“Have you ever come across a book called Compendium Maleficorum?”
“I have not. Why?”
“I don’t mind betting Lady Wutherwood’s got a copy.”
“You think she’s been mucking about with some sort of occultism and gone so far that she actually has hallucinations or illusions.”
“Is it so very unusual among women of her age, restless by temperament, to become hag-ridden by the bogus-occult?”
“You come across some funny things,” said Fox, “in these fortune-telling cases. I suppose you might say this is only going a step further.”
“That’s it, Br’er Fox. If it’s genuine.”
“You surely don’t believe—” began Dr. Kantripp.
“Of course not. I mean, if Lady Wutherwood’s apparent condition is genuine, she’s just another gullible woman with a taste for the occult. But is her condition genuine?” Alleyn looked at Dr. Kantripp. “What do you say?”
“I should like to see more of her and hear more of her history before venturing on an opinion,” said Dr. Kantripp uneasily.