Lord of the Silent: A Novel of Suspense Read Free Page A

endeavored to get indoors before darkness fell. To be honest, I had forgotten about this or I would not have allowed Emerson to drive. We reached Berkeley Square without incident, however, the only damage being to my nerves. The party was small and intimate-our four selves, Salisbury and his lady, and another gentleman, fair-haired, languidly graceful, smiling, and supercilious. After the other introductions had been performed, Salisbury said, "You know my brother, I believe?" We did. It is impossible not to know other members of the Anglo-Egyptian community in Cairo. Lord Edward Cecil was the Financial Adviser to the Sultan (in other words, he and Englishmen like him ran the government). Our acquaintance with him was slight, since the social set of which he was a prominent member was composed of boring officials and their even more boring ladies. One would have supposed, however, from the warmth of his greeting, that he was among our closest friends. He was particularly gracious to Ramses, whom he and his circle had snubbed the year before because of Ramses's outspoken opposition to the war. If I had had any doubts about the purpose of the evening's entertainment, Lord Edward's behavior would have dispelled them. No one was ill-bred enough to refer to the matter then, or during dinner. The seating arrangements were awkward, owing to the uneven number of guests, but Lady Salisbury had done the best she could, placing me between Salisbury and his brother, and Nefret across the table with Ramses and Emerson. When the butler brought in the decanters, Lady Salisbury rose and caught my eye. I smiled pleasantly at her and remained seated. "You will excuse me, I hope, Lady Salisbury. Since I have a personal interest in the subject the gentlemen intend to discuss, I prefer to join in." Lord Edward's eyes moved from me to Nefret, who looked as if she had taken root on her chair. His elegantly shaped brows lifted. "I told you so, Jimmy." "You needn't rub it in." Like the other gentlemen, Salisbury had risen to his feet. "My dear .. ." Breeding shows. The poor woman had been thrown completely off her stride by my unorthodox behavior, but she was quick to recover. She swept elegantly out of the room and the men resumed their chairs. For a few moments no one spoke. I was waiting, as seemed proper, for Salisbury or Lord Edward to introduce the subject, and they also seemed to be waiting. Emerson, who has not my gift of patience, was about to burst into speech when the door opened and a man entered. He was of medium height and build, with shining black hair slicked back from his forehead, and a face like a wedge. His sharp nose and pointed chin appeared to have squeezed his lips between them. His stretched skin and the fine lines that covered it, especially around the eyes, were unmistakable signs of long years spent in the tropics-not in Egypt, or I would have known him-possibly in India. He took the chair Lady Salisbury had vacated and fixed a cold stare on me. His attempt to disconcert me was of course a failure. I stared back at him. "If this gentleman-I use the term loosely, since he was obviously listening at the door-if he is to join in our discussion, perhaps he will be good enough to mention his name." The thin lips opened a crack. "Smith." "Dear me, how unoriginal," I remarked. "Will you take a glass of port, Mrs. Emerson?" Salisbury inquired. He sounded a trifle rattled. "No, thank you, nor a cigar. Feel free to smoke, if you like; far be it from me to mar the atmosphere of masculine congeniality." "You've already done that," said Emerson approvingly. "Let's get down to business, shall we? We have wasted enough time already, and I want to get home. The answer is no." He pushed his chair back. "Don't be so precipitate, Emerson," I said. "The answer is no, but there are several questions I would like to have answered. First-" "You are both being precipitate," Nefret said. "And patronizing. He can speak for himself." She had dressed