Doctor Who_ Foreign Devils - Andrew Cartmel [20]
As he spoke the windows in the north and west walls abruptly rattled in their frames as if buffeted by an enormous wind. A sharp high keening started outside the house and vast veils of snow blew past, an eerie white in the moonlight. The fires in the twin hearths checked for a moment, dropping back to the embers then rising again in lean columns as if being dawn up the chimneys by a sudden drop in pressure. Then the wind began to shriek with renewed violence and all the window panes rattled. The flow of snow subsided and the winter sky could be seen, dark and glittering with stars.
'Something's going to happen,' said the Doctor. Carnacki nodded. And then there was a guttural surge of thunder in the distance, followed by a white glittering on the far horizon, like distant artillery fire.
A moment later, the thunder came again, this time shockingly close. Then the whole horizon lit up in a band of white fire. The third burst of thunder was even closer; it sounded like a bomb exploding overhead and there were cries of alarm from the guests. Everyone looked up to see the lounge's elaborate crystal chandeliers gently swaying above them.
The next bolt of lightning came down from the sky in a forked surge and struck solidly at the north west corner of the house, striking the domed steel structure of the arboretum. The entire house echoed with the sizzling sound of the electricity and for a moment a blue-white aura surrounded the arboretum. Then it faded and the darkness of the winter night returned.
Celandine Gibson fainted and fell gracefully forward onto the Persian carpet.
Chapter Five
'She appears to be in some kind of coma,' announced Pemberton Upcott, turning from the low velvet sofa where Celandine lay, to face the worried Carnacki. They were in the library, which was the nearest room to the lounge that afforded some privacy for the examination of the unconscious girl.
'More like a trance, I'd say.' The Doctor leaned closer to inspect Celandine and then looked up at the other two men. Pemberton tried to conceal his annoyance at being contradicted; he didn't want to show dissension amongst the medical fraternity in front of a layman like Carnacki. 'A mere matter of terminology,' he said. 'In any case, she appears physically sound but deeply unconscious.'
But Carnacki wasn't listening to him. He was looking at the Doctor. 'A trance, you say?' The Doctor nodded. 'As a medium, it is in some ways her natural state,' he said. Carnacki shook his head. 'Trances aren't Celandine's style.' He knelt beside the low sofa and took the girl's hand. She was breathing deeply and quietly, her bosom rising and falling. He put a hand to her forehead. Under her closed lids, her eyes were shimmering with tiny movements, like a dreamer's.
The Doctor left Pemberton Upcott and Carnacki with the unconscious girl and hurried out of the library. Elder-Main was waiting for him in the shadows of the hallway. 'I thought you'd like to know, sir,' he said. The Doctor looked at him with alert interest. 'Yes?'
'It's the arboretum. You said you were interested in seeing it. Well now might be a good time.'
'I see,' said the Doctor. 'Thank you.' He dug in his pocket and sorted through a fistful of banknotes. 'Let's see, Confederate dollars, Euros, doubloons. Ah. Here we go.' He handed the butler a coin. Elder-Main nodded his thanks.
'And I've told your doxy to meet you there, sir. You can have a bit of privacy if you like.'
'My what? Doxy? Ah . . . ' The Doctor smiled and hurried off. Zoe was indeed waiting for him in the arboretum, or rather in the small ante room that intervened between the house proper and the heated confines of the greenhouse. It was a small chamber with square black and white tiles on the floor, floor to ceiling windows on two sides and a revolving door with gleaming brass fittings, such as you might find in a grand hotel, which led into the arboretum. On either side of the door were tall wooden panels carved with blossoming