“In that case, we will have a spot of whiskey while we wait in the drawing room,” Ramses said as he and David went inside, ignoring the butler’s protest. “Might there be a chessboard or a deck of cards with which we can amuse ourselves until Herr Gunter returns? The afternoon is at our disposal.”

The butler showed them into the room in which they had waited previously, mutely pointed at a tray with decanters and glasses, and then shuffled away, mumbling to himself. They helped themselves to a modest quantity of whiskey diluted with water.

“What now, Lord Cavendish?” David asked as he meandered around the room, opening drawers and cabinets. “No chessboard, no cards. Your lordship will be dreadfully bored, I fear.”

Ramses opened the door and peered at the entry hall. “That pesky fellow has disappeared. Let’s have a look around the place while we can. Gunter lied about the ambassador’s whereabouts when we were last here. If he returns while we are prowling, I shall point this out and claim we are confused and wanted to see for ourselves. A feeble excuse, I know, but in character.”

“The offices are likely to be here on the ground floor, but they will be locked.”

“That has never deterred us before,” Ramses said as he eased into the hall. “Don’t forget the bag. If Gunter turns belligerent, we may be forced to leave with alacrity.”

The embassy was spacious, but not palatial. They looked into a large drawing room suitable for social gatherings, a library, and a dining room with an expansive table set with silverware, fine crystal, and withered flower arrangements. They heard no voices or footsteps as they continued onward. The butler, Ramses thought, must have retreated downstairs for a swig of schnapps to recover from David and Ramses’s brash display of impropriety.

The ambassador’s office was in impeccable order but slightly dusty. In contrast, Gunter’s desk and file cabinets held untidy stacks of folders and unopened mail. The walls were covered with maps of Europe, Egypt, and the Middle East.

David crouched in front of a cabinet and utilized a small tool to unlock it. “Oh my God,” he said, forgetting to whisper. When he arose, he was clutching a bust of Nefertiti. “Unbelievable.”

“Was the white-haired man we saw the other night carrying anything when he entered the embassy?”

“We both saw his briefcase, which could not have contained anything this large. Do you think it could be the original?”