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By Root 429 0

of Banquo Manor is of a fairly standard design – large and square with a heavy fireplace backed on to the wall shared with the study, French windows which open into the grounds, and (mercifully, as it later transpired) a thick, strong door. Wallace had it furnished in a conventional manner – several coffee tables, a chaise longue, couch, armchairs towards the centre of the room, upright Chippendales against the walls. One of the coffee tables sported a selection of decanters and a tray of glasses, while a pair of ornate, but functional, oil lamps stood one at either end of the marble mantelpiece. The lamps were of course unlit, for the room had several newly installed electrical wall lights burning. Above the mantel was a brass plaque engraved with a quotation from Macbeth – part of an early speech of Banquo’s:

If you can look into the seeds of time

And say which grain will grow and which will not

Speak then to me who neither beg nor fear

Your favours nor your hate.

Opposite the plaque, dominating the right-hand wall, hung a picture of a man in his late forties. He had black hair and moustache, a thin face and a nose which almost compensated for what his blue eyes lacked in character. He seemed pale, especially in contrast to his hair and the dark background, and his gaze, while fixed, was unfocused.

I nodded to Wallace and his wife as I entered. George poured me a sherry while I shook hands with Catherine Harries. Harries himself was seated away from the others, who were standing, as though they had just entered, around the drinks table. However, it was neither Harries nor his handsome sister who held my attention, and Wallace had to nudge my arm to break my stare and hand me my sherry. He then introduced me, since Harries showed no such inclination, to Miss Susan Seymour.

I have seen several women whom I could describe as beautiful and it would be to exaggerate to suggest that Miss Seymour surpassed them all. But she certainly came close to it, holding my gaze even beside Catherine’s fair-haired good looks. She was tall, about five feet seven, and seemed even taller being so slim, with her high-necked, pale-green dress trimmed with white lace. Her hair was fine and long, but done up behind her head. It was a deep black, but with a hint of red as it caught the light. Her eyes were deep and emerald while her cheekbones were high but not too prominent. As she smiled her perfect lips drew back just enough to reveal a set of equally perfect teeth. The smile lit her whole face and reached her eyes, which also betrayed her humour at my interest.

Then they broke away from mine and her eyes flicked over towards the door as Simpson entered, carrying a fresh decanter of brandy. When she looked back at me I saw a trace of humour in her gaze. And I realised somewhat foolishly that I was still holding Miss Seymour’s hand in greeting. I released it and pretended not to notice her amused expression.

As she let go of my hand, Miss Seymour looked round the room. ‘And Mr Seavers?’ she asked. ‘Is he here?’

‘He hasn’t arrived yet, Susan,’ Harries explained.

‘I did telephone earlier,’ George went on, ‘but there was no answer, so I would assume he’s on his way.’

‘Probably,’ agreed Harries, ‘but Gordon is usually so very punctual.’

Elizabeth Wallace smiled and changed the subject easily – for which I silently thanked her. ‘You know that we are always delighted to see Gordon, whatever the time. Just so long’, she continued good-naturedly, ‘as he does not talk about your science and supernature too much. The way that Richard and George have been going on the last few weeks it was an enormous relief when John arrived.’ She smiled at me. ‘He seems to know even less about science than I,’ she added.

‘You do me an injustice,’ I laughed back. ‘I’ve almost grasped what this experiment tonight is all about and I only arrived today. I’ll wager even George needed a few moments to get the gist of it.’

‘Yes, yes – well, just a few maybe,’ chuckled Wallace. ‘But to be fair, Richard wasn’t altogether lucid you know.’

Harries of course had failed