The Golden One - Elizabeth Peters [194]
“I presume it will not be convenient early or late,” I said.
Emerson emitted a wicked chuckle. “Why do you suppose I made a quick departure from Cairo? We reported to General Chetwode, handed over our prisoner, and assured him and his intelligence staff that they’d seen the last of Ismail Pasha—which is true, since Sethos won’t use that disguise again. If they have any further questions they can come to us, but they will get damned few answers. Nothing from Carter or—er—”
I shook my head. “Here is an interesting invitation, however. The Albions are giving a dinner party and dance on Friday. The honor of our presence is requested. There is a little note penned by Mrs. Albion herself, hoping that Jumana will also honor her.”
“Me?” Jumana’s eyes opened very wide.
“Her?” Emerson exclaimed. “What the devil for?”
“She is one of the family,” Nefret said. “I expect they are trying to make up for . . . for any inadvertent rudeness in the past.”
“They have not been rude,” Jumana said. “They sent me flowers, when I was sick.”
“They did? You didn’t tell me.”
“Many people sent me presents,” Jumana said proudly. “Bertie, and Mr. Vandergelt, and Daoud, and an American gentleman I met at Mr. Vandergelt’s party. Will we go? There will be dancing. I like to dance.”
“I believe not,” I said.
“Why not?” Emerson inquired. “It should be a—er—enjoyable outing.”
“Emerson!” I exclaimed. “What are you up to now?”
Emerson’s sapphirine-blue eyes met my own with a wholly unconvincing look of candor. “I only wish to give you pleasure, my dear. You like such things. It is the least a fellow can do.”
FROM MANUSCRIPT H
Ramses knew perfectly well what his father was “up to.” Deny it as he might, he was as obsessed as Cyrus with Jamil’s tomb. In a way, Ramses couldn’t blame him. The words ran through his own head like a litany: The hand of the god. What god? Where? It was beginning to interfere with his personal life. Nefret shook him awake that night, complaining that he had been muttering the words in his sleep. “If you must talk in your sleep, you might at least mumble about me!”
After he had apologized by reciting the epithets of Hathor—“Golden One, Lady of Fragrance, Mistress of All the Gods”—and acted upon them—she settled down with her head on his shoulder and admitted she couldn’t get that enigmatic clue out of her head either.
“I’ve been wondering whether we ought not question Jumana again,” she said. “She has a fantastic memory and almost total recall, even for accents. Wasn’t it enchanting to hear her imitate Cyrus?”
“It was rather uncanny hearing her imitate Jamil the day we found Mother and Father,” Ramses said. “Are you suggesting that if we asked the right questions she might remember something Jamil said about the tomb?”
“That’s how her memory seems to operate.”
“It’s worth a try, I suppose. We might even be able to talk Father out of breaking into the Albions’ suite.”
“You’re joking. No, damn it, you aren’t!”
He had told her of his conversation with Emerson. She had scoffed at the time, but now . . .
“That’s why he agreed to go to their party!” she groaned. “What are we going to do?”
“Make sure they don’t catch him in the act. He’s dead set on this, Nefret. I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t believe it will do any harm.”
She relaxed against him and let out a breath of laughter. “Well, maybe not. Even if the worst happened—if someone found him in their rooms—he’d talk his way out of it.”
“Shout, not talk,” Ramses corrected. “What could they do to him, after all? There isn’t a man in Luxor who would dare interfere with him.”
All the same, he was a little on edge the night of the party. His father had readily admitted he meant to search the Albions’ rooms; he had raised the subject himself, overruling Ramses’s half-hearted protests and requesting his assistance.
“I will signal you when I’m ready to act. Keep an eye on the Albions. If one of them starts to leave the ballroom—well, you will know what to do.”
“Start a fight with Sebastian, for example? All right, Father, I’ll think of something. I hope. You will