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 Thank you very kindly, Stephen said. His voice was distant, his hands against the wall. Already, he d
nearly forgotten them in the challenge of the puzzle.
They spent the intervening time collecting the rest of their gear. Neville s crutch had turned up, and he
was deeply grateful to be able to take his weight off his injured ankle.
Rashid was more alert now. His pupils, when Jenny tested them, were becoming responsive to light.
Sarah Syms remained lost in another world, and Lady Cheshire was reluctant to pull her from it.
 Sarah has faced so much in her life, poor old dear, Lady Cheshire said softly.  Now she s back with
her Nathan, at least for now. Why should I force her away? Her large green eyes met Neville s own,
candidly, and full of honest fear.  Reality has so little to offer any of us.
 Stephen is working the door puzzle, Neville said.  We may yet escape this.
 But where do we go? Lady Cheshire asked.  Those Bedouin are sure to be hanging about. There s
water and good hunting, and they ve won a summer s worth of loot already. Between your camels and
the ones I purchased, they ve done quite well for themselves.
Neville heard himself speaking without consciously willing the words.
 Audrey, why did you do it? Why did you follow us?
Lady Cheshire poked out her chin defiantly, and Neville realized he found the gesture oddly touching.
 Because you lied to me. Because I wanted to take part in archeological discoveries once again, and I
was certain you were onto something big.
 How could you know? Neville asked.
 Do you remember when you hosted the Antiquities Society meetings at your house in town?
Neville nodded.
 One of those times, I left my reticule at your house purely by accident, I assure you. She smiled a
trace sourly,  Not that you have any reason to believe me, but I assure you, it was an accident.
 I believe you, Neville said.
He was aware that Captain Brentworth was looming a short distance away, but he didn t think the
implicit threat in the man s massive form was what made him say those words.
 I went back to get it the next day, Lady Cheshire continued.  You were out. Your butler wasn t certain
whether the reticule had been found, or where it might have been put. He asked if I would wait, or if I
would like it sent on to me.
 I almost had it sent. Then I remembered that your library had seemed quite excellent. I asked if I could
wait in the library, and would you mind if I looked at a book or two while I waited. The butler assured
me that as long as I left the ones behind the glass untouched, the rest were what he called  in use. 
Neville smiled. The staff had always drawn a very distinct line between the elegant volumes his late father
had collected and his own workaday texts.
 I obeyed the rules, she went on,  I truly did. What had caught my eye the night before was a new atlas
of the Upper Nile. I had thought about adding a copy to my own collection, and lifted it down, interested
in seeing if the contents were worth the price the printers were asking.
Neville felt his lips curve into a soundless whistle.
 I remember that volume, he said,  and what I was doing with it.
 Then you remember that one of the detail maps had some rather fascinating notation on it, she said, her
tone lightening and becoming almost teasing.   Hawk Rock with a query mark on it was written in one
place.  The village and another query mark at a place along the bank. Then there was  Miriam s ruin
marked quite definitely. What caught my attention was how many places out in the desert had been
circled areas where, as far as I knew, not only had nothing been found, but nothing had been sought.
 I made some inquiries after I left, and found out that some years before, you had been guide and
companion to one Alphonse Liebermann, a rather eccentric German who had published several papers
on the historicity of Moses, and related topics. I found myself wondering what Miriam s ruin might be,
and what wonders it might hold.
Neville sighed,  And when you heard I was returning to Egypt, you thought I was going on a dig.
 You were, weren t you? she retorted fiercely.  You were being so secretive! I decided you were trying
to bypass the firman system. I didn t think that was particularly ethical of you, but it gave me an edge. I
could follow you, and then, when I caught you with your fist in the biscuit tin, I could demand a part in the
project as my payment for not turning you in.
 And you didn t want gold or jewelry? Neville heard the sneer in his voice.
 I have jewelry, she snapped.  Lots of it, and I can get more easily enough. I wanted the chance to be in [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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