Curse of the Kings (26 page)

We talked for some time about the old days at Keverall Court.

closely knit community,he said. abina and the parson, Theodosia and Evan, you and Tybalt. I am the odd man out.

hy, you are one of the party and always will be.

one of the unlucky ones.

uck! That not in our stars but in ourselves, so Ie heard.

e heard it too and I sure both you and Shakespeare can be wrong. Didn I tell you I was one who never seized my opportunities.

ou could begin now.

He turned to me and his eyes were very serious.

n certain circumstances I could.He leaned forward and patted my hand suddenly. ood old Judith,he went on. hat a bully you were! Do you bully Tybalt? I sure you don. Now I the sort of man who needs a bully in my life.

I was uneasy. Was this Hadrian flippant way of telling me that in the past he had thought that he and I would be the ones to share our lives?

ou used to complain of me enough.

t was a bitter sweet sort of complaint. Promise you won stop bullying me, Judith.

l be frank with you, as I always have been.

hat what I want,he said.

From the minaret came the voice of the muezzin.

The women by the river stood up heads bowed; an old squatting beggar on the roadside tottered to his feet and stood in prayer.

We silently watched.

A subtle change had crept over the palace because the Pasha was coming. There was a growing tension in the kitchens where one heard excited voices; floors were washed with greater vigor than ever before; and brass was polished to look like gleaming gold. The servants lent to us by Hakim Pasha knew that the tolerant reign of the visitors was temporarily at an end.

Tybalt told me what we must expect.

e is the governor of these parts, one might say. He owns most of the land. It is because he has lent us his palace that we are treated so well. He has made it easy for us to get our workmen, and they will know that to work well for us is to work well for the Pasha. So they dare do no other. He was of great assistance to my father. You will see that he comes like a great potentate.

hall we be able to entertain him in the manner to which he is accustomed?

el manage. After all we are entertaining him in his own palace and his servants will know what is expected. I remember when he came before it worked quite smoothly. That was about three weeks before my father death.

ow fortunate that he is interested in archaeology.

h there is no doubt of his interest. I remember my father taking him on a tour of the site. He was completely fascinated by everything he saw. I expect I shall do the same.

nd what will my role be?

ust to behave naturally. He is a much traveled man and does not expect our customs to be the same as his. I think you will be amused by his visit. Tabitha will tell you about it. She will remember how he came here when my father was alive.

I asked Tabitha and she told me that they had been apprehensive but they need not have been for the Pasha had been goodness itself and as eager to please them as they to please him.

Tabitha and I had been to the souk, and as we were walking back to the palace, passing the hotel, we saw Hadrian and Terence Gelding sitting on the terrace there drinking with the man whom Theodosia and I had met in the Temple.

Hadrian hailed us and we joined them.

his is Mr. Leopold Harding,said Hadrian. erence and I stopped here for some refreshment and as Mr. Harding knew who we were, he introduced himself.

e have met already,I said.

ndeed we have,replied Leopold Harding. t was in the Temple when we were sightseeing.

ou two must be in need of refreshment,said Terence.

could do with the inevitable glass of mint tea,I replied.

Tabitha agreed that after our walk it would be welcome. We chatted while it was being brought.

Mr. Harding told us that he occasionally visited Egypt and he was very interested in the excavations because his business was involved with antiques. He bought and sold. t an interesting business,he assured us.

t must be,replied Hadrian, nd you must be very knowledgeable.

ne has to be. It so easy to get caught. The other day I was offered a small head flat carving in profile. At first it appeared to be of turquoise and lapis lazuli. It was so cleverly done that only an expert would have detected that it was not what it seemed.

re you interested in archaeology?I asked.

nly as an amateur, Lady Travers.

hat all we are,I replied. on you agree, Tabitha? I discovered that when I came out here.

rs. Grey is more than that,said Terence.

s for Judith,added Hadrian lightly, he tries she tries very hard.

