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Ellie caught herself and bit off the rest.

Constance’s eyes glittered with avid interest as she plucked another date from the dish. “Before you’d even…” she prompted.

“It isn’t important,” Ellie dismissed.

Constance tossed the date at her.

“What was that for!” Ellie exclaimed.

“You know perfectly well,” Constance returned easily, then frowned. “It must be nearly a decade since I’ve seen your brother, but I can’t imagine Stuffy has changedthatmuch. Finding out you’ve been running about with his best friend will go over about as well as that time we tied all his socks into a rope for our makeshift hot air balloon.”

“Neil was rather upset about that one,” Ellie recalled—and then straightened. “But it’s no matter, because I have been giving the situation a great deal of thought, and thereisa perfectly logical solution to the problem of my connection to Mr. Bates—one that even Neil could not possibly object to. And that is for us to be…”

“Yes?” Constance prompted, leaning closer.

“Colleagues,” Ellie finished.

“Colleagues?” Constance echoed in tones of disbelief. “You mean like a pair of solicitors skipping out for the occasional luncheon?”

“I mean devoted companions in scholarship and intellectual inquiry!” Ellie countered. “Really, when I gave it a bit more thought, it seems the perfect term to describe my relationship with Mr. Bates. The Latin word ‘collega’ suggests being deputized together in the service of a greater cause. It could be almost like a marriage, only without all of that… erm…”

“Physical intercourse?” Constance offered mercilessly.

Ellie’s cheeks flushed. “Connie!” She drew in a breath, recovering herself. “I know that such an arrangement between a gentleman and a lady is not strictly the ‘done’ thing, but if it was clear to all the gossips that our connection was purely one of mutual respect and admiration…”

Constance frowned. “Are you saying you’re not interested in physical intercourse with Mr. Bates?”

Ellie’s cheeks heated even further. “That would not be… strictly accurate to say,” she replied carefully. “But I am quite capable of controlling myself! It is hardly the most important aspect of a relationship, even a very close one! It is the meeting of minds that matters—the intellectual sympathy and shared curiosity of two scholars out to discover the true inner workings of the world and its history!”

“Right,” Constance agreed skeptically. “And how would Mr. Bates feel about following you to England to be part of this meeting of intellectual minds?”

Ellie deflated. “I… am not entirely sure.”

“Well, perhaps you ought to ask him about it.” Constance dropped back onto the cushions and reached for another date.

Constance’s entirely reasonable suggestion sparked a roiling, uncomfortable feeling in Ellie’s chest.

“At any rate, it sounds as though you might have more immediate concerns,” Constance continued. “What is this terribly urgent business at your brother’s excavation in Saqqara? And are you certain it can’t wait for another day or two? I should love to show you more of Cairo. We might even make an excursion to the bazaar! There is a wonderful lane completely lined with booksellers that I am certain you would happily get lost in.”

Ellie gratefully accepted the change in the subject. She thought longingly of how very much she would enjoy browsing through countless stalls of jumbled books in the shadow of an ancient mosque.

“I am afraid the bazaar will have to wait,” she asserted with a note of regret. “Do you recall our mutual acquaintance, Mr. Jacobs?”

“How could I forget?” Constance returned. “You led him on quite the merry chase back in London. Don’t tell me that he’s turned back up?”

“In fact, he followed me to British Honduras, and Mr. Bates and I had quite a bit of trouble with him while we were there. I have reason to believe that he is now on his way to Egypt—if he isn’t here already—and that he has an interest in Neil’s excavation.”

“Thatisserious,” Constance agreed. “But what could Mr. Jacobs possibly want with your brother’s dig?”

“I suspect Jacobs, or whomever it is that he works for, is using the dig at Saqqara as a means of pursuing a very important and dangerous artifact.”

Constance frowned. “How can an artifact be dangerous?”

Ellie reached into the pocket of her skirt and removed a battered tin cigar tube. The paper label, which readThe Belize Tobacco Company, was faded with age.

“Have you taken up smoking, Ellie?” Constance eyed the tube skeptically.

Ellie didn’t reply. Instead, she opened the lid and slid the contents of the tube into her palm.