Part 32 (2/2)
She shrank back, her hands fluttering at the throat of her dress. ”Nothing. Honestly. He was with the party when I joined them. No one ever told me where he came from. I-I'm afraid of him. I have always been.”
”Did he ever-er-bother you?” Emerson asked fiercely.
”Oh, no, nothing like that.” His chivalrous indignation on her behalf produced a smile. ”I can't believe he would be involved in any cause, he's not that sort of man. Justin is his cause, if you like; he is fanatically protective. But he does hold grudges. Are you sure . . .” She hesitated. ”Are you sure he was aiming at David when he threw the stone?”
Her suggestion made a certain amount of sense, which the image of Francois as a revolutionary did not. If he had been drawn to the scene by curiosity he might well have taken advantage of the opportunity to get back at someone who had injured him-and, even more infuriating to a person of his temperament, defeated him. Ramses admitted he had simply a.s.sumed the missile was aimed at David.
”This is unacceptable,” I declared. ”I would rather have nothing to do with any of them, but if that vicious French person is going around throwing things at people he dislikes, he must be stopped. Good heavens, Emerson, you may be next.”
”That would suit me admirably,” said Emerson, his sapphirine orbs brightening. ”I will just pay a little call on the old lady, and if I should happen to run into Francois-”
”You will do nothing of the sort, Emerson.”
”But, Peabody-”
”I will talk to her, if you like,” Maryam said diffidently. ”I have been thinking I ought to call on her and see how Justin is getting on. It is the least I can do, after leaving them without notice.”
”An admirable sentiment,” drawled Sethos. ”I will go with you. Perhaps the old lady will allow me to pay my compliments.”
”I doubt she will,” Maryam said.
She went to get her hat and I took Sethos aside. ”Why must you jeer at the girl? She is doing her best, and you are not trying at all to be-er-”
”Fatherly,” Sethos supplied, his lips twisting. ”I am trying, Amelia, believe it or not.”
”You are afraid to allow yourself to care for her.”
Sethos caught himself on the verge of a shout. He glanced over his shoulder at the others and said through tight lips, ”Don't do that, Amelia. I am sufficiently aware of my motives and feelings. I don't need you to explain them to me.”
It was probably not a good time to mention the principles of psychology. I contented myself with a forgiving smile, and after a moment he said irritably, ”Very well. I will take her to dinner in Luxor, how's that? I had intended to dine with your friend Mrs. Fisher, who knows every lady in the area, but I will send regrets.”
”That would be very nice,” I said.
Immediately after dinner Emerson went to his study, ostensibly to ”set the rest of you a good example” by bringing his excavation diary up-to-date. The others also retired, though probably not with any intention of emulating Emerson. David's courageous act and Walter's unexpected commendation had brought a renewed awareness of that affection which is too often taken for granted; as Walter led his wife to the waiting carriage she clung to his arm and there was the old firmness in his stride. When I returned to the sitting room after seeing them off, Lia and David had already gone and Ramses was on his feet.
”We will say good night too, Mother,” he said.
”Are you sure you wouldn't like another cup of coffee?” I suggested. ”Or a little chat?”
”He needs to rest,” Nefret said, taking the hand Ramses offered and rising. ”He's had rather a long day. Good-”
”Indeed he has. I feel obliged to remark, Ramses, that in giving David his well-deserved praise, we slighted you. You saved David from serious injury and risked yourself, as you have always done, for the sake of friends.h.i.+p and the cause of-”
”Don't make a speech, Mother.” He was laughing, though, and he bent his head to give me an affectionate kiss on the cheek. ”You'd have done the same, and probably more effectively. One glimpse of that parasol and the mob would have fled, screaming. Oh, I almost forgot. I translated a few pages of that papyrus for you. They are on your desk.”
”Thank you, dear boy. Nefret, how is Selim getting-”
”I will look in on him before we go to bed,” said Nefret fondly but firmly. ”Good night, Mother.”
