Evil in a Mask rb-9

by Dennis Wheatley

  But wait! The plotters intended to lure him there, so that they could stage the 'fatal accident' that would account for Georgina and himself at the same time. That would give him the chance to use his wits and, only in the last event, his sword. Georgina would be safe until they had him there with her. He must wait for the invitation, accept it; then, when inside the Schloss, plan with her some way in which they could escape together.

  He had forgotten to collect his nightshirt from the closet, so slipped naked into bed, and blew out the candles. Fatigue again engulfed him. In spite of the new peril of which he had just learned he would soon have to face, he fell asleep almost instantly.

  Next morning he slept late, but was downstairs before Lisala. When she appeared, he expressed mild surprise at seeing her, then spoke to her more pleasantly than he had for some months past. She reciprocated, asking where he had been. He told her of his journey to Paris, and that, arriving back late the pre­vious night, he had not wished to get the servants out of bed so had got into his room by the window.

  After a while, she remarked casually, 'An old friend of ours is now in Vienna, Ulrich von Haugwitz. I met him in the Kertnerstrasse yesterday and invited him to dine with me here this evening.'

  Roger raised a laugh. 'Dine and sleep, you mean, eh? But I have given up worrying about how you amuse yourself, pro­vided you keep your amours from the servants.'

  Smiling back at him, she said, 'I am glad you are become more reasonable. And you know that you can count on my discretion. I had intended to have him take his leave at a fairly early hour;' then, after the servants had gone to bed, for him to return and I'd let him in. But with you and I both in so small a house as this, an awkward situation might arise, so to­night I fear the poor man must put up with a disappointment.'

  When von Haugwitz arrived that evening, he looked shightly embarrassed on seeing Roger; but quickly expressed his pleasure at finding him there. To Roger's enquiry about Georgina the Baron replied that she was in excellent health, and that he had left her at Langenstein only because the vin­tage had just started. It was essential that one of them should supervise it, and he had had to come to Vienna on a matter of urgent business.

  Half-way through the meal, Roger deliberately played into the hands of the plotters by remarking, 'I have most pleasant memories of our stay at Langenstein, and hope that one day you will invite us to repeat it.'

  Von Haugwitz smiled. 'My dear fellow, at any time you can get leave you would be most welcome; and a visit from you, would, I know, delight Georgina.'

  'It so happens that, having just completed a very tiring mis­sion for the Emperor, I am on leave at the moment,' Roger hazarded. 'But the business for which you are here no doubt requires your continued presence in Vienna; so we must post­pone this pleasure.'

  'On the contrary,' the Baron declared. 'My business here is completed. I leave for home tomorrow. Why should you and Lisala not accompany me?'

  Roger looked across at Lisala. She readily smiled her ac­quiescence, so the matter was settled.

  Early next morning Roger went into the dry, where he called at an apothecary's and bought a bottle containing a powerful concoction with a base of opium. It was guaranteed either to put anyone into a deep sleep or reduce to semi-consciousness soldiers when they were being operated upon for serious wounds. He had no definite plan for using the mixture, but felt that it would prove a valuable asset should circumstances arise in which drugging a person or animal could ensure his giving no trouble.

  By mid-morning the party was on its way, Lisala in the coach that Roger had hired for her when she had first arrived in Vienna, and the two men riding on either side of it On the evening of the 20th they reached Schloss Langenstein. Geor­gina, overjoyed at this unexpected visit by Roger, did not seek to disguise how delighted she was; and, hiding her intense dislike of Lisala, she welcomed her warmly.

  Tired after their journey, they went early to bed, after an enjoyable supper. Roger felt certain that, as soon as all was quiet, Georgina would come to him; and a little before eleven o'clock, she slipped into his room.

  Their first fond embraces over, he told her of the abomin­able plot that was afoot to kill them both. After a moment she said:

  ' Tis truly horrifying that Ulrich should contemplate so evil a deed. But I am not altogether surprised now that he has fallen under the influence of Lisala. He is desperate short of money, owing to the brutal taxes the French have imposed on his estates in Prussia. They are eating into his fortune to such an extent that, unless the war ends soon, he will be re­duced to living on a shoe-string.'

