AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My uncle inclined his head. “A recent acquisition.”
“And what pharaoh did you name it after?”
“I chose the nameElephantine,” he said. “After an island near Aswan.”
“How curious!” I said, taking another sip. The wine tasted sharp. “I would have thought you’d choose something like… Cleopatra.”
Tío Ricardo smiled small, and then said, “I have a little more imagination than that.”
“A fascinating character in Egyptian history, wouldn’t you say?”
He paused lifting his fork to his mouth. “What do you know about her?”
I weighed my next words carefully. My idea felt tenuous; one wrong slip and he might continue to dismiss me. But if I could surprise him, show him that I was familiar with his life’s work, and somehow allude that my parents told me more than he knew, perhaps he might let me stay.
I threw down the gauntlet.
“She loved two powerful men and bore them children. She was a brilliant strategist, and knew how to raise a fleet, and she spoke ancient Egyptian when none of her ancestors had bothered to learn.” I leaned forward and whispered, “But that’s not all, isn’t that right, Tío Ricardo?”
“What are you talking about, querida?”
I leaned forward even more, inclining my head. He matched my posture with an amused eye roll. Very slowly, I cupped my palm around my mouth and whispered into his ear, “You’re looking for Cleopatra’s tomb.”
WHIT
I followed the pair into the lobby, taking care to keep far enough away so they wouldn’t see me, but close enough that they were still in my line of sight. Not that either of them would expect to be followed. They strode out into the night and paused on the open terrace of Shepheard’s, overlooking the busy Cairo street. Four-wheeled broughams carried tourists away into the night, while donkeys with henna-stained manes cluttered the path. I hid in the shadows, near a potted palm, within hearing range of my marks. Neither disappointed my efforts.
Sir Evelyn snapped his fingers and one of the hotel attendants rushed over. He ordered a carriage and the young worker rushed off to do his bidding.
“He’s only grown more intolerable,” Sir Evelyn muttered. “I don’t know how you can bear his arrogance.”
“Mr. Marqués is usually quite charming and there’s no denying his expertise, or that of his business partner—”
“Who is an uneducated Egyptian.”
Monsieur Maspero made a noise of protest at the back of his throat. “I believe he has studied extensively abroad—”
“Not,” Sir Evelyn began in a flat voice, “where it matters.”
“You mean in England,” Monsieur Maspero said in a slightly disapproving voice.
The Englishman didn’t notice. “You should take my advice and bar their ability to work in Egypt. They are unpredictable and can’t be controlled. If there’s another ‘Urabi revolt, trust that Ricardo and Abdullah will be in support of it. Them and the disingenuous Mr. Hayes.”
I clenched my fists, forced myself to breathe slowly though my blood had begun to riot in my veins. The revolt had been led by Egyptian nationalists,but they lost the battle against Britain two years earlier. And now the country was under England’s dominant thumb.
“I can’t without grounds,” Monsieur Maspero said.
“You have many!” Sir Evelyn spat. “His refusal to comply with our methods, his failing to report any of his findings, his vague and unsatisfying explanations into Abdullah’s digging plans. He’s a loose cannon who won’t play by our rules.”
“I’m not convinced his methods are all that untoward.”
Sir Evelyn turned to face his companion with an air of disbelief. He seemed to visibly work to restrain himself from shouting, his mouth opening and closing. “If you need proof, I can acquire it.”
Monsieur Maspero shifted on his feet, and nervously twirled his mustache. “Here! I believe the carriage comes.”
But Sir Evelyn reached out and gripped his arm, his face turning a mottled red. He was like acetone drawing near a flame, readying to explode. His next words were a shout. “Didn’t you hear me?”
“I did,” Monsieur Maspero said quietly. And then he said something else I didn’t catch, not with the noise of another party moving out into the terrace from indoors.
