Part 2 (1/2)
I took it upon myself to reply to the implicit and undeserved criticism. ”It was necessary, monsieur. The wood of which three of the coffins were made was dry and brittle and many of the inlays were loose. Before they could be moved they were stabilized, inside and out, with a compound of Signor Martinelli's invention. You see the results, which are, in my opinion, quite excellent.”
”Yes, of course,” Lacau said. ”I see you have resisted the temptation to unwrap the ladies,” he went on, with a nod at Nefret. ”You have had, I believe, some experience.”
”She is a trained surgeon and anatomist,” I said indignantly. ”No one could do a better-”
”Naturally I wouldn't dream of touching them without your permission, Monsieur Lacau,” Nefret said quickly. ”Nor in fact would I like to see it done. The wrappings are in perfect condition, and the mummies have been undisturbed since they were placed in their coffins-unlike all the other royal mummies we have. It would be a sin to rip them apart.”
”You feel strongly about this, madame,” Lacau said, stroking his beard. ”But what of the ornaments, the amulets, the jewels, that are unquestionably to be found on the bodies?”
”We have many beautiful pieces of jewelry,” Nefret explained. ”We don't know what condition the mummies themselves are in, or what lies under those bandages. In the present state of our knowledge we may not be able to learn all that can be learned from those poor remains, or preserve them undamaged for future scholars whose knowledge will certainly be greater than ours.”
”A moving plea, madame,” said Lacau with a patronizing smile.
Nefret flushed but kept her temper. ”What I would like to do is subject them to X-ray examination.”
”The Museum does not have the equipment.”
”But I do-that is to say, my hospital in Cairo does. Mr. Grafton Elliot Smith carried the mummy of Thutmose the Fourth to a private clinic to have it X-rayed, if you recall.”
”By cab, yes. Somewhat undignified and inconvenient.”
”We could do better than that,” Nefret said eagerly. ”A proper ambulance-”
”Well, it is an interesting suggestion. I will think about it.”
Nefret had the good sense to thank him and pretend to be grateful for even that degree of consideration. She was accustomed to being patronized by men of a certain kind-most men, I would say, if that were not an unfair generalization. (Whether or not it is unfair I will leave to the judgment of the Reader.) Lacau inspected the laboratory, but not for long; a medley of pungent odors suggested that Martinelli was trying several chemicals on various pieces of linen and wood. Cyrus then proudly displayed ”his” records and generously admitted that they were the result of our joint labors. They were, if I may say so, a model of their kind-photographs, plans, sketches, detailed written descriptions-all cross-indexed and filed. We then returned to the display rooms for a final look.
”I can see that I must give the matter some thought,” Lacau said, sweeping the a.s.semblage with a possessive eye. ”I would like to place the objects on display at once, and we must consider how we are to find the s.p.a.ce. I had not realized there would be so much.”
Cyrus's face fell. Lacau appeared not to notice; he went on, ”Now I must bid you good evening, my friends. Thank you for your splendid hospitality and for a most astonis.h.i.+ng experience.”
After we had seen him off we lingered to cheer Cyrus, who had put the most depressing interpretation possible on Lacau's words.
”He can't take everything,” Emerson insisted. ”Don't borrow trouble, Vandergelt, as my wife would say. Curse it, he owes you for your time and effort and expenditure, not to mention Bertie's claim as the finder.”
”I thought you supported the idea that all major objects should remain in Egypt,” Cyrus said in surprise. ”You handed over the whole contents of Tetisheri's tomb to the Museum.”
”It isn't a simple issue,” Emerson said, taking out his pipe. ”Archaeologists and collectors have been looting the country of its antiquities for decades, and the Egyptians haven't had any voice in the matter. With nationalist sentiment on the rise-”
”Yes, but what about preserving the objects?” Cyrus cried in genuine anguish. ”The Museum hasn't the facilities or the staff.”
”Well, whose fault is that?” demanded Emerson, who was quite happy to argue on any side of any issue-and change sides whenever he felt like it. ”It's a question of money, pure and simple, and who determined how it was disbursed? Politicians like Cromer and Cecil. They never gave a curse about maintaining the Museum, or hiring and training Egyptians to staff it, or paying them enough to-”
”Excuse me, Emerson, but we have all heard that speech before,” I said politely but firmly. ”We must hope that M. Lacau will be reasonable.”
”I just wish he'd make up his consarned mind,” Cyrus grumbled. ”It's the suspense that's killing me.”
