left.
Still she intensified her tune and her movements until, its hood subsiding, the cobra sank little by little, lower and lower until finally his head was flat on the ground and he appeared to make an obeisance to her.
Then her tune altered and, almost as if she gave a note of command, the sound was abrupt yet still melodious.
Unbelievably, as it seemed to the men watching, the cobra obeyed, and turning he slithered slowly, moving in a very different manner to the quickness with which he had left the basket, back into it.
He slipped over the edge of the basket and, as they watched, his long dark body slithered after his head until finally the tip of his tail disappeared.
Still singing, Saviya very gently moved forward. She pressed the lid back into place and slipped the wooden pegs into the cane loops, which held it firm.
As soon as the basket was secure she ceased her song, and it seemed for a moment as if she would collapse.
The Marquis was at her side and put his arms around her to lift her to her feet.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I ... I am ... all right.”
But he saw that her face was very pale and was afraid that she might faint.
He helped her across the room to settle her down into a chair.
“Do not talk!” he commanded and poured her out a drink.
She took two or three sips, then gave him back the glass.
“I do not need it,” she said.
“How could you charm that snake?” Sir Algernon enquired. “I have heard of it being done, but would never have believed it was possible for anyone without an enormous amount of training, and certainly not for a woman!”
“I have seen it done many times,” Saviya replied. “But it is the first time I have actually tried it myself.”
“Then it was even more miraculous,” the Marquis said. “We can only thank you very gratefully, Saviya. I do not need to tell you that you saved my life!”
Saviya gave a deep sigh.
“I suddenly realised that the basket was not of the type used by Gypsies, but by the Circus people. For a moment I could not think where I had seen one before, then I remembered the snake-charmers that we have encountered on our travels.”
She paused for a moment before looking up at the Marquis and said:
“Their snakes usually have the bags of venom in their fangs removed, but this was a young cobra and had not been treated. If he had bitten you, it would have been fatal. The venom acts quickly on the nervous system.”
“But who can want to murder you, Ruckley?” Sir Algernon enquired.
“The answer to that is quite easy—” Charles Collington began, only to be silenced as the Marquis interposed:
“There is no point in discussing it, Charles. Again we have no proof.”
“What is going on? You must tell me about it,” Sir Algernon asked curiously.
“I think it is time that Saviya went to bed,” the Marquis suggested.
“Yes, I must go,” she agreed obediently.
She curtsied to Sir Algernon and to Charles Collington. The Marquis walked with her across the Hall and out through the main door.
She turned to say good-night but he shook his head.
“I will come with you to the wood,” he said. “I do not like to think of your going alone.”
“I will be quite safe,” she replied. “It is you I worry about. Who is the man who wishes to kill you? If you do not tell me I shall lie awake all night trying to see his name as I have seen his face.”
“You told me when we were in the Picture Gallery that his name began with the same letter as mine,” the Marquis replied. “You were right, Saviya, he is my cousin, Jethro Ruck. If I am dead he will inherit the title and the Estate.”
“This is not the first time he has tried?” Saviya enquired, as they walked across the Court-Yard side by side.
“He attempted to destroy me in London, by dislodging a piece of masonry from the top of my house in Berkeley Square,” the Marquis answered. “It missed me by a hairs breadth, and tonight if I had, as he thought,
Still she intensified her tune and her movements until, its hood subsiding, the cobra sank little by little, lower and lower until finally his head was flat on the ground and he appeared to make an obeisance to her.
Then her tune altered and, almost as if she gave a note of command, the sound was abrupt yet still melodious.
Unbelievably, as it seemed to the men watching, the cobra obeyed, and turning he slithered slowly, moving in a very different manner to the quickness with which he had left the basket, back into it.
He slipped over the edge of the basket and, as they watched, his long dark body slithered after his head until finally the tip of his tail disappeared.
Still singing, Saviya very gently moved forward. She pressed the lid back into place and slipped the wooden pegs into the cane loops, which held it firm.
As soon as the basket was secure she ceased her song, and it seemed for a moment as if she would collapse.
The Marquis was at her side and put his arms around her to lift her to her feet.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I ... I am ... all right.”
But he saw that her face was very pale and was afraid that she might faint.
He helped her across the room to settle her down into a chair.
“Do not talk!” he commanded and poured her out a drink.
She took two or three sips, then gave him back the glass.
“I do not need it,” she said.
“How could you charm that snake?” Sir Algernon enquired. “I have heard of it being done, but would never have believed it was possible for anyone without an enormous amount of training, and certainly not for a woman!”
“I have seen it done many times,” Saviya replied. “But it is the first time I have actually tried it myself.”
“Then it was even more miraculous,” the Marquis said. “We can only thank you very gratefully, Saviya. I do not need to tell you that you saved my life!”
Saviya gave a deep sigh.
“I suddenly realised that the basket was not of the type used by Gypsies, but by the Circus people. For a moment I could not think where I had seen one before, then I remembered the snake-charmers that we have encountered on our travels.”
She paused for a moment before looking up at the Marquis and said:
“Their snakes usually have the bags of venom in their fangs removed, but this was a young cobra and had not been treated. If he had bitten you, it would have been fatal. The venom acts quickly on the nervous system.”
“But who can want to murder you, Ruckley?” Sir Algernon enquired.
“The answer to that is quite easy—” Charles Collington began, only to be silenced as the Marquis interposed:
“There is no point in discussing it, Charles. Again we have no proof.”
“What is going on? You must tell me about it,” Sir Algernon asked curiously.
“I think it is time that Saviya went to bed,” the Marquis suggested.
“Yes, I must go,” she agreed obediently.
She curtsied to Sir Algernon and to Charles Collington. The Marquis walked with her across the Hall and out through the main door.
She turned to say good-night but he shook his head.
“I will come with you to the wood,” he said. “I do not like to think of your going alone.”
“I will be quite safe,” she replied. “It is you I worry about. Who is the man who wishes to kill you? If you do not tell me I shall lie awake all night trying to see his name as I have seen his face.”
“You told me when we were in the Picture Gallery that his name began with the same letter as mine,” the Marquis replied. “You were right, Saviya, he is my cousin, Jethro Ruck. If I am dead he will inherit the title and the Estate.”
“This is not the first time he has tried?” Saviya enquired, as they walked across the Court-Yard side by side.
“He attempted to destroy me in London, by dislodging a piece of masonry from the top of my house in Berkeley Square,” the Marquis answered. “It missed me by a hairs breadth, and tonight if I had, as he thought,
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