The Hippopotamus Pool - Elizabeth Peters [137]
‘I don’t know what you have in mind, Amelia,’ Evelyn said, giving me an apprehensive look. ‘But surely attack is not only dangerous but unnecessary. If our defences are strong enough . . .’
‘Impossible, my dear. An armed regiment at the tomb and another guarding the boat would not suffice.’
‘I wish we had them, though.’
‘So do I,’ I confessed. ‘An abundance of dependable defenders would certainly mitigate the danger. Our stout fellows are completely trustworthy and would defend us to the death, but there are barely enough of them to guard the tomb. The guards employed by the Antiquities Service are worse than useless; most of them are local fellows who would just as soon rob the tomb themselves. But you know as well as I that if the local talent, as Emerson calls them, were our only concern, I would sleep sound as a baby. I know most of the rascals personally; they are dishonest and greedy and untrustworthy, but I do not believe any of them is capable of cold-blooded murder. Riccetti has committed murder – and worse.’
Evelyn shivered. ‘It is with a malevolent glance at his ‘sister.’
‘My dear girl, I have been trying for almost thirteen years to keep Ramses out of trouble; it isn’t a question of protecting him, it is a question of preventing him from locating a lion so he can put his head in its mouth. Nefret is almost as bad,’ I added bitterly. ‘I anticipated difficulty with her but I never expected it would take this form; they are in constant competition, each trying to outdo the other. No, Evelyn, defence is all very well, but it won’t work where those two are concerned. We must find our foes and render them harmless!’
I was somewhat taken aback to learn that Walter had come to the same conclusion. It was not like him to advise direct action – at least it was not like the gentle scholar he had become – and I had intended to keep him out of harm’s way. I thought I understood why he had become so bellicose, and I directed a silent curse at Emerson for refusing to allow Walter to share his vigil at the tomb. Had Walter been allowed to participate in that dangerous duty, he would not have felt obliged to prove his manliness. (Most men seem to think this can best be demonstrated by hitting someone.)
Yet I could not think harshly of Emerson; there was no room in my heart for any emotion except tender concern for my absent spouse. He had refused even to return to the dahabeeyah with us. ‘Tonight is the time of greatest danger, Peabody.’
‘You have said that before, Emerson! And what of tomorrow night and all the nights that will follow?’
‘I’ll think of something,’ Emerson said vaguely. Then his lips curved in a smile and his blue eyes shone with a look I knew well. ‘You don’t suppose I will do without your – er – company indefinitely, do you? I would ask you to stay with me tonight if your presence on board were not absolutely vital.’
Staying with him – and Abdullah and Daoud and six other curious, sociably inclined individuals – was not a prospect that held much attraction, except for the chance that I could be of help in protecting Emerson. But that would mean abandoning others more in need of my care. He was right; duty drew me, with what reluctance I cannot express, from his side.
The responsibility was daunting. It may have been that realization that made my dear ones appear particularly vulnerable that evening: Ramses and Nefret, vibrant with the reckless courage of youth; Evelyn, dainty and fragile as a girl in her beruffled tea gown; Walter, slight of frame and softened by years of study, nervously adjusting his eye-glasses. And, of course, the cat Bastet, who had selected Ramses’ lap this time. In fact I was less concerned about the cat than about the others. She had better sense than either of the children. So did Anubis, who had gone with Emerson.
David was part of our company, though not, I thought, by choice. He had withdrawn to a corner, where he sat cross-legged chipping away at a bit of stone. It was not the