Children of the Storm - Elizabeth Peters [129]
He tried to help her out. “That I wasn’t worth all that fuss.”
“Oh, no. You’re a wonderful man; any woman would be proud . . . You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
“A little. It’s forgotten, Maryam.”
“Now that I’ve seen you and Nefret together, I know you were meant for each other.” The long lashes fell, half veiling those extraordinary hazel eyes. “I’d like us to be friends. Cousins. Can we?”
“We are.”
Sethos came up, leading the filly. “All right, are you, Maryam?”
“Yes, sir. Thanks to Ramses.”
“Yes, it was quite a spectacular performance,” said Sethos. The smile was the one that always made Ramses want to hit him.
“She seems calm enough now,” Ramses said, inspecting the filly. “I can’t imagine what spooked her.”
Sethos directed their attention to a trail of blood on Melusine’s right flank. “That’s what. A sharp object piercing her side.”
Maryam’s hand went to her mouth. “The man. I saw him, just before she ran away with me. The same man who attacked me before.”
“ANOTHER INCIDENT TO ADD to the list,” I said. Our council of war had convened. I had insisted that everyone attend, in case one of them could contribute information others had missed. Fatima sat uneasily on the edge of her chair. She would much rather have been trotting round offering food. The only one not present was Kadija. She would not have spoken up in company anyhow.
“So now we have an aborigine with a blowgun?” Ramses was pacing irritably up and down, his hands clasped behind him.
“A projectile, propelled by any one of a number of means,” Sethos corrected. “The object was sharp as a tack and it penetrated less than an inch.”
“So what do we have?” I took a refreshing sip of my whiskey and read the list aloud.
The theft of the jewelry and the murder of Martinelli
The Veiled Hathor of Cairo
The sinking of the boat
The initial attack on Maryam
The second appearance of Hathor
The second attack on Maryam
“It’s not complete,” Emerson said, chewing on his pipe. “We agreed, did we not, to include every unusual incident, even if it seemed to have a logical explanation?”
“Well done, Emerson,” I said, with an approving nod. “That is why I wanted everyone here, to make sure we had neglected no possibility. Give vent to your imaginations. Do not be deterred from the wildest sort of speculation. Anything at all, no matter how far-fetched it may seem.”
Once I had got them on the track, the suggestions came thick and fast. The shot that had just missed Selim, Daoud’s wounding by the hegab, the scorpions in his house—even the cobra at Deir el Medina.
“Goodness gracious,” I remarked, examining the revised list. “Either our imaginations have run away with us, or we have been singularly obtuse. I confess, however, that I fail to see a consistent pattern.”
“Do you?” David had taken out his pipe. “Supposing we are correct in assuming that all these incidents are related, one thing stands out: The only ones who have been physically attacked are Daoud, Selim, and Maryam.”
“How extraordinary,” I exclaimed. “As a rule, such attacks are directed at us. Of course we are affected by danger to any of those we love . . .”
Reader, are you familiar with the sensation of trying to capture an elusive thought—an idea that hovers just on the edge of awareness? I feel certain you are. I was attempting to pin the thing down when Emerson spoke.
“It’s a blow, isn’t it, Peabody? Your favorite method of catching criminals is to provoke them into attacking you. We’ve all got off scot-free in this affair; even the Veiled Hathor only wanted—er—that is to say—”
“But what can be the connection between Maryam, Daoud, and Selim?” Ramses, glancing self-consciously at his wife, was quick to change the subject.
“I confess I cannot find a common denominator,” I admitted. The vagrant thought had escaped, back into the murky depths of the subconscious. I did not attempt to pursue it. “Let’s try another method. What do we know about the enemy?”
“He has access to a rifle and is a good shot,” Ramses said. “That suggests a man, but the Veiled Hathor was obviously a woman.