Barbara Erskine 3-Book Collection: Lady of Hay, Time’s Legacy, Sands of Time

‘He was here earlier.’ Nick sounded cautious.

‘Did he manage to call off the press?’

‘Apparently not. Have you warned Jo?’

Tim took a long drink from his glass. ‘I was hoping I wouldn’t have to. Shit, if he can’t do it no one can. And I don’t think Jo has a clue what is in store for her. She doesn’t seem to realise anyone else heard at all. As far as she was concerned there were only two people in that room at that moment – Judy and herself. I hope that dolly of yours is really proud of herself. Listen, Nick, what is this about Jo and hypnotism? Is it serious?’

‘Yes. It’s serious. So if you’ve any influence with her, keep her away from it.’

‘We went to see a hypnotist tonight.’

‘Christ!’

‘No, no. Not for Jo. Or at least only for her to watch other people being regressed. It was fascinating, but the fact is that Jo did behave a bit oddly. She didn’t seem to be the least bit susceptible herself when he did his tests on everyone at the beginning, but afterwards Walton said she was really, but she had been fighting it, and it upset her.’

‘It would.’ Nick’s voice was grim. ‘Look, Tim, is she going to see him again? Or anyone else, do you know?’

‘I don’t think so. She did say that maybe she’d got enough material to be going on with.’

‘Thank God. Just pray she doesn’t feel she needs to pursue any of this further. Sorry, Tim. Judy’s just coming in. I’ve got to go.’ His voice had dropped suddenly to a whisper.

Tim grinned as he hung up. The henpecked Lothario role did not suit Nick Franklyn one bit.

5 (#ulink_76d69bd9-3f34-51d2-b2e2-f519a6a04751)

Jo wanted to ring Sam.

For hours she had lain tossing and turning, thinking about Bill Walton and Sarah Potter, who had once been a street girl called Betsy; and about Tim and Judy Curzon; but her mind refused to focus. Instead again and again she saw images of Cohen’s little Edinburgh study, with the huge antiquated radiator against which Sam had leaned, then the snow, whirling past the window, blotting out the sky, then her hands. Somehow her hands had been hurt; she remembered her fingers, blistered and bleeding, and Michael Cohen, his face pale and embarrassed, talking about chilblains and suddenly with startling clarity she remembered the bloodstains on the floor. How had the blood, her blood, come to be smeared all over the floor of his study?

She sat up abruptly, her body pouring with sweat, staring at the half-drawn curtains of her bedroom. The sheets were tangled and her pillow had fallen to the floor. Outside she could just see the faint light of dawn beginning to lighten the sky. Somewhere a bird had begun to sing, its whistle echoing mournfully between the tall houses. With her head aching she got up and staggered to the kitchen, turning on the light and staring round; automatically she reached for the kettle.

She found Sam’s number in her old address book. Carrying a cup of black coffee through to the sitting room, she sat on the floor and picked up the phone. It was four thiry-two a.m. as she began to dial Edinbugh.

There was no reply.

She let the phone ring for five minutes before she gave up. Only then did she remember that Sam had gone abroad. She drank the coffee slowly, then she rang Nick’s flat. There was no answer from his phone either and she slammed down the receiver.

‘Goddamn you, Nick Franklyn!’ she swore under her breath. She stood up and went to throw back the curtains, staring out over the sleeping square. On the coffee table behind her lay a scrap of paper. On it was written in Pete Leveson’s neat italic script: Dr Carl Bennet, hypnotherapist. (Secretary Sarah Simmons: sister of David who you rather fancied if I remember when he came to WIA as a features writer in ’76.) Have made an appointment for you Friday, three pm to sit in on a session. Don’t miss it; I had to grovel to fix it for you.

Jo turned and picked up the piece of paper yet again. She did not want to go.

It was two forty-five as she walked slowly up Devonshire Place peering at the numbers and stopping at last outside one with a cream front door. Four brass plates were displayed on the elegantly washed panelling.

The door was opened by a white-coated receptionist. ‘Dr Bennet?’ she said in response to Jo’s enquiry. ‘Just one minute and I’ll ring upstairs.’ The place smelled of antiseptic and stephanotis. Jo waited in the hall, staring at herself in a huge gilt-framed mirror. Her eyes were shadowed from lack of sleep and she could see the strain in her face as she watched the woman on the telephone in the reflection behind her.

‘You can go up, Miss Clifford,’ the woman said after a moment. ‘The first floor. His secretary will meet you.’

Jo walked up slowly, aware of a figure waiting for her on the half-landing at the head of the flight of stairs. Sarah Simmons was a tall fair-haired woman in a sweater and shirt and Jo found herself sighing with relief. She had been afraid of another white coat.

