The Hippopotamus Pool - Elizabeth Peters [71]
‘I cannot prevent you from calling them anything you like,’ Emerson replied furiously. ‘But the idea is even more fantastical than your usual theories. Abandon the subject, Amelia, if you please.’
I did so, since I did not wish discord to cloud the pleasure of our starlit stroll. After a time Emerson began to whistle. It was the agreed-upon signal– the stirring strains of ‘Rule Britannia’ –and in response a trio of ghostly forms materialized from the darkness.
Ramses was extremely annoyed at having missed ‘the fun,’ as he called it. Nefret was more interested in the strange men. In the intervals between Ramses’ complaints she peppered us with questions until we reached the boat and Emerson ended the discussion with a reminder that there were a number of things that must be done without delay.
‘Quite right,’ I said. ‘I must see how David is getting on, and make sure Gertrude is safely tucked in her bed; Howard Carter must be notified, and M. Maspero. And I am very worried about Selim, alone out there in the darkness.’
‘He won’t be alone for long,’ said Emerson.
When I joined him in our room I was not surprised to learn that he meant to return to Selim at once. Attempting to dissuade him would have been a waste of breath. ‘At least take Abdullah and Daoud,’ I begged.
‘My dear, I will be knee-deep in assiduous assistants by morning,’ Emerson said, stripping off his filthy, blood-stained shirt. Tossing it onto the floor, he grinned at me. ‘“Another shirt ruined,”’ he quoted.
I could not joke. The premonition of danger was so strong it clung to my lips like the taste of bitter herbs. I caught hold of him. ‘Let me go with you.’
Gently he loosened my clinging hands. ‘Now, Peabody, don’t carry on. Abdullah has gone to collect the men; I will meet them at Deir el Bahri, and knock Carter up while I’m about it. I can hardly wait to see his face.’
‘You are taking Ramses. Why can’t I –’
‘Because you are needed here. Yours may be the post of greatest peril, Peabody. We still don’t know why the boy was attacked. If it was to prevent him from telling us about the tomb, then he is out of danger, but I doubt that was the motive. It is most unlikely that he could have learned such a closely kept secret. He must be guarded, and you must watch Miss Marmaduke as well.’
‘Yes, I know. But –’
‘I will take Anubis. How’s that?’
‘A great consolation,’ I said sourly. Upon hearing his name the cat, who was lying on the bed, sat up. Emerson snapped his fingers. Anubis jumped down and followed him to the door. In fact the knowledge that the cat would be with him did console me a little. Anubis’s brindled coat and heavy muscular body, not to mention his surly disposition, were those of a feral animal, and he was utterly devoted to Emerson.
‘Get some sleep, Peabody.’
‘Oh, certainly. The easiest thing in the world.’
After he had gone I changed my own garments, which were in little better case than Emerson’s. Descending cliffs on a rope and crawling through bat guano has a deleterious effect on one’s wardrobe. Then I returned to David. He had been asleep when I first looked in on him, and I had left Nefret to watch him. He was awake now, his great black eyes fixed on Nefret, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor and staring owlishly back at him.
‘He woke,’ she said.
‘So I see.’ I sat down on the bed and felt the boy’s forehead. It was cool. The fever had broken, but he was still very weak.
‘Where he gone?’ David asked.
I knew to whom he referred but before I could answer, Nefret said, ‘“Where has he gone.”’
David bobbed his head. ‘Where hasss he gone?’
‘He is trying to learn proper English,’ Nefret explained, as I turned a critical eye upon her. ‘He asked me to correct him.’
‘I see. Well, David, Ramses has gone with his father. We have found the tomb. You know the one I mean.’
David shook his head. ‘Many tombs.