The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog - Elizabeth Peters [129]
I must see him and speak with him, and hope that an appeal to the friendship he claimed to feel for me would persuade him to leave us alone. A little bribe, in the form of a promise of future interviews, might assist in achieving the desired end. But how was I to reach him alone and unescorted? Cyrus would insist on accompanying me if he knew what I planned, and Cyrus’s critical presence would destroy the friendly, confidential atmosphere that was essential to any hope of success.
I would have to go during the midday rest period, I decided. It would have been folly to attempt the long, difficult walk in darkness, and I could not disappear for any length of time during working hours. The rest period usually lasted for two or three hours. There was no hope of being able to return before my absence was discovered, since the distance was almost three miles each way, but if I could deal with Kevin before they caught me up, I would have accomplished my purpose. It was feasible, I concluded. Certainly it was worth a try. And there could be no danger, for Selim would be on guard at the entrance to the wadi.
Having decided this, I applied myself to my dinner with good appetite. The others, I observed, were inclined to study each bite suspiciously before putting it into their mouths, but I had reasoned that the same trick would not be tried again so soon after the failure of the first attempt.
Such proved to be the case. I woke several times during the night, feeling only normal drowsiness before I allowed myself to sleep again. Bertha seemed restless too, which further reassured me.
René and I put in a good morning’s work in the Pillared Hall (i.e., the burial chamber), for I never allow mental distraction to interfere with my archaeological duties. We had almost finished the back wall; the lowest sections could not be accurately copied until the floor was cleared to bedrock. I pointed this out to Emerson when we stopped for luncheon.
“I don’t suppose you want the men stirring up dust while you are copying?” he inquired. “Leave that till later. You still have three walls and four sides of two pillars to go, I believe?”
René’s face fell. He had hoped for a day or two off while the men worked.
I had considered slipping a little laudanum into the tea at lunch to ensure everyone would sleep soundly while I stole away. That did not seem quite cricket, so I only put it in Bertha’s cup.
She dropped off almost at once. Though I was on fire to be up and away, for time was of the essence, I forced myself to remain recumbent a little longer in order to ensure that the others had followed her into the land of Morpheus. As I lay watching her I could not help but wonder what the future held for such a woman. What thoughts, what fears, what hopes lay concealed behind that smooth white brow and those enigmatic dark eyes? She had never confided in me, nor responded to my attempts to win her confidence. Yet I had seen her engaged in animated conversation with René, and less often with Charles; even Emerson had managed to induce, upon occasion, one of her rare silvery laughs. Some women do not get on with other women, but that could not be the cause of her reticence with me, because she was equally wary of Cyrus— who, I must admit, did not conceal his dislike of her. Was she still a willing slave of the man who had been so brutal to her? Had it been she who drugged our food?
She lay with her back to me. Rising slowly, impelled by an impulse I could not have explained,