  'You mean unless it ends by the defeat of Napoleon and a general pacification, which would relieve Prussia of her bur­den. That is possible. It needs only one major victory by Aus­tria to bring Prussia in. And, with the war in Spain also going against him, the Emperor would be finished. But until there is peace with England, Ulrich stands no chance of laying his hands on your money, whether you are alive or dead.'

  'True. He must know, too, that when peace does come, I shall at once return home and proceed to divorce him; so Lisala was right when she pointed out that his only chance of securing my fortune is to kill me, and so become the legal owner of it, while France and England are still at war.'

  'That is the nub of it,' Roger agreed. 'And he must do it soon. Otherwise, should Austria renew the war and bring about Napoleon's fall, Ulrich would find that he has left it too late. As for myself, Lisala is eager to be rid of me, and she told Ulrich that it was I who got young Charles away from him. That was so severe a blow that he would derive great pleasure from pushing me over the battlements.'

  Georgina sighed, 'Oh, my dear love. What are we to do?'

  'For us to attempt to leave openly is out of the question; and it is quite possible that Ulrich posts guards at night to prevent any attempt by you to slip away. Our best card is that they have no suspicion that we are aware of their intentions. The odds are that tomorrow we shall be invited to go up to the top of the tower to enjoy the view again. In no circumstances will we do so; but you can leave that to me. I shall propose that on Monday we all drive in to Frankfurt, on the plea that I have never seen that city, and would like to do so. That will be a lie. Actually I was there in '95, in the time of the Direc­tory, to borrow from the House of Rothschild, on behalf of the British Government, a huge sum with which to bribe the Republican General Pichegru to refrain from overwhelming the much smaller Austrian army.* But that is beside the point.'

  * The Dark Secret of Josephine.

  'Frankfurt is quite a distance from Langenstein,' Georgina remarked, 'a good forty miles.'

  'No matter. Mayence is much nearer, but on the French side of the river. For that reason it is possible—as they know that we love each other and hate both of them—that Ulrich just might suspect that we have suddenly decided to run away together, and refuse to agree to my proposed expedition. On the other hand, Frankfurt is well inside German territory. If we leave early, we should be there by midday. We shall dine there at an inn. Afterwards you and I will refuse to re-enter the coach for the return to Langenstein. In the midst of a crowded city, Ulrich could not force us to, and would not dare attack us. His only course would be to apply for a war­rant to prevent you from leaving the country. Long before he could secure it, we should be safely across the frontier.'

  'Oh, Roger!' Georgina turned over and threw her arms round his neck. 'You are a most wondrous man, and I shall forever be grateful that all through my life, whenever I have been in danger, by some mysterious means you have been sent to protect me.'

  Next morning they all went out to see the gathering of the grapes. Although it was Sunday, once the vintage had started, not an hour of good weather could be lost in getting in the gol­den harvest. Scores of women, including those who were ser­vants at the Casde, plucked the fruit, while men of every station humped the big panniers on their backs as soon as they were full and tipped the contents into the waiting, large-wheeled cans.


  On their return, the Baron and his party passed through the Weinstube. The great hall was deserted, but at one end of it was a huge pile of grapes, weighing many tons; for the quan­tity that was picked each day always exceeded that which could be pressed at night. As they walked towards the door leading into the Schloss, Georgina and Roger glanced at each other, then at the now empty press in which Charles had lain hidden for close on two days.

  After the midday meal, von Haugwitz suggested that they should all ascend the tower to see the splendid view.

  Georgina felt herself going pale, and swiftly averted her eyes from her husband's, lest he should see the fear in them* But Roger only laughed and shook his head.

  'No thank you, Herr Baron; you must excuse me. I am prone to vertigo; and last time I went up there I felt a terrible temptation to throw myself over. I've no mind to subject my­self again to that type of mental agony.'

