4th March
Reverend Leadbetter had been working in the church while the Women’s Group meeting had been taking place in the adjacent hall. He knew, therefore, that there could be no conversations between Swan and Helen until Helen returned home.
After the meeting, when everyone else had left, only Helen and the vicar remained.
‘I’ll lock up,’ he had said to her. ‘I need to stay and finish some more paperwork.’
‘OK,’ Helen had replied.
She said goodnight to him and left the building to walk home.
The vicar locked the outside door from within the building and walked to his office, where his laptop was already set up.
He had done some tests earlier in the day and knew that voices speaking in Helen’s lounge were very clearly picked up by the equipment that Bishop Hunter had given him, although nothing of significance had yet been said.
He clicked upon the relevant icon, entered the password and put on his headphones. Shortly, he heard the sound of Helen’s front door closing. He heard another door open. All was quiet for two minutes and then for another two minutes.
The vicar was close to concluding that both Swan and Helen had gone to bed, and that there was no purpose in listening further that night.
Then suddenly, he heard a sound as if there was some movement in the lounge.
[Vaguely hopeful] – Leadbetter’s emotional barometer was set to its initial position. He clicked a button on his computer screen to record was he was hearing.
‘Before I can use this book to foretell the future, the prescribed rites and rituals must be enacted.’
[Shock; Disbelief; Elation] – Leadbetter had been hoping for some snippets of useful information that might shed light on ‘the book’, but nothing had prepared him for that opening sentence.
‘Face me.’ Swan’s curt instruction to Helen sounded clearly through his headphones.
[Concern] – Leadbetter hoped that Helen was safe.
‘Good girl. Now, take off all your clothes.’
[Shock; Anger; Resolution; Sadness] – Leadbetter thought of poor, beautiful Helen standing helplessly in front of this monster. He considered rushing to her house to save her. If he did so, however, vital information that could benefit all mankind might be lost. He would also have betrayed his responsibilities to the Church and to ARK. He had no choice – he must leave her to her fate.
‘I said all your clothes!’
[Anger; Sexual arousal; Guilt about the sexual arousal; Envy of Swan; More guilt about that envy] – Leadbetter could not avoid imagining Helen undressing in front of him. He had fought such salacious thoughts in the past when he had been with her – fought these evil temptations with the tenacity with which Saint George had battled with the dragon.
He remembered the occasion when he and Helen had both been at a summer barbeque around the Robinson’s swimming pool. Helen had worn a bikini on that occasion. Leadbetter recalled that reciting the Lord’s Prayer had helped at that time to deflect the urges of Satan, and he at once began to fervently adopt the same strategy.
Leadbetter involuntarily thought back to the previous evening: while out walking, he had seen Swan calling at the houses of several members of the Women’s Group. He had wondered what Swan had been doing. Perhaps they too were part of his cult and subject to his commands.
As the vicar tried to refocus his attention upon his critical surveillance task, Satan once more planted a diabolical thought into his brain: If only he could choose any woman from his congregation after the Sunday service and could have his will with her. He pictured himself leading Susan Hollis from her pew while her ignorant oaf of a husband watched helplessly.
Leadbetter tore his mind back from his daydream and more fervently recited the Lord’s Prayer – this time out loud.
‘Now, Disciple, you may remove my clothes before you satisfy all my desires.’
‘Please, Master, no.’
[Compassion for Helen; More sexual arousal; More guilt about the sexual arousal; Envy: More guilt about the envy; Anger with God] – Leadbetter heard Helen’s voice for the first time with her pathetic plea for mercy. His immediate compassion for her was arrogantly barged aside by the heinous thoughts that he wanted her to be standing naked in front of him; that he wanted her to undress him and that he wanted her to satisfy his carnal lust.
Part of his tormented mind registered that the Lord’s Prayer was clearly ineffective against this level of temptation.
Leadbetter felt exhausted and slightly faint.
‘You will now submit to all the necessary sexual acts for a prediction. I will accept no reluctance!’
‘Yes, Master.’
[More sexual arousal; More guilt about the sexual arousal; Orgasm; Unconsciousness] – Leadbetter felt as he never had in his life. The sexual arousal was uncontrollable. He was forced to forgo the Lord’s Prayer and began to experience the most ecstatic orgasm of his life.
He leapt to his feet in one final attempt to retain control, but he slipped and fell forwards onto the laptop, causing the collapsible card table on which it was resting to crash to the ground.
The laptop smashed onto the stone floor and ceased to function.
Leadbetter also hit the floor. His head heavily struck the twelfth century stone, and he was rendered unconscious.
The laptop had recorded the exchanges that Leadbetter had just witnessed. With both now inoperable, however, no one could note that Helen had not submissively accepted an appalling fate.
No one could note her words as she glanced up at Swan with her mischievous smile. ‘Bloody hell, after that I reckon you should be able to predict the lottery results for the whole of next month.’
No one could note Swan and Helen convulsed in uncontrollable laughter for at least two minutes, collapsing every times their eyes met until they finally managed to gain some control of their hysteria.
No one could note Swan and Helen putting their arms around each other and kissing each other tenderly.
No one could note them lying down on the rug in front of the fire and making love.
No one could note them both finally retiring to Helen’s bed and gratefully holding each other as they fell asleep.