“I swear I don’t know what happened, miss. One minute she was sleeping like an angel and I only popped out for a moment, and when I returned I couldn’t find her anywhere.”

As Beth tried to calm her down and make sense of what she was saying, Saeed glanced over at the fellahs congregating nearby, their murmurings unquiet.

“Please excuse me one moment, Miss Darcy,” he said and walked over to them.

Beth nodded distractedly as William and John appeared with Laurence and Jane.

“It’s no good; we can’t find her anywhere,” Laurence said.

“When do you last remember seeing her?” Beth asked, her mind whirling with this new problem on top of Sir Matthew and the fellahs.

“Not since breakfast,” said John.

Beth noticed Jane’s expression and said, “What is it?”

“I think Aahotep’s been talking to her again,” Jane said.

“What do you mean?” asked Beth.

“I know it’s silly, but Meg thinks that horrid doll talks to her and whenever she does, Meg goes all red and hardly speaks to anyone. She’s been all right for the past few days, but a few hours ago she started acting strange, and she was carrying her doll again. And just before I saw her last, she was arguing with the horrid thing and saying she didn’t like the tomb because it smelled, but I think that’s where she’s gone.”

From behind John’s arm, Laurence seemed about to make some rude remark about girls and their dolls, before he was wrestled away by his older brother.

Beth was troubled but sent Jane and Laurence to find Mrs Bennet. “Tell Grandmama it is time for luncheon,” she said.

“But what about Meg?”

“William and I will decide what to do, and Mr Massri will help us.”

As she said this, Saeed came back to her. His expression was, if anything, even graver, and Beth felt her heart sink. But she was a Darcy, with the true Darcy spirit, and she was not about to give way to nerves like her grandmama. Instead, she was determined to make her parents proud.

“This is very bad, Miss Darcy. The fellahs say they saw the little girl wandering into the desert some time ago.”

“Why did they not stop her?” she asked.

“Because they believe she is being influenced by great magic, and it would be bad luck to interfere with the vessel the spirits are working through.”

“What nonsense!” said William, with an arrogance that made him sound just like his father. “She is probably looking for Mama and Papa. She never likes to be left behind and once followed them halfway down the street in London when they were going to walk in the park because she wanted to go too.”

Beth was not sure whether he believed it, but she was glad of William’s calm sense and commonplace explanation.

“William is right,” she said. “We must find her and bring her back to the camp before we make any other decisions.”

Saeed looked anxiously back at the fellahs. “They won’t wait much longer.”

“I can’t help that, Mr Massri. Leaving Mama and Papa is one thing, but we cannot just allow Meg to wander the desert alone. You must do as you think fit, but William and I will look for her.”

Saeed looked at her intently. She was so young and yet so much more sensible than Mrs Bennet, who had refused to speak to him after he had tried to get her to understand the gravity of the situation.

“Very well,” he said reluctantly. “I will come with you and leave Josef in charge. He is reliable and will take care of those left in the camp, though I fear he will not be able to stop the fellahs leaving if they make their minds up to it.”

“Then let us leave with all speed, Mr Massri,” said Beth lifting her chin stubbornly, “and pray it does not come to that.”

***

Elizabeth and Darcy sat in the damp silence of the tomb, listening to the soft murmurings of Sophie and Edward beneath them. Elizabeth dared not ask Darcy again what the time was. She had done so already three times, and it was still barely two in the afternoon. She leaned a little closer to him and he put an arm around her shoulder.

“Well, you have had your adventure now, my love,” said Darcy, kissing her forehead gently. Elizabeth grimaced.

“This was not what I had in mind all those months ago at Pemberley,” she admitted. “If ever I seem inclined to wander again from the safety of my home, remind me of this.”

She glanced around at the ever encroaching darkness. The torch was gradually dimming, and she was sure she had heard the soft scurrying of rats—or something else she did not even want to think about.

Darcy laughed. “Even if I did, it would do no good. It will take more than this to dim your spirit. In a few months time it will be Christmas, and we will be shivering with the cold and you will be wishing yourself back in the desert,” he replied.

