Manly Wade Wellman - John Thunstone 02 by The School of Darkness (v1.1) Read Free Book Online Page A

more
than hinted at the matters they would discuss more fully later. At last, at
about half past eleven , Pitt declared the session at an end.
                 “At
one-thirty this afternoon, Chief Manco will be here to tell about the legendry
of his great Cherokee nation,” he announced. “Later, at three-thirty, Father
Bundren will take up the subject of historical demonology. Thank you all for
your attention.”
                 He
rose, and the members of the panel rose with him. The audience stirred and
sought the aisles. Grizel Fian glittered as she moved. Thunstone caught Sharon ’s eye, gestured to her, and quickly left
the stage and joined her.
                 “I’ve
seen Rowley Thome,” were the first words she said to him, softly and
unsteadily.
                 “And
so have I, I believe,” he said. “Well, if he’s really
                 here , he must be dealt with. I’ll have to decide. Would you
like some lunch at the Inn ?”
                “Yes. Yes, I would. I feel
frightened just now, but I feel hungry, too.”
                 They
went out to the street comer, waited for a traffic light, and crossed over.
Together they sought the dining room and sat down and looked at the menus
brought by a waiter. They ordered shrimp salad and black coffee.
                 A
voice spoke to them. Grizel Fian had come to stand beside their table. Her red
silk dress shone.
                 “May
I sit down with you two?” she asked. “I have something to say that might
interest you.”

IV
     
                Thunstone was on his feet at once.
“Of course,” he said. “Please sit down with us. We’re having lunch, will you
have something?”
                 “Thank
you, but no.” Grizel Fian shook her head vigorously. “I don’t eat lunch, I
never do. Well—perhaps a cup of tea?”
                 “I’ll
get you one,” said Thunstone. He pulled out a chair for her, and she sat down. Then
he beckoned to the waiter and he ordered the tea. “ Sharon , may I present Ms. Grizel Fian? And this is
the Countess Monteseco, Ms. Fian.”
                 Sharon nodded and smiled. Grizel Fian looked at
her keenly. She almost stared.
                 “This
is a pleasure,” she said. “I’ve heard of you, Countess. I’ve heard that you
were beautiful, and you are.”
                 “Thank
you,” said Sharon .
                 “And
I listened to you this morning,” Grizel Fian almost burst out at Thunstone.
“You said you’d encountered werewolves and vampires, and that strange race of
the Shonokins. You sound as though you’ll accept wonderful truths, believe in
things that many people just scoff at. I came here—intruded here, really—to
tell you something about the founding of this university.”
                 “I’ll
be glad to hear about it,” Thunstone assured her.
                 The
waiter brought their lunch and set a cup and a small teapot before Grizel Fian.
She poured her tea. Sharon and Thunstone began to eat.
                 “What
I have to tell is laughed at sometimes, but the story hangs on here,” said
Grizel Fian. “It’s about Samuel Whitney, who founded the school, and how he was
taken strangely ill when he got here to Buford.”
                 “Professor
Pitt mentioned that interesting tale to me,” said Thunstone.
                 “A
tale, you call it.” She leaned toward him, bright-eyed. “Calling it a tale
makes it sound like some sort of a myth, a legend. But there’s evidence—”
                 She
broke off, and her full lips trembled.
                 “What
sort of evidence?” prompted Sharon .
                 “The
town used to say, Samuel Whitney had made certain people up North angry,” said
Grizel Fian. “He found himself to be