A skinny child slid out onto the landing between them.The girl was perhaps twelve, all elbows and knees with a big white grin.She wore a pair of salwar trousers and a kameez tunic that would have been quite nice if it hadn’t been smeared with dust.Silver studs sparkled on either side of her nose.
She bounded down the steps with an energy that reminded Constance of Adam’s hyperactive dog.
“You are the English visitors!”she called out excitedly, the words warmly accented.
“I’m American, actually,” Adam cheerfully corrected her.
The girl craned her neck back, taking in his sun-kissed hair and blue eyes.“AnactualAmerican?”
Adam grinned.“All the way to my boots.”
“But have you chased a stampede?”the girl demanded.“Gambled with cards?Involved yourself in a gunfight?”
“Yes, yes, and…” Adam cast a sheepish look at Ellie.“Why would I do something as crazy as get into a gunfight?”
Ellie paled at the obvious lie.
Constance made an internal note to pry that story out of Adam later.
“What’s your name, kid?”Adam asked.
“Vanika.”
“And have you read a great many dime novels?”Constance cannily guessed.
“I have read loads of books.They help me with my English.”The girl shifted her focus back to Adam with obvious fascination.“America soundsveryexciting.”
Adam forced his face into a stern expression.“Just steer clear of those gunfights.All right?”
“I like swords.”Vanika eyed Adam’s belt with a spark of interest.“Are you wearing a sword?”
“Kinda.Wanna see it?”
Ellie went even paler.
Before Adam could show off his enormous knife, his dog cannoned into their group, having given up on chasing the birds.Kalb immediately jumped up on the child, lathing her face with his tongue.
Vanika giggled, giving the animal an enthusiastic hug as she let out a stream of affectionate remarks in a language Constance didn’t recognize.
“Is this an American dog?”the girl pressed.
“He’s Egyptian, actually,” Ellie replied.
Selukis, the breed of dogs kept by the nomadic Arabs, were rumored to have descended from the dogs of the pharaohs.Ellie had once reluctantly admitted to Constance that Kalb bore a distinct resemblance to canines depicted in ancient Egyptian bas-relief carvings.
Though I don’t recall seeing any New Kingdom artwork depicting pharaonic dogs stealing drumsticks off the table or trying to sleep on the furniture,Ellie had grumbled.
Vanika finally disentangled herself from the dog—after giving him another squeeze and receiving a thorough licking of her ear.“But come!I will show you to the family.”
The girl raced for the stairs, Kalb scrambling after her.She exchanged a few quick words with the waiting servants, this time in Odia.
Constance followed her into an elegantly appointed hall where a fountain splashed softly into a shallow pool.The space was framed by ornate stone arches leading into other areas of the palace.“Are you one of my cousins?”
Vanika snorted as she led them past walls completely covered with inlaid silver mirrors.“No.But here is the old armory!As you can see, there is a very nice collection of both swordsandguns.”
Constance peered into the room.The walls were covered in displays of antique weaponry, from bows and arrows to daggers, maces, and ancient muskets.A beautifully ornate cannon sat in the center of the room, framed by cases holding elaborately decorated scabbards.
She stepped inside, stopping at a display of jeweled daggers and mentally comparing them to the ones strapped to her garters.“I could have fun in here.”
