The Golden One (53 page)

The sunlight deepened to amber and then faded into grey, and there was still no sign of Sir Edward. Ramses lighted the lamps. I was about to suggest we do something about supper when the
long-awaited sound of footsteps was heard and Sir Edward came into the room. In that first moment he had eyes only for his chief. Had I doubted the warmth of their friendship, the looks of relief
on both faces would have proved it. Being English, they did not express their feelings.

‘It’s good to see you, sir,’ Sir Edward said coolly. ‘Mustafa told me you were here.’

‘
You
ought to have been here,’ was the equally cool reply. ‘Sit down and have a cup of tea.’

‘It’s cold,’ I said, inspecting the sad dregs.

‘I’ll take it anyhow.’ Sir Edward dropped heavily onto the divan next to Emerson. ‘Sorry, Professor, I wasn’t able to get your whisky. The house – ’

‘Then we will have to settle for claret,’ said Sethos, going to the wine cabinet. ‘My supplies have become somewhat depleted. Amelia?’

‘Yes,’ I said, answering both the spoken question and the unspoken order. ‘Esin, I suggest you – er – go to your room and rest.’

‘I don’t need to rest,’ said the young person. ‘I am not tired.’

‘Then help Selim find us something to eat.’

I gave Selim a wink and a nod. As a rule this was all Selim needed, but this time I had to give him a little poke, for he was not looking at me. His intent black eyes were fixed on Sethos.

‘Your pardon, Sitt Hakim,’ he said, starting.

I repeated the suggestion. He nodded obediently, and got Esin to go with him by requesting the details of her daring escape from her father’s house. ‘Such courage,’ I heard him
say, as they left the room. ‘Such cleverness!’

Sethos turned from the cabinet, the bottle in one hand and the corkscrew in the other. ‘Report,’ he said curtly.

‘The town’s quiet,’ Sir Edward said. ‘Less damage than I had expected. The house is guarded by several soldiers and they’re scouring the countryside looking for you
people. According to the worthy citizens of Khan Yunus, you simply vanished into thin air, like the djinn you are reputed to be. The military hasn’t accepted that, though.’ He took the
glass Sethos handed him and went on, ‘They haven’t made up their minds whether you were abducted by force or went off on your own, for purposes of your own. Either way, they want
you.’

Ramses took the bottle from Sethos, who had neglected the rest of us in his concern for his aide, and poured wine for Nefret and me.

‘What about Gaza?’ Sethos asked.

‘The place is shut up tighter than a prison.’ Sir Edward sipped his wine appreciatively. ‘I made contact with one of our lads – Hassan. He’d just got back from an
attempt to enter the city by his usual route, but what he saw made him veer off. They’re stopping everyone.’

‘Shutting the barn door after the horse is stolen,’ I said with a smile.

‘Ha,’ said Emerson, motioning Ramses to fill his glass. ‘Any news of Sahin Pasha?’

Sir Edward shook his head, and Sethos said, ‘It will take them a while to decide how to deal with him. The most sensible course of action would be to execute him and announce he’d
been assassinated by the vile British.’

‘That was your plan, then,’ I said. ‘To make him appear guilty of treason.’

‘I didn’t have a plan when I started out,’ Sethos said snappishly. ‘My orders were to remove him – pleasant little euphemism, isn’t it? One learns to take
advantage of unexpected events. We were damned lucky. All of us.’

‘It took more than luck,’ Ramses said grudgingly. His uncle gave him a mocking bow.

‘Selim can’t keep the girl away for long,’ I said. ‘And I certainly don’t want her to know her father may be under arrest and facing death. We must decide what we
are going to do with her.’

‘Quite right, Amelia,’ said my brother-in-law. ‘You’ll have to take her back to Cairo, and the sooner, the better. The sooner you are all back in Cairo, the
better.’

‘What about you?’ I asked. ‘And Sir Edward?’

‘Don’t concern yourself about us. As soon as it’s light I want you all to return to Khan Yunus. That will stop them searching the whole damned neighbourhood and finding this
place, which wouldn’t be convenient for me. Make your preparations to leave Khan Yunus and get the hell away. You’ll have to come up with some story to explain the girl. The military
mustn’t know who she is, or take her from you.’

‘As if I would leave a girl of eighteen with a troop of soldiers,’ I said with a sniff. ‘What do we do with her when we reach Cairo?’

‘Take her to an address I will give you.’ He glanced at Ramses. ‘Memorize it; don’t write it down.’

