Seeing a Large Cat (25 page)

Everyone who was anyone in Luxor was there. The only exception was the Fraser party. I supposed Enid had not been willing to risk having Donald make an exhibition of himself by buttonholing archaeologists and demanding information about the princess.

Dr. Willoughby, engaged in conversation with a visiting German Baron and his Frau, nodded to me across the room. Mr. Theodore Davis, looking like a very small mustachioed penguin in white tie and tails, glowered at me through his eyeglasses and left me to his "cousin," Mrs. Andrews, who was tastefully attired in purple satin and diamonds. I rather liked Mrs. Andrews. She was a cheerful soul with a genuine, if superficial, interest in Egyptology. We were soon joined by Howard Carter, who had just returned from Kom Ombo and who was dying to ask about the mummy.

It was, as I ought to have expected, the chief topic of conversation. Mrs. Andrews was delighted to get a firsthand account, and since I saw no reason why I should not, I answered her eager questions readily. Before long we were the center of a fascinated group. I managed to ask as many questions as I answered, filing the information away in my capacious memory for future consideration.

It was Mrs. Andrews who saw the newcomers first. "Good heavens," she exclaimed. "The Bellinghams have just come in. I would not have expected him to attend a social function so soon after..."

In fact I was not certain what social rules applied to the delayed discovery of one's wife's mummified body. The Colonel was suitably attired in black, but then he always was. The circlet of white bandage around his brow was a new addition.

"What happened to him?" I asked, too surprised to phrase the question more tactfully.

"My dear! Hadn't you heard?" Mrs. Andrews lowered her voice. "He was attacked-violently attacked-last night in Luxor. It has made us all very uneasy. Of course I would never dream of going out alone after dark, but Theo is so brave and daring-"

I did not want to hear her praise her Theo's bravery, so I took the liberty of interrupting. "What time of evening was it?"

"Quite late, I believe. Why he should be abroad at such an hour, and with his daughter, I cannot imagine; but perhaps he finds it difficult to sleep these days. And she has him wound around her little finger. Only look at that frock!"

Dolly was not wearing black. Again, the social conventions were difficult to define, and the dead woman had been-very briefly! -her stepmother. However, she might have chosen a more decorous gown than the azure silk trimmed with silk rosebuds, with a shockingly low neckline. I exchanged meaningful glances with Mrs. Andrews.

Recalling my duties, I moved through the room, making sure the glasses were kept filled and the hors d'oeuvres served. Since I had not greeted the Colonel I made haste to approach him. He was, I thought, equally anxious to talk with me, for he excused himself to his companion and stepped aside.

"Since you know it is not idle curiosity that prompts my inquiry, I will not hesitate to pursue it," I said. "You were not reckless enough, I hope, to leave the safety of the hotel in the hope that your enemy would try to kill you?"

"He has no such intention," was the grim reply. "He wants me to live and suffer. It was Dolly he was after. She ..." He hesitated, but briefly. "She is young and high-spirited, Mrs. Emerson; that last is a quality we Southerners admire in our ladies. I do not condone her behavior, but I understand it.

What drew her out was a note purporting to come from your son."

"Ramses?" I gasped.

"She has taken a girlish fancy to him," the Colonel said with a tolerance I certainly would not have displayed. "After seeing him that day on the terrace of the hotel, in those picturesque garments... Please, Mrs. Emerson, do not distress yourself. I asked him a few minutes ago whether he had written her. He denied it, and I believe him."

"Ramses does not lie," I said, more or less accurately.

"It is clear that the message was sent by my enemy. Fortunately I was not asleep when she crept out of her room, and the dragoman I had hired saw her."

"Saiyid? What was he doing on duty at that hour?"

"Carrying out the duties for which I had hired him. Surprising, for an Egyptian," the Colonel added. "The majority of them are not so loyal or so courageous. He had followed Dolly and was trying to persuade her to return when I caught up with them, and had it not been for him I might have gotten more than a bump on the head. He jumped the rascal and held him off until I could draw my knife." Seeing my expression, he smiled grimly. "Yes, Mrs. Emerson, I too have taken to carrying a knife. Scudder was always a cowardly weakling; so long as we meet on equal terms I do not doubt I can deal with him."

