She said that he had died two years earlier as a result of a heavy crate, not properly secured to a crane, falling upon him; and, lest her faint suggestion of an Irish accent should stir old memories in Barney's mind, she told him that she was 'Liverpool' Irish and had been brought up in that city.
Her occupation she gave as a free-lance model, and in that there was a substratum of truth. She had picked up the rudiments of such work from her mother, who had eked out her earnings as an actress in that way, and had herself a few times earned a small fee for showing dresses in one of Dublin's less expensive shops; so, during the past fortnight, she had taken it up again to supplement her pension and, now that she was older and had more poise, the agent she had gone to had already found no difficulty in getting her several bookings.
But on both sides the past was a subject giving constant rise to unexpected questions calling for swiftly thought up lies by way of answer; so neither of them could be natural and at ease. Moreover the ostensible reason for their meeting - to talk of the occult - failed to bridge the gap because she knew little more about it than he did. In consequence, finding her decidedly reluctant to say much about herself, he was reduced during the latter part of dinner to giving her accounts of the doings of the Mau-Mau, while praying that she had not read the book upon which he was drawing for experiences as though they were his own.
However, when they took the floor, matters improved somewhat, for he was a naturally good dancer and she had been a professional. They spoke little but each found in the other an excellent partner and thoroughly enjoyed the smooth rhythm. While they danced the best part of two hours sped swiftly by, and by then the fact that they were both playing a part had slipped to the back of their minds. Feeling now that he could open up on a matter that concerned her personally with less chance of her resenting it, a little before midnight Barney ordered more coffee and liqueurs then asked her:
'How well do you know that Indian chap who was at the meeting?'
'Mr. Ratnadatta?' Her voice was casual. 'Oh, he's just one of several acquaintances I've made at Mrs. Wardeel's; although, as a matter of fact, I've learnt more from talking to him after the meetings than at them. But why do you ask?'
'Well . . .' Barney hesitated a second. 'I suppose I ought not to have listened to your conversation with him; but I couldn't help overhearing him offer to take you to some much more advanced occult circle, of which he is a member.'
'He didn't. He only said he would consider doing so after he had had another talk with me.'
'Yes. I gathered that. But he asked you to have dinner with him on Saturday, didn't he? And it's unlikely that he would have done that unless he had pretty well made up his mind already that you were a suitable candidate.'
She smiled. 'I hope he does. He implies that Mrs. Wardeel's parties are only kindergarten stuff, and I'm sure he knows what he is talking about. It would be terribly exciting to belong to a group possessing real power.'
Barney gave her an uneasy glance. Now that he had spent an evening at close quarters with the beautiful 'Margot' he was beginning to feel an interest in her that had nothing to do with his job; and as he thought it highly probable that Ratnadatta's circle practised Black Magic, he did not at all like the idea of her getting herself mixed up with that kind of crowd. On the other hand, he did want her to lead him to it. How to handle this dilemma worried him considerably; but, after a moment's thought, he decided that, even if it meant prolonging his investigation, he ought to try to head her off, so he said:
'I don't know much about the occult, but one thing about it is clear. There are only two ways of obtaining power by supernatural means. One is by leading the life of a Saint; the other is by becoming a disciple of the Devil. Like you, I'm talking of real power now; and you may be right in believing that this chap Ratnadatta can lead you to it. If so, maybe he's a saint, but I'd lay a packet that he and his pals turn out to be Black Magicians.'
Mary was also of that opinion, but she did not admit it. Instead she said, 'Not necessarily. They may be advanced practitioners of Yoga.'
'Yes; I suppose that's a possibility. Still, the idea of your letting him become your, er - guide, philosopher and friend, worries me.'
'That's nice of you.' Her voice held only a suspicion of sarcasm.
'I mean,' he persisted, 'that you might get yourself involved in something pretty unpleasant if you keep this date with him on Saturday.'
'I am not in the habit of breaking dates, once I've made them. Anyway, he is only giving me dinner.'
'You never know. He might suggest taking you on to this circle of his afterwards.'
'I hope he does. I'm full of curiosity about it.'
'Look Margot,' he said, using for the first time the Christian name by which he knew her, and hedging slightly in an attempt to get in on the game now she had made it clear that she could not be persuaded to drop it. 'I'm curious about it too. You may be right about its being a Yoga party, and if so it could be the real path to developing one's higher faculties. Anyhow, I mean to cultivate old Ratnadatta until I can persuade him that I am also a suitable candidate to be let in on his mysteries. But that will take time; so, just in case it is a Satanist set-up, if he does offer you a chance to join his circle, I wish you would stall for a while. Then, if I can get on the right side of him after another couple of meetings at Mrs. Wardeel's, we could fix it so that I go with you on your setting sail into these unknown waters.'
Mary felt a little secret thrill of satisfaction. During the first part of the evening the false personality she had had to build up had made her feel so awkward with him that she knew that she was far from making herself a charming and interesting companion. She had even begun to fear that her plan to ensnare and pay out this plausible roue who had brought such misery upon her was about to become still-born, and that he would never ask her out again. But now, here he was already showing deep concern for her, and anxious to become her protector in case she ran into danger. All the same, she had no intention of delaying for a single day if she was given the opportunity to follow up this possible lead to Teddy's murder. And if Barney was left to wonder what was happening to her on Saturday night, so much the better. That was just the sort of thing to make him all the keener.
She shook her head. 'No, I'm afraid I can't do that. If I once turned down an offer from Ratnadatta he might not ask me again. But I assure you I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. And now, I think I ought to be getting home.'
'O.K. then!' With a light-hearted shrug he appeared to dismiss the matter, but after a moment he added, 'I haven't enjoyed dancing so much with anyone for a long time. If your friend the Fakir hasn't turned you into a pretty white nanny goat, what about having dinner with me here again on Sunday?'
Mary smiled back at him. 'I enjoyed it too, and I'd like to do that. You'll have to take the risk, though, that by then I'll have acquired the power to turn you into a horrid black toad.'
