Dennis Wheatley - The Devil Rides Out

‘Could you? ‘Rex jerked himself upright and the water gurgled a little at the sides of the canoe.

‘Yes, I don’t know if he has a house of his own anywhere, but I do know where he will be this evening—and your friend Simon will be with him.’

‘You mean the Sabbat eh? And you’ll give me the name of the place where it’s being held?’

‘Oh no.’ The sunlight gleamed golden on her hair as she shook her head. ‘But I’ll let you take me to it, if you agree to let me go free once we are there.’

‘Nothing doing,’ he said bluntly.

‘I see,’ she smiled, ‘you are afraid of Mocata after all. Well, that doesn’t surprise me because he has ample means of protecting himself against anything you could attempt against him. That is why, of course, I feel that, providing the place is not given away beforehand, he would prefer me to let you know it than detain me here—I’m quite honest you see, but evidently you are not so confident of yourself or interested in your friend as I thought.’

Rex was thinking quickly. Nothing but an actual order from the Duke, based on his assurance that Mocata might punish Tanith in some terrible manner if she failed to appear, would have induced him to let her go to the Sabbat, but on the other hand this was a real chance to reach Simon, in fact, the only one that offered. ‘Do you require that I should actually hand you over to Mocata when we get there?’ he asked at length.

‘No. If you take me to the place that will be sufficient, but there must be no question of gagging me or tying me up.’

In an agony of indecision he pondered the problem again. Dare he risk taking Tanith within the actual sphere of Mocata’s influence? Yet he would have the Duke with him, so surely between them they would be able to restrain her from taking any part in the ceremony, and it was impossible to throw away such a chance of saving Simon.

‘I’m not giving any promise to let you join the party,’ Rex said firmly.

‘Well, I intend to do so.’

‘That remains to be seen—but I’ll accept your offer on those conditions.’

She nodded, confident now that once they reached their destination Mocata would exercise his powers to relieve her of restraint.

‘The place must be about seventy miles from here,’ she told him, ‘and I should like to be there by sundown, so we ought to leave here by six.’

‘Wouldn’t it be possible to start later?’ A worried frown clouded Rex’s face. ‘The truth is, that message Max gave us before lunch was phoney—just a part of my plan for keeping you here. I never did count on De Richleau arriving much before the time you say we ought to start—and I’d just hate to leave without him.’

Tanith smiled to herself. This was an unexpected piece of luck. She had only met the Duke for a moment the night before, but his lean, cultured face and shrewd, grey eyes had impressed her. She felt that he would prove a far more difficult opponent than this nice, bronzed young giant, and if she could get away without having to face him after all, it would be a real relief, so she made a wry face and proceeded to elaborate her story.

‘I’m sorry, but there are certain preparations which have to be made before the gathering. They begin at sunset, so I must be at—well, the place to which we are going by a quarter past eight. If I arrive later I shall not be eligible to participate—so I will not go at all.’

‘In that case I guess I’m in your hands. Anyhow, now we’ve settled things, let’s get back to the house.’ Rex untied the canoe and, setting the motor in motion, steered back to the landing stage.

His first thought was to inform De Richleau of the bargain that he had made, but after pleading once more with the officials at the British Museum to have the Duke sought for, he learned that he was no longer there, and when he got through to the Curzon Street flat the servants could tell him nothing of De Richleau’s whereabouts, so it was impossible to expedite his arrival.

For a time Rex strolled up and down the lawn with Tanith, then round the lovely garden, while he talked again of the places that they had both visited abroad and tried to recapture something of the gaiety which had marked their drive down from London in the morning.

Max brought them tea out on to the terrace, and afterwards they played the electric gramophone, but even that failed to relieve Rex of a steadily deepening anxiety that the Duke might not arrive in time.

The shadows of the lilacs and laburnums began to lengthen on the grass. Tanith went upstairs to tidy herself, and when she came down asked if he could find her a road map. He produced a set and for a time she studied two of them in silence, then she refolded them and said quietly : ‘I know so little of the English country but I am certain now that I can find it. We must be leaving soon.’

It was already six o’clock, and he had put off shaking a cocktail until the last moment in order to delay their departure as long as possible. Now, he rang for ice as he said casually: ‘Don’t fuss, I’ll get you there by a quarter after eight.’

‘I’ll give you five minutes—no more.’

‘Well, listen now. Say De Richleau fails to make it. Won’t you give me a break? Let me know the name of the place so as I can leave word for him to follow?’

She considered for a moment. ‘I will give you the name of a village five miles from it where he can meet you on one condition.’

‘Let’s hear it’

‘That neither of you seek to restrain me in any way once we reach our destination.’

‘No, I’ll not agree to that.’

‘Then I certainly will not give you any information which will enable your friend to appear on the scene and help you.’

‘I’ll get him there some way—don’t you worry.’

‘That leaves me a free hand to prevent you if I can—doesn’t it?’

As he swallowed his cocktail she glanced at the clock. ‘It’s ten past now, so unless you prefer not to go we must start at once.’

Consoling himself with the thought that De Richleau could have got no more out of her even if he had questioned her himself, Rex led her out and settled her in the Rolls then, before starting up the engine, he listened intently for a moment, hoping that even yet he might catch the low, steady purr of the big Hispano which would herald the Duke’s eleventh hour arrival, but the evening silence brooded unbroken over the trees and lane. Reluctantly he set the car in motion and as they ran down the gravel sweep, Tanith said quietly, ‘Please drive to Newbury.’

‘But that’s no more than twenty miles from here!’

‘Oh, I will give you further directions when we reach it,’ she smiled, and for a little time they drove in silence through the quiet byways until they entered the main Bath Road at Theale.

At Newbury, she gave fresh instructions. ‘To Hungerford now,’ and the fast, low, touring Rolls sped out of the town eating up another ten miles of the highway to the west.

‘Where next?’ he asked, scanning the houses of the market town, for its most prosperous-looking Inn and mentally registering The Bear. It was just seven o’clock—another few miles and they would be about halfway to the secret rendezvous. He did not dare to stop in the town in case she gave him the slip and hired another car or went on by train, but when they were well out in the country again he meant to telephone the Duke, who must have arrived at Pangbourne by this time, and urge him to follow as far as Hungerford at once—then sit tight at The Bear until he received further information.

Tanith was studying the map. ‘There are two ways from here,’ she said, ‘but think it would be best to keep to the main road as far as Marlborough.’

A few miles out of Hungerford the country became less populous with only a solitary farmhouse here and there, peaceful and placid in the evening light. Then these, too, were left behind and they entered a long stretch of darkening woodlands, the northern fringe of Savernake Forest.