Виктория Холт - Curse of the Kings

How this brought back Sabina and I must confess that I too felt a twinge of nostalgia for those flower-decorated banks with the ragged robin and star-of-Bethlehem and bluebells giving patriotic color to the green background and here and there the mauve of wild orchids. So different of course from this hot and arid land. I missed Dorcas and Alison and I should have loved to call in at the old rectory and listen to Sabina's chatter.

I looked up at the sky, brilliantly blue through the narrow slips between two rows of houses; and the smells and sights of the market caught me and held me in that fascination which never failed.

We went past the shop where Yasmin usually sat, her head bent low over her work, but on that morning she was not there. In her place sat a young boy; he was bending over the leather working laboriously.

We paused.

"Where is Yasmin today?" I asked.

He looked up and his eyes were immediately furtive. He shook his head.

"She's not ill?" I cried.

But he could not understand me.

"I daresay," I said to Theodosia, "she is taking a day off."

We passed on.

I was sorry that the soothsayer was seated on the pavement.

He looked up as we passed.

"Allah be with you," he murmured.

He looked so hopeful that I couldn't pass, particularly when I saw that the bowl in which payment was placed was empty.

I paused and threw something into the bowl and immediately realized my mistake. He was no beggar. He was a proud man who was plying his profession. I had paid, so I must have my fortune told.

So once again we sat on the mats beside him.

He shook his head and said: "The shadow grows big, my ladies."

"Oh yes," I replied lightly, "you told us about that before."

"It flies overhead like a bat, a big black bat."

"Sounds rather unpleasant," I said. He did not understand me but this was to comfort Theodosia.

"And my lady has been blessed. My lady is fertile. Go back to the green land, lady. There you will be safe."

Oh dear, I thought. This is the worst thing we could have done.

Theodosia rose from the mat and the soothsayer leaned towards me. His fingers like brown claws gripped my wrist.

"You great lady. You say Go and they will listen. The big bat is near."

I was looking down at his arm and there on it I saw the brand again—the head of the Jackal. It was similar to that of the man who had been bitten by the scorpion.

I said to him: "You tell me nothing but of this big bat who is hovering around. Is there nothing else?"

"Allah would be good to you. He offers much. Great joy, many sons and daughters, a big fine mansion, but in your green land. Not here. It is for you to say. The bat is very close now. It can be too late . . . for you . . . and for this lady."

I put more money in the bowl and thanked him.

Theodosia was trembling. I slipped my arm through hers.

"It's a pity we listened to that nonsense," I said. "He says the same to everybody."

"To everybody?"

"Yes, Tabitha has been given the bat treatment."

"Well, she is one of us, you see. It's threatening us all."

"Oh come, Theodosia, you're not going to tell me you believe all this. It's the sort of thing that's handed out to everybody."

"Why should he want to frighten us away?"

"Because we're strangers here."

"But we're strangers who have our fortunes told and buy certain things in the souk. They all seem very happy to see us here."

"Oh yes, but he thinks we want to be frightened. It makes it all the more exciting."

"Well, I don't want to be frightened."

"There's no need for you to be, Theodosia. Remember that."

Tybalt was getting excited. He was certain now that he was on the right track. Those working inside the old tomb had found indisputable evidence that there was another chamber behind the wall which they were now excavating.

We had now been several months in Egypt and it was time, he said, that we had something to show for our labors. This, he was sure, was what we had come for.

"It will be a bitter disappointment," he said, "if someone has already been there."

"But if it has been hidden behind this other tomb can they have been?"

"Not unless there is another entrance, which may well be the case. There'll be another hold-up, unfortunately, for the Feast of the Nile which must be imminent. The trouble with all these feasts is not only that they exist but that there is no definite date for them. This, of course, will depend on the state of the river."

"Why?"

"Well because it's a sort of placating ceremony. It dates back thousands of years to when the Egyptians worshiped the river. They believed it had to be soothed and pacified so that when the river rose it didn't overflow to such an extent that whole villages were carried away. This has happened frequently and still does. Hence the ceremony."

"Do they really think that if they perform this ceremony the river will stay within its bounds?"

"It's become a custom now, a reason for a holiday. But it was serious enough in the past. There really was a human sacrifice then. Now they throw a doll into the river— often an enormous life-sized beautifully dressed doll. This represents the virgin who used to be thrown into the river in the old days."

"Poor virgins! They did have a bad time. They were always being thrown to dragons or chained to rocks or something. It couldn't have been a lot of fun being a virgin in the old days."

"I've no doubt you'll enjoy the ceremony but it is going to hold up work which is the last thing I want at the moment."

"I can't wait, Tybalt, for you to take your step into that undisturbed tomb. It will be you, won't it? How happy I shall be for you! It'll be as you wanted it. You will see the footsteps in the dust of the last person to leave the tomb before it was sealed! What a thrill for you and you deserve it! Dear Tybalt."

He laughed at me in that tender indulgent way I knew so well.

I desperately wanted him to succeed.

We had a day's warning as to when the Feast of the Nile should take place. The waters were rising fast, which means that the rains in the center of Africa had been heavy that year; and it was possible to calculate the day when they would reach our neighborhood.

From early morning the banks of the river became densely populated. There were arabiyas everywhere; and some people had traveled in on camels, the bells on the necks of which tinkled gaily as had those on the necks of the Pasha's beasts. Disdainfully they walked down to the river as though they knew they were the most useful animals in Egypt. Their padded feet made it possible for them to walk with equal ease over the pavements and the sand; their wool made rugs and the hooded burnoose favored by so many Arabs, leather was made from their skin and the peculiar odor which seemed to permeate the place came from their dung which was used for fuel.

The great excitement on this day was: How would the river behave? If the floods were great the banks would be under water; if the rain had been moderate then there would be just the beautiful sight of the river's rising without the dangerous overflow.

But it was a holiday and they all loved a holiday. In the souks most of the shops were closed but there was the smell of cooking food. There were nutted Turkish Delight for sale, little flat cakes made of fried flour and honey, herish loaves and mutton or beef sizzling in a pan under a fire of camel dung and proffered on sticks so that the customer might dip them in the cauldron of steaming savory sauce. There were the lemonade sellers in their red striped gowns carrying their urn and glasses; there were stalls at which it was possible to buy glasses of mint tea. The beggars had come in from far and wide—blind beggars, legless and armless beggars, the most pitiful sight to take the joy out of a day of gaiety. They often raised their sightless eyes to heaven, their begging bowls before them, calling out for baksheesh and to Allah to bless those who did not pass the beggars by.

It was a colorful, bustling scene. Our party viewed the scene from the highest terrace of the palace; there we could see it without being part of it.

I sat beside Tybalt with Terence Gelding on the other side of him and Tabitha next to him; Evan was on my left with Theodosia.

Tybalt was saying that it looked as though the river was going to behave. It was to be hoped it would. If there was flooding it might mean that some of his workers would be commandeered to deal with disaster areas and that might mean delays.

Hadrian joined us. I thought he looked a little strained and wondered if he was finding the heat oppressive. Perhaps, I thought, there is a certain amount of tension. It has been so long and there is nothing decided yet. I knew how restive Tybalt was and that every day when he arose he was telling himself that this could be the day of great discovery, but every evening he came back to the palace disappointed.

The waters of the river looked red as they came swirling by, because they had swallowed some of the rich land as they passed through it. The people shuddered as they pointed out the redness of the water. The blood color! Was the river in a vengeful mood?

From the minaret rang out the voice of the muezzin:

"Allah is great and Mohammed his prophet."

There was an immediate silence as men and women stood where they were, heads bent in prayer.