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“You were right about that,” I said.
Nefret had taken A
“Nefret! You are not going to wear that in public, I hope?”
“Why not?” She spun round, so that the legs of her voluminous trousers flared out. At least they were opaque, being made of heavy corded silk. “It covers more of me than an ordinary evening dress.”
“But your—er—your shirt is… Are you wearing anything under it? My dear girl, when a gentleman’s arm encircles your waist in the dance…”
“He will enjoy it very much,” said Nefret.
“I may have to shoot someone after all,” Ramses drawled.
Nefret gave him a bright smile. “The Professor is wearing a sword; he can challenge the offender. That would be much more romantic. Now, Aunt Amelia, don’t fuss; this is only the underneath part. I’ll wear a yelek and a girdle over it.”
Chuckling over the little joke they had played on us, Fatima duly appeared with the garments in question and helped Nefret into them. The yelek was of silk in a delicate shade of pearly white; it was practically transparent, but at least it covered her. Emerson closed his mouth, which had been hanging open since he set astonished eyes on his daughter, breathed a gusty sigh of relief, and offered me his arm to lead me to the motorcar.
I will not describe the ball; it was like others we had attended, except for the uniforms. The patches of khaki were like muddy stains upon the sparkle and brilliance of the costumes. I lost sight of Ramses after he had performed his duty dances with me and Katherine; he might have been avoiding Percy, who made rather a point of putting himself in our way without having the temerity actually to address us. Whenever he was in our vicinity Emerson made grumbling noises and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. I had to remind him that, first, dueling was against the law; second, his weapon was only for show; and third, Percy had done nothing to provoke a challenge.
“Not yet,” said Emerson hopefully. “They are playing a waltz, Peabody . Will you dance?”
“You promised me that if I let you leave off the strapping you would not use that arm.”
“Oh, bah,” said Emerson, and demonstrated his fitness by sweeping me onto the floor. Emerson’s terpsichorean talents are limited to the waltz, which he performs with such enthusiasm that my feet were only on the floor part of the time. After one particularly vigorous spin I looked round and saw that Percy was dancing with A
“Look there,” I said to Emerson, and then wished I had kept silent when Emerson came to a dead stop in the middle of the dance floor. It required some argument to get him started again.
“Doesn’t she know about the bastard?” he demanded.
“Perhaps not. Katherine and Cyrus are aware of his Machiavellian machinations with regard to Se
“That isn’t very kind to the girl,” Emerson murmured.
“It is true, however. She is not handsome enough or rich enough or—er—accommodating enough to interest him. He is using her to insinuate a wedge! She must be told of his true nature.”
“I will leave that to you,” said Emerson. “I can’t see that it matters.”
“You would not take that attitude if it were Nefret dancing with him instead of A
“Damned right.”
When the music ended Percy led A
I felt obliged to go in search of her. The Moorish Hall was the first place I looked. I disturbed several couples who were enjoying the intimacy of the shadowy alcoves, but Nefret was not among them. After I had finished searching the other public areas I went to the Long Bar. Women were not supposed to be there except at certain times, but Nefret often went where she was not supposed to be. It did not take me long to find her, seated at a table toward the back of the room. When I recognized her companion my heart sank down into my slippers. Kadija had been right after all. How Nefret had managed to elude my supervision I did not know, but it was clear that this was not her first meeting with Percy. Their heads were close together, and she was smiling as she listened.
“Mother?”
I was leaning forward, peering round the doorframe. He startled me so badly I lost my balance and would have stumbled into the room had he not taken my arm.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
“The same thing you are doing,” said Ramses. “Spying on Nefret. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am.”
His even, controlled voice made a shiver of apprehension run through me. “You are not to go near Percy. Give me your word.”
“Do you suppose I’m afraid of him?”
“No, I do not!”
“I am, though.”
“You could beat him senseless with one hand.”
Ramses let out an odd sound that might have been a muffled laugh. “Your confidence is flattering, Mother, if somewhat exaggerated. I might have to use both hands. That wasn’t what I meant, though.”
“He can never deceive us again, Ramses. We know his real nature too well. Surely you don’t believe Nefret has succumbed to his flattery and his advances?”
“No.” The word was too quick and too vehement.
“No,” I insisted. “He is everything she loathes and despises. Perhaps… Yes, it can only be because she thinks Percy has some new villainy in mind, and that she is helping to protect you.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Ramses said. “Time to retreat, Mother, she’s standing up.”
We returned to the ballroom. Nefret was not far behind us. Had she seen us? I hoped not; she had some cause for resentment if she believed I had been spying on her.
Emerson had been prowling round the room, looking for me, as he explained accusingly.
“Hand her over, Ramses,” he ordered. “The waltzes are all mine, you know.”
“Yes, sir.”
Emerson took my arm, and I turned to see Nefret beside us. Except for being a trifle flushed, she displayed no evidence of self-consciousness. She put her hand on Ramses’s sleeve. “Will you dance with me?”
“Aren’t you engaged for this one?”
“I have disengaged myself. Please?”
He could not in courtesy refuse. With a formal bow he offered her his arm.
The music was a waltz, a piece with which I was not familiar, sweet and rather slow. Instead of leading me onto the floor Emerson stood watching our son and daughter.
“This is the first time they have danced together in a long while,” he said.
“Yes.”
“They look well.”
“Yes.”
They had always looked well together, but that night there was a kind of enchantment about the way they waltzed, every movement so perfectly matched, they might have been directed by a single mind. She moved lightly as a bird in flight, their clasped hands barely touching, her other hand brushing his shoulder. They were not looking at one another; Nefret’s face was averted and his was the usual impassive mask; but as I gazed, the forms of the other dancers seemed to fade away, leaving the two alone, like figures captured and held forever in a globe of clear glass.
With an effort I shook off this somewhat u