Dredemere Castle: A historical 1920s mystery of espionage and suspense (Sophie Burgoyne Mysteries Book 3) by Bellamy G J

Author:Bellamy, G J
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-01-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

From light to dark

“I invited you in,” began Zaghloul Pasha, addressing Sophie, “because I recognize your zeal to do the right thing. If I sent you away, you would still have your doubts about Toni, and may even harbour a grudge, which would be unnecessary. And you, my dear daughter, shall not have the sharp tongue. Hmm?”

“Very well.”

“Excellent. Please, both of you sit.”

Zaghloul Pasha sat in an armchair by the glowing fire, while opposite, the two women sat on a two-seater settee, maintaining as much distance between them as they could possibly manage.

“Toni and I are not related. She comes from a family much invested in political change in Egypt. I have known her since she was four years old. As a little girl, she took to calling me grandpapa, and she called herself…”

“Don’t tell her that!”

“…Antoinette, because she imagined herself to be a French Princess. From that, she got the nickname of Toni.” Zaghloul, amused, looked from one woman to the other. He continued, “What is your name?”

“Miss King, Excellency.”

“I ask not for details, but am I correct in thinking you are here in some official capacity?”

“That is correct.”

“Toni, do you see that Miss King believed she was doing her duty when she made her allegation?”

There followed a silence of some seconds followed by a reluctant, ‘Yes.’

“Miss King, Toni has come to see me because she has something to communicate.” Then, in Arabic, he asked Sophie if she minded them speaking in a language she did not understand. He watched her intently as she responded.

“I’m sorry, Excellency, could you repeat the last part in English, please?”

“Toni and I shall converse in Arabic. My apologies if that seems rude, but it must be so.”

Sophie replied that she acknowledged the necessity. She then sat and listened, and tried not to look at either of them. Instead, she stared into the fire. Her embarrassment and awkwardness melted away as she listened to the unfamiliar cadence and intonation of their voices, all the while seeking for a word she recognized or a clue as to what they discussed. As no such word or clue came, she felt as though she drifted in the warmth and glow of the fire, and was thereby slightly hypnotized, especially as Zaghloul and Toni continued their conversation. Sophie realized they spoke of mundane matters at first, because, at a certain point, increasing emotion crept into the flow of speech. Toni was impassioned, occasionally rising to peaks of near-hysteria, while Zaghloul’s voice intensified into a gruff politeness that was almost a bark. Whatever the issue might be, she understood Toni was for yay, and Zaghloul nay.

“You must return to Egypt at once.”

“I cannot. It is impossible. All my work will be undone should I leave now.”

“But elements inside the Wafd party, and those outside, are beginning to say, ‘Where is Zaghloul? Oh, he is with his British friends. They have made him soft, and he accepts baksheesh. He is their puppet.’”

“That is nothing new. Always there will be critics.

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