“We would appreciate a few more details about this attack, if you don’t mind,” I said. I shivered as one of my famous premonitions, which seldom prove false, occurred to me.

“It was rather odd, actually,” Ramses said. “I went to the Khan el-Khalili to have a little chat with Aslimi about some fake antiquities he has been selling to gullible tourists. I was on my way back when someone jumped me from a dark doorway. I got my arm up in time to protect my throat and managed to disarm the man, but he took to his heels and I lost him in that maze of narrow streets and alleys.” He resumed eating.

That terse description of a deadly encounter was typical of Ramses. In this case I wanted to ask for more details, but Nefret was tapping her foot and scowling like a thundercloud, so I said, “Ramses, please go with Nefret and let her tend to that cut.”

“Yes, Mother,” he replied without enthusiasm.

Emerson and I had finished eating when Ramses came back with bandages covering his entire forearm.

“Mother, do I really need all this? It’s as if she is planning to mummify me, one appendage at a time.”

“Leave it,” I said, “or deal with Nefret in her wrath.”

Ramses smiled as Fatima put another platter of food in front of him. “Nefret felt the need of a sponge bath and a change of attire after dealing with my seeping wound. An eavesdropper might have deemed her the ‘Daughter of Curses.’ Her vocabulary was most impressive.”

“Ramses, you must eat so your arm will heal,” Fatima pleaded.

He obediently picked up his fork, and I said, “Before you begin, Ramses, answer a single question. What did the person who attacked you look like?”

“It was getting dark. I didn’t get a look at his features, only his general outline. He was tall for an Egyptian, and not heavily built. He moved with the agility of a young man. The oddest thing was that he was wearing eyeglasses. One lens caught the light, dim as it was—”

“Those were not eyeglasses!” I exclaimed. “They—it—that was a monocle!”

“A what?” Ramses said.

Emerson opened his mouth.

“I will explain,” I said. “The situation is somewhat complex and requires a certain amount of background information.”

Emerson closed his mouth, and I went on. “As you know, the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft has the firman for Amarna. M. Maspero gave us permission to excavate at the Workmen’s Village.”

“Extraordinary,” said Ramses. “As a general rule, the concession includes the entire site.”