Children of the Storm - Elizabeth Peters [120]
“You think I’m pretty selfish, I guess,” Cyrus muttered. “That poor devil, out there all this time, and me thinking the worst of him . . .”
“This discovery alters neither the circumstances nor your assessment of Martinelli, Cyrus,” I said. “He took the jewelry, there can be little question of that, and although we may never know his motive for doing so, he had no right to remove it without your permission.”
“You’re sure it was him? Where was he found?”
“If you are thinking of conducting a search of the area, I beg you to abandon the idea,” Ramses said; like myself he had seen the stubborn glow of archaeological greed in Cyrus’s eyes. “Believe me, Cyrus, I would have done so myself if I believed there was the least likelihood of finding the jewelry. It was Martinelli, all right, but if he wasn’t murdered and robbed, the men who found the body would have taken anything of value.”
Cyrus knew he was right, but he was not the man to abandon hope so easily. He kept asking questions and proposing theories. His final appeal was to Sethos.
“Can’t you do anything?”
The corners of Sethos’s mouth twitched slightly. “Not much use having a master thief as a friend of the family if he can’t help out, eh?”
“I didn’t mean—” Cyrus began.
“Of course you did. Quite right, too. I will make further inquiries, but don’t get your hopes up.”
“Sure appreciate it,” Cyrus said, his hopes obviously rising. “Well, I better get on home. Sorry for busting in on you like this.” He had avoided looking directly at Maryam. Now he went to her and held out his hand. “Good to have you back in the family, young lady. We will see you at our soiree on Sunday, I hope.”
His tact and kindness brought a becoming flush to her cheeks. “Thank you, sir. I don’t know . . .” She glanced at her father, who said easily, “We accept with pleasure. Please convey my thanks and regards to Mrs. Vandergelt. I look forward to seeing her and her son again.”
“Oh, say, that reminds me.” Hat in hand, Cyrus turned to me. “Katherine told me to ask whether some of you folks might want to stay with us at the Castle. We’ve got plenty of room, and you must be getting a mite crowded here.”
Such was certainly the case. I had had to move Sennia out of her pleasant little suite of rooms and give them to David and Lia and their children. She was in David’s old room, with the one next to it serving as a schoolroom. Evelyn and Walter occupied the guest rooms at the other house. What with additional offices and storage rooms, both houses were full up, and I had been forced to ask Sennia to share her schoolroom with Maryam, an arrangement that did not please Sennia. I would have consigned the Luxor gossips to the devil and sent Maryam to stay with her father on the Amelia, but she needed a little more time to be comfortable with him. Besides, I wanted her with me, where I could keep an eye on her. The girl had been attacked once already, and that incident had yet to be explained.
I was tempted to send Sennia to the Castle, along with Basima and Gargery, whose constant surveillance was beginning to get on my nerves. However, Horus would have had to accompany them, and he had no manners, particularly with regard to the Vandergelts’ cat Sekhmet.
I was about to tell Cyrus I would think it over and let him know, when Evelyn spoke up. “That is very good of Katherine, Cyrus. If you are sure, Walter and I will take advantage of your kind offer. I will speak to Katherine about it tomorrow.”
Evelyn was the mildest and most accommodating of women, but when she spoke in that decisive tone I never attempted to differ with her. I waited until after Cyrus had left us before venturing to ask what had prompted her decision.
“Having houseguests for a protracted period becomes inconvenient” was her smiling reply. “Ramses and Nefret would never say so, but I am sure we are putting them out. Katherine and I enjoy each other’s company; she has