Pay the Devil - Jack Higgins [25]
Clay followed him along a broad, carpeted corridor to a green baize door, which the butler opened. They moved through an alien world of damp heat and strange plants. Broad green leaves and twisted vines formed an archway over the path and weird, brightly colored flowers he had never seen before grew in profusion everywhere.
In the center of the conservatory, there was a clearing in which stood a basket-work table and several chairs. A man in evening dress was engaged in pruning a vine, his hands covered by leather gloves.
“Colonel Fitzgerald is here, Sir George,” the butler informed him.
“Thank you, Hammond. Tell my niece we’ll be with her in half an hour.” The voice was dry and precise and he spoke without turning round.
The butler withdrew and Clay sat on the edge of the table. “I trust you’ll forgive me, Colonel,” Sir George said. “I’m engaged in rather a delicate task.” Almost in the same moment, he gave a sigh of satisfaction and turned, stripping the gloves from his hands.
He was in his early sixties, tall and cadaverous with sunken eyes in a thin face and the hand he extended was limp and flaccid to the touch. His smile was of the briefest and hardly disturbed his frosty countenance. “Welcome to Drumore, Colonel. A pleasure to have you as a guest in my home.”
The sentiment was so courteous that Clay found it impossible to reply except in the same way. “I’m sure you’ll understand my reason for declining your invitation to spend last night with you. I was in something of a hurry to see Claremont.”
“Perfectly understandable, Colonel,” Sir George said. “You’ll join me in a glass of sherry, I hope?!” As he filled two glasses from a decanter, he went on, “I believe you and my agent were involved in some unpleasantness this morning. You must allow me to apologize. Burke is inclined to be a little rough at times. Unfortunately, our situation here is such that under present conditions, such methods are the only ones which seem to work.”
“And what exactly is your situation?” Clay asked, as he sipped a little of his sherry.
“But you’ve seen some of it already for yourself,” Sir George told him. “In what civilized country today is highway robbery commonplace, and murder and every other conceivable kind of outrage a regular occurrence?”
Clay nodded slowly. “I give you that, but surely one must look for the cause of all this. Doesn’t it lie in the misery and squalor of the people and their desire for Home Rule?”
Sir George shrugged. “Home Rule is an economic impossibility. We need the power and protection of the British Empire. Ask any of the landowners you’ll meet here tonight for an honest and sensible answer. They’ll all agree with me.”
“I have met those who wouldn’t,” Clay told him.
“The Rogans?” Sir George frowned slightly. “A violent and troublemaking family, notorious throughout the county. The constabulary have been trying to lay them by the heels for years. If you’ll take my advice, you’ll prosecute over this affair on the Galway Road.”
Clay shook his head. “The whole thing turned out to be nothing more than a boyish prank. Full restitution has been made and there’s an end to it.”
“Might I ask why you were visiting the Rogans this morning?” Sir George said.
Some inner caution made Clay reply, “I was merely out for a ride. I arrived at the head of the valley in time to see your men using Mrs. Rogan and one of her sons rather harshly. Naturally, I intervened.”
“But these people are savages.”
Clay started to protest, and Sir George raised a hand to silence him. “No, let me tell you a story and then judge for yourself.”
He sat down in one of the chairs and poured another glass of sherry, his face perfectly calm. “Fifteen years ago, we were going through just such a period as this. Several landowners had been murdered and no man seemed to be safe. I prided myself I had always been fair and honest with my own tenants, and because of that, disregarded the threats on my life made in several letters I received.”
“Who were those letters from?” Clay asked.
Sir George opened a drawer in the table, and taking