“No,” I said, “I cannot bear the thought that you will find her applying makeup in preparation to join us. This will be my beloved Emerson’s moment of ecstasy when he directs the workmen to remove the slab and expose the contents of the serdab. Although I do not believe in telepathy, I will send a strong message to Miss Smith to stay away from the site.”

“Let us hope the message is received.”

“Inshallah,” I murmured as we resumed walking.

When we arrived at Thutmose’s studio, I saw that Selim had organized the workmen. Emerson gave him a hearty handshake, and went to stand next to the serdab. He selected the most muscular workmen and positioned them around the stone slab.

“Make sure you can grip beneath the lid,” he said. His voice was steady, but I could hear an undertone of anxiety. He squatted at the head of the stone and put his hands under it. “On my command, we will lift it and slide it to that side. Are you ready? Now!”

The workmen, as well as my husband, grunted and cursed as the slab was raised far enough to move it off the stone edges of the serdab. “Serdab” is the Arabic word for “cellar”; in tombs it denotes burial chambers for statues, replete with slits so that the statues could keep an eye on things. This was a more traditional cellar.

Emerson took out his electric torch to illuminate the contents. The rest of us crowded around him as best we could.

“Bloody hell!” he barked.

Nineteen

I peered into the serdab. “I see only two of them, Emerson. The dining room table may not be able hold the additional weight.”

“Which would be a total of approximately twenty-one stone,” Ramses remarked. “We could leave them here for future Egyptologists to discover.”

Emerson flung his pith helmet against a crumbling wall. “I have a reputation to uphold, and I will not allow it to be tainted by rumors that I failed to excavate with professional precision! Selim, bring me the ladder. You and Nefret must take photographs before we disturb the contents. Were Thutmose to appear, I would throttle him.” He stomped away, cursing under his breath (although his profanities were audible to all of us, including the fellahin, Mr. Buddle, and the omnipresent thieves).

Nefret and Selim descended and began to discuss how best to position the reflecting screens to capture the light. David retreated to smoke his pipe. Ramses and I shrugged at each other. I knew from experience that it was wise to maintain a distance until Emerson’s diatribe ran its course. Since he was capable of carrying on for hours, I could only pray that his innate inquisitiveness would lure him back to the serdab.