John turned. His colour was bad and perspiration trickled down his cheeks, but his voice was cool and ironic. ‘A pity we didn’t have a basin of water to offer him. Don’t do anything you might regret, Max. It’s over, you know.’
He stepped back, closer to me, as Max came towards him. ‘I know,’ Max said calmly. Stooping, he lifted the unconscions woman and carried her towards the bed. Instead of putting her down he went on, out onto the balcony. When he came back his arms were empty.
It was done with such quiet unhesitating efficiency I didn’t understand what had happened until John moved, violently and jerkily, and then jolted to a stop.
‘That’s settled,’ Max said. ‘I had hoped you would take care of it for me, but evidently I overestimated you. It doesn’t matter; the onus won’t rest on me. If you two will wait here for – oh, an hour should be long enough – you can proceed on your way. Whitbread has gone with Blenkiron, and Rudi and Hans will accompany me, so you need not worry about being disturbed.’
John cleared his throat. ‘You mean you – ’
‘I am a professional, Mr Tregarth, and I don’t underestimate your intelligence. When I learned that you and Herr Schmidt had reached Cairo unscathed I knew we had lost. He would, of course, go straight to the authorities. His reputation is such that they would be forced to listen to him and, however reluctantly, act on his accusations. They would be hammering at the door by this time if they weren’t hoping you could get Dr Bliss out safely.’
He waited for confirmation. John nodded dumbly. ‘So,’ Max went on, ‘I requested Mr Blenkiron to settle our outstanding account, and made plane reservations. He has not my experience; I fear the unfortunate man doesn’t realize that there will be a reception party waiting for that boat to dock.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I really must be off. Oh, do forgive me, Dr Bliss. No doubt Mr Tregarth would find it easier to release you if I returned his pocket knife.’
John had recovered enough to catch the knife, though his movements lacked their usual smoothness. ‘Thank you. I trust there won’t be any – onus – misdirected at me either?’
‘Only insofar as my employers are concerned.’ John started to protest and Max went on smoothly, ‘You must realize that I can’t accept the responsibility without incurring a reprimand, at the very least. I take pride in my record and don’t want to see it blemished. You are at liberty to tell the police whatever you choose. You needn’t worry about retribution; from a financial viewpoint this affair has been a success for us and we haven’t time to waste on personal grudges. We won’t bother you if you stay out of our way.’
‘That, I assure you, is my greatest ambition,’ John said. He had cut the ropes around my ankles. Now he moved behind me and freed my arms. I just sat there. Joining in that conversation would have strained even my gift of repartee.
‘And mine,’ Max said. ‘I don’t like you, Mr Tregarth. I hope never to see you again. Goodbye. Goodbye, Dr Bliss.’
‘Goodbye, Max,’ I said. ‘I can’t bring myself to thank you, but . . .’
‘You owe me nothing.’ He hesitated briefly, and then an odd little smile stretched his thin mouth. ‘I wish you good luck. If you gain what you clearly desire, you will need it.’
I sort of hoped that maybe, once we were alone, my hero, the man who had risked all to save me, would sweep me into his arms and hold me close, murmuring broken endearments the way they do in romantic novels. John just stood there string blank-faced at the closed door. So I got up all by myself. My legs seemed to be working all right, and I thought I was in full possession of my senses until I realized I was heading blindly for the balcony.
John caught my arm. ‘No, Vicky.’
‘She could be – ’
‘No.’
He touched my cheek. I had forgotten about the cut until his fingertip traced a line from my cheekbone to my jaw. I don’t know who moved first. His arms went around me with bruising strength, but he was shaking from head to foot and he didn’t resist when I guided his head onto my shoulder.
‘That’s more like it,’ I murmured. ‘John, don’t. You couldn’t have stopped him. He tried every trick in the book to get you to do it for him.’
‘He almost succeeded. God. It was so close. Too close . . .’
‘Kiss me.’
‘What? Oh. Right.’
‘Better now?’ I asked after a while. My voice wasn’t very steady.
Neither was his. ‘Yes, thank you, I am experiencing temporary relief. Suppose we postpone further treatment? I can’t stand this ghastly place much longer.’
‘Is it safe to leave?’
‘Oh, I should think so. Maxie’s a man of his word – when it suits him to keep it.’
‘Are we going to keep ours? To give him an hour?’
‘I didn’t give him my word. However, annoying Max would not be a sensible move on my part. I shan’t turn him in, but there’s no reason why we have to wait out the time here.’
‘Okay. Wait just a minute.’
The earrings were hard to see against the complex pattern of the rug. I finally found both of them. One of the wires was broken.
‘It can be repaired,’ said John, over my shoulder. ‘Though I shouldn’t think you’d want them now.’
‘Are you kidding? They’re the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.’
‘How did you know I meant them for you?’
‘She told me. That just made me want them more.’
‘Vindictive little creature, aren’t you?’
‘Vindictive, yes. Little, no.’ The light ran softly along the tiny golden faces. I closed my fingers carefully around them. ‘Over twenty centuries they have probably been in worse hands. And ears.’
The house was uncannily quiet and as eerie as a mausoleum. Dust covers shrouded most of the furniture and our footsteps echoed in the silence. It was hard for me to believe the place was really deserted; I kept expecting someone to jump out at us from the shadows huddling in those vast, high-ceilinged rooms. When we reached the door without meeting anyone John let out his breath.
‘There are television crews and newspaper reporters all around the house,’ he said. ‘I would offer to carry you out in a fainting condition, but appealing to the tender mercies of the press might not be as effective as making a run for it.’
‘We’ll run,’ I said. ‘I won’t even ask where.’
‘That’s an encouraging sign. Stay close.’
He put his arm around me and opened the door.
The limo was big and black and long. As we raced towards it, hotly pursued by assorted newspapers, the door opened. John tripped a reporter and pushed me into a pair of waiting arms.
‘Hi, Schmidt,’ I said. ‘I had a feeling you’d be here.’
When I woke next morning it wasn’t morning, but afternoon. I was lying on my side, facing the window, with my back to John. I could tell by his breathing he was still asleep, so I lay still, enjoying . . . enjoying the fact that I could hear him breathing and that I was doing the same.
The scenery wasn’t bad, though. Few hotels in the world can boast such view: the Great Pyramid of Giza, golden in the late sunlight, seeming so close it might have been right outside the bedroom window. Trust Schmidt to come up with the fanciest suite in one of the most elegant hotels in the country, on short notice and during the height of the tourist season.
We hadn’t arrived at Mena House until 4 a.m. Our first stop, at John’s insistence, had been at the hospital. The legal process which would clear Feisal might take some time, and the least we owed him and his family was to tell them at the earliest possible moment that it was under way.
It required a call to the minister to get us past the guards who were still on duty, and when I saw Feisal’s father I felt so sorry for him I couldn’t hold on to my anger. His mother was there too; they were sitting side by side on a hard bench in the corridor, and her arm was around his bowed shoulders. They both broke down when Schmidt told them the good news and everybody except John the imperturbable started crying and hugging one another indiscriminately. Feisal was under deep sedation, but when I kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear I think he