"A pity you weren't able to catch him, then."

Bellingham seemed to take this as criticism. He replied coolly, "I was briefly disoriented from the blow on my head."

"Saiyid did not pursue him?"

"Self-preservation is stronger than courage among the lesser breeds, Mrs. Emerson. He had gotten a slight cut across the ribs, but it was not serious."

"You examined the injury?" I inquired sarcastically. I was beginning to take a dislike to the Colonel.

"I? I sent him to the servants' quarters to have it looked after. With a generous pourboire, of course." He looked around. "Where is Dolly?"

"Gone into the garden, I expect," I said, following his gaze and failing, as he had done, to find the girl. "There is no cause for concern here. The garden is walled, and my young people must be with her, for I don't see them either."

Nevertheless I felt a faint stirring of uneasiness-my well-honed sixth sense at work. I decided a breath of fresh air would be just the thing.

Cyrus was justly proud of his little garden, where he grew the hollyhocks and petunias and roses that reminded him of his native heath as well as more exotic blooms permitted by the salubrious climate. In one corner of the enclosure he had constructed a kind of bower surrounded by trellised vines and hibiscus, with a pretty stone bench carved like an ancient sarcophagus. Hearing voices, I made my way thither and was just in time to see Mr. Booghis Tucker Tollington remove his gloves and strike my son across the face with them.

Before I could react, a large hand covered my mouth and a large arm went round my waist and drew me into concealment behind an hibiscus. "Hush, Peabody," Emerson hissed into my ear-half deafening me. "Remain motionless and silent. I would not want to miss a moment of this melodrama."

Young Mr. Tollington was doing his best to create one, but the only person willing to play her role was Dolly. I could not see her face clearly, for the only light, a pretty hanging lantern, shone directly down on the young men and left the others in partial shadow; but the hands clasped at her breast and her little squeaks of alarm were in the best traditions of theatrical heroines. Nefret, seated on the bench, appeared unconcerned, as did David, who was standing behind her.

Ramses had not moved, except for the reflexive jerk of his head. Now he said, in tones of deep disgust, "Oh, for God's sake!"

"Is that all you can say?" Tollington demanded.

"I could say a great deal more. What you are proposing is not only childish and stupid, it is against the law."

"The code of a gentleman supersedes the law," said Mr. Tollington, trying to sneer. "Obviously you know nothing about that. You did not reply to my first challenge, so I determined to give you a second chance. If you are afraid to fight me-"

"I am afraid of behaving like a damned fool," said Ramses. His altered tone struck a familiar note; though it was nothing at all like the soft purr that marks Emerson's angriest moods, it had the same quality. "Which I may do, if you continue in this vein. Excuse me."

He started toward the vine-enclosed entrance of the little bower, giving the other man a wide berth. Tollington stepped in front of him, barring his way, whereupon Ramses knocked him down.

Emerson had absentmindedly neglected to take his hand away from my mouth. He was laughing soundlessly; the puffs of breath tickled my ear. He drew me farther back into the shrubbery as Ramses stalked out of the bower. Ramses saw us, though; his steps halted for an instant, and then he went on until he reached the terrace, where he stopped to wait for us. His expression was a blend of sheepishness and bravado.

"Get it over with, Mother," he said.

I reached up and straightened his cravat. "Why, my dear, I don't know why you should suppose I am going to scold you. You behaved quite well under the circumstances-for a male person, that is. Men, as I have observed, react quite irrationally to words like 'afraid' and 'coward,' and you are still young enough to be susceptible to foolishness of that sort. I commend you for resisting a challenge which was, as you so rightly pointed out, both illegal and silly. Had he got so far as to propose a particular weapon?"

"Pistols," Ramses said, staring wide-eyed at me. "Er- Mother, I appreciate your approbation and your interest, but all the same, my action was an error. I ought not to have antagonized the fellow."

'True," said Emerson. Studying Ramses thoughtfully, he went on, "He seems bound and determined to antagonize you, though. Well, well, this is not the time nor the place for such a discussion. Here are Nefret and David coming. I suppose Miss Bellingham is wringing her hands over the fallen warrior."

