When he became president of the British Fantasy Society, I joined the organization (the original anthologies in which most of my fantasy and horror appeared were all British anyway). At Ramsey’s request I then wrote “The Master of Demons” for the club’s fantasy magazine, Dark Horizons. Dark Horizons didn’t pay for its material. My warning to Stuart about the value of gift stories might be recalled here. Having said that, I felt free to experiment on this story. I’m not dissatisfied with the result, though this stylistic form isn’t one I’ve ever tried when I expected to be paid for my work. The core of the story is the fact that William the Conqueror swore, “By the face of Lucca!” Lucca is a shrine of the Virgin in Northern Italy, but the source I used stated that the meaning of the oath was unknown. William’s career and the fact that his father was called Robert the Devil gave me the basic notion. The story’s set in Late Medieval Europe, when there was a unique climate for learning.
