The Hippopotamus Pool - Elizabeth Peters [171]
A certain touch of chagrin mingled with his pleasure, however, after we had gathered on the upper deck and Nefret had begun her story.
‘You escaped without assistance?’ he asked. ‘You did not require to be rescued?’
‘From Miss Marmaduke?’ Nefret sniffed. ‘She took me for a silly, helpless, civilized girl, and I did all I could to confirm that opinion. You would have been ashamed of me, Aunt Amelia, if you had seen me pretending to believe all the lies she told me.’
‘No, my dear, I would have been, and am, immensely proud of you,’ I said warmly. ‘But did it not occur to you that Miss Marmaduke might be leading you into a trap?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Nefret said, opening her eyes very wide. ‘Otherwise what would have been the sense of going with her?’
Yet Gertrude’s initial actions had made her wonder if she had been mistaken. She had not objected to Nefret’s leaving a message, and they had driven to the hotel without attempting to conceal their movements. She would not answer questions, however. She claimed she was only a humble servant of one greater than she, who would supply all the answers.
From Nefret’s description I realized that the room to which Gertrude had led her was the same one I had booked for her. She must have kept it on after she moved to the Castle. Nefret noted and approved the balcony and the convenient vine. She still had her knife, and felt certain she could get away if the situation became dangerous.
‘She was in quite a strange state,’ Nefret said. ‘She kept talking in that vague way of hers about the goddess and the Path; but the most peculiar thing was the way she behaved towards me – almost with reverence. I began to fear she was not a spy at all, but only a believer in some occult nonsense. She ordered tea to be brought to us . . .’
The first sip told Nefret that there was something wrong with the tea. She had to make a decision, and she did so without hesitation. She drank the tea.
Emerson could contain himself no longer. ‘Good God, child! How could you?’
‘How could I not? I had learned nothing that would help me find Ramses or unmask Miss Marmaduke’s mysterious superior. Unless they believed me to be helpless, they would make certain I did not learn anything. I threw up the tea, though, when Miss Marmaduke left the room for a moment. She was very nervous,’ Nefret said thoughtfully. ‘I have observed that when people are nervous they need to go –’
‘Very true,’ I said. ‘How did you –’
‘Over the balcony. When she came back, I complained of feeling dizzy. She helped me to lie down, and I pretended to fall asleep.’
She must not have rid herself of all the drug, for her succeeding memories were hazy and confused. With the assistance of another woman, Miss Marmaduke removed her outer clothing – and her knife. She could not remember what the other woman looked like, except that she wore a severe, dark gown of European design, and that she was stout and strong. After wrapping her in a long hooded robe, the two women placed her in a large travelling trunk and packed pillows and blankets carefully around her before closing the lid. As she drifted in and out of consciousness she was aware of the trunk being lifted and carried and finally set down. The gentle motion that followed told her she was on a boat, and she deduced they were returning to the West Bank. At last it stopped; the lid of the trunk was opened and she saw stars shining in the dark sky. Someone bent over her. It was not Miss Marmaduke, for she heard the latter’s voice, high-pitched with anxiety.
‘Is she all right?’
‘Yes.’ The other voice was a woman’s, deeper and harder.