The Mummy Case - Elizabeth Peters [80]
“Have a chair,” Emerson said.
“I already have one. I could fancy a cup of tea, if you ain’t got coffee.”
“By all means.” Emerson offered him a cup. I resignedly awaited the explosion I knew was coming. The longer Emerson’s appearance of mildness continued, the louder the eventual explosion would be.
“Do I understand,” Emerson continued blandly, “that Miss Charity goes about armed with a knife? Let me assure you, Mr. Jones, that such precautions are not necessary. This is a peaceful country, and I doubt that she is capable of using such a weapon.”
“She’d be able to use it on herself,” Brother Ezekiel retorted. “And that’s what she was supposed to do before she let a male critter lay hands on her.”
“Good Gad,” I cried. “This is not ancient Rome, sir.”
I expected the allusion would be lost on Ezekiel, but to my surprise he replied, “They was heathens, but that Lucretia female knew the value of a woman’s purity. Well, in this case no harm done. I come to fetch her home, but long as I’m here I may as well tell you what’s on my mind.”
“By all means unburden yourself,” Emerson said earnestly. “I doubt that the organ you mention can stand any undue weight.”
“What? It’s about the Christian cemetery you’ve been digging up. You’ll have to stop it, Professor. They were heretics, but they was laid to rest in the Lord.”
I braced myself for the explosion. It did not come. Emerson’s eyebrows rose. “Heretics?” he repeated.
“Monophysites,” said Brother Ezekiel.
I had believed Emerson’s eyebrows could rise no higher, but I was wrong. Mistaking the cause of his surprise, Brother Ezekiel enlightened him.
“Our Lord and Saviour, Professor, has a double nature—the human and the divine are mingled in him. ’Twas all laid down by the Council of Chalcedon, anno Domini 451. That’s doctrine, and there’s no getting around it. These Copts wouldn’t accept it, though. They followed Eutyches, who insisted on the absorption of the human part of Christ by the divine into one composite nature. Hence, sir, the term Monophysite.”
“I am familiar with the term and its meaning,” Emerson said.
“Oh? Well, but that ain’t the issue. They may of been heretics, but they was Christians, of a sort, and I demand you leave their graves alone.”
The twinkle of amusement in Emerson’s eyes was replaced by a fiery glow, and I decided to intervene. “Your sister is on the verge of fainting, Brother Ezekiel. If you don’t take steps to relieve her, I shall. Charity—sit down!”
Charity sat down. Brother Ezekiel stood up. “Come along, girl, a handmaiden of the Lord has no business swooning. I’ve said my say, now I’ll go.”
“Not just yet,” said Emerson. “I haven’t had my say. Mr. Jones—”
“Brother Ezekiel, sir.”
Emerson shook his head. “Really, you cannot expect me to employ that absurd affectation. You are not my brother. You are, however, a fellow human being, and I feel it my duty to warn you. You have aroused considerable resentment in the village; last night’s fire may not be the last demonstration of that resentment.”
Brother Ezekiel raised his eyes to heaven. “If the glorious crown of the martyr is to be mine, O Lord, make me worthy!”
“If it weren’t such an entertaining idiot it would make me angry,” Emerson muttered as if to himself. “See here, sir; you are doing everything possible to increase the justifiable annoyance of the local priest, whose flock you are stealing away—”
“I seek to save them from the fires of hell,” Ezekiel explained. “They are all damned—”
Emerson’s voice rose to a roar. “They may be damned, but you will be dead! It would not be the first time Protestant missions have been attacked. Court danger as you will, but you have no right to risk your innocent converts and your sister.”
“God’s will be done,” Ezekiel said.
“No doubt,” Emerson agreed. “Oh, get out of here, you little maniac, before I throw you out. Miss Charity, if at any time you need our help, we are here, at your command. Send