Aire actually staggered back a step, and I reached out for something to support me, but encountering nothing, concluded to stand upright.
I found my voice. “You mean you couldn’t see any.”
“On the contrary, I was quite near the window—that one by the armoury door. Millicent had left her book on the cabinet there, and had reached the place before she saw the shape, and I naturally went to her side. We had all the light there was, and would have seen a face if there had been any there.”
Stricken by a memory, I put my hand on Aire’s arm. “Remember, Doctor, how Maryvale put no face in his portrait?”
He ignored me, and said, “What then?”
“We were petrified, of course. It seemed to peer in, if you can understand, even without a face. The whole attitude of the thing was inquiring, curious. And then perhaps it saw us, for suddenly it twisted and hurried away.”
“Why didn’t you get the servants?” I put in.
“Things were bad enough without that.”
“What shall we do, Bannerlee?”
“Go after it, don’t you think?”