The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog - Elizabeth Peters [174]
“Chicken,” said Emerson. Stopping in front of my door, he extended one hand and turned the knob. “And, of course, the effect of my charismatic personality.”
The steward had lit the lamps. As the door opened I let out a cry; for facing me was a pair of dim but dreadful forms, their garments in tatters, their red-rimmed eyes staring wildly, their haggard faces gray with dust.
It was our reflection in the tall pier glass. Emerson nudged the cat aside, kicked the door shut, deposited me on the bed, and collapsed beside me with a heartfelt groan. “Are we getting old, Peabody? I feel somewhat fatigued.”
“Oh, no, my dear,” I replied absently. “Anyone would be weary after such a day.”
Emerson sat up. “Your protestations do not convince me. Let me put it to the test.” And, seizing me in a firm grip, he crushed me to him and brought his mouth down on mine.
He went on kissing me for quite a long time, adding other demonstrations that almost distracted me from the astonishing realization that had burst explosively into my dazed brain. Finally I succeeded in freeing my lips long enough to gasp, “Emerson! Do you realize that I am—”
“My wife?” Emerson removed himself a short distance. “I certainly hope so, Peabody, because if you are not, what I am about to do is possibly illegal, certainly immoral, and probably not becoming an English gentleman. Damn these damned buttonholes, they are always too—”
The blouse was ruined in any case.
Sometime later (quite some time later, in fact) I murmured, “When was it that you remembered, Emerson?”
His arm encircled me and my head rested on his breast, and I felt that Heaven could hold no greater bliss. (Though I would only admit to such an unorthodox opinion in the pages of this private journal.) We were in perfect amity and would always remain so; for how could discord mar such understanding?
“It was a memorable moment,” Emerson replied. “Seeing you come tearing along, waving that absurd little pistol, without the slightest regard for your own safety… And then you spoke the words that broke the spell: ‘Another shirt ruined!’ ”
“Oh, Emerson, how unromantic! I would have thought—” I flung his arm away and sat up. He reached for me; I scrambled back on hands and knees. “Curse you, Emerson!” I exclaimed passionately. “That was days and days and days ago! Do you mean you kept me dangling in limbo, suffering agonies of doubt, fearing the worst, for days and days and days and—”
“Now, Peabody, calm yourself.” Emerson pulled himself to a sitting position and leaned back against the pillows. “It was not so simple as that. Come here and I will explain.”
“No explanation can possibly suffice,” I cried. “You are the most—”
“Come here, Peabody,” said Emerson.
I went.
After an interval Emerson began his explanation. “That moment of revelation literally staggered me; it was as stunning as an electric shock, and as brief. For the next few days fragments of forgotten memories kept coming back, but it required several days to put all the pieces together and fix them in place. To say I was in a state of confusion is to understate the case. You will admit, I believe, that the situation was somewhat complex.”
“Well…”
“The same could be said, of course, of all the situations you have managed to get us into,” Emerson went on. I could not see his face from the position I occupied at that time, but I could tell from his voice that he was smiling. “In this case it seemed wiser to keep my own counsel until I had got things straight in my mind. I often had trouble doing that even when I did not have amnesia to contend with.”
“Your sense of humor, my dear, is one of your most attractive characteristics. At the present time, however—”
“Quite right, my dear Peabody. This delightful interlude cannot be prolonged; there are a number of loose ends to be tied up. Let me be brief. The loyalty of at least one of our companions was in serious doubt. The only people I felt certain I could trust were you and Abdullah—and our other men, of course. To confide in either of you would have been to endanger you and