He Shall Thunder in the Sky - Elizabeth Peters [46]
Emerson removed his elbow from my ribs and began talking very loudly about Wagner.
When the Vandergelts joined us in our box, Katherine said—in answer to my question—that they had left Ramses off at the Savoy. That was not one of his usual haunts; he must have planned to meet someone, or call for someone who was staying there.
Speculation could get me no further, so I abandoned the question for the time being.
The Opera House had been built by the Khedive Ismail as part of his modernization of Cairo in preparation for the visit of the Empress Eugénie to open the Suez Canal in 1869. Rumor had it that Ismail was madly in love with the French empress; he had built for her not only an elaborate palace but a bridge by which she could reach it, and a road to Giza so that she could visit the pyramids in comfort. The Opera House was lavish with gilt and crimson velvet hangings and gold brocade. Ismail had commissioned Aida for the grand opening, but Verdi didn’t get around to finishing it for another two years, so the Khedive and the Empress had to settle for Rigoletto. Several boxes had been designed for the ladies of Ismail’s harem; screened off from the view of the audience, they were now reserved for Moslem ladies.
Katherine and I at once took out our opera glasses and looked to see who was there, with whom they had come, and what they were wearing. I do not apologize for this activity, which Emerson took pleasure in deriding. At worst it is harmless; at best, it is informative. The grandiose khedival box was occupied that evening by none other than General Maxwell. Since the declaration of war and the institution of martial law, he was the supreme power in Egypt, and his box was full of officers and officials who had come to pay their compliments (i.e., flatter the great man in the hope of gaining favor). I was not surprised to see Percy among them.
Even as we scrutinized we were being scrutinized. The General was not immune to this form of polite social intercouse; seeing my eyes fixed on his box, he acknowledged me with a gracious salutation. I nodded and smiled—full into the teeth of Percy, who had the audacity to pretend the greeting was meant for him. Displaying the said teeth in a complacent smile, he bowed. I cut him as ostentatiously as was possible, and was annoyed to see Anna respond with a wave of her hand. She had met him, I recollected, on an earlier occasion, while our relations with Percy were still relatively civil.
I interposed my person between her and Percy and scanned the audience below. Mrs. Fortescue was present, her escort that evening a staff officer with whom I was not acquainted. I asked Katherine to point out Major Hamilton.
“I don’t see him,” was the reply. “Why are you curious about the gentleman?”
“I told you about his niece’s little adventure on the pyramid,” I replied.
“Oh, yes. He hasn’t called on you to express his thanks?”
“Quite the contrary. He has written informing me he will not allow the child to associate with us.”
“Good gracious! Why would he do that?”
“Don’t be tactful, Katherine, not with me. I can only suppose that he has heard some of the vicious gossip about Ramses.”
Anna had been an interested listener. In her gruff boyish voice she remarked, “Are you referring to his pacifist sentiments or his reputation with women, Mrs. Emerson?”
“I see no reason why we should discuss either slander,” Katherine said sharply.
Anna’s sallow cheeks reddened. “He is a pacifist. It is not slanderous to call him that.”
This exchange caught Nefret’s attention. “I wouldn’t call Ramses a pacifist,” she said judiciously. “He is perfectly willing to fight if he believes it to be necessary. He’s damned good at it too.”
“Nefret,” I murmured.
“I beg your pardon,” said Nefret. “Just trying to set the record straight. Have you joined one of the bandage-rolling committees, Anna?”
Her disdainful tone made Anna stiffen angrily. “I want to do something more . . . more difficult, more useful.”
“Do you?” Nefret propped her chin on her hand and smiled sweetly at the other young woman. “Come round