  Von Haugwitz hid his annoyance by simulating humour, and began to twit Roger, coming near to calling him a coward; but Roger was not to be drawn and stuck firmly to his refusal to make the ascent. He then suggested that next day they should all drive into Frankfurt.

  Pleading the vintage, the Baron strongly opposed the idea; so Roger said, ‘I saw enough of picking grapes today, so per­haps you would not mind if I drove in with Georgina, to be taken by her round the city. Lisala could come with us or, if she prefers, remain here to keep you company.'

  For a long moment von Haugwitz did not reply, while Roger, idling with a toothpick, wondered anxiously if his sus­picions had been aroused. Then the Baron suddenly became the genial host again and said, 'Since you are set on it, we will all go. I will order coaches for eight o'clock.'

  That night Georgina came again to Roger. As she scrambled into bed with him, she drew a sharp breath and sighed, 'Dear heart, we are undone. Ulrich has outwitted us, and laid a trap in which we may be killed tomorrow.' 'How so?' Roger asked quickly.

  'My personal maid, Ilse, who loves me dearly, told me of it when she was seeing me to bed tonight. In spite of the new laws, the peasants hereabouts still look upon themselves as serfs. Ulrich's word is law to them and they would never dream of questioning his actions. This evening he sent Big Karl to give them their orders. Tomorrow the keepers and foresters are to dress themselves in their oldest rags, so that they will appear to be a band of brigands. At a lonely spot, soon after we take the road for Frankfurt, they are to fire their muskets, pretend­ing to aim at the coach, and so waylay it,'

  'What then? Surely this normally law-abiding people would not go so far as to kill us?'

  'Not deliberately. They are being told that it is only a prac­tical joke, to scare you and Lisala. But when Ilse learned this from her fiance, Adolf, Ulrich's valet, she became frightened for me. She looks on you, rightly, as the type of man who, if he thought himself attacked, would fire back. That could result in further shooting. Ilse fears that, during such a scrimmage, I might be hit. So she felt she must warn me, and begged me not to go with you.'

  Roger nodded. 'This is bad. And you are right. Ulrich does not intend that we should come out of this affair alive. I can picture the sort of thing that is likely to happen. He will say to me, "Come, we must drive these villains off"; then, when pretending to aim at one of them, shoot me. As you get out of the coach to come to my aid, one of his men to whom he has paid a heavy bribe, will then pretend to aim at him, and in­stead shoot you. Afterwards, he will gloss the whole business over as a tragic series of accidents; and, whatever the rest of his people may suspect, none of them will dare air his sus­picions except among themselves.'

  'Oh, Roger! What are we to do? We dare not go on this expedition to Frankfurt now. The best way out would be for me to sham illness. For them to stage two fatal accidents in succession would be to court inquiry, and so too great a risk.

  If I don't go, they will await another opportunity to murder us together.'

  'That's so, my love; and for that very reason we must not give them that opportunity. Because next time the odds are against our receiving warning of their plan. Our only chance is to take the offensive and deal with the situation tonight. I wish to God that we could take to horse and make off together with­in the hour. But as the grooms sleep above the stable, we'd never succeed in securing mounts and saddling up without rousing them. What we must do is to render Ulrich and Lisala hors de combat, then leave without them in the morning. Luck­ily, I brought with me a powerful drug. Now is the time to use it.'

  'But how could you possibly administer it to them?'

  Kissing her, he said, 'Leave that to me, dearest. Go now and return here in two hours' time with a dark lantern and a dozen strips of linen suitable to de their hands and ankles. And . . . yes, a large carving knife.'

  While Georgina was gone, Roger dressed, buckled on his sword, primed his pistols and put the little bottle of drug in his pocket. He had told her not to come back for two hours because, by then, there would be a better chance of Ulrich and Lisala being asleep. But he found the suspense of awaiting her return almost unbearable.

  At last the door opened and she came noiselessly in, carry­ing the things he had asked her to bring. 'Now,' he said, 'we will go first to Lisala's room. If they are both there, it will be much more difficult to overcome them. You must threaten her with your knife, while I tackle him. And, take this; it is the bottle of drug. I assume that, as here, in both their rooms there is a carafe of water and a glass beside the bed?'

