Read Online A Dusk of Demons by John Christopher - Free Book Online

Servants had to bow or curtsy at each encounter with a member of the family (which for the moment appeared to include us) and were lined up at nine each morning for inspection by the Mistress. There were rules for children too. Paddy and I were told we must never speak to an adult without being spoken to, must never run or even walk quickly inside the house, and must respond to the first gong for meals and be present, at attention behind our chairs, by the time the second gong summoned the others.
    But obeying the rules was all that was required. No one said anything about school, and we didn’t ask. We found our way to the sea on the third morning. The beach was coarse shingle, unlike the fineyellow sand we were used to, but we could swim, and there were caves and rock pools to explore.
    As she poked a crab into activity, Paddy said, “I’ve found out why we’re here. And why we’re being so well treated.”
    â€œGo on.”
    â€œYou know Ralph’s an officer in the police? He was on duty the day Mother and Antonia were landed from the Hesperus.”
    â€œWell?”
    â€œOne of the other officers was going to send them to some sort of prison, until they could be sent on to Ireland. When he saw them, Ralph had them brought here instead.” When I looked blank, she added, “Because of Antonia.”
    â€œAntonia?”
    â€œBecause he’s keen on her, fool. Like Bob Merriton, who came courting from January.”
    I said, “I see,” but didn’t properly. “Do you think she’s keen on him?”
    â€œI don’t know.” She looked down at her dress in disgust. “Dark clothes are all right for her—with blond hair. And hers fits her. This is awful.”
    It didn’t look particularly awful to me, but I thought it better to say nothing. The crab stopped pretending to be dead and darted away and was lost in weed.
    â€œAnyway,” Paddy said, “that’s why we’re here.”

5
    O N OUR FIRST SUNDAY IN the villa I awoke to wind blustering against my open window and chill rain in my face when I got out of bed to close it. A few hardy birds were singing, but the sky was dark. When the stable clock chimed three-quarters, I was not sure if it heralded seven or eight. In either case it would have been too late to go back to bed, so I washed and dressed and headed for the dining room.
    Despite the unpromising morning, or maybe because of it, I was keenly looking forward to breakfast. This was the one meal which involved no formality: One helped oneself from candle-warmeddishes laid out on the long oak sideboard. These would be appetizingly piled with bacon and grilled ham, sausages, kidneys, black pudding, golden potatoes, fried and scrambled eggs.
    I was aware of missing the pungent scents of bacon and coffee before I entered. When I did, I found the sideboard offering nothing but baskets of bread and jugs of water. I was trying to work out what was wrong when Ralph came in.
    â€œBen! I’m glad to see you’re an early Sunday riser. I doubt if we’ll see my sisters before noon, if then.” He put bread on a plate and filled a glass. “Not eating?” He noticed my expression. “Of course, it’s your first fast day. Tony found it a shock, too.”
    He meant Antonia, I realized with some surprise. As I unenthusiastically took a couple of chunks of bread, he went on, “I hadn’t realized you weren’t taught to fast all day before a Summoning, in those islands of yours. I should imagine there’s quite a bit you’ll need to learn, one way and another.”
    I wondered if Antonia had told him that in fact we didn’t have Summonings on Old Isle. And even on Sheriff’s, no special preparations were involved,and no fasting. The Sunday midday meal was the main one of the week. There might indeed be things to learn—over the next several hours, for instance, how to get by on bread