Terence said gravely: oth of these ladies do a great deal to help the party.

ou could say that we are amateurs with professional leanings,I added.

erhaps I in the same class,said Leopold Harding. andling objectsome of which are, most of the time wrongly, said to have come from the tombs of the Pharaohs rouses an enormous interest. I wonder whether there is a chance of my being allowed to look round the excavations.

here nothing to stop your taking a drive along the Valley,Hadrian told him.

ll you would see,added Terence, ould be a few shacks containing tools, and men digging. A few heaps of rubble

nd Sir Tybalt has high hopes of discovering a hitherto undisturbed tomb, I believe.

t what all archaeologists who come here hope,replied Hadrian.

f course.

t going to be a long hard exercise,went on Hadrian. feel it in my bones that we are doomed to failure.

onsense,retorted Terence sharply, and I added severely: his is not a matter of bones but of hard work.

heye a very reliable set of bones,insisted Hadrian. nd sheer hard work will not put a buried Pharaoh where there was none.

don believe Tybalt could be mistaken,I said hotly.

ou are his doting wife,replied Hadrian.

I wanted to stop Hadrian talking in this manner before a stranger so I said to change the subject: ave you really dealt with articles which were discovered from tombs, Mr. Harding?

ne can never really be sure,he answered. ou can imagine how legends attach to these things. The fact that an object may have been buried for the use of a Pharaoh three thousand years before Christ, gives it inestimable value. As a businessman I don discourage rumors.

o that why you came to Egypt.

travel to many places, but Egypt is a particular treasure store. You must come along to my warehouse one day. It very small, little more than a shed. I rent it when I here so that I can store my purchases until I can get them shipped to England.

nd how long shall you stay here?I asked.

am never sure of my movements. I can be here today and gone tomorrow. If I hear of a promising object in Cairo or Alexandria I should be off to see it. It makes life interesting, and, like you, I elated when a find comes my way. I had a disappointment a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful plaque which could have come straight from the wall of a tomb painted scene showing a funeral procession. The coffin was being carried on the shoulders of four bearers, preceded and followed by servants carrying items of furniture bed, a stool, boxes and vessels, the whole inlaid with silver and lapis. A beautiful piece, but a copy of course. When I first saw it I was wild with excitement. Alas, it had been made about thirty years ago. It was beautiful but a fake.

ow disappointing for you!I cried, and Hadrian told them the story of my finding the bronze shield.

nd that,he finished, s why she is where she is today.

t is clearly where she enjoys being,said Leopold Harding. ou must do me the honor of visiting my little store room. I haven a great deal there but some of the pieces are interesting.

We said we should enjoy that and with an au revoir we left him sitting on the terrace of the hotel.

The Pasha had sent a message that he would dine with us on his way to one of his palaces and he hoped, while with us, to hear something of the progress which was being made in this wonderful task to which he had given his full support.

With Tabitha and Theodosia I watched his arrival from an upper room of the palace. It was a magnificent sight. He traveled in a carriage drawn by four beautiful white horses in which he made slow progress preceded by a train of camels, each of which had bells about its neck so that they tinkled as they walked. Some of the camels were laden with his luggage, polished boxes set with stones and placed on cloths edged with deep gold fringe.

He dismounted at the gates of the palace where Tybalt, with some of the senior members of the party, was there to greet him. He was then taken into the inner courtyard. where he was seated on a special chair which had been brought for him. The back rest of this chair was inlaid with semiprecious stones and while it might have been a trifle uncomfortable it was decidedly grand.

Several of the servants were waiting with sweetmeats, large cakes made of wheat and flour and honey fried together, and glasses of tea. Three glasses must be drunk by eachhe first very sweet, the second even more so, and the third with mint. All the glasses were filled to the brim and it was a breach of etiquette to spill any of the tea. I don know what would have happened to any of the servants who did so. Fortunately on that occasion none did.

Tabitha told me what was taking place as of course we, as women, were not admitted to this ceremony.