"Not at all," Nefret said. "She was the first to follow Ramses, leaving the fallen warrior to tend his own wound. I suggested she return to the house through another door."

Ramses vanished within. Nefret dusted off her hands and looked at me. "What that girl needs," she said, "is a good hard slap."

"You didn't administer it, I hope," I said. "David was holding my arm."

Emerson chuckled. "Well done, David. Keep tight hold of her; take her inside, and tell Mr. Vandergelt we will be leaving shortly."

Instead of following the children, Emerson said to me, "Ramses was right, you know. Tollington will now be all the more determined to force him to fight." I said, "You are taking this too seriously, Emerson. Ramses will not be fool enough to allow such a thing. I confess I was surprised to see him lose his temper, though. He has always been as calculating and cool and unemotional as an old philosopher."

"Hmm, well, yes, that was a hopeful sign," Emerson said. "I have always suspected Ramses's feelings run deeper than you suppose. It is high time he began letting them out."

Farewells and thanks took some little time. Having completed my own, I looked round the room for my family. Emerson was waiting for me by the door, rolling his eyes and tapping his foot. Colonel Bellingham was talking to Nefret, his handsome head bent attentively; as I started toward them Ramses appeared, took Nefret's arm, and drew her firmly away.

A number of hired carriages were waiting outside; the drivers and attendants had gathered in a convivial circle, smoking and gossiping as they awaited the return of their employers. Among other familiar faces I recognized that of Saiyid, and an impulse for which I could not then account made me address him.

"Salaam aleikhum, Saiyid. I have heard of your loyalty to your master. Well done."

He sprang to his feet and returned my greeting. "I was very brave, Sitt Hakim. The man tried to kill me. If I had not fought like a lion-"

"'Yes, you are a hero," Emerson broke in. He knew Saiyid would go on bragging indefinitely if he were not interrupted. Modesty is not a quality admired by Egyptians. (There are times when I find myself in some sympathy with their point of view.)

"I am glad to see your wound does not trouble you," Emerson went on.

Saiyid doubled up and clutched his side. "It burns like fire, Father of Curses. I lost much blood, it poured down my body and ruined my best galabeeyah-"

"For which I am sure the Howadji reimbursed you," I said with a smile, for it was impossible to take Saiyid's performance seriously. The wound must have been as negligible as Bellingham had claimed.

From Manuscript H:

"Take your shirt off at once," Nefret ordered. "Or I will cut it off."

She had him backed up against the wall, and she was brandishing a pair of long-bladed scissors. He did not doubt she would use them precisely as she had said. There was obviously no help to be got from David, who was watching with his arms folded and a broad grin on his face. Morosely Ramses began undoing the buttons.

"There is no need for this," he insisted. "You ought not be here. Mother will become suspicious if you retire so early night after night, and I must be in Luxor by- Ouch! "

She had yanked the shirt off one shoulder and down his arm and was examining the cloth wound round his ribs.

"I thought so," she said with a sniff. "What did you use, an old galabeeyah? I suppose neither of you bothered to disinfect the wound either. Sit down in that chair."

Recognizing defeat, Ramses slid his arm out of the other sleeve and tossed the shirt onto the bed. His mother would be sure to notice if it got torn or dirty. "Did you steal that muck from Mother?" he asked, watching Nefret unpack the little bundle of medical supplies.

"I have my own. Something told me," said Nefret, advancing with the scissors, "I would be needing it. Why the devil didn't you come for me last night? "

"I tried," David began.

"That's quite all right, David. I know you did your best. Hmmm. Well, it isn't very deep, but it needs attention. Swear all you like," she added generously, uncorking the bottle of alcohol.

Because she had said he might, he managed not to swear, but the sweat was pouring down his face by the time she finished. "Hold your arms out," she ordered, and began winding bandages around his ribs.

"You are as bad as Mother," Ramses said resignedly. "Sadists, both of you. That is too tight."

"It has to be tight, to hold the pad in place. Do you want to get blood on another shirt and have Aunt Amelia scold you? Stop breathing so hard." Both her arms were around him and her smooth cheek rested on his chest. She tied the ends of the bandage in a neat knot, sat back on her heels, and smiled at him. "There you are, my boy. You took it like a hero."