The Egyptian Antiquities Murder by Sara Rosett

Author:Sara Rosett [Rosett, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sara Rosett

“Shall I make another cocktail for anyone while we wait?” Gilbert asked. We were gathered in the drawing room before dinner, and Nunn hadn’t joined us yet.

“No,” Nora said with a definite chilliness in her voice, which told me that the newlyweds were still not happy with each other. “I don’t think we should wait any longer for Mr. Nunn. He must have taken that professor to a pub. We probably won’t see either of them until tomorrow morning.” Nora stood, and the intricate beading on her red dress shimmered as she moved. While the front of the dress was demure, the neckline at the back dipped almost to her waist, and a knotted string of pearls hung down between her pale shoulder blades. I was surprised she wasn’t covered in goose bumps because the evening had turned chilly.

Dreary gray clouds had rolled in late in the day, and the temperature had plummeted. Tendrils of fog crept along the ground, curling around the lampposts and edges of the buildings, bringing a damp chill to the air. I’d worn my emerald-green velvet that had long sleeves and a deep ruffle down one side of the skirt in an apple-green silk. A fire crackled in the grate and the room was warm, but if I was wearing an almost backless frock, I’d have brought down a shawl.

“It’s odd that he hasn’t contacted us,” Lady Agnes said. “I know Professor DeWitt was interested in seeing the pottery. I can’t imagine he’d be put off from that.”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? Mr. Nunn doesn’t want to face you two, even with the shielding presence of a visitor,” Nora said.

Gilbert drained his cocktail. Nora had again refused his offer to make her one. “He should have informed us of Uncle Lawrence’s plans.”

Nora sighed. “Antiquities again. Why does everything in this family have to be about antiquities?”

“I say, that’s rather unfair.” Gilbert plucked his raspberry out of his drink. “Uncle Lawrence acquired a world-famous collection. Speaking of the collection”—he turned to Lady Agnes—“I hear Dennett came by today.”

Lady Agnes, who had been staring into the fire, turned her head. “We were to go to the National Gallery, but I had to put it off.”

Gilbert put down his empty glass. “Still after you, is he?”

“He’s not after me. He’s after the collection.”

Nora looked to me. “Ernest Dennett lusts after everything in the grand gallery, and he practically salivates at the mention of Uncle Lawrence’s concession.” She turned back to Lady Agnes. “And he knows the only way to get his hands on the antiquities or to dig in the Valley of the Kings is to marry you, Aggie.”

“He’ll not get it that way. He knows I have no interest in marrying him.”

“Why can’t Mr. Dennett dig in the Valley of the Kings?” I asked. “Surely he could get a concession as well.”

“Mr. Dennett isn’t on the best of terms with Pierre Dupin, who controls the concessions,” Lady Agnes said.

Gilbert said, “I do believe Dennett would give up his inheritance if he could trade his site outside Cairo for one in the Valley of the Kings.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.