Dennis Wheatley: The Launching of Roger Brook

He made her a mocking little bow.. "Madame, 'twould never enter my mind to doubt a thing you say. 'Twas only—well, the seclusion of the spot, and the mysterious manner in which I was conveyed hither.

You must forgive me, if in my poor debased mind I found some resemblance to those charming petit maisons outside Paris, in which the French nobles entertain the ladies of the Opera."

"Damn you, Roger!" she laughed. " 'Tis true enough, and from you I have no desire to conceal it. The paintings are there behind the curtain; but the place has other uses. As you well know, I have never been a subscriber to the view that the male of the species should alone be privileged to indulge in such diversions."

"And your husband?" Roger grinned. "Is he then complaisant, or is he liable to interfere with my digestion, by leaping in through the window with a drawn sword, after supper?"

"Oh, Humphrey!" She shrugged. "His pack of hounds mean more to him than his wife. He has a box in Leicestershire, and is there now. If he has had a good day's cubbing, he will be dead drunk ere this."

"Was it a love match when it started, that has gone cold upon you since?" asked Roger. "Or was it the other thing?"

"The other thing; although we liked one another well enough, and are still good friends."

"I thought, though, that you'd vowed you'd take nothing less than an Earl," Roger twitted her; "and he's a mere baronet."

Her eyes became serious. "Fret not over that, my friend. I am but twenty-one and have ample time ahead of me. If Humphrey does not break his neck over the sticks, the poor fellow will burst himself like a rotten barrel, ere long. I'll still be a Duchess before I die. I swear it."

"What induced you to marry Sir Humphrey, then?"

At Roger's question her face changed to a glowing enthusiasm. " 'Twas Stillwaters, his place in Surrey. The first moment I set eyes on it, I knew I had to have it. 'Twas designed by William Kent. It has a terrace a quarter-mile long and a great Palladian portico with forty-foot pillars. The house overlooks lawns that slope down to a fine lake, and the whole is surrounded by birchwoods. You must come down to stay, Roger, and you will fall in love with it just as I did. 'Tis near Ripley, and not far from London. Just the right distance for week-end parties; and it gives me the perfect setting in which to entertain the great world that I have always hankered after."

He smiled. "I think I understand; and I see that you have been true to your original design. Do you get all the pleasure you anticipated from playing the great hostess?"

"Indeed I do! To stick a mental pin into one statesman's bottom, and let another kiss me behind a screen, gives me the greatest satis­faction when the planned intentions behind such acts become apparent."

They were silent for a moment, then he said: "Since your husband is so wrapped up with country pursuits, how did you manage to drag him abroad; or did you go alone?"

"Lud, no!" she exclaimed with a laugh. " 'Twas to Italy I went, and had I been unescorted I verily believe those passionate Italians would have raped me in the street. As it was I had to have a footman sleeping outside my door each night. But Humphrey would have made a poor companion for such a journey. I travelled with my father, and I'd sooner see the sights with him than I would with most men."

"You're monstrous fortunate," Roger told her. "Or perhaps I should say, clever. Since it seems to me you both have your cake and eat it."

" 'Tis the art of life to know what one wants and have at it," she smiled. "And if I am any judge, dear Roger, I think from the fine figure you now cut, that you have become not altogether inept at that."

"If so, I owe more than I can ever repay to you," he said seriously. "You not only made me a man, but by your gift of yourself to me showed me what was worth having and what to cast aside. Had things been otherwise my first experiences might well have been so sordid as to alter my whole outlook."

She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. " 'Tis good to hear that you are fastidious in your loves, and not become a rake. I hate a man who turns up the skirts of every wench he meets in a dark passage."

For a further ten minutes they talked of old times. Then Jenny came in with a tray of hot dishes that she put upon a heater, on a side table, and left them to help themselves.

While Roger opened the champagne, Georgina served the food, then they sat down to supper.

They ate Well but with long pauses between each dish for talking over their wine. Halfway through the meal Georgina urged him to keep her in suspense no longer about his doings, so he began with their parting four years before and his meeting with Dan, the smuggler. He told her how he had narrowly escaped both becoming a prisoner in the French galleys, and drowning; of his meeting with De Roubec and how the Chevalier had swindled him out of her jewels; of old Doctor Aristotle Fenelon and their disastrous meeting with Joseph Fouché; of how Athehais had rescued him and he had then become the whipping boy of a lawyer's apprentices; of the Legers' kindness to him and his hopeless longing for Athehais; of his employment by the Marquis de Rochambeau to go into the matter of the Domaine de St. Hilaire; of his becoming the Marquis's junior secretary and his friendship with the Abbé de Perigord; of his promotion on the Abbé d'Heury's death and of Athehais's illness; of her love for him and the international intrigues of her father; of the appearance of de la Tour d'Auvergne upon the scene and of Athehais's engagement; of his duel with de Caylus and his flight with the eloping couple; of his escape from France and the assault that Fouché had made upon him; of his dash to London and recovery of the letter; of his interview with Mr. Pitt and his mission to the United Provinces; of his duel with George Gunston and of his present danger of being extradited to France on a warrant for murder.

When he had done it was nearly midnight, although Georgina had hardly spoken a word, except from time to time to encourage him to go on. So fascinated was she by his story that they had not even moved, and were still sitting over the table. At length, when the tale was told, she said:

"Thou hast fulfilled all thy promise, Roger. 'Twas a hard, uphill road that thou wast forced to tread, but having breasted the hill I foresee a great future for thee."

He made a grimace. "I pray you may be right; but unless Mr. Pitt is prepared to divert the normal course of justice on my behalf I may yet find myself handed over to the tender mercies of the French; and if that occurs M. de Rochambeau will make it his business to see that I die upon a scaffold."

"Have no fear," she smiled. "In view of your services, Billy Pitt could never look in his own mirror again did he refuse to intervene. But he is a good and loyal friend, so I have no doubt at all that he will do so without pressing. Even if he did not you have no cause to worry. It so chances that the Count d'Adhemar, who is the French Ambassador here, is one of my beaux. I vow that at my request he will get the charge against you withdrawn from the French Courts."

Roger looked up quickly. "Could you really do that? Mr. Pitt will protect me, I am convinced, by staying the execution of the warrant here. But if you could get the charge withdrawn in France that would be a boon indeed. 'Twould mean that I could return there as a free man, if I wished."

"And 'tis your wish to return to France, Roger?" she asked.

"Why, yes; I'd like to, sometime."

"Not now, at once, to rejoin Athenais?"

He shook his head. "Nay, she is married, and to my friend. That is over and done with."

"Do you miss her very much?"

"Yes,, damnably."

"You loved her very deeply, then?"