Lord of the Silent by Elizabeth Peters

Author:Elizabeth Peters
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780061800313
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2011-09-24T17:23:00+00:00

They had drinks in the saloon while Nefret worked on Barton. He had turned bright pink, like a schoolboy, when she insisted he remove his shirt. His injuries were superficial—cuts and abrasions and bruises, almost all of them on his back. Nursing his own whiskey, Ramses made courteous conversation and thought inhospitable thoughts.

But it was hard to remain aloof with a man who was drinking your beer and making admiring comments about your work. By the time Barton left, they were using one another’s first names. Barton was in no hurry to go. Nefret had to remind him twice that Lansing might be wondering what had happened to him before he put his glass down and rose to his feet, and then he started thanking her again. Ramses took his arm and led him out.

“Shall I tell Ambrose what happened?” Barton asked.

“Why not?”

“Uh . . . No reason, I guess. Well. Thank you again.”

When Ramses returned to the saloon, Nasir was setting the table for dinner. He was less clumsy than he had been, but he had found a new excuse to linger by folding the napkins into intricate shapes. His ambition exceeded his skill; tonight’s effort was probably meant to be a flying bird, though it more resembled a decapitated duck. Ramses dismissed him with a few brusque words and went to stand by Nefret, who was curled up on the divan.

“You hurt his feelings,” she said reproachfully.

“Stop him doing that, then. It takes forever to untie the knots.”

“All right, darling, I’ll try. George is a nice boy, isn’t he? It’s a pity he had to have such an unpleasant experience.”

“He’d better get used to it if he stays in Egypt.”

“Oh, really, Ramses! One doesn’t have bodies dropped at one’s feet every day. We might ask him and Mr. Lansing and Monsieur Legrain for dinner one evening—with Miss Minton.”

“If you want to waste time on social encounters, that is up to you. I was under the impression that you meant to persuade the woman to confide in you. She’s not likely to talk freely when others are around.”

“Goodness, but you’re in a grouchy mood this evening. All right, we’ll make it a threesome. You can excuse yourself after dinner and I’ll get to work on her.”

“When?”

“The sooner the better. The Vandergelts are arriving on Sunday, and we’ll be busy with them for a few days.”

“Tomorrow, then?”

“If she’s free. Why are you looming over me like that?”

“I thought you liked being loomed over.”

“Only when something interesting is likely to develop. Shall I put dinner back?”

“No, I’m hungry.”

Her smile faded, but she waited until after Nasir had served the first course before she went on the attack.

“What is it? Something you found when you searched the body?”

“There was nothing you didn’t see for yourself. No means of identification, nothing distinctive about his clothing.”

“It might have been an accident.”

“If you believe in unholy coincidences, it’s conceivable that a chunk of rock crumbled away just when I happened to be climbing, but he

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