Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Ginger found her mother in the garden in the morning, pruning a rosebush.
At home in England, her mother’s roses had been prize-winning, but Ginger had always suspected the gardener’s touch had brought about the awards.
Egypt had proved that suspicion wrong. Her mother had tended to the roses in her garden in Cairo with loving attention, often rising early, like this morning, to work before the sun was full in the sky.
Since she’d been out of the Cairo house for so many months, her mother had probably been aghast at the state of her plants.
Ginger watched her from the verandah, her heart a mixture of nervous anticipation, unbridled excitement, and fear. She’d woken feeling as though she was floating on a cloud. Marrying the man she loved had been the best decision she could have made.
But her marriage meant more secrets and lies to her family.
At the same time, she wasn’t ready to tell them yet.
Her mother pushed a veil of mosquito netting away from her hat and removed it, revealing her own red hair glistening in the soft light of the golden morning.
As she tilted her face toward the sun, she spotted Ginger and her lips turned up in a smile.
“You startled me.” She removed her dirt-covered gloves and came toward Ginger, holding them in her palm. “Leaving for the hospital already?”
“In the next half hour.” Ginger smoothed her hand over her apron.
“They kept you out late last night.” Her mother continued past her and set her gloves on a rattan table on the verandah. “Or was it the colonel?”
Ginger’s face flushed. She’d told Noah to leave her in the back of the house, for fear her mother might spot him dropping her off. And he had—but then he’d kissed her. And a few kisses later, they’d had to drag themselves away from each other regretfully. “Mama …”
Her mother wrinkled her straight nose and placed her pruning shears beside the gloves. “Come now, don’t lie to me. It’s unbecoming.”
Ginger lifted her chin, determined to act with as much grace as she could. But it was better to be direct with her mother. “How did you know?”
“I saw your display of affection toward each other. And now I understand why you’ve been keeping poor William at a distance.” Her mother didn’t look her way, giving a gracious smile to a servant who came outside with tea. She must have ordered it earlier.
When the servant had retired from the area, she turned toward Ginger, her face unreadable. “I thought you’d put that affair to rest last May.”
“Mama, you don’t know him—”
“Nor do I care to. The man is an unscrupulous debaucher. He nearly destroyed your reputation. And it still hasn’t recovered. He’ll bring you nothing but ruin.”
Ginger wished her mother’s voice held the anger that she knew she must be feeling. Instead, she spoke in a manner that was detached and unemotional, as though they were discussing the weather.
Ginger wrestled with telling her mother the whole truth but she held her tongue. “We’re going to marry, Mama. We love each other—that never stopped.”
Her mother sat and poured herself a cup of tea.
“Well, make it stop. Before you finish destroying what’s left of this family.
You know the difference between having emotions and acting on them.
” Her calm broke as she lifted her tea to her lips, her fingers quivering.
She steadied her hand, replacing the cup on the saucer.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking. But I know that when that man appeared in our lives, our entire family was devastated.
Whatever hand he had in your father and brother’s deaths … ” She swallowed hard.
Ginger’s chest compressed and she struggled to breathe. Her mother thought Noah was to blame for her father and Henry’s deaths? Then a worse thought occurred: what will Mother think of me if she ever learns the truth about how Henry died?
Would her mother ever forgive her?
Ginger lived daily with the reality of what she’d done. Especially now, being in this house, haunted by the memories of what she had been so powerless to stop. Though her father and brother were ultimately to blame, she’d participated in the destruction of her family.
Finding her voice at last, Ginger said, “Stephen Fisher killed Papa, I told you that. He’s the only one to blame. And he’s the reason our family came to ruin.” She cleared her throat and then added in a softer voice, “And now he’s returned.”
Her mother flinched. “What do you mean?”
“He’s been captured and he’s back in Cairo. And he’s told the authorities about the concession Father supposedly obtained from Ibn Saud.” Ginger set her shoulders back. “Noah told me last night.”
“Damn.” Her mother’s voice was a breathless whisper. She rarely swore. Her mother set both hands on the edge of the table, gripping it so firmly that her knuckles turned white. She sat rigid in her chair. “No wonder they were asking me about it.”
Her reaction proved to be exactly what Ginger had feared the most. “Does that mean the concession exists?”
Her mother’s face paled. “Your father told me not to speak of it. He feared the government would try to take it from him after they’d learned of his crimes.
He said it could be quite valuable after the war and wanted me to sell it to provide for our family rather than wait for the exploration, which could take decades. ”
“The government does intend to seize it.” Ginger approached her, then sat and took her hand comfortingly. “Noah said if I help them locate the papers about the concession, they’ll allow us to have ten percent. Otherwise, they plan to seize it in its entirety.”
“He didn’t obtain it illegally!” Her mother had a desperate edge to her voice. Then, as though realizing her composure had slipped, she drew a deep breath. “What are you going to do?”
“To begin with, I thought I’d ask you.”
“I’m uncertain what happened to it. It’s missing. Mr. Brandeis couldn’t find any paperwork about it in his files. Your father entrusted everything to him.”
“Father’s solicitor in Cairo?” How can something so important go missing? Ginger’s disappointment stung.
Her mother gave a furtive glance back toward the house.
“After your father’s death, I paid Mr. Brandeis a visit to ask him about it and the rest of the estate.
The paperwork about the concession had vanished.
And with it, any claim we have. Only your father could have induced Mr. Brandeis to turn over something so valuable.
But Brandeis claimed he never gave it to your father. ”
However modest a lead, it might help. She’d have to speak to Mr. Brandeis. “Do you have his address here in Cairo?”
Concern showed in her mother’s eyes. “Will you try to find the concession?”
“I must. There’s no choice, really. If it isn’t found and if I don’t help, we’ll be left with nothing.
” She didn’t want to tell her mother just how far she’d involved herself with the matter—leaving it as a casual hint would be best for now.
“Do you think it’s possible Father tried to hide the concession in the days before his death? ”
“Of course it’s possible. Your father was mad with worry.
” Her mother raised her gaze to Ginger’s.
“But the world your father was a part of was also what led to his downfall. We know that better than anyone. Please do be careful how deeply you dig. I might have some of his old files and his datebook. The CID took most of it, but I hid some things that might have been incriminating.”
Incriminating of her mother? Ginger didn’t want to know anything that she might want to forget later. “Can you give me what you have?”
Her mother’s gaze faltered. “I’ll see. In the meantime, you would do well to remember that your obligation to your family is foremost. Any of the servants could have seen you last night. I won’t hesitate to tell Colonel Benson to keep his hands off you if I see him again.”
Ginger cringed with embarrassment. “Mother—”
“No, absolutely not—no argument from you. I can’t pretend not to be disappointed to find you right back to the behavior that tore us apart. I thought you had learned your lesson.” Her mother eyed the wedding ring on Ginger’s hand. She sniffed. “I suppose he gave you that?”
Ginger tugged it between the fingers of her right hand. She threw her shoulders back. “He loves me, Mama. I can’t save our family through marriage to William, I’m sorry. Not when I love Noah.”
“You hardly know anything about the man!” Her mother’s voice was a frustrated growl this time.
She settled her expression, then said, “Who is his mother? His father? Where was he born? For goodness’ sake, Ginger—I married for love and money, and look where it got me.
Having to rely on the money my mother can divert toward me, ashamed, and isolated.
Marry a kind man. That will get you much further in the end. ”
“Noah is a kind man—”
Her mother sipped her tea then frowned. A gnat floated on the top of it.
She sighed and removed it. “A man that’s willing to allow your name to be ruined is not a kind man.
Your Colonel Benson may be many things, including handsome, but you should remember that he’s made a career in the military by being an accomplished liar.
” Frowning, her mother poured her tea into the dirt beside the verandah.
Ginger held her tongue. The truth was, on that point, she couldn’t argue.
“Did you look over some of the study materials I gave you?” Dr. Radford glanced from her work on the patient in surgery toward Ginger. She’d excised a gangrenