Tomb of the Golden Bird - Elizabeth Peters [77]
Turning to Sethos, Suzanne said, “David John says you are a very good player.”
“He wins every time,” Sethos said, smoothing his mustache and leering. He had a tendency to overplay a role. Suzanne returned his smile. She wasn’t really pretty, Ramses thought dispassionately; her cheekbones were flat and her chin weak. Admittedly he was prejudiced. As far as he was concerned, no woman in the world could compare with his wife.
Nefret had gone to Gurneh, to pay the promised visit to Kadija and her guest. At least she had had sense enough to go in daylight, instead of waiting till after dinner. There were lots of people around, and she had promised to ask Daoud to walk her home.
When he returned his attention to the others, he saw that Sethos had got Emerson out of his fit of the sulks by talking about the tomb. (The word no longer required a defining adjective; there was only one tomb in Egypt just then.)
“Where did you hear that?” Emerson demanded.
“I read the newspapers, Professor. Carnarvon sent a statement to the Times ten days ago asserting that the tomb had been robbed during the Twenty-first Dynasty.”
“Stuff and nonsense,” Emerson exclaimed. “If the existence of the tomb had been known at that time, it would have been emptied completely. And furthermore—”
“We know the other arguments, Emerson,” his wife cut in. “The tomb can’t have been entered after the Twentieth Dynasty; the workmen’s huts from the time of Ramses VI covered the entrance and were not disturbed until Howard cleared them away. Why would Howard allow Carnarvon to make such a ludicrous claim?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Sethos inquired meekly. “An intact tomb belongs in its entirety to the Department of Antiquities. The definition of ‘intact’ is open to argument, but if the robbery occurred during the period when most of the other royal tombs were looted, the discoverers are entitled to a share of the contents.”
Emerson growled in agreement. Suzanne gave Sethos an admiring smile. “How clever of you, Mr. Bissinghurst. You know a great deal about the subject.”
“Enough to know that Carter and Carnarvon are heading for trouble,” Sethos said, ducking his head in pretended modesty. “Thus far the Times is the only newspaper to get information directly from the excavators. The other papers resent having to get their news secondhand, and the Egyptian journalists are furious at being passed over. With nationalist sentiment on the rise…” He shook his head.
“And Lacau looking for an excuse to change the rules about the division of antiquities,” Emerson added. “Carnarvon’s concession stipulates that the museum is to keep royal mummies and coffins and all other objects of historical and archaeological importance. Every object in that tomb can be said to fall into the last category, and in totality they constitute a unique assemblage. The entire contents should go to the Cairo Museum. We didn’t claim any of the objects from Tetisheri for ourselves.”
“But we,” said his wife, her chin protruding, “are not Lord Carnarvon. At heart he is nothing more than a collector.”
“I guess maybe you could say the same about me,” Cyrus said self-consciously. “I sure didn’t refuse when Lacau offered me some of the artifacts from the tomb of the God’s Wives.”
“You have worked in Egypt for years,” Emerson said. “Worked hard and conscientiously.”
Compliments from Emerson were rare. Cyrus’s lined face shone with pleasure. “Carnarvon thinks of archaeology as entertainment,” Emerson went on. “And Carter deals in antiquities, for his patron and others. They expect to make money out of this one way or another.”
“Now, Emerson, you don’t know that,” his wife said. “And you are being unfair to Howard; he has done excellent work in his time, but since he lost his position with the Department of Antiquities he has been dependent on the patronage of buyers and of wealthy men like Carnarvon. For pity’s sake don’t repeat your opinion elsewhere. And do not ask to accompany me to the East Valley tomorrow.”
“I am not in the habit of asking you for permission, Peabody.