Beardsley and Rose-Butler lifted him and righted his chair. Jameson’s elbow screamed at Beardsley’s grip but he gritted his teeth and took the hit. Once upright, he noticed that Augusta had been untied and was now sitting in one of the velvet chairs, beside the older chap in cream slacks. She wouldn’t look him in the eye.

‘Augusta?’ he said, but she didn’t turn. What was that? Shame? Embarrassment? ‘Augusta?’ He kept his voice low and quiet, as if they were the only two people in the room. ‘What are you doing?’ Slowly she moved to face him, and for the first time since they’d arrived in this dungeon he felt a jolt of fear. ‘Augusta?’ he said again. Her eyes were dead.

‘How much fun is this? Finding that two women have had you fooled all this time?’ Seraphine was so gleeful and self-satisfied. ‘So where were we?’ she said to Bloom.

‘This is not a game, is it?’ said Bloom. ‘It’s a cull. A sterilization.’

Seraphine looked delighted. ‘You see! The fact you clocked that just proves how much of an asset you’ll be. The truth is, if we’re going to convince the world that high-functioning psychopaths have every right to be here – more, even, because we’re superior in all the ways that matter – we can’t have those who let the side down muddying the water.’

‘You can’t play with people’s lives like that,’ Jameson said. Bloom and Seraphine both looked his way.

‘Well, technically, they’re the ones playing with their lives. Not me,’ said Seraphine.

‘A man died. Children lost their father,’ said Jameson.

‘Only one family.’

Jameson shook his head. ‘No, not just one family. What about the families of the players who never return? What about Lana and Jane?’

‘Jane is fine, as you well know.’

Jameson looked down at the silver pendant on the floor. ‘But what about Lana? She wasn’t up to your high standards, was she? You used her to get to us. So what happens to her?’

‘Don’t pretend you care about Lana. You told me she was an irresponsible parent.’

‘That doesn’t give you the right to take her from her child.’ He’d never thought he’d be standing up for Lana.

Seraphine smiled at the rest of the group. ‘Did you know that almost all of the world’s secret societies, from the Illuminati to the Freemasons, have been dominated by people like us? You could say we like to steer things from behind the scenes.’

‘So why all the theatrics?’ asked Jameson. ‘Why have us investigating Lana and Jane? Why have us doing your challenges? If your cause is so great, why not come directly to Augusta?’

‘Because she needed to appreciate its scale and feel its elegance. I needed her to know how powerful it is.’