Doctor Who_ Foreign Devils - Andrew Cartmel [17]
'But I'd very much appreciate the chance to speak to the young lady.' 'Naturally. I'll send her over directly.'
Elder-Main was as good as his word and five minutes later Zoe joined the Doctor by the fireplace. 'I imagine you're glad to set that tray down,' he said.
'I certainly am. But whatever did you say to that appalling old butler? He gave me the most gruesome leer when he sent me over to see you.'
'It seems he's made a wild miscalculation about our relationship. But since it's to our advantage there's no point disabusing him.' 'That's what you think. If he leers at me like that again he's going to discover just how much I know about unarmed combat.' 'Tell me, what did you think of our friend Carnacki's lecture?'
'Well he may be your friend but I'm not sure he's mine. If even half of what he says is true I think he's an individual to stay well clear of.' 'Why? Because he's a magnet for strange and dangerous forces?'
Zoe looked at the Doctor, whose face was intermittently thrown into shadow and then illuminated by the red glow of the fire. 'Yes, but then he's not the only one who could be accused of that.' The Doctor's eyes gleamed at her in the flickering light, tiny fires burning in them. Suddenly the buzz of conversation died away and the big room fell silent around them. 'What is it?' whispered Zoe. 'The next phase of the festivities,' said the Doctor.
Celandine Gilbert was standing on the Persian carpet in front of the grand piano, her eyes shut and her hands clasped in front of her face. As the last mutterings of conversation faded she opened her eyes and said, 'Perhaps some of you have heard of me. In the last few years I've acquired a modest reputation as a medium in England and abroad.' 'Too modest by far,' cried Pemberton Upcott. 'This young lady is the toast of Britain and the continent!' There was a burst of polite applause from the guests but Celandine didn't seem to welcome the interruption, fulsome as it was. She cleared her throat.
'I just wanted to preface this evening's demonstration by saying that my gift is as much a mystery to me as it is to everyone else. I can, to some extent, anticipate when it is going to manifest itself and, to a lesser extent, exert some control over it. But I can never predict exactly what form it is going to take.' She looked around the room with an expression of sober caution. 'Once we begin, anything could happen.'
Listening by the fireplace, the Doctor smiled at Zoe. 'Sounds intriguing, eh?'
'Sounds like the standard huckster's spiel to me,' said Zoe. 'Perhaps afterwards she will start selling us some of her patented snake oil.' 'I think you may have misjudged the young lady,' said the Doctor. 'If her friendship with Carnacki is anything to go by, there is every chance that she is the genuine item.'
'Doctor, come on. A genuine medium? Surely you don't subscribe to any of that spiritualist nonsense? It's the mendacious preying on the gullible.'
'Mostly, but there are some astonishing exceptions. Have you ever heard of Daniel Dunglas Home?' Zoe shook her head. 'Well I must tell you about him,' said the Doctor. 'Or perhaps we should pop in for a visit.' 'Let's just find Jamie and get out of here.'
Before the Doctor could reply, their host began speaking again, addressing Celandine Gilbert. 'Are you sure there isn't anything you need doing? Dim the lights? Have the assembled company join hands?' 'Or pass around the hat so we can fill it with bank notes?' bellowed a red faced man with a wispy tonsure of white hair on his bulging scarlet head.
'Please, Colonel Marlowe,' said Pemberton with a pained expression. Celandine remained calm. 'No, nothing like that. In fact I prefer to work with the lights fully on.' 'Like D.D. Home,' murmured the Doctor.
'This has the added advantage that there can be no suggestion of fraud,' said Celandine. She gave the Colonel a pointed look. 'Oh, don't mind me dear,' replied the red faced man. 'On with the ectoplasm!'
Celandine ignored him and closed her eyes again. She stood there