncan, "but I used to enjoy it immensely. I still have friends up every year for the season."
"What sort of weapon do you prefer for grouse?" Lord Darcy asked.
"A one-inch bore with a modified choke," said the Scot. "I have a pair that I favor. Excellent weapons."
"Of Scottish make?"
"No, no. English. Your London gunsmiths can"t be beat for shotguns."
"Oh. I thought perhaps your lordship had had all your guns made in Scotland." As he spoke, he took the little pistol out of his coat pocket and put it carefully on the table.
There was a sudden silence, then Laird Duncan said in an angry voice: "What is this? Where did you get that?"
Lord Darcy glanced at Lady Duncan, who had turned suddenly pale.
"Perhaps," he said coolly, "Lady Duncan can tell us."
She shook her head and gasped. For a moment, she had trouble in forming words or finding her voice. Finally: "No. No. I know nothing.
Nothing."
But Laird Duncan looked at her oddly.
"You do not deny that it is your gun, my lord?" Lord Darcy asked. "Or your wife"s, as the case may be."
[Ill.u.s.tration]
"_Where did you get it?_" There was a dangerous quality in the Scotsman"s voice. He had once been a powerful man, and Lord Darcy could see his shoulder muscles bunching.
"From the late Count D"Evreux"s bedroom."
"What was it doing there?" There was a snarl in the Scot"s voice, but Lord Darcy had the feeling that the question was as much directed toward Lady Duncan as it was to himself.
"One of the things it was doing there was shooting Count D"Evreux through the heart."
Lady Duncan slumped forward in a dead faint, overturning her teacup.
Laird Duncan made a grab at the gun, ignoring his wife. Lord Darcy"s hand snaked out and picked up the weapon before the Scot could touch it. "No, no, my lord," he said mildly. "This is evidence in a murder case. We mustn"t tamper with the King"s evidence."
He wasn"t prepared for what happened next. Laird Duncan roared something obscene in Scots Gaelic, put his hands on the arms of his wheelchair, and, with a great thrust of his powerful arms and shoulders, shoved himself up and forward, toward Lord Darcy, across the table from him. His arms swung up toward Lord Darcy"s throat as the momentum of his body carried him toward the investigator.
He might have made it, but the weakness of his legs betrayed him. His waist struck the edge of the ma.s.sive oaken table, and most of his forward momentum was lost. He collapsed forward, his hands still grasping toward the surprised Englishman. His chin came down hard on the table top. Then he slid back, taking the tablecloth and the china and silverware with him. He lay unmoving on the floor. His wife did not even stir except when the tablecloth tugged at her head.
Lord Darcy had jumped back, overturning his chair. He stood on his feet, looking at the two unconscious forms.
"I don"t think there"s any permanent damage done to either," said Dr.
Pateley an hour later. "Lady Duncan was suffering from shock, of course, but Father Bright brought her round in a hurry. She"s a devout woman, I think, even if a sinful one."
"What about Laird Duncan?" Lord Darcy asked.
"Well, that"s a different matter. I"m afraid that his back injury was aggravated, and that crack on the chin didn"t do him any good. I don"t know whether Father Bright can help him or not. Healing takes the co-operation of the patient. I did all I could for him, but I"m just a chirurgeon, not a pract.i.tioner of the Healing Art. Father Bright has quite a good reputation in that line, however, and he may be able to do his lordship some good."
Master Sean shook his head dolefully. "His Reverence has the Talent, there"s no doubt of that, but now he"s pitted against another man who has it--a man whose mind is bent on self-destruction in the long run."
"Well, that"s none of my affair," said Dr. Pateley. "I"m just a technician. I"ll leave healing up to the Church, where it belongs."
"Master Sean," said Lord Darcy, "there is still a mystery here. We need more evidence. What about the eyes?"