I did not feel it necessary to wait up for Maryam; it just so happened that I was sitting on the veranda, enjoying the peace of the quiet night, when they returned.
”Good evening, Amelia,” Sethos said, helping his daughter out of the carriage. ”Since you have waited up, like a conscientious chaperone, I will not stay. Good night, Maryam.”
Maryam would have gone on her way through the garden had I not opened the door in a pointed manner. ”Sit down for a moment,” I said pleasantly. ”Did you enjoy your dinner with your father?”
”Yes, it was very nice.” My expectant silence evoked additional comment. ”I didn't realize he was so popular. A number of people stopped to talk to him. A friend of yours-Mrs. Fisher, I believe-sent her best wishes.”
”After extracting an introduction to you, I expect. Newcomers to Luxor are always of interest. Did she remember having met you some years ago, when you were here with your husband?”
”Did I meet her? I don't recall. It was a long time ago, and I have changed a great deal since then.”
The door to the house opened and Emerson peered out. ”What are you doing out here? It is time for . . . Oh. Er. Hullo, Maryam. Did you have a nice evening?”
”Yes, sir, thank you.”
”What about that scoundrel Francois?” Emerson inquired. ”Did you see him?”
”Yes, sir, I did. Mrs. Fitzroyce called him to the saloon after I told her about the stone-throwing. He . . . I . . .”
”Don't stutter, child,” Emerson said kindly. ”He denied it, I suppose.”
”No, sir, he didn't.” She raised her eyes to his face. ”He said terrible things, about Ramses and you. He hates you.”
”Not to worry,” said Emerson cheerfully. ”If he shows his face round here I will deal with him.”
”He won't. She spoke to him very sternly-threatened him with dismissal if he did anything like that again. That is the worst punishment he could receive, to be separated from Justin.”
”Nevertheless, we will watch out for him,” I declared.
”It won't be for long,” Maryam said. ”They are leaving for Cairo in a few days. Justin has been unwell.”
EMERSON HAD HOPED TO FIND an excuse to fight with Francois, but the next two days pa.s.sed without a sign of him, or of any other trouble. The treasure was packed and ready to go, except for the items I had decided to leave, so I soothed Emerson by returning his staff to him and allowing him to get on with his excavations. The discovery of several nice votive statues and stelae which had been overlooked by earlier diggers enabled him to ascribe one group of broken-down foundations to an Eighteenth Dynasty shrine, and Bertie finished his plan of the Amenhotep I temple. While digging out the cellar of a house in the village Ramses came across another collection of ostraca. He translated one of the most interesting for us over luncheon one day.
”It falls into the category of what might be called Letters to the Dead,” he explained. ”This appears to be written by a widower to his deceased wife. 'To the excellent equipped spirit Baketamon: What have I done to you that you have caused evil to come to me? I took you as wife, I did not put you away, I brought many good things to you, and when you sickened I caused the chief physician to come to you; I wrapped you in fine linen and gave you a good burial, and since that time I have not known another woman, though it is right that a man like myself should do so. Yet you torment me and bring evil upon me!' ”
”Does he say what sort of evil?” Nefret inquired, her arms clasped round her raised knees.
”No. Presumably he had a streak of bad luck.”
”And blamed it on her,” Lia said with a little laugh. ”Don't say it, Aunt Amelia.”
” 'Just like a man,' you mean? Persons of both genders and all cultures fall into that error,” I admitted generously. ”It is comforting to ascribe misfortune to demonic influence, since one may hope to avert it by magical means instead of being forced to accept it as inevitable.”
”Or as one's own fault,” Lia said. ”It does seem to me that he wouldn't have picked on her-poor dead woman-unless he knew he had done something to deserve her anger. Not that he would admit it.”
”He couldn't,” Ramses said, placing the fragment carefully in a padded tray. ”He says he's going to file a complaint against her in the Tribunal of the G.o.ds. This is a formal appeal-a legal doc.u.ment, in a sense.”
<script>