The Hippopotamus Pool - Elizabeth Peters [157]
‘No use,’ he said. ‘She must have written this with the woman looking on – dictating, even. It reads: “I have gone to Luxor with Miss Marmaduke to meet someone who may know where Ramses is. We are only going to the Luxor Hotel. I will come back as soon as I can.”’
‘How could she be so gullible?’ Walter demanded. ‘I had thought better of her.’
‘It is that infernal spirit of competition that has developed between her and Ramses,’ I said.
‘And her affection for him,’ Evelyn said gently. ‘She has been desperately worried, Amelia.’
‘Wait a minute.’ Cyrus had been looking through the other papers. ‘What the dickens is this?’
The major-domo cleared his throat nervously. ‘You told me, sir, to copy any message that came for the lady.’
For a moment no one moved. The disappointment had been so severe, we did not dare hope again.
‘Read it aloud,’ Emerson said hoarsely.
Cyrus cleared his throat. ‘“Riccetti has the boy. Now is your chance; she will come with you if you promise to lead her to him. She must steal away unseen or they will try to stop you, for they do not walk in the light as you do. She who guards the gates of the Underworld has given us a sign. Do not fail Her.”’
‘Oh, heavens,’ I said with a sigh. ‘Crushed again. That is the usual psychic mumbo-jumbo. It is of no more help than Nefret’s note.’
Emerson was pouring over the message. ‘There is more in this than we thought,’ he said slowly. ‘You were right all along, Peabody, and I hope you will be good enough to refrain from mentioning it more than a dozen times a day.’
My heart swelled with affectionate admiration. No one, particularly myself, had ever doubted that Emerson was the bravest of men, but this quiet fortitude demanded more courage than the vigorous action to which he was usually prone. In an equally calm, cheerful voice I replied, ‘Yes, my dear. I congratulate you for grasping the implications so quickly.’
‘You might just explain them to me,’ Cyrus said, rubbing his forehead. ‘I guess I’m a mite dense this evening.’
‘I understand,’ Evelyn exclaimed. ‘There are two groups of criminals, just as you believed, Amelia –’
‘The Jackals and the Hippopotami!’ I cried. ‘And Gertrude is not a hippopotamus!’
‘Yes!’ We shook hands, and I clapped her on the shoulder.
Walter stared at his wife as if she had lost her mind. Cyrus gaped. Emerson studied me pensively.
‘Peabody,’ he said, ‘in case I have not thought to mention it recently, you are the light of my life and the joy of my existence. Come, my dear, we must return to the dahabeeyah immediately.’
There was no opportunity for conversation during the ride back; Emerson set a rapid pace and we were several minutes behind him by the time we arrived. I hurried at once to our room, where I found him wrapping a bundle of clothing in India-rubber sheeting.
‘Remain in the saloon this evening,’ he said, tossing the bundle onto the bed and starting to unlace his boots. ‘If anyone is watching, it will be more difficult to ascertain how many of us are present.’
‘You need not spell it out. Emerson, must you go?’
‘Now is the best chance, before the trail grows cold. It may be my only chance, Peabody; I must be seen to be at the tomb tomorrow, at the usual time. Curse it,’ he added, tugging at his shirt, ‘what did you use to sew these buttons, wire?’
‘Take Abdullah. Or Daoud. Please, Emerson.’
‘I might as well wear a placard with my name in black letters,’ my husband replied acerbically. ‘Their faces are well known in Luxor.’
‘And yours is not?’
Emerson grinned at me. ‘I borrowed a beard from Ramses. A fine beard it is, too. I am leaving Daoud with you, you may need him, and I dare not risk having him take me across; we might be seen. Give me a kiss for luck, my dear.’
Since I had intended to do so anyhow, I obliged. I sent him off with a word of cheer and a valiant smile, but after the door had closed behind him . . . But why describe my sensations or my actions? They did me no credit. Finally, I stiffened my spine, fastened the smile back onto my face, and went to find Walter and Evelyn.
They had not