I was struck at once by the whiteness of the skin under the close black beard and moustache, the prominent cheekbones which accentuated the great hollows from which two black eyes glittered commandingly. The stranger was tall, slim, dressed impeccably in a suit of dark gray.
He bowed.
'May I enter, Madame?'
I stepped back to allow him to enter.
He surveyed the room at a glance and walked straight to the fireplace where he stood, his back towards me, one fine hand resting on the mantelpiece, gazing down at the flickering coals.
I closed the door quietly, locked it, and stood hesitantly near the bed. Who could he be? What on earth was his business at this time of night?
It was a moment before he spoke.
'I attended the meeting in the Temple tonight,' he said simply. 'I sat near the back.'
'Oh, you are a Member?'
He turned to face me, his gaunt and handsome face betraying nothing.
'My name in Miguel Maria Hernandez de Cordoba. I am the Third Pain Cardinal.'
I gasped. He couldn't have been more than thirty-five. I had imagined old men, twelve old men.
'I came about you, Gertrude, but not to see you. I came to see your Grand Painmaster. Where is Sir William?'
'In the cellar,' I said nervously.
'What is he doing there?'
'He was in the front two rows. They are to be detained for a week's flagellation.'
'And you have authority over your Grand Painmaster?'
'No, but he was corrupt. If you were there, you saw that! His identity was known to Lord E.'
'So he was corrupt?'
'Yes!' I said, my voice tinged with defiance.
'And what is corruption, Gertrude?'
I didn't answer.
'And yet you were so fluent tonight when you spoke to the Members of order and hierarchy! I believe you implied that corruption was disorder, a lack of reverence for Hierarchy. Is that not so? But Sir William is above you in the Hierarchy of the Order of Pain. Thus your action of depriving him of his liberty was corrupt. Do you understand?'
'But…'
'There are no 'buts' about it, Gertrude. You had no authority whatsoever to incarcerate your superior in the cellars. Send down and release him at once!'
I rang a bell.
Willie appeared at a small private door at the side.
'Go down and release Sir William,' I said.
'Ask him to come up here,' the Third Pain Cardinal added.
My visitor turned again to the fire.
He did not speak again until Sir William entered. When Sir William saw him, he fell on his knees before the Cardinal and kissed his hand.
'Eminence!' he said quietly.
The Cardinal gave the signal for him to rise.
'I ask you, Sir William, to pardon this headstrong young woman. She will no doubt ask your pardon herself in a more suitable place.'
Sir William bowed. 'Your wish is my command, Eminence!'
'Excellent. Then we can proceed,' the Cardinal said. 'I have come directly from the Seat itself,' he continued, 'to find out more about this young woman who is now one of us.' He nodded towards me. 'It is said in all official correspondence that she is still a virgin. Is that so?'
Sir William nodded. 'To the best of my knowledge that is true, Eminence. I had Oakes' word on it.'
'And what of your knowledge, Gertrude?' said the Cardinal to me with the suspicion of a smile.
'I am a virgin,' I said dully, and as I said it I felt regret that I hadn't given myself to Harry. Why had the Cardinal not reprimanded Sir William for his treachery to the Order?
The Cardinal's lashes fell over his dark eyes almost imperceptibly, like the wing of a delicate insect.
He turned back to the other.
'Leave me with Gertrude now, Sir William. I shall call on you tomorrow afternoon at your home on some other business.'
'Yes, Eminence.'
Once again Sir William went to his knees, kissed the Cardinal's hand, and backed away. He left the room quietly.
'You are out of temper, Gertrude?'
I flashed a look that was meant to be contemptuous at him.
He smiled. It was a beautiful smile. 'You think that I too am corrupt because I didn't reproach Sir William? You are a foolish girl, Gertrude. Should I upbraid your superior in front of you?'
I hung my head.
When I looked up, he was standing close to me, his face not a foot from my own. His eyes were kind and searching.
'Tell me, Gertrude. You are not easy in your mind; I want to know why.'
I walked over to the fire and sat down on a stool.
'It's nothing, really,' I said. 'It's just that there doesn't seem to be anything left. I feel as though I'll be bored for the rest of my life.'
He sat down near me, his hand stroking the fine hairs of his beard near the cheek.
'Go on, Gertrude.'
'That's no more to say,' I said. 'I thought it would give me pleasure to be Painmistress. It doesn't. All those foolish people having to be bullied to take their illicit pleasure. And what is there for me? Money? Power? These things don't interest me. I'm sick of the world! I nearly gave myself to Harry Prentice tonight — that's how bored I had become. And I would have and still would even now if I hadn't known it would just be the same afterwards. Do you understand? Does no one understand?'
'I understand perfectly,' the Cardinal said. 'When I examined your dossier at the Holy Seat I suspected as much. There is no future for you in the Order, Gertrude. When I saw and heard you tonight, my thoughts were confirmed. You are too zealously religious, too pure. For you, the logic of your terrible passion is inescapable. In the world, in the Congregation, there can only be repetition, anticlimax. That is not for you, Gertrude. But you cannot expect all these worldly people to accept your terrible logic. It is your destiny, not theirs.'
As he spoke, he had reached over and taken my hand.
'You know what I mean, Gertrude?'
He was staring into my eyes. In the depth of his eyes a holy fire seemed to burn. I was fascinated and frightened but above all glad, glad that someone else had looked into my heart and recognized the terrible passion that lurked there.
'Yes.'
'And you accept?'
'Yes.'
'You will die naked, nailed to a cross, near the Holy Seat. You will die for us, and to affirm your own great passion, and your agony will be a light for us who are condemned to live on.' He spoke as though he were hypnotized.
'Yes.'
He got up and once again laid one of his beautiful hands on the mantelpiece. He stared at the fire.
'We have been waiting for you for a long time, Gertrude.'
'When?'
'Not yet awhile, my child. Your sacrifice must coincide with some plans we have at the Seat and they are not
