Lord of the Silent - Elizabeth Peters [172]
I anticipated her. “Yes, Katherine, I owe you an explanation and an apology. Shall we retire to the library? Where is William?”
“In the library,” Cyrus said, tugging at his goatee. “At least that’s where he was last time I saw him.”
“The sitting room, then,” I said, and led the way.
“I had to tell her,” Cyrus burst out.
“Of course,” I replied graciously. “There should be perfect confidence between husband and wife. We only wanted to spare you worry, Katherine.”
“I know. Amelia, I would willingly—gladly—risk myself, and even Cyrus, to help you, but—”
“But not Bertie. My dear, I understand and I don’t blame you one particle. If I believed there were the slightest possibility he could come to harm I would leave at once. In fact, I had already considered moving our inconvenient ménage to our old quarters.”
Emerson’s countenance brightened. I had thought the idea would appeal to him; when he is a guest in someone else’s home he has to mind his manners. “Excellent thought, Peabody. Yusuf won’t mind doubling up.”
A flush of shame, as I took it to be, warmed Katherine’s cheeks. “No, you mustn’t even consider it. You would be much more open to attack there, and I would never forgive myself if anything happened to one of you, especially to the child. I mean it, Amelia, I really do. Cyrus, I am sorry for the horrid things I said to you. I behaved like a shrew and a miserable coward. I won’t do it again.”
He took her hand. “Quite all right, my dear. Bertie will be fine, you’ll see. Matter of fact, Amelia, I was kind of disappointed you didn’t bring him along too. I’ve been curious to meet the fellow after that trick he pulled on me some years back. What did you do with him?”
“Nothing,” Emerson growled. “He’d gone.”
At my suggestion he elaborated, working himself up into a state of considerable indignation as he described the way Sethos had played on Miss Minton’s nerves. He ended by reading the note that had been left for him. I was pleased to observe that Katherine appeared more intrigued than fearful; as for Cyrus, he made no secret of his amusement.
“Fellow has a certain style, hasn’t he? Kind of a mean stunt he played on the lady—”
“But necessary,” Katherine interrupted. “From what you have told me of her, Amelia, she wouldn’t have been deterred by a courteous warning.”
“Quite right, Katherine.”
“Well, I guess maybe he was trying to keep her out of trouble,” Cyrus conceded. “Doggone it, it’s a shame he got away from you, he must know more than he’s telling. Any chance of tracking him down?”
“I can’t think how,” Emerson admitted. “He must have prepared a number of hiding places when he was in Luxor in the old days. Some, if not all, are known to his adversary; after that near miss the other night he won’t be foolish enough to use them again. I am at a loss as to where to look for him.”
Naturally I was not. I was on the verge of saying so when Miss Minton entered the room, hoping she was not too early for tea, and Katherine immediately took up her duties as hostess. After tea, when Emerson and I were in our room changing for dinner, he exclaimed, “Damnation! We forgot to ask about that fellow—er—Smith when we were at the Winter Palace.”
“You could not have done so if you were unable to remember his real name,” I replied.
“Well, whose fault is that? You were the one who kept referring to him as Smith. Did you make inquiries?”
I saw no reason to admit that I had also forgotten that ridiculous appellation. “I could hardly have done so, Emerson, while Miss Minton was with me. We don’t want her to know of our interest in the fellow. But I will inquire as soon as I can.”
I meant to inquire about someone else as well. The interval had given me time to reconsider my first impulse, and I determined to keep my own counsel until