Ramses rose from the chair. “Shall we depart, Mother? Since M. Mapsero is unable to give us adequate authorization to supervise the excavation at Amarna, he is of no use to us. Professor Emerson will be disappointed, I am sure.”

“Bonjour,” I said as I followed Ramses out of the office.

Neither of us spoke as the cab took us back to the hotel. We parted ways at my door without formulating any future plans. I went into the bedroom and made sure the linens and pillows had been changed, put on a dressing gown, and laid down for a much-needed nap.

The sunlight had shifted when I awoke several hours later. I had missed my midday meal, but I intended to indulge in a hearty tea—regrettably with Miss Smith. Contrary to her aspirations, I would not engage in a monologue that prevented me from devouring delicate sandwiches and pastries. A proper lady never speaks with vestiges of food in her mouth.

After I had freshened up and donned a suitable tea gown, I swept through the lobby to the terrace. I was not surprised that Miss Smith had already chosen a table and given her order to the waiter. She waved at me as if she had been stranded in a lifeboat and I were a passing freighter. This did not go unnoticed by the snobbish women at nearby tables, who all leaned forward to engage in their favorite pastime.

“Good afternoon,” I said as I sat down. “I hope you are enjoying your stay in Cairo.”

“Oh yes, ever so much! Maybe it is nothing more than the relentless heat, but I feel the passion arising in me, threatening to inflame me. May I pour you a cup of tea, my dear Mrs. Emerson?”

“Thank you, Miss Smith.” I produced a smile of sorts. The temperature was mild, as befitting the winter season, and would be a tad chilly at night. Miss Smith must have been highly sensitive to be fraught with passion despite the cardigan sweater draped over her shoulders.

“You must tell me about the Lost Oasis,” she said. “I can think of nothing more thrilling than discovering it in the middle of the desert!”

I gazed longingly at a cucumber sandwich, but refrained from shoving it in my mouth. “It was quite an ordeal,” I began obediently. “The last camel died at noon, leaving us without food or water in the desert west of the Nile. Had we not discovered the oasis, we surely would have perished.” I continued with an edited version, omitting our first encounter with dear Nefret but perhaps embellishing the peril in which we found ourselves.