The Ape Who Guards the Balance - Elizabeth Peters [83]
“No. Where is David?”
“Here, my brother. Safe, thanks to—”
“None of that,” Nefret ordered. “You two can wallow in sentiment later. We have a lot to discuss and I haven’t finished with Ramses yet.”
“I don’t think I can stand any more of your tender care,” Ramses said. The worst of the pain had subsided, though, and the hands that wiped the perspiration from his face were sure and gentle. “What the hell did you do to me?”
“What the hell did you do to that hand? It’s swelling up like a balloon, and one of your fingers was dislocated.”
“Just . . . leave me alone for a minute. Please?”
His eyes moved slowly around the room, savoring the sense of safety and the reassurance of familiar faces: David, his dark eyes luminous with tears of relief; Nefret, whitefaced and tight-lipped; and Selim, squatting by the bed, his teeth bared in a broad grin. If he hadn’t been such a fool he would have remembered Abdullah had relatives all over Gurneh. Selim’s house was one of the closest. His youngest wife made the best lamb stew in Luxor.
His eyes went back to David. “You got me here. God knows how. How bad is it?”
“To put it in technical terms, the knife bounced off his shoulder blade,” Nefret said. “A bit of sticking plaster was all that was required. Now let’s get back to you. I want to make sure nothing else is broken before we move you.”
“I’m all right.” He started to sit up and let out a yelp of pain when she planted her hand firmly against his chest and shoved him back onto the pillow.
“Ah,” she said, with professional relish. “A rib? Let’s just have a look.”
“Your bedside manner could use some improvement,” Ramses said, trying not to squirm as she unbuttoned his shirt.
There was no warning, not even a knock. The door flew open, and he forgot his present aches and pains in anticipation of what lay in store. The figure that stood in the door was not that of an enemy. It was worse. It was his mother.
:
I have always believed in the medicinal effects of good whiskey, but on this occasion I felt obliged to prescribe something stronger, at least for Ramses. Nefret and I discussed whether his ribs were broken or only cracked; Ramses insisted they were neither, but soon would be if we went on prodding him. So I strapped him up while Nefret dealt as efficiently with his hand, which was as nasty a specimen as I had ever beheld, even on Ramses. I then attempted to administer a dose of laudanum to each lad, for though David’s injuries were superficial he was gray-faced with exhaustion and strain. Neither of them would take it.
“I want to tell you what happened,” David said. “You should know—”
“I’ll tell them what happened,” said Ramses. We had had to hurt him quite a lot, but I suspected the unevenness of his voice was due to annoyance as much as pain.
Emerson spoke for the first time. Sitting quietly by the side of the bed, he had not taken his eyes off Ramses, and once, when he thought none of us saw him, he had given his son’s arm a surreptitious and very gentle squeeze. “Let’s get them home, Peabody. If they are fit for it, we might certainly profit from a council of war.”
So we bundled them into the carriage and took them home, with Risha trotting alongside. We retired to the sitting room, where I tried to make Ramses lie down on the settee, but he would not. Katherine moved quietly around the room lighting the lamps and drawing the curtains. Then she came and sat next to me. Her silent sympathy and support were what I needed just then; rallying, I once more took charge.
“You had better tell us what happened, Ramses,” I said.
I had had occasion in the past to complain of my son’s verbose and theatrical literary style. This time he went too far in the opposite direction. His concluding sentences were typical of the narrative as a whole. “The fellow hit his head when he fell. Once David was freed we ran for it. We would not have got away if he had not taken charge and made for Selim’s house. I had somehow got it into my head that we must reach Abdullah.”
“Is that all?” I exclaimed.
“No, it is not!” David