But, out of respect for our European customs, we were allowed to sit at table and I was even accorded a place beside the great Pasha.

His fat hands were a-glitter with gems; and it was fortunate that the gem-studded chair was brought in for him, for it was wide and he was very plump. He was clearly delighted with his reception and rather pleased to see the women. He studied us intently, his eyes lingering on us as though he were assessing our worthiness in that field which for him would be the only one suitable for women. I think we all passedabitha for her beauty, no doubt, which was undeniable from any standards, Theodosia for her femininity, and myself? I certainly hadn Tabitha looks or Theodosia fragile charm, but I did possess a vitality which neither of them had, and perhaps this appealed to the Pasha, for of the three he seemed most taken with me. I suppose I was more unlike an Eastern woman than any of them and the difference amused or interested him.

He spoke tolerable English, for as a high official he had often come into contact with our countrymen.

Dinner went on for several hours. The servants knew what should be offered and they were also aware of the enormity of our Pasha appetite. Unfortunately we were expected to eat with him. Kebab was followed by kuftas; and I believe they had never during our stay been served with such carefully prepared aromatic sauces. I noticed the expressions of fear on the faces of the silent-footed servants as they proffered the food to their master. He was served first, as the guest, and I, next to him, was appalled by the large quantities which he ate. Being a woman I was not expected to take such large portions. I was sorry for the men.

The Pasha led the conversation. He spoke glowingly of our country, our Queen, and the boon that the Suez Canal had brought to Egyptian trade.

hink of this great achievement,he said. canal one hundred miles in length flowing through Lake Timsah and the great Bitter Lakesrom Port Said to Suez. What an undertaking. Moreover it has brought the British in force to Egypt.His eyes glinted slyly. nd what could be a greater pleasure to all concerned. And what has happened since we had the canal? People come here as never before. You British what a flair for trade, eh! Your Thomas Cook with his steamers up the Nile. Chartering them from our Khedive for the purpose. What a clever man, eh! And what good for Egypt! Now he has a steamer to go between Aswan and the Second Cataract. Such good business for Egypt and we owe it to your country.

I said that Egypt had so much to offer the discerning visitors in the remains of an ancient civilization which was one of the wonders of the world.

nd who knows what else may be discovered!he said, his eyes alight with joy. et us hope Allah smiles on your endeavors.

Tybalt said that he and the members of the party could never adequately express their gratitude for all the help he had given them.

h, it is well that I help. It is right that I should place my house at your disposal.He turned to me. y ancestors have amassed great wealth and there is a story in the family of how we began to build up our fortunes. Would you like to hear how we began?

should very much like to know,I told him.

t will shock you. It is said that long, long ago we were tomb robbers I

I laughed.

hat is the story that has been handed down for hundreds of years. A thousand years ago my ancestors robbed the tombs here and so became rich men. Now we must expiate the sins of our fathers by giving all the help possible to those who would open tombs for posterity.

hope one day the whole world will be as grateful to you as we of this party are,said Tybalt.

o I continue to placate the gods,said the Pasha. nd for my family sign I take the head of Anubis who embalmed the body of Osiris when his wicked brother Set murdered him. Osiris rose again and I honor his sacred embalmer, and he gives my house its sign.

Conversation then turned to the matter which I was sure was uppermost in the Pasha mindhe expedition.

he good Sir Edward suffered a great tragedy,he said. his gives me much unhappiness. But you, Sir Tybalt, will, I know, find what you seek.

t is good of you to show such sympathy. I cannot express my gratitude.

The Pasha patted Tybalt hand.

ou believe that you will find what you come to seek, eh?

t is what I am working for,replied Tybalt.

nd you will do it, with the help of your genies.He laughed. It was an expression I had heard often since arriving in Egypt.

shall hope my genies will give me his assistance.

nd then you will leave us, and take away with you these beautiful ladies.

He smiled at me and it was my turn to be patted by the plump ringed fingers. He bent towards me. hy I could wish that you do not succeed.