Lord of the Silent - Elizabeth Peters [116]
He threw himself down on the divan next to her and drew the weapon out of its clumsy container. “Pretty little thing,” he said, with a curl of his lip. “It’s the newest model of Mother’s beloved Ladysmith. Fully loaded . . .” He swung the cylinder out. “Except for the seventh shot, the one in the chamber under the hammer. Since there’s no safety catch, that would prevent a nasty accident in case the gun was dropped.”
“I know.”
“Mother let you play with hers, did she?”
“Would you rather I didn’t carry it?”
“You’re asking for my approval? Nefret, you know why I don’t carry a gun. This isn’t the first time I’ve asked myself whether I have the right to take that position, but I can’t . . .” He bent his head so that she couldn’t see his face, and when he went on his voice was tired and defeated, like that of an old man. “You were worried about my accepting another assignment. You needn’t have been. I won’t. I can’t. I’ve lost my nerve, Nefret. The very thought of violence makes me sick. How does it feel to have a coward for a husband?”
Nefret almost laughed, as one does at a statement so outrageously false it is tantamount to a joke. He wasn’t joking, though. He really meant it! She wanted to put her arms around him, but the situation was too serious for caresses and soothing denials. It’s me, she thought. This is what I’ve done to him—he’s afraid for me, not for himself, and he can’t see the difference, and he won’t believe me if I tell him.
“That is one of the most ridiculous statements you’ve ever made,” she said. She knew it wasn’t enough.
“Good of you to say so.” He smiled at her, but his eyes were hooded and opaque. “Well, that’s the end of tonight’s little drama. Keep the gun. One can’t refuse a gift from a fond uncle, can one?”
• • •
Eleven
• • •
The “train de luxe,” first class only (except for a second-class car reserved for the servants of the travelers) departed on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. It was not deluxe enough for Cyrus, who would have borrowed the Sultan’s carriage and had it hitched to the train had he been able. Failing that, he reserved an entire car for his party, which included Daoud. There was no one better than Daoud to look after an invalid, and Bertie had taken quite a liking to him. They carried with them every comfort Cairo could provide, from hampers of food to linen sheets for the berths. A flurry of telegrams had assured us that everything was in readiness for the travelers upon their arrival, and that they would be met at the station. When the train pulled away on Saturday evening, only an hour late, Emerson let out a gusty sigh.
“What a fuss! The boy would be better off if everyone left him alone.”
“Now, Emerson, you know that is nonsense. He seemed brighter, but he has a long way to go. Sennia was good for him, I think.”
Sennia had carried on like a small tragedienne when we denied her request to accompany the Vandergelts. She was reluctant to give up her self-appointed role as Bertie’s nurse, but her real reason for wanting to go to Luxor was that she missed Ramses.
“We’ll take her with us to the dig tomorrow,” Emerson said. “That will cheer her up.”
“I do not believe in rewarding children for bad behavior, Emerson.”
“She is only six. What do you expect her to do, sit in the house all day while we are at Giza? There is no school on Sunday.”
“I ought to take her to church. Her religious training has been sadly neglected since we got here.”
“Be damned to that,” said Emerson. “I need you on the dig. We have lost several days, and with Daoud gone we are even more shorthanded.”
“Do you intend to begin on the queen’s pyramid tomorrow?”
Emerson gave me a severe look. “That sounds like blackmail, Peabody.”
He was just making one of his little jokes. We had already decided that the queen’s pyramid should be our next project. At least I had, and Emerson had not said we would not.
Since Friday was the day of rest for our Moslem friends, we had become accustomed to working on the Sabbath. It was a frightful nuisance to dress and drive all the way into Cairo to attend