'You won't be there long,' he declared. 'Deliver some letters, give His Majesty's felicitations to the Doge and the Council and then… back to England.' 'Then why should I go at all?' Benjamin asked.

Agrippa pulled a face. He doffed his hat and hung it on the back of his chair but he still kept his gloves on. He glanced up; his eyes had changed to that fathomless black.

'You have to go, Master Daunbey. You are the Cardinal's good nephew. The Doge would see it as a great honour.'

'Yes,' Benjamin replied caustically. 'I suppose the King needs Venetian galleys to watch the coast of France?' 'Aye, and to seal the straits of Hercules,' Agrippa replied.

He fell silent, staring down at the white tablecloth, humming softly, rocking himself gently backwards and forwards. Darkness had fallen. The candlelight and the flame of the torches suddenly flared as a cold breeze swept through the room. The silence turned eerie. There was no sound except Agrippa's humming. A shiver ran up my spine. I felt we weren't alone: as if Agrippa was calling upon some dark force, beings who live on the edge of our existence. I glanced into the corner expecting to see some sombre shape lurking there. Benjamin too was caught by the spell so he grasped the good doctor's gloved hand. 'Master Agrippa!' Our visitor kept his eyes closed. 'Master Agrippa!' Benjamin shook his hand.

Agrippa opened his eyes. In the candlelight his face had changed: it was younger, the skin smoother, taking on a more olive Italianate look. I had seen such a face upon a Roman fresco that my master had unearthed in a villa outside Norwich.

4I am sorry.' Agrippa shook himself free of his reverie. 'But it's beginning…' 'For God's sake!' Benjamin snapped. 'What is beginning?'

'The Mouldwarp, the Prince of Darkness, the Devil's Dance. The King is determined 'To do what?' I asked.