“We will be celebrating with a great fat goose in front of a roaring fire,” said Elizabeth, taking new heart from the cheerful thought. “And I may pine for the heat of the desert, but I can assure you I will never pine for this soft dampness oozing into my bones.”

“I must agree with you on that—” Darcy began, but then they heard Edward’s voice, attempting a loud whisper.

“What is it, Edward?” Darcy leaned forward and stared down.

He could just see Edward’s white, strained face.

“It’s Sophie,” he said in concern. “I think she is delirious.”

Elizabeth leaned over.

“It must be the heat. Do you need more water, Edward?” she asked.

They had thrown down one of the two canteens they had left after Wickham had gone. There was very little left in their own now, but if it would help Sophie, she would gladly give it.

“I think it might help.”

Elizabeth threw down the canteen, and Darcy included Edward in their conversation to take the young man’s mind off the fears of the present. But Darcy couldn’t stop himself at last from looking at his pocket watch. It was only just after two in the afternoon and he very much feared the torches would not last much longer. And then all five of them would be sitting in the pitch black.

***

“I cannot see how she could have come so far,” Saeed said for the fifth time in ten minutes.

Beth said nothing. Seated atop the camel, with William behind her, she looked back from where they had come. The camp was nowhere to be seen.

“She could be anywhere now,” Saeed added. “I wonder if perhaps we should return to—”

“We should go to the tomb,” said Beth.

“I doubt very much that Miss Margaret will be there, Miss Darcy,” Saeed said politely. “It is a long way away and she has no idea—”

“No doubt you are right, Mr Massri, and at any other time I’m sure I would agree with you. But my sister Jane said that Margaret mentioned the tomb and that is where she will be going,” Beth said clearly.

There was a silence. It seemed ludicrous that a little girl out on her own walking across a desert would have any idea how to reach the tomb. But eventually even Saeed nodded.

“It is as good a place as any to look,” he said at last.

Chapter 16




The torches were very near the end of their life. Darcy could see there was hardly anything left to fuel them and even from twelve feet away he could hear Sophie moaning.

“It will not be much longer now, Edward,” Darcy shouted down to him. “Very soon Sir Matthew will be coming through the tunnel entrance with a hundred fellahs.”

“I pray you are right, Darcy,” Edward replied. “Sophie’s colour is ghastly and she will not drink even though she looks parched.”

From above they saw him try to press the canteen to Sophie’s lips, to no avail. The light from Edward’s torch was almost gone, and things looked bleak.

“We have to do something,” said Elizabeth. “If we look around, perhaps we can find something…”

“Yes,” said Paul, even though they had looked around several times already and found nothing of use.

Elizabeth began searching again, but before long, the final flames flickered and died on the torch beside them. A few moments later they lost sight of Edward too, as his torch went out, and they were all plunged into darkness.

“Edward!” Darcy shouted.

“I am still here, cousin, but talk to me, please. I feel very alone down here. And as for Sophie… If anything happens to her, Darcy, I will never forgive myself.”

“None of this is your fault,” said Darcy.

“No?” said Edward. “I lied to you and deceived you, luring you into a trip that could very well end your life, and I have no idea why I did it. I was like a man possessed. I—”

“What was that?” Darcy cut across him.

“What?” Elizabeth strained her ears, immediately alert as she felt a change in him.

“Listen. Again. There, do you hear it?” Darcy asked.

“I hear it,” said Paul, in a voice full of hope.

Elizabeth strained her ears. “I hear nothing—” she began, and then she stopped. At first it seemed as though there was the scratching of some tiny creature, and then the noises seemed to grow.

“It’s someone calling your name, Darcy. A voice, calling for—”

“Papa! Papa! Where are you?” came the sudden pure voice of a little girl, cutting through the blackness around them.

“Meg? Is that you?” Darcy shouted in astonishment, and as he turned to the sound of his youngest daughter, there was the faintest flicker of light in the distance near the tunnel entrance, the warm welcome glow of an orange flame illuminating the darkness around them.

“Papa, where are you?”