Lion in the Valley Read Online Free PDF Page A

finally.
    I
groped for words. "Wash," I said.
    "Yes,
Mama."
    Followed
by the cat, Ramses went into his room, which adjoined ours. Sounds of splashing
ensued, accompanied by the tuneless humming with which Ramses enlivens his
ablutions. Under cover of the sound I addressed my husband.
    "Well,
Emerson?"
    "Well,
Peabody. We must make haste; I had not meant to stay so long in the suk, but
you know how these negotiations go, talking and drinking coffee and exchanging
compliments...." He stripped off his coat and tie and shirt as he spoke,
flinging them in the general direction of the bed. I picked up each article as
it fell to the floor and hung it on a hook.
    "I
do know, I had planned to spend the day tomorrow doing just that."
    "Now
you won't have to." Emerson turned to the washbasin. "I have taken
care of everything. We can leave for Dahshoor first thing in the morning."
    "Tomorrow
morning?"
    Emerson
splashed and sputtered and shook himself like a large dog. "Ah, most
refreshing. Won't it be wonderful to be back in the desert, Peabody? Sand and
stars, peace and quiet, solitude, no confounded distractions . .."
    I
was extremely vexed with him, but amusement tempered my annoyance. Emerson is
as transparent as a child. Also, the ripple of muscle across his back
distracted me. I picked up the towel and assisted him to dry himself.
    "I
see through your scheme, Emerson. You want to get me away from Cairo. Very
well. Naturally I share your enthusiasm for sand and stars, solitude, and so
on. But there are a great many things I must attend to before—"
    "Not
at all, Peabody. Abdullah and our men have been at Dahshoor all summer; we
decided it was inadvisable to leave the site unguarded, if you recall. I don't
doubt that by this time they have selected a proper house and arranged it for
us, removing to it the possessions we left at Dronkeh last spring."
    "Abdullah's
idea of a proper house is not mine. I will need—"
    "Whatever
you need can be procured after you ascertain what it is you need." The
words were a trifle slurred and the speech lacked Emerson's usual precision of
syntax. I saw that he was watching me in the mirror with an expression I knew
well.
    "Need
I shave, Peabody?" he inquired.
    "Of
course you must, Emerson. Your beard is heavy, and—"
    He
turned and wrapped his arms round me, pressing me and the towel to his breast.
His cheek brushed mine. "Need I shave, Peabody?" he repeated
hoarsely.
    "Emerson,"
I began, but I got no further for reasons which should be apparent to any
reader of sensibility. Since my normal intelligence becomes somewhat muddled
under the circumstances that then prevailed, I do not know how long it was
before an uncomfortable prickling sensation at the back of my neck made itself
felt. Freeing myself from Emerson's hold, I turned to see Ramses standing in
the doorway. The cat was in his arms and both were staring unabashedly.
    "Ramses,"
I exclaimed somewhat breathlessly. "Are you smiling?"
    "My
expression was one of affable approbation," Ramses protested. "It
pleases me to see you and Papa engaging in demonstrations of that nature. I
cannot as yet explain why that should be the case, but I suspect it may
indicate some deep-seated need for—"
    "Ramses!"
Emerson had got his breath back. "Return to your room at once. And close
the door."
    Ramses
promptly vanished, without so much as a "Yes, Papa." But the mood had
been broken. With an embarrassed cough Emerson reached for his shaving mug.
"We must do something about a bodyguard for Ramses," he said.
"Or rather, I meant to say, a companion, an escort—"
    "The
first word was appropriate," I replied, attempting to smooth my ruffled
hair. It was futile, for the strands clung to my fingers with a kind of
physical electricity, induced, no doubt, by the dry heat. I sat down at the
dressing table in order to construct my evening coiffure.
    "I
wanted to bring a manservant with us," I continued. "But