hieroglyphs and Horus snarling at Gargery and Emerson
reading the Egyptian Gazette and smoking his pipe, while Nefret told me about the new arrangements at the hospital. When I saw the envelope, with its official seal, it was as if the sun had
gone behind a cloud.
‘Whom is it from?’ I demanded.
Emerson frowned over the epistle, which he was holding so I couldn’t read over his shoulder. ‘Wingate. He would like me to come to his office at my earliest convenience.’
‘Sir Reginald Wingate? What does the Sirdar of the Sudan want with you?’
‘He replaced MacMahon as high commissioner last month,’ Emerson replied. ‘He doesn’t say what he wants.’
We had all fallen silent except for Sennia, who had no idea who the high commissioner was and cared even less. Emerson looked at his son. ‘Er – Ramses . . .’
‘Yes, sir. When?’
‘Later. He says “at our convenience”. It is not convenient for me at present.’
Sennia understood that. ‘Ramses will have time to give me my lesson,’ she announced firmly. Sennia was in the habit of making pronouncements instead of asking questions; it usually
worked.
Ramses rose, smiling. ‘A short lesson, then. Let’s go to your room where we won’t be distracted.’
The door closed behind them – and Horus, who went wherever Sennia went unless forcibly prevented from doing so. Having got Sennia out of the way, Emerson turned stern blue eyes on Gargery,
who stood with arms folded and feet slightly apart, exuding stubbornness. ‘Go away, Gargery,’ Emerson said.
‘Sir – ’
‘I said, go away.’
‘But sir – ’
‘If there is anything you need to know, Gargery, I will tell you about it at the proper time,’ I interrupted. ‘That will be all.’
Gargery stamped out, slamming the door, and Nefret said quietly, ‘Do you want me to leave too?’
‘No, of course not.’ Emerson leaned back in his chair. ‘It isn’t the military or the secret service this time, Nefret. Wingate probably wants us for some tedious office
job.’
‘Are you going to accept?’
‘That depends.’ Emerson got to his feet and began pacing. ‘Like it or not, and God knows we don’t, we cannot ignore the fact that there is a bloody war going on. They
won’t let me carry a rifle, and Ramses won’t carry one, but there are other things we can do, and we have no right to refuse.’
‘You and Ramses,’ Nefret repeated, with a curl of her lip. ‘Men. Never women.’
‘You offered your services as a surgeon, didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’ Nefret’s eyes flashed. ‘The military isn’t accepting women physicians. But that would have been saving lives, not – ’
‘There are other ways of saving lives, or at least minimizing suffering. You can’t keep him out of this forever, Nefret; I’ve seen the signs, and so have you. He’s
feeling guilty because he thinks he is not doing his part.’
‘He’s done his part and more,’ Nefret cried. ‘It wasn’t only that ghastly business two years ago, it was the same sort of thing again last winter; if he
hadn’t risked his life twice over, the War Office would have lost its favourite spy and a German agent would have got away. What more do they want from him?’
It did seem to me as if she were underestimating my contribution and that of Emerson, but I did not say so; where her husband was concerned, Nefret was passionately single-minded. Her eyes were
bright with tears of anger. Emerson stopped by the chair in which she sat and put his hand on her shoulder.
‘I know, my dear,’ he said gently. ‘But I cannot suppose they want us to go chasing spies again. The situation has changed. With the Turks driven out of the Sinai, the Canal is
no longer in danger, and the Senussi are in full retreat. There is nothing going on that requires Ramses’s unusual talents, or,’ he added with a grin, ‘mine.’
‘Unless,’ I said, ‘this has something to do with Sethos.’
Emerson shot me a reproachful glance,
reading the Egyptian Gazette and smoking his pipe, while Nefret told me about the new arrangements at the hospital. When I saw the envelope, with its official seal, it was as if the sun had
gone behind a cloud.
‘Whom is it from?’ I demanded.
Emerson frowned over the epistle, which he was holding so I couldn’t read over his shoulder. ‘Wingate. He would like me to come to his office at my earliest convenience.’
‘Sir Reginald Wingate? What does the Sirdar of the Sudan want with you?’
‘He replaced MacMahon as high commissioner last month,’ Emerson replied. ‘He doesn’t say what he wants.’
We had all fallen silent except for Sennia, who had no idea who the high commissioner was and cared even less. Emerson looked at his son. ‘Er – Ramses . . .’
‘Yes, sir. When?’
‘Later. He says “at our convenience”. It is not convenient for me at present.’
Sennia understood that. ‘Ramses will have time to give me my lesson,’ she announced firmly. Sennia was in the habit of making pronouncements instead of asking questions; it usually
worked.
Ramses rose, smiling. ‘A short lesson, then. Let’s go to your room where we won’t be distracted.’
The door closed behind them – and Horus, who went wherever Sennia went unless forcibly prevented from doing so. Having got Sennia out of the way, Emerson turned stern blue eyes on Gargery,
who stood with arms folded and feet slightly apart, exuding stubbornness. ‘Go away, Gargery,’ Emerson said.
‘Sir – ’
‘I said, go away.’
‘But sir – ’
‘If there is anything you need to know, Gargery, I will tell you about it at the proper time,’ I interrupted. ‘That will be all.’
Gargery stamped out, slamming the door, and Nefret said quietly, ‘Do you want me to leave too?’
‘No, of course not.’ Emerson leaned back in his chair. ‘It isn’t the military or the secret service this time, Nefret. Wingate probably wants us for some tedious office
job.’
‘Are you going to accept?’
‘That depends.’ Emerson got to his feet and began pacing. ‘Like it or not, and God knows we don’t, we cannot ignore the fact that there is a bloody war going on. They
won’t let me carry a rifle, and Ramses won’t carry one, but there are other things we can do, and we have no right to refuse.’
‘You and Ramses,’ Nefret repeated, with a curl of her lip. ‘Men. Never women.’
‘You offered your services as a surgeon, didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’ Nefret’s eyes flashed. ‘The military isn’t accepting women physicians. But that would have been saving lives, not – ’
‘There are other ways of saving lives, or at least minimizing suffering. You can’t keep him out of this forever, Nefret; I’ve seen the signs, and so have you. He’s
feeling guilty because he thinks he is not doing his part.’
‘He’s done his part and more,’ Nefret cried. ‘It wasn’t only that ghastly business two years ago, it was the same sort of thing again last winter; if he
hadn’t risked his life twice over, the War Office would have lost its favourite spy and a German agent would have got away. What more do they want from him?’
It did seem to me as if she were underestimating my contribution and that of Emerson, but I did not say so; where her husband was concerned, Nefret was passionately single-minded. Her eyes were
bright with tears of anger. Emerson stopped by the chair in which she sat and put his hand on her shoulder.
‘I know, my dear,’ he said gently. ‘But I cannot suppose they want us to go chasing spies again. The situation has changed. With the Turks driven out of the Sinai, the Canal is
no longer in danger, and the Senussi are in full retreat. There is nothing going on that requires Ramses’s unusual talents, or,’ he added with a grin, ‘mine.’
‘Unless,’ I said, ‘this has something to do with Sethos.’
Emerson shot me a reproachful glance,
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