Lion in the Valley - Elizabeth Peters [139]
Incredibly, I had almost forgotten my position in the interest of the conversation, and another fear wormed its way into my mind. The man had a superhuman power of fascination. I had been chatting with him easily, fearlessly. Could time bring about the result he confidently expected?
Again my heart responded with a fervent “Impossible!” But a doubt lingered. . . .
“Tell me,” I said resolutely, “about the Fraser brothers. How did you become involved with Ronald?”
“Through normal business channels,” Sethos said readily. “I have in my employ several of the most reliable assassins in Cairo. He approached one of them and his request was, in due course, passed on to me. He had hired Kalenischeff (whose reputation was known to everyone except the naive officials of the police department) to distract Miss Debenham when she came to Cairo bent on tracking down Donald Fraser and convincing him to tell the truth about Ronald. Ronald could not permit that; only his brother’s woolly-witted loyalty stood between him and prison, disgrace and destitution. And he had good reason to fear that Donald might yield to the persuasion of the young and wealthy woman he secretly adored. Hence Kalenischeff, who led the girl astray instead of helping her.
“Kalenischeff, however, was not trustworthy. I had dismissed him from my employ some months earlier for that very reason. It would have been more discreet of me to have had him killed, but I am not so prone to needless slaughter as you suppose. He was in no position to betray my identity—I take care that no one shall be in that position—but if he had told all he knew, he could have crippled some of my operations.
“I kept an eye on him, therefore; and when I learned from Ronald Fraser that Kalenischeff was about to betray both of us, I was happy to accede to his request that Kalenischeff be disposed of. The wretch had decided to make a clean sweep, collect as much money as possible, and leave Egypt for good. He knew the Department of Antiquities would pay a tidy sum for information about me.”
“And Miss Debenham offered an even larger sum if he would help her find Donald and tell Donald of his brother’s treachery.”
“Precisely. The girl proved resistant to the drug we used and made the mistake of running away. As I told you, she was never in real danger; the weak muscles of a woman—even yours, my dear—could not have struck a blow like the one that destroyed Kalenischeff.”
“But Donald—poor Donald! You must clear him. That was an unworthy act, Mr. Sethos.”
“If it will please you,” Sethos said softly, “I will see to it that Fraser goes free.” He reached for my hand. I pulled it away. He shrugged and sighed and smiled, and leaned back.
“Not even a touch of the hand in return for my confessing to murder? So be it. I told you I was a patient man.
“The rest of the business should be clear to you now. Ronald never knew my real identity. As Viscount Everly I encouraged him to join my little group because I wanted to watch the fellow. I knew, of course, that Miss Debenham had fled to you, just as I knew you had taken Donald Fraser under your wing. I was not surprised, since it is your habit to adopt every unfortunate innocent you come across—by force, if necessary.”
“It is the duty of a Christian to help the unfortunate.”
“It is a Moslem’s duty too. Strange, how the so-called great religions all insist on the same weak virtues. Even the ancient Egyptians boasted of having given food to the hungry and clothing to the naked.”
“It is a sublime and universal truth,” I replied. “What you view as weakness is the quality that makes us one with the Divine. ‘And the greatest of these is love.’ Or,” I hastily amended, “as the word is sometimes translated, charity.”
“A poor, feeble translation,” said Sethos softly. His eyes held mine with hypnotic power; I felt myself sinking deep into their velvety depths. Then he lowered his gaze, and I let out a quick, involuntary sigh. His lashes