When we took our leave I looked round for Signor Martinelli, to no avail. ”He might at least have said good night before retiring,” I remarked.
”He hasn't gone to bed,” Cyrus said. ”He's off to Luxor again.”
”At this hour?”
”What he does in Luxor can be best accomplished at this hour,” said Emerson. He and Cyrus exchanged meaningful glances.
I had heard the stories too, since I have many friends in Luxor, and gossip is a favorite sport. Realizing that Emerson was about to enlarge on the subject of Luxor's disreputable places of entertainment, I took my family away.
We had lingered long over the inspection and it was very late before we reached home; but so overpowering had been the impressions of the evening that we were unable to stop discussing them. The four of us settled on the veranda for a final whiskey and soda. I was a trifle surprised when Nefret accepted a gla.s.s; she seldom indulged in spirits. I realized she must have been nervous too, probably about her precious mummies. She had taken more wine at dinner than was her custom.
”His failure to drop even a hint was quite mean-spirited, in my opinion,” I said.
”I suspect he was somewhat overcome,” Ramses said thoughtfully. ”What the devil is he going to do with it all? They will have to rearrange or store a good many of the current exhibits to make room for it-construct display cases-pack everything properly-”
”They? It will be we who pack the objects,” I said. ”We cannot trust anyone else to do it. Oh dear. I do not look forward to that task. I used bales of cotton wool and every sc.r.a.p of cotton and linen stuff I could find when we wrapped the artifacts to be moved from the tomb to the Castle. And I have the direst forebodings about that lovely robe. No matter what packing materials we use, I doubt it will survive the journey.”
”We'll have a replica made,” Nefret said. She finished her whiskey and then chuckled. ”I've had a vicious idea. Next time we're in that room I will lose my balance and fall heavily against the table. If the linen shatters into sc.r.a.ps, as I suspect it will, perhaps M. Lacau will let us keep the ornamentation.”
”My dear, you are becoming silly,” I said with a fond smile. ”Fatigue, I expect. Trot off to bed.”
”I'd settle for some of the jewelry,” Nefret said, giving Ramses her hand and letting him lift her to her feet. ”The gold-and-garnet snake bracelet, and the one with strips of lapis lazuli and gold, and the head of Hathor . . . Mother, don't you think a man who truly loved his wife would make an effort to get those trinkets for her? They say they would bring the moon and stars down from the sky and fling them in our laps, but when we ask for a simple little gold bracelet-”
”She's not tired, she's had too much to drink,” Ramses said with a grin. He put his arm round his wife's gently swaying form. ”Come along, you shameless hussy.”
”Carry me.” She looked up at him. Her face was flushed and her lips were parted.
I heard his breath catch. He picked her up and carried her out. For once neither of them bothered to bid us good night.
Emerson gave me a long considering look. ”I can't recall ever seeing you tipsy, Peabody.”
”And you,” I retorted, for I knew quite well what was on his mind, ”have never offered to fling the moon and the stars into my lap.”
Emerson's reply was a rather clever but fairly vulgar play on words, which I will not record. Sometime later he said drowsily, ”I could manage a gold bracelet or two, if you like.”
It was rather odd, really-that we should have mentioned the bracelets, I mean. For it was those pieces that vanished between night and morning, together with Signor Martinelli.
CHAPTER TWO
We were apprised of the distressing development by one of Cyrus's servants bearing a message from that gentleman. It implored our presence, in a handwriting made almost undecipherable by agitation. Since it was Friday, the day of rest and prayer for our men, we had breakfasted later than was our habit, en famille, including the children. The dear little things insisted on feeding themselves, to the merriment of their grandfather and the resigned acceptance of their grandmother. It was one occasion on which the cats willingly joined us, since there was usually quite a lot of food on the floor-and on the table, and on us. For the same reason Sennia did not join us. Fond as she was of the darling children, she was extremely fastidious in her dress and did not appreciate the generosity that flung orange sections and b.u.t.tered bread onto her impeccable lap.
When Fatima opened the door I took the note from her, since Emerson was rather sticky with jam, Davy having unexpectedly pressed a bit of lavishly spread toast into his hand.
A vehement cry of ”Good Gad!” burst from my lips.
”Don't swear in front of the children,” Emerson said, trying surrept.i.tiously to hide the squashed offering in his napkin. ”What is the matter?”
”The jewelry of the G.o.d's Wives. It has disappeared, and so has Signor Martinelli.”