A leaden ball of dread began to form in my stomach. I could think of only one man I knew who was missing a hand—an injury I had caused, more or less. Fear mounting, I lifted my gaze back up to his face.
As our eyes met, he smiled. It was not a nice smile. In fact, it made my heart stutter in my chest.
This was not Mr. Borscht, whoever that might be. This was Count von Braggenschnott, one of the most powerful Serpents of Chaos I had ever met, sitting in front of me as pretty as you please.
And he had been chatting with my mother for nearly an hour.
I was afraid I might be sick.
Trying to be casual, I glanced over my shoulder toward the door, wondering where Bing had gotten to.
"Theodosia? Mr. Borscht is speaking to you." Mother's chiding voice poked through my rising panic.
"Forgive me." I slowly turned back around, my mind scrambling frantically. How could we make our escape? Dare I risk exposing him? Would Mother even believe me?
I doubted it. I gripped my reticule cords more firmly.
"I asked if you were enjoying your trip to Egypt?" von Braggenschnott repeated.
"Er, for the most part." I was embarrassed at the faint tremble in my voice. Refusing to be cowed, I straightened my shoulders and met his chilling blue stare. "I have found there are more vermin in the city than I care for, but other than that, I am finding it most educational." There, that would show him I wasn't afraid.
"Vermin?" Mother sounded puzzled. "Whatever are you talking about, dear? We've only been here a matter of hours, and I have seen nothing that remotely qualifies as vermin."
That is because grownups never see the really important stuff. They are too distracted by the ordinary and mundane.
Von Braggenschnott laughed, cutting off any answer I might have given. "Children. They have such flights of fancy, do they not?"
Mother rolled her eyes delicately. "Don't they, though?"
The humiliation of having Mother and the head of the Serpents of Chaos dismiss me as a mere child was as sharp and painful as a knife.
"And I shall not subject you to Theo's any longer," she continued. "You have been most kind, Mr. Borscht. My husband and I, and the museum, cannot thank you enough for your help."
"It has been my pleasure, madame." He rose and bowed from the waist, his eyes taking on an appreciative gleam as he looked at Mother. That's when I had my second shock of the day. He was sweet on Mother!
While they continued with a few last-minute niceties, I tried to come up with a plan for escape. Finally Mother bade him goodbye and turned toward the door. I held my breath and followed.
It was only a short distance, but it felt as if time held still while we crossed it. I kept waiting for von Braggenschnott to call us back or stop us, but he didn't and we reached the door without incident. Was he really going to let us walk out?
Just as Mother put her hand on the knob, he spoke. "And Madame Throckmorton?"
"Yes," she said, turning to look back at him.
"Congratulations on such an intriguing daughter. I hope her visit continues to be educational. I believe the more education children receive, the better."
Mother smiled, inclined her head, then opened the door and swept out. I followed in her wake, nearly tripping in my eagerness to escape that small office.
CHAPTER FIVE
Where to Now, Donkey Boy?
ONCE THE DOOR CLOSED FIRMLY BEHIND US, my heart slowed down from a flat-out race to a mere gallop.
Von Braggenschnott had let us go. He had let me go. Why?
There could be only one reason, really. He wanted something I had. Or he was hoping I'd lead him and his men to something they wanted.
All right, that was two reasons. My math skills aren't at their sharpest when I'm under duress.
Bing was waiting for us, calmly as you please, as if he hadn't been chasing assailants throughout the museum just moments before. I studied him, wondering if he had any idea who was in the office. "Mr. Bing?"
"Yes, Miss Theodosia?"
"Have you talked with Monsieur Maspero today?"
Mr. Bing frowned. "Not since this morning, when he sent me to fetch you two from the hotel." I could tell by the puzzled look on his face that he did not understand the reason for my question.
Either that or he was a very good actor. Mother, however, was giving me one of her looks, so I didn't dare risk any more questions. Even so, as we made our way to the exit, I studied Bing surreptitiously. No matter how I tilted my head and squinted at him, his thin, gangly form and scrubbed face did not look sinister in any way.
"Theodosia?" Mother's voice was sharp. "Are you quite all right?"
I swiveled my eyes over to Mother, who stared at me with her hands on her hips. "Just working out a kink in my neck. From looking at the exhibits. Some of those statues are quite tall, you know."
Mother sighed, shook her head, and sent an apologetic smile in Bing's direction.
He smiled back. "If you're ready to return to the hotel, I'll take you now."
"Thank you. That would be lovely," Mother said.
As we stepped outside the museum, I tried to think of a way to alert Mr. Bing to von Braggenschnott's presence without alarming Mother. I was so distracted by the challenge that I didn't even notice the crowd until I bumped up against a woman swathed in black from head to toe. That's when I noticed that the demonstration seemed to have spread from the train station to the streets near the museum. Quillings's words echoed through my head. Chaos causing riots in the streets.
Bing looked grimly at the mob. "Let's get you ladies home before it gets ugly," he said, leading us to where he had parked the carriage. It was nowhere to be seen.
"What happened to it?" I asked.
"No doubt all available carriages have been snatched up as people try to get away from the demonstration." He gave Mother an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Throckmorton. It looks as if we must stay here until the crowd disperses or hire donkeys." He grimaced at the second option, his glance flickering to the small crowd of donkey boys gathered at one end of the square.
"How long till the crowd disperses?" Mother asked, eyeing the safety of the museum. Little did she realize, the place held more danger than a mere mob.
Bing shrugged. "Hard to say. Last week there was a demonstration that lasted for two days with the participants camping in the streets."
"Well, we can't wait that long!" Mother exclaimed. "We've a train to catch in the morning. Plus, we are quite tired from our trip." She glanced uneasily at the crowd. "I suppose we shall have to use the donkeys."
"Why can't we simply walk?" I asked.
"No one walks in Cairo, darling. It just isn't done," Mother said. "Besides, the donkeys will help force a path."
"Very well." Bing gave a resigned nod and strode toward the asses. Not wanting to get separated, we followed close on his heels.
At our approach, the donkey boys converged around us like a cheerful swarm of buzzing hornets. In a loud jumble of Arabic and English, they vied for our business. In spite of the unholy racket they made, they were all smiling and seemed to be having a marvelous time of it.
Bing pointed at a small cluster. "You. There. We'll take you." The boys snapped to attention and four of them jostled forward. "We only need three," Bing said testily.
One of the boys, the smallest one, was pushed aside by the others. As he sent them a hot glare, I saw that he was misshapen, his back hunched up. How wretched! And how cruel of the others to exclude him like that. "Excuse me, Mr. Bing," I said, "but I'd like to ride that donkey." I pointed at the one next to the crippled boy.
Bing sighed in exasperation. "One donkey is not any different from the others, but very well. You heard the girl," he snapped at the boys. One of them sent a scathing glare in the smallest one's direction and shuffled back to wait with the others.