I leaned forward, narrowing my eyes. “Youwerethere.”
She shifted away from me, her arms folding across her chest, an air of offended silence swirling around her like artillery smoke. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it doesn’t matter, does it? You’ve already decided who I am, no matter what I’ll say.”
My frustration grew. She ought to work for imperial Britain as a spy. The chit would be their most treasured asset.
She stared at me, her gaze unwavering. “I don’t care if you believe me, I don’t care if you think the worst of me. What Idocare about is Inez. Consider what will happen to me if we are successful in our efforts? Both of my parents in prison, or worse. I will be alone, without family except for Inez. I would never jeopardize our relationship, and while I have made mistakes, they were unintentional.” She leaned forward, her blue eyes latched on to mine. “Are you really going to sit there and judgemefor my actions? After what you’ve done?”
Doubt crept into my mind. I had great instincts, and there was something off about this girl. But what if I was wrong about her? It was a goodthing, then, that I had more time to figure her out. “You can play your little games, but I’m warning you: if you hurt Inez in any way, I’ll make your life hell.”
“Inez is already in hell,” she said, standing. Isadora smoothed the wrinkles on her skirt and stomped off, chin lifted high. For the second time in as many minutes, she walked away from me in a huff. I sat at the table, thinking, considering, piecing together everything I knew about her and every word she’d ever said long after she’d gone. Egypt swept past the window in a monochromatic blur, but I barely noticed.
Because I finally put together a part of the puzzle I hadn’t seen. Something she had just revealed—but hadn’t meant to. I wanted to run back to the compartment to tell Inez, but doubt niggled at the back of my mind. If I was wrong, Inez would turn away from me further. I had little hope of a reconciliation, but as long as there was a chance, I couldn’t afford to jeopardize it.
CAPÍTULO DIECISÉIS
From the station, Whit hired a carriage to take us and our luggage to Hotel Abbat, a handsome building with columns and tall windows overlooking a square. Whit paid the driver, who helped us unload our trunks, and together we all walked into a cozy lobby, and while not as grand as the one in Shepheard’s, it had plush seating and a long wooden counter where several workers helped other travelers. Upon further inspection, I found a lush interior garden with blooms that pleasantly scented the air. A sign written in French directed guests to luxurious baths, or to a reading room. There was even a smoking room.
Alarm swept over me. I reached for Whit’s arm and hissed, “We can’t afford this.”
“Since the bombardment, everyone’s prices have dropped,” Whit whispered back. “This is a comfortable second-class hotel, the only one of which I felt was appropriate, given Alexandria’s current state.”
“Current state?” I asked.
“I’ll explain later,” Whit said, leading us to the front desk.
The hotel attendant, a young German named Karl, quickly set us up with a room. It had a fixed price of fifteen francs per day, which included lodging and board but excluded liquor. I expected Whit to protest, but he remained silent on that score. The accommodations were much cheaper than I’d set aside for—an enormous relief. We had used the money I’d received from the first-class passage refund to book this suite for the next week and it thankfully also included all three meals, tea, and coffee.
If Whit despaired about sleeping on a cot, he didn’t dare show it.
He and Isadora walked off to explore the rest of the lobby, but I remained with Karl while he shared more information about the hotel and suite. When he finished, I asked, “Would you be able to send a telegram?”
He nodded and procured a slip of paper, an envelope, and a pencil for me. “I’ll send it to the telegraph office after you’re finished, it will be wired within the hour. The price is five piastres per ten words. Is that acceptable? Yes? Good.”
“Thank you,” I murmured as I scribbled a quick message to Farida. I gave her the name of the hotel and our address and begged her to please send word if any new photographs were mailed to her. I stuffed the note into an envelope and handed it to Karl, along with payment.
Then I went to find my companions. They were standing off to the side of the lobby unoccupied by other guests. “The room is ready for our use,” I announced to Isadora and Whit when I joined them.
They stood coldly staring at each other, Isadora with her arms folded tightly, Whit’s looming presence grim and serious, every line of his face steeped in suspicion. Neither had spoken to the other since they’d returned from the dining car on the train ride to Alexandria. I hated the tension that existed between them, and my only consolation was that Whit wouldn’t be in my life long enough to truly drive me mad from his cynical view of my sister.
Even so, it grated.
Isadora’s blue eyes shot to mine. “Will they bring up our trunks, do you think?”
I nodded. “Already in process.”
“By the time we arrive back from our outing, everything should be in order, then,” Isadora said in approval.
“Ourouting?” Whit repeated. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Mr. Hayes,” I said, ignoring the strain appearing along his eyes, “we’re going to pay a visit to the address you found. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already.”
“I haven’t,” Whit said curtly. “But we can’t all go. It’ll be faster if I run the errand on my own. Not to mention that I’ll draw less notice.”
I opened my mouth to protest.
“You know it’s true,” Whit said. “The quicker I can accomplish our goal, the better. And what would happen if we ran into one of your mother’s associates? I can’t sneak around with the two of you at my heels. It’d be close to impossible to make your lovely bulk disappear.” His blue eyes flicked downward, carefully assessing the way my dress hugged the curved lines of my body.
When Whit lifted his eyes, they burned, twin fires that crackled and hissed sparks.
