Merciless Reason by Oisin McGann Read Free Book Online Page A

hound also jumped up, tail wagging furiously, tongue out, big watery eyes looking eagerly from one man to the other, ready for action.
    â€œWhat’s the dog’s name?” Nate inquired.
    â€œDuke, sir. He’s somewhat selfish, bloody-minded and a trifle irresponsible. But he has a good heart and makes up for his belligerent nature by putting himself in the way of harm for the sake of those he loves.”
    â€œSounds like a bloody liability if you ask me.”
    â€œNevertheless, he gets the job done,” Clancy said. “And I am very fond of the animal.”
    â€œRight, then,” Nate grunted, a new resolve setting on his face as he hobbled for the door. “Let’s go home.”

V
    THE ROUND WINDOW
    DAISY STARED AT THE PLANS , studying the dimensions and symbols, her brow furrowed in frustrated confusion.
    â€œBut what is it?” she demanded.
    She and the chief architect were examining the plans of the church that she had commissioned, which was under construction on the Wildenstern estate. It was being built to replace the last family chapel, which had been utterly destroyed by a bomb in a coffin at a funeral. The architect looked uncomfortable for a moment and then shrugged.
    â€œNo idea, ma’am,” he said. “But whatever this feature, this … contraption is, your cousin has already had the bulk of it installed. It is taking up more space than we had anticipated, and I have had to compensate. As you can see, the balcony is now deeper, and the nave below it is shorter by several feet. That’s at least two fewer rows of pews—so that’s about thirty fewer people that can be fitted in. And we can’t simply make the chancel at the other end shorter.” He pointed at the platform where the altar and lectern stood. “It would ruin the entire balance of the building’s interior. But Mister Gordon is insistent that his design for the organ and its surrounding structure takes priority over everything else.”
    â€œHis lordship has never struck me as a devoutly religious man,” the architect commented. “But perhaps this obsession with the organ and its surrounds is his way of showing his love for Christ.”
    Given that he was the one who blew up the last church, Daisy thought, I would consider that highly unlikely. She was more inclined to suspect it was a means of also destroying this one.
    The architect was a dapper, middle-aged man with thinning hair, a neat moustache and a blunt but professional manner. Daisy had found him to be a pleasant and capable man. He moved his finger towards the back of the church, pointing at the outline of the balcony that would overlook the congregation of worshippers.
    â€œThis is the organ, but these other structures are a mystery to me. Mister Gordon has had them manufactured and fitted by his own people. We were ordered to simply provide the stone base and supports to his specifications and leave space. You see these here? I presume they are pipes, but they are shaped more like the roots of a tree. What this thing is or what it does is beyond me. I’ve never seen some of these symbols before, but …”
    â€œBut what?” Daisy prompted.
    He winced, unwilling to put his thoughts into words.
    â€œBut … well … they look like something one might see in a book on mathaumaturgy. My son reads such books for titillation and he sometimes leaves them lying around the house. I believe they make use of symbols such as these.”
    â€œThat is not as strange as you might think,” Daisy told him. “Thank you, Arthur. I’ll take this to Mister Gordon and discuss it with him in person.”
    â€œDiscuss what with me in person?” a voice said from behind them.
    Standing at the door of the spacious boardroom was a slender man in his twenties. He had a shock of dark hair that was not cut often enough, a pale complexion and a face that was slightly misshapen. Thin