‘That’s it, then,’ said Emerson, hearing Selim and Esin returning. ‘You have nothing more to tell us?’

Sethos made sure we had no chance to ask for more. After a scratch meal he went off with Sir Edward, instructing us to get our gear together and be ready for an early departure. We did not see
him again until morning.

It was still dark when we gathered in the courtyard, with only the light of our torches to guide our steps. The horses were waiting.

‘Good-bye,’ said Sethos. ‘A safe journey.’

He shook Emerson’s hand and mine. ‘When will we see you again?’ I asked.

‘When you least expect me, Amelia dear. That’s my trademark.’ He smiled at me. ‘You’ll hear from me soon, I promise. Good-bye, Nefret. Try and keep Ramses out of
mischief.’

‘I always do.’ She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Take care of yourself. Sir Edward, try and keep him out of mischief.’

‘Don’t I get a kiss?’ that gentleman inquired.

She laughed at him, and gave him her hand. ‘Good luck. And thank you.’

We reached Khan Yunus by midmorning and went at once to the house, followed by a throng of idlers. The gate was closed, and there were two soldiers guarding it. They snapped to attention, rifles
raised, when they saw us, and then one of them exclaimed, ‘It’s them!’

‘Grammar, young man,’ I said. ‘It is indeed we. Let us pass, if you please.’

Selim went at once to his beloved motorcar. ‘They have stolen two of the tyres!’ he cried in anguished tones.

‘That’s easily remedied,’ said Emerson, helping me to dismount. ‘Come along, Selim, you can play with the motorcar later.’

A quick inspection assured us that the house was deserted and that a good many items were missing, including the best part of ‘the favourite’s’ elegant wardrobe.
‘Can’t be helped,’ said Emerson. ‘Lucky we had everything we needed with us. Let us go to the mak’ad. I expect we will be receiving a visit soon.’

‘Yes, our arrival will have been reported,’ I agreed. ‘Esin, I want you to stay here in the harem.’

‘Why?’ she demanded.

‘You are an enemy alien,’ Nefret said. ‘If the soldiers find out you are here, they will take you away.’

I hadn’t intended to be quite so blunt about it, but the warning had the desired effect. Esin’s rounded cheeks paled.

‘We won’t let them take you,’ Ramses said quickly. ‘Just stay out of sight and keep quiet.’

‘I would very much like a bath,’ I said. ‘But that will have to wait until we round up a few of the servants. In the meantime, what about a nice hot cup of tea?’

The inefficiency of the military was disappointing. It took them an hour to react to the news that we had returned. The open arches of the mak’ad constituted an excellent
observation post; we were sipping a second cup of tea when he burst into the courtyard, kicked an unfortunate chicken out of his path, and came to a stop, staring. Emerson leaned over the rail and
called to him.

‘Up here, Cartright. Join us.’

‘We ought to have expected it would be he,’ I remarked. ‘He appears to be in quite an unhappy frame of mind.’

Cartright took the stairs two at a time. His face was flushed and his moustache looked as if he had been chewing on it.

‘You’re here,’ he gasped. ‘All of you.’

‘Obviously,’ I replied. ‘Nefret, is there more hot water? I believe Major Cartright could do with a cup of tea. Do sit down, Major.’

The young man collapsed onto a chair and passed a handkerchief over his face. ‘Where have you been? We’ve been searching for days.’

‘Not that long, surely,’ I said. ‘Drink your tea. We have decided to take advantage of your kind offer to facilitate our return to Cairo. We will need petrol, water, food, and
two new tyres. Is there anything else, Emerson?’

Leaning against the wall, arms folded and lips twitching, Emerson shook his head. ‘Not that I know of. Continue, Peabody, you seem to have the situation well in hand.’

‘We would like to leave tomorrow morning,’ I explained. ‘You seem to have frightened our servants away. Persuade – persuade, I said – them to return. We have
clothing to be washed and meals to be prepared.’

‘Mrs Emerson . . . please.’ Cartright waved away the cup I had offered. ‘Just stop talking, will you? Professor, I want to know where the devil – ’

‘Language, language,’ said Emerson. ‘There are ladies present. As for answering your questions, sir, I am not subject to your orders.’

‘General Chetwode – ’

‘Nor his. I will report to whom I see fit and when I see fit. In Cairo, to be precise. Are you going to get us the supplies we need or must I go over your head?’

‘I . . . yes. That is, I will get them. And go with you.’

‘There won’t be room in the motorcar,’ said Emerson with finality. ‘Oh – I almost forgot. The horses. Fine animals. They are in the stable.’