‘Jo Clifford?’ Sarah extended her hand with a pleasant smile. ‘Pete Leveson spoke to us about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’

Jo grinned. ‘Did he warn you I’m the world’s most violent sceptic?’

She laughed. ‘He did, but Carl is very tolerant. Come and meet him.’

Carl Bennet was sitting at a desk, in a room which looked out over the street. It was a pleasant book-lined study, furnished with several deep armchairs and a sofa, all with discreet but expensive upholstery; the fitted carpet was scattered with Afghan rugs – sufficiently worn to emphasise their antiquity. It was a comfortable room; a man’s room, Jo thought with sudden amusement, the sort of room which should smell of cigars. It didn’t. There was only the faintest suspicion of cologne.

Carl Bennet rose to greet her with a half-hesitant smile. ‘Miss Clifford. Please, come and sit down. Sarah will bring us some coffee – unless you would prefer tea?’ He spoke with a barely perceptible mid-European accent. He nodded at Sarah who disappeared through a door in the far wall, then he looked back at Jo. ‘I find my kitchen is the most important part of my office here,’ he said gently. ‘Now tell me, exactly how can I help you?’

Jo took out her notebook and, balancing it on her knee, sat down on one of the chairs. It was half turned with its back to the window. Her mouth had gone suddenly dry.

‘As I believe Pete Leveson told you, I am writing an article on hypnotic regression. I should like to ask you about it and if possible see how you work.’ She was watching his face intently. ‘Yesterday I attended a session with Bill Walton in Richmond. I wonder whether you know him?’

Bennet frowned. ‘I’ve heard of him of course –’

‘And you don’t approve?’

‘On the contrary. He has published some interesting papers. But we practise in very different ways.’

‘Can you tell me how your approach differs?’ Jo kept her eyes fixed on his face as Sarah came in with a tray.

‘Of course. Mr Walton is an amateur, Miss Clifford. He does not, I believe, ever claim medical benefits from his work. I am a psychologist and I use this form of hypnosis in the treatment of specific conditions. I use it primarily in a medical context, and as such it is not something to be debunked by cheap journalism. If that is what you have in mind, then I would ask you to leave now.’

Jo flushed angrily. ‘I feel sure, Dr Bennet, that you will convince me so thoroughly that I will have no cause to debunk – as you put it – anything,’ she said a little sharply. She took a cup from Sarah.

‘Good.’ He smiled disarmingly. He took off his spectacles and polished them with the cloth from the spectacle case which lay on his desk.

‘Are you really going to allow me to sit in on a session with a patient?’ Jo asked cautiously.

Bennet nodded. ‘She has agreed, with one proviso. That you do not mention her name.’

‘I’ll give you a written undertaking if you wish,’ Jo said grimly. ‘Would you explain a little of what is going to happen before she gets here?’

‘Of course.’ He stood up and, walking over to the chesterfield, sat down again. ‘It has been found that unexplained and hitherto incurable phobias frequently have their explanation in events which have occurred to a subject either in very early infancy or childhood, or in a previous existence. It is my job to regress the patient to that time, take them once more through the trauma involved, which is often, I may say, a deeply disturbing experience, to discover what it is that has led to the terror which has persisted into later life or even into another incarnation.’

Jo strove to keep the disbelief out of her voice as she said, ‘Of course, this presupposes your absolute belief in reincarnation?’

‘Of course.’

She could feel his eyes steady on her face. She glanced away. ‘I am afraid you will have to convince me, Dr Bennet. I must admit to being very dubious. If you were to affirm to me your belief in reincarnation as part of a religious philosophy I should not presume to query it. It is this quasi-medical context –’ she indicated the consulting room couch. ‘Are you saying therefore that everyone has lived before?’

He gave a tolerant smile. ‘In my experience, no. Some have lived on this earth many times, others are new souls.’

She stared at him, swallowing with difficulty the bubble of laughter which threatened to overwhelm her as he stood up again, a solid greying man in his sixties, and walked over to her chair. ‘I can see you are derisive, Miss Clifford,’ he said severely, his eyes on hers, magnified a little by the thick lenses of his glasses. ‘One grows used to it as an initial, perhaps defensive response. All I ask is that you keep an open mind while you are here. Are you objective enough to be able to do that?’

Jo looked away. ‘I am sorry, I really am. I pride myself on my objectivity and I will try. In fact –’ she set her cup down at her feet ‘– you have aroused my curiosity intensely. Can you tell before you start whether people have lived before?’

He smiled. ‘In some cases, yes. Sometimes it is harder.’