  Taking the bottle, she nodded, and led the way out into the corridor. Sufficient moonlight was coming through the diamond-paned windows for them to see their way. Very quietly they walked side by side, along several passages, up a flight of stairs and into another wing of the Castle, where Lisala's room was situated. At her door they paused for a mo­ment to still their breathing. Roger took a firm grip of the door handle, turned it slowly, then pushed gently with his knee until the door opened just sufficiently for him to see that it was dark inside.

  Gently releasing the door handle, he took the dark lantern from Georgina with his left hand, and moved its slide back half an inch, so that it threw a narrow beam of light. Direct­ing the beam towards the floor, he gave the door a harder push and tiptoed into the room. No sound came in response to his movements. For a moment he thought the room must be un­occupied, and Lisala with the Baron. Then, as he raised the lantern and swept its beam across the room, he saw that Lisala was in bed, sound asleep. Over his shoulder he whispered to Georgina:

  'Wake her gently, then hold the knife to her throat.'

  Stepping aside so that Georgina could pass him, Roger glided to the foot of the bed, fully unmasked the dark lantern, then drew a loaded pistol from his sash. By then Georgina had her hand on Lisala's shoulder, and was giving it a slight shake. As Lisala roused, Roger shone the beam full in her face and, raising his pistol, held her covered. In a sharp voice, be said:

  'One murmur, Madame, and I will shoot you through the head. Sit up and do as you are told.'

  Muzzy with sleep, Lisala struggled into a sitting position, while Georgina held the knife to her throat. Roger then said to Georgina, 'You can now lay your knife aside. If she utters a sound, I will shoot her. Pour into her bedside glass a quar­ter of the drug, add water and hold the glass to her lips.'

  As Georgina poured the drug, Lisala gasped, 'No! You mean to poison me. I won't drink it! I won't!'

  'You will,' Roger snarled. 'And I vow to you that it is not poison, only a sleeping draught. Either you drink it, or a bullet will come smashing between your eyes; so that, beautiful aa you have been in life, you will look horrible when dead.'

  Her great eyes distended with terror, Lisala swallowed the potion in little, choking gulps. As Georgina withdrew the empty glass, Roger said to her, 'Now take one of your strips of linen. Force.it

  between her teeth, then tie it tightly behind her head.'

  When Lisala had been gagged, Roger put up his pistol, took from Georgina two more strips of linen, tied one to ea
ch of Lisala's wrists and the other ends to the headposts of the canopied bed. She could now neither cry out nor escape.

  With a sigh of satisfaction, Roger murmured to Georgina, 'Well, we have dealt satisfactorily with one of them. I pray God we may prove as fortunate with the other.'

  Together they left the room and made their way stealthily down the corridor to its far end. Outside von Haugwitz's room they paused again, then Roger went through the same pro­cedure of casing the door open a little until they could see that the room was in darkness. A moment later, like two ghosts, they slipped inside. The narrow beam from Roger's nearly-closed lantern was directed on to the floor. Taking two steps forward, he raised the lantern and swept it round until the beam fell upon the bed. The Baron was lying there, apparently asleep. But immediately the light passed over his face he sud­denly sat up and cried:

  'Who's that?'

  'De Breuc,' Roger replied instantly, again pulling out his pistol. 'I have you covered. Raise your voice and you are a dead man.'

  'What the devil is the meaning of this?' von Haugwitz de­manded.

  'That your wife and I know your intentions towards us, so we mean to steal a march on you and are come to bid you good-bye.' As he spoke, Roger unmasked the lantern fully, so that the Baron could see the pistol.

  Von Haugwitz gave a gasp. 'What! You . . . you mean to murder me?'

  'No; only put you into a sound sleep, so that you cannot rouse your varlets to prevent our leaving.' Keeping his eyes fixed an the Baron, Roger went on, 'Georgina, prepare the potion. The same proportions as before; then give it to him. But have a care that he does not seize you. Should he attempt to, stick your knife in his eye.'