Cartright sat bolt upright. ‘Then it was you who . . . One of the troopers swore there was a woman in the party, but – ’

‘Me,’ said Nefret with a smile. ‘The poor boy wants his Mary back, I expect. Tell him she has been well cared for and that I thank him for the loan.’

‘That is all you have to say?’ His frowning visage turned from Nefret to Emerson.

‘It is all any of us have to say,’ Emerson assured him. ‘When may we expect those supplies?’

Major Cartright’s countenance underwent a series of contortions. He had been sorely tried, but knew perfectly well that any attempt to detain Emerson against his will would result in an
uproar that would reverberate through every level of British officialdom.

‘I’m not certain I can obtain everything you need today,’ he muttered.

‘Oh, I think you can,’ said Emerson, showing his teeth.

‘Yes, sir. Then . . . I will see you in Cairo?’ He looked at Ramses, who had remained silent.

‘No doubt,’ said Ramses.

‘You are the one he would like to question,’ I said, after Cartright had taken his departure. ‘I expect he will go haring off to General Chetwode and demand we be held
here.’

‘Chetwode has no authority to detain us,’ said Emerson. He rubbed irritably at the cast, which was looking somewhat the worse for wear. ‘Nefret, can’t I have this cursed
thing off?’

‘Not yet, Father. As soon as we get to Cairo I’ll have a look at it.’

Selim returned from his inspection of the motorcar to report that everything seemed to be in order, and went off to commandeer some household assistance, since I did not suppose Major Cartright
would consider that matter worthy of his attention. It had begun to rain, so we retreated into the room behind the open mak’ad, where we had left our baggage.

‘We may as well unpack our bundles,’ I said. ‘What with all our comings and goings, I have lost track of precisely what we still have. I gave my bar of soap to Mustafa, but
here is my medical kit and my parasol – ’

‘You won’t need that, Mrs Emerson. You will not be leaving the house just yet.’

I had missed one of the secret rooms. Unlike the makhba under the floor of the harem, this was a small hidden chamber whose door resembled that of a wall cupboard. He looked much the same as he
had when I had seen him before, a big man with a grizzled beard and shoulders almost as impressive as those of Emerson. He had a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other.

‘Sahin Pasha, I presume,’ I said, after a slight catch of breath. ‘We ought to have anticipated that a clever man would comprehend the gravity of his predicament and escape
before he could be apprehended. On the run, are you?’

‘One might call it that. Now, if you don’t mind – ’

‘Coming here was also a clever move,’ I mused. ‘There is a saying that the safest place for a criminal is in the police station.’

‘Is there? No, my young friend, don’t take another step. I want all of you close together.’

Ramses stopped. ‘You daren’t use that gun,’ he said. ‘The sound of a shot will bring the servants and a dozen soldiers.’

‘If I am forced to fire, there will be more than one shot and by the time your assistants arrive it will be too late for some of you. There is no need for that. All I want is my
daughter.’

‘Let us discuss this calmly,’ I said. ‘How do you propose to get her away from here, against her will, without killing all of us, which is, as you must see,
impractical?’

A rather jolly rumble of laughter emerged from his parted lips. ‘Mrs Emerson, it is a pleasure to meet you at last. I know you are hoping that your fascinating conversation will distract
me. It won’t. But since you ask, I have already dealt with Esin. She is lying bound and gagged on the divan in the ka’ah. I found this hiding place last night. As soon as I have
persuaded you to enter it, I will take her and go.’

‘Go where?’ I demanded. ‘Back into the lion’s den? You are being unrealistic if you believe you can convince your erstwhile friends that you are still to be
trusted.’

The man’s strong jaw hardened. ‘I will prove my good faith by returning, with my daughter.’

It would require more than that. He knew it, and so did I. But if he could recapture the prisoner he had let escape . . .If he could herd us one by one into the secret room, leaving Ramses till
last . . .

‘Go on,’ Sahin said, gesturing with the pistol. ‘You first, Mrs Emerson.’

‘No,’ I exclaimed. ‘Emerson, do you see what – ’

‘It’s all right, Mother,’ Ramses said quietly. ‘I think he’s bluffing. I wonder how many bullets are left in that pistol? Enough to stop all of us?’

‘A good point.’ Emerson nodded. ‘I call your bluff, sir. We are not sheep, to be herded into a pen. The girl stays with us, but we will give you . . . oh, let us say an hour .
. . to get away.’