Chapter 12 #2
“Not this one. I’d have to go and get some first.” She tugged at his hand. “And I refuse to just leave your arm untreated, if that’s your next suggestion.”
“Not that I don’t want you in my room, but someone could see you going there.
You’re worried about eyes and ears here in Ezbekieh.
This is nothing compared to Shepheard’s.
There’s no way for you to go to my room without being seen.
” Noah surveyed the space. His eyes stopped at a stone bench under a palm, and he tilted his head toward it. “Shall we sit?”
“If you don’t allow me to suture that cut, you must promise to go to the closest hospital and have it taken care of.” She released the pressure she’d held on the wound with the handkerchief. The wound bled less now. She sat beside him on the bench.
“I promise.” Noah laid his uniform jacket on his arm. “I’ve gone through more uniforms this year than ever before. I’ll need to have the whole sleeve on this replaced.” Noah settled his shoulders back, his jaw clenching reflexively.
His proximity helped put her fears about the Egyptian to one side. “We should talk for a few minutes. A great deal has happened since I last saw you.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I assumed. Considering you were in Cairo with your family … not on leave, I suppose?”
“No, they dismissed me from duty.” Ginger cringed, thinking of the awful lieutenant.
“They gave me the choice between saving the life of a deserter they intended to execute later and that of a young man who needed an emergency amputation.” She cleared her throat.
“Actually, I spoke poorly. Not the choice. They commanded me to patch up the deserter. I chose not to.”
Noah released an exasperated sigh. “When will the military learn that logic isn’t the enemy?” He interlaced his fingers with hers. “Regardless of what they did, I’m quite proud of you. Noble Lady Virginia.”
The only advantage of having followed that Egyptian is that he’d lured her to a place of relative privacy.
Even if they were being watched, as the night grew later, they could converse more openly.
No one could be close enough to listen to their low tones.
Much as she wanted to tell him of Osborne and Lord Helton, she was curious about why he’d sent a note.
“What did the note you intended for me say?”
Noah’s features darkened. He turned his body toward her, his knees against hers. “Stephen Fisher is in Cairo. I brought him back after my last mission went horribly awry and Lord Helton has jailed him in a special facility while they question him. Even I don’t know where it is.”
Stephen … caught? The news brought her equal jolts of relief and fear. “Will they charge him for my father’s death?”
“I’m not sure. His capture is a secret. Lord Helton doesn’t want it to get out yet.
His family has been raising hell back in England trying to learn what happened to him.
” Noah didn’t deliver the news with any hint of satisfaction.
“There’s more, Ginger … He surrendered to me in Jerusalem.
He claimed he no longer wanted to be with the Germans and would rather take his chances with the British.
I think he feels he can negotiate, given what he knows. ”
Stephen surrendered? He’d been free. Why would he come back to Cairo, where he was being hunted? “The British government will cooperate with him? They must hold him accountable for his crimes.”
“I don’t know what he’s up to, but I’m certain he’s planning something. I …” His grip on her hand tightened. Ginger eyed him curiously. Whatever he was trying to say was clearly hard for him.
“What is it?” The flutter of nerves went through her stomach, the rich meal from Shepheard’s no longer sitting well.
“I was with Jack in Jerusalem”—Noah’s voice was strained—“when Stephen surrendered. We escaped and ended up in a tribal encampment outside of the city. Then we were attacked, and I lost consciousness. When I awoke, Stephen had tied me to a camel. He forced me at gunpoint to take him back to the British side. But Jack…” He swallowed.
“Jack was left behind. Stephen claimed the Turks executed him.”
She gripped his forearm to steady herself.
“No, not Jack.” Her eyes darted to Noah’s face.
Could he really be gone? She loved Noah’s American friend nearly as much as Noah did.
He’d been a loyal friend and the only one who’d taken the time to console her after she and Noah had parted last spring.
Then he’d been sent off for intelligence work, and she hadn’t heard from him since.
“I don’t believe he’s dead. Stephen had every reason to lie to me. If he hadn’t pulled a gun on me, I would have gone back, and he knew it.”
The idea of Noah heading back into the front lines of the Turkish occupation brought a sick feeling to her gut, but didn’t surprise her. Noah would never leave Jack captured. “Are you planning to go back, then?”
Noah’s pupils were large in the dark. “Yes.”
She swallowed a lump in her throat. She’d known of the danger he faced, but not always so concretely. “When?”
“As soon as I can arrange it.” Distant laughter sounded in the park.
Perhaps patrons of the theater or the nearby opera house getting out from a picture show or production.
“But I’m sure Stephen is playing some larger game.
I can’t tell you more because I don’t know more.
But you needed to know that he’s returned, especially now that you’re in Cairo. ”
She didn’t want to think about Stephen being back.
But the attack in the garden tonight … She shivered. Could he have had something to do with it?
Ginger’s eyes were drawn to his wound. Even though he could go to a hospital easily enough, she didn’t want to send him off with a wound, not when it was her fault that he’d received it.
“Are you certain you won’t allow me to treat this?
If you’re planning on heading back to the front, the last thing you’ll want is an infection. ”
“I’m certain I want you to treat it. But taking you back to my room after Victoria’s little stunt would be foolish.
All it would take is one person who recognizes you to do irreparable damage.
” Noah kissed her temple, his lips hovering above her skin so that his breath was warm against her.
“Were it up to me, I wouldn’t let you go back tonight, particularly not when your mother is threatening to marry you off. ”
Ginger rolled her eyes. “I’ve already told her it’s not a possibility, but I think she’s hoping she can prevail upon me.”
“Is that why you’ve removed the ring I gave you?”
Noah was too astute not to notice a significant detail like that.
She rubbed the bare spot on her finger. “I didn’t want anyone asking questions, to be honest. My mother and Lucy won’t be happy when I tell them we plan to marry.
” Or Lord Helton. “And my promise to Lord Helton to stay away from you—I know he’s watching you.
If he knows we spoke tonight it will just be one more instance to infuriate him. ”
“Leave him to me. I’ll speak to him about the matter. Disabuse him of the notion that it’s your fault.” Noah curled his good arm around her, pressing her in against him.
“But your arm—”
“Leave the damned thing. I’ll be fine.” He set his chin on the top of her head.
“At any rate, I suppose you’re right about your family.
Especially if your mother hopes a marriage to the new earl can settle the inheritance issues that arose when Henry died.
Speaking of inheritance—did your father ever mention Ibn Saud? ”
Her lips parted in surprise. What did Noah know of this?
She’d intended to tell him about Peter Osborne but hadn’t expected for him to bring up the issue first. “Yes, but not for many years. He went on some sort of diplomatic mission to Hayil to meet Ibn Rashid and ended up staying with Ibn Saud instead. I don’t know the details.”
He had a thoughtful look in his eyes. “That’s not surprising. Ibn Rashid and Ibn Saud are enemy leaders of different tribes in Arabia. Ibn Rashid declared his loyalty to the Ottomans early in the war.”
She closed her eyes, relishing the warmth of his closeness, the comfort of his heartbeat against her ear. Certain she knew where he was going with this line of thought, she asked, “Does this have to do with the oil concession granted to my father?”
Silence ensued. Then, after a few beats, Noah nodded. “Who told you about it?”
“As it so happened, around the time they dismissed me from nursing, one of Sir Reginald Wingate’s men approached me about a job. A delicate matter, he said—”
“Who?” Noah’s voice was flat.
Naturally, he’d want to know. Chances were he even knew Osborne. “A man named Peter Osborne. Do you know him?”
“Osborne?” Noah’s face scrunched as he considered the name. “I can’t say I do.”
“He offered me passage for my sister and mother out of Egypt when I’m through with the job he has for me. And to pay for my medical school. And a position working as the assistant to a female surgeon here in Cairo.”
“It sounds as though he knew just how to bait you into the game.” Noah flexed his arm, the only sign he’d given of the pain he must be in. “What was the job?”
She told him, a nervous feeling creeping up her spine as she spoke. Though there was no one around to listen, she couldn’t help feeling watched. Especially after the incident with the Egyptian man.
Noah listened without a visible response. When she’d finished, his blue eyes scanned hers. “And you agreed to do it?”
Ginger grimaced. “Yes. They’re offering me the opportunity to earn a ten percent stake if I help them find the concession. Otherwise, the British government intends to seize it in its entirety, on the grounds that my father got it illegally.”
“I worried about that. In fact, when I first learned of it, I considered not telling my superiors at all about it. I didn’t want the CID taking any more from your family. But as I had to bring Stephen along with me, it forced me to, in case Stephen shared the information with them.”
Noah stared out at the gardens that surrounded them, his eyes unreadable. “Ginger, the world your father was involved in—it was dangerous. The men your father trusted were dangerous.”
She bit her lip. He wasn’t happy about it, as she’d suspected. “Are you angry with me?”
“No.” He released a frustrated breath. “Just concerned.”
His sentiment was heartwarming. She squinted. “Do you think my father hid the paperwork about the concession?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. And Stephen must have some goal in bringing the issue to light now. It can’t be as a favor to your family, that much is certain.”
Ginger settled back into the space she’d occupied against his chest. “I’ll have to ask my mother if she knows anything. Lord Helton said they had, but that she’d been less than forthcoming.”
“That was what I would suggest. But be careful how much you draw her into this. Your mother keeps her silence because she’s aware of how dangerous your father’s behavior was.
” Noah kissed the top of her head and then released her.
He stood, holding his hand out for her. “Shall we go back? You can go on ahead, I’ll keep watch. ”
As she stood, she smoothed out her dress. “Hopefully no harm has come to this dress—I had to borrow it from Lucy. I don’t have any evening gowns left.”
Noah gave her an approving glance. Something else lingered in his eyes, unreadable. “I didn’t have the chance to tell you how beautiful you look, by the way.”
The feel of his hand in hers had a way of making her pulse beat faster. “Well, thank you. You looked quite dashing yourself, though the blood hasn’t done you any favors.”
Noah set the jacket over his shoulders, slipping one arm into the sleeves at a time. “I’ll go to have it sutured directly.”
She didn’t want to leave him.
They stood in silence, bathed by the moonlight, the palm fronds of the surrounding trees dancing in the wind.
Speaking with Noah had allowed her to forget her fears for a few minutes.
What would this evening have been like if Noah hadn’t been keeping watch?
Ginger shuddered. “Thank you for saving me, once again.”
“I’m going to have a talk with the concierge. See what happened to my note.”
She had a feeling she knew. Ginger clasped his hand tighter. “Lord Helton is once again demanding I keep my distance from you.” She stopped, glancing at him. “He said I needed to do whatever it took to convince you to stay away.”
Noah didn’t respond, his thumb grazing the back of her hand softly. “Is that what you want? I’ll wait for you as long as it takes, rohi. Even if it tortures me to keep my distance.”
“I think it’s what we have to do, isn’t it?” Her heartbeat seemed to slow. Despite all of Lord Helton’s threats, she couldn’t make herself say what she didn’t mean. “But it’s not what I want.” Her voice was barely audible.
His voice was equally low. “It’s not what I want either.”
She should return. She’d lingered long enough. “Make me a promise, at least?” She turned to face him as they walked away from the bench.
He smiled, his handsome features seeming to relax at the earnest way she looked up at him. “What’s that?”
“Promise me you won’t go after Jack without letting me say good-bye.”
Noah kissed the back of her hand softly. “Then I should say good-bye now, rohi. But I promise to send word when I’ve gone.”