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.He was studying Caroline with thinly veiled interest.“I rather like the notion of having Drake get shot by the hero, Jonathan St.Claire,” Miss Brick said eagerly.“That way you could describe Drake’s dying groans and the expression of agony and remorse on his face.”“Thank you for the suggestions,” Caroline said in a light, polite way that did not invite further advice.“But I already have an end in mind for my villain.I trust it will prove to be a surprise for everyone.” She smiled.“Especially Edmund Drake.”Adam felt his back teeth close tightly together.It occurred to him that every time Edmund Drake was mentioned, he clenched his jaw.It was becoming an exceedingly disturbing habit.He forced a humorless grin.“Perhaps Mrs.Fordyce intends to astonish us all by having Drake avoid the usual unfortunate demise meted out to villains.”Miss Brick and Mrs.Trent stared at him as if he had gone mad.“Talk about your startling incidents,” he continued, warming to his own notion.“Only consider the effect on readers if she transformed Drake into the hero who saves the day and marries the heroine.”“I cannot imagine her doing any such thing,” Mrs.Trent said with conviction.“Of course not,” Miss Brick added briskly.“Turn the villain into a hero? Unthinkable.”Gilbert Smith gave Adam a speculative look.“May I ask what your interest is in tonight’s séance, sir?”“Mr.Grove is my assistant,” Caroline said very smoothly before Adam could respond.Smith frowned.“What does a writer’s assistant do?”“You’d be amazed,” Adam said.Smith gave up on him and switched back to Caroline.“I confess that I am curious to know why an author would wish to attend a séance, Mrs.Fordyce.”“One of the characters who will appear in my next novel is a medium,” Caroline explained.“I thought it would be a good idea to experience a few séances and observe some examples of psychical phenomena before I write those scenes.”Miss Brick was impressed.“You are here to do research?”“Yes,” Caroline said.“How exciting.”Smith shot another veiled, searching look at Adam.“And you are assisting her in this research?”“I find my work extremely interesting,” Adam said.“Never a dull moment.”The housekeeper loomed like a spirit manifestation in the doorway.“It is time,” she announced with a suitably portentous air.“Mrs.Toller is ready to begin the séance.Please follow me.”They followed her down another shadowy hall.Adam used the opportunity to note the location of the rear stairs and the entrance to the kitchen.Midway along the corridor, the housekeeper opened a door.One by one the sitters filed into a darkened room and took their places at a cloth-draped table.A single lamp burned in the center of the table.It had been turned down as low as possible.The dim light did not begin to penetrate the thick dark shadows that draped the room.Adam assisted Caroline into a chair and then sat down beside her.He noticed at once that the heavy cloth that covered the table made it impossible to reach surreptitiously underneath to feel for hidden springs and other devices.In a similar fashion the general gloom prohibited a close survey of the walls, ceiling and floor.Nevertheless, there was something wrong about the proportions of the séance room.The space felt smaller than it should have been, judging by the distance they had walked down the hall.A false wall and perhaps a lowered ceiling, he concluded.“Good evening,” Irene Toller said.She stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the light.Adam knew that he was no connoisseur of ladies’ fashions but, even from his limited perspective, Irene Toller’s skirts appeared unusually voluminous.Caroline had explained that there was a common suspicion that fraudulent female mediums used wide, heavy skirts to conceal various apparatuses designed to create the desired effects in a séance.Irene moved into the room with a stately tread.Adam got to his feet.Gilbert Smith did the same and proceeded to hold the medium’s chair for her.“Thank you, Mr.Smith.” Irene sat down and looked at the housekeeper.“You may leave us now, Bess.”“Yes, ma’am.” Bess took herself out into the hall and closed the door.The only light left in the room was the weak gleam of the lamp in the center of the table.“Will you all please place your hands upon the table as I am doing,” Irene instructed.She flattened both palms in plain view on the cloth-covered surface.So much for having the opportunity to hold Caroline’s hand, Adam thought.“I ask that no one remove his or her hands from the table until the séance is completed,” Irene continued.“This ensures that there is no trickery involved.”It did not ensure any such thing, Adam knew.But the others, with the probable exception of Caroline, seemed to accept that having all hands in view at all times was a guarantee against duplicity.The rappings began immediately, faint pings and a loud thump that caused Miss Brick and Mrs.Trent to gasp.The sounds came from a variety of locations around the room, including the corners and beneath the table.“What is it?” Mrs.Trent asked in an awed voice.“Do not be alarmed,” Irene said.“It is only my spirit guide letting us know that he is present.His name is Sennefer.He was once a priest in ancient Egypt.He possesses a vast store of secret, arcane knowledge.I am his medium.Through me he will communicate with you as it pleases him.But first I must go into a trance.”She began to tremble violently, very much as she had at the spirit writing demonstration.She jerked and twitched.Her head twisted back and forth with sharp movements.Adam watched her hands closely.They remained firmly planted on the cloth-covered surface.Utterly motionless.The table suddenly shuddered and rose a few inches off the floor.“Astonishing,” Gilbert Smith whispered.“Good heavens, it is floating in midair.” Some of Miss Brick’s enthusiasm had turned to anxiety.“All hands must remain on the top of the table,” Irene barked in a deeper, more resonant tone that presumably emanated from Sennefer.Adam quickly counted hands.All were still clearly in view, including Irene’s.The table descended back to the floor.Irene Toller’s fingers were all still in precisely the same position they had been in a moment ago, Adam noticed.“Look,” shrieked Mrs.Trent.“There is something up there.”Adam followed her shocked, wondering gaze toward the ceiling directly above the table.He could just barely make out a silvery, pale, faintly glowing shape floating in the darkness above their heads.It drifted about in a ghostly fashion and then vanished.“Dear heaven, what is that?” Miss Brick whispered.A corpse-pale hand had risen up beside the table next to Irene Toller.As they watched, it reached out and gently tapped Miss Brick on the shoulder.She gave a startled little screech.“Do not be afraid,” Irene said firmly.“The spirit means you no harm.”Miss Brick sat very still, her eyes huge in the shadows.The deathly white hand descended back out of sight beneath the table.“It touched me.” Miss Brick sounded awed.“The manifestation actually touched me.”Before anyone else could react, another series of raps and pings ensued.It was followed by the faint tinkle of chimes.“Sennefer says that was the manifestation of a spirit who wishes to communicate with some sitters at this table
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