Lady of Hay

the doorway. “Nick?” Her good humor vanished. “I thought you were supposed to be in the States.”

Nick turned slightly toward her but he said nothing, and after a moment he turned back to the window where the lightning was almost continuous behind the streaming rain.

Judy scowled. “And hello to you too, Nicholas, sweetie!” She walked across to the table and picked up the gin bottle, holding it up to the light. “You said you were with a patient, Sam. Do I gather you meant your benighted brother?”

Sam had followed her into the room. He closed the door firmly. “Sit down, Judy, and please be quiet.” His voice was quietly threatening. “Nick is deeply hypnotized. He doesn’t know you are here.”

She stared at Sam, then, stunned, she turned to Nick. “You mean it? He can’t see me? Have you made him go back into the past, like Jo?” Judy raised her hand as if to touch Nick’s face, then abruptly she moved away from him again.

Sam nodded. “I’ve been trying to do that, but he is not so good a subject as Jo. He doesn’t go deeply enough into the trance.”

Judy poured herself out an inch of gin. “But he’s deeply enough in a trance for me to come into the room and him not know it! What has he done to his hand?”

Sam smiled enigmatically. “I cut him.”

Judy stared, aghast. “Why?” she breathed.

“To see if the trance was deep enough.”

Judy had begun to feel a little sick. After staring at the blood on Nick’s hand, she turned to look at Sam. “You’re sure you didn’t have a fight?” she asked faintly.

Sam shook his head. “Of course not.”

“Wake him up, please.” She was suddenly frightened.

“I was about to when you arrived.” Sam helped himself to another drink. He was watching Judy closely, noticing the conflict of emotions as they followed one another in quick succession across her face. Fear, disgust, interest, excitement, and then something like calculation betrayed themselves in her eyes. But no affection that he could see.

“Can’t he hear us talking at all?” she said after a moment. Nick was staring out of the window at the rain.

“He can. But he’s not listening. He’s in a world of his own, aren’t you, my liege?” He walked up to Nick and slapped him playfully on the shoulder.

Nick turned. His expression was icy. “You display the manners of a peasant, de Braose,” he said.

Sam colored. “Peasant or not, brother,” he replied smoothly, “I am the one who holds the power now. I can free you or leave you locked in the past. Do you know what would happen to a man who thinks he is King John? He would be put away somewhere where he could harm no one for the rest of his days!”

“Sam!” Judy cried. She ran to him and grabbed him by the arm. “Sam, for Christ’s sake, wake him up. Stop it!”

Sam smiled at her. “Afraid of losing your handsome Nicholas to the men in white coats?”

She clung to him. “Wake him up! What you’re doing is evil. It’s vile! You’re manipulating him!”

“No, no.” Sam gently drew away from her. “He’ll be okay. I’ve done nothing to harm him.”

“What about posthypnotic suggestion?” Judy was watching Nick’s face in anguish. “What have you told him to do when he wakes up?”

“Ah, yes, the one thing every layman-or woman-has heard of.” Sam folded his arms. “Perhaps you have some good ideas for one or two posthypnotic suggestions yourself?” He stared at her, one eyebrow raised, his eyes full of amusement.

Judy glared at him. “Well, you could tell him to leave Jo alone for a start,” she snapped. “If you’d like to do something for me.”

They both flinched as another flash of lightning lit the room.

Sam was watching Nick’s profile. “I am not prepared to do that,” he said.

“I thought we were on the same side! You said you could split them up. You sent me after him to France to get him away from her!”

“And obviously it was a lousy idea.” He turned to her finally, his voice heavy with dislike. “I can’t force him to like you.” He smiled faintly. “Though he obviously does, in spite of the fact that, as I told you before, I believe you have certain habits which put my brother off. Pursuing him is obviously one of them.” He threw himself down on the sofa, pulling one ankle up to rest on his knee as he looked up at her. “Though as I recall you did not expect to see him when you came here this evening. You therefore came to see me, I presume, or was your visit really merely an excuse to get out of the rain?”

Judy scowled. “Whatever I came for, it was obviously a big mistake!”

Sam ignored the indignant words. “So. You came to discuss Nick.”

“I may have.” Judy looked at Nick uncomfortably. “But I can’t talk about him like this as if he’s not here! It’s not fair. It’s grotesque!”

“Then I shall awaken him and you can tell him your problem to his face.”

Sam stood up. He strode over to Nick and swung him around. “You remember what I told you, brother?” he said quietly. “You remember what you must do. But the rest you will forget. Whatever you have been experiencing there, in your head, you will forget for now. You will forget everything, save the fact that you are rested and relaxed and ready to receive your visitor, when I count to three. Now. One-two, three.”

Judy held her breath as she watched them. Slowly Nick’s face became reanimated and suddenly he was looking straight at her.

“Judy? When did you arrive?”

She forced herself to smile. “Only a few minutes ago. I wanted to get out of the storm.”

Nick turned to the window, puzzled, then he put his hand to his head. “What happened? Was I asleep?”

Sam grinned. “You asked me to hypnotize you, remember? I was hard at it when Judy arrived.”

Nick groaned. “Did I say anything odd?”

Judy looked away. “Of course not.”

She looked up into his face. For a long moment they stared at each other, then Judy smiled. “I’m very good at keeping secrets. Sam,” she said, “tell me, who was I in this past life you are all living so cozily together? I’d like to know.”

He shook his head. “I don’t run sideshows, and I’m not a therapist.”

“But you regressed Nick!” She colored indignantly.

“For a reason. And because he is my brother. I’m sorry, Judy. It would not be ethical for me to do it to you. But, for what it’s worth, I wouldn’t bother.”

Her mouth dropped open. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I don’t believe you’ve lived before.”

Judy laughed. “I see. Keep it in the family, eh? All nice and cozy. How convenient. Just like the way you’ve been priming Nick!”

“What do you mean?” Nick sat up suddenly.

“I mean the whole thing is a great hoax! You weren’t regressed. He told you who you were and then he told you what to do! Some past life!”

“Judy.” Sam’s voice was low and threatening. “You heard and saw nothing but the end of our session.”

“What does she mean, Sam?” Nick stood up.

“She means I was telling you to forget your worries and relax. For some reason she found that sinister.”

“You told him-”

“I told him nothing.” Sam interrupted forcefully. “ Nothing , Judy, that need be of the least concern. But in one thing you were right. It was not a proper regression. As I told Nick before, he is too tense yet to attempt it.”

The ringing of the phone punctuated the end of his sentence. Sam, who was standing right beside it, picked it up. For a moment he stood listening, a frown on his face, then suddenly he was smiling.

“Why, Jo! How nice to hear from you. How are you?” He waved Nick away as the latter tried to reach for the phone. “No, he hasn’t, as a matter of fact. He’s not going until the second now…I see. Poor Jo, where are you, then?…No, I won’t tell him. Of course I won’t.” He smiled sweetly at Nick. “Yes. Yes, I’m glad you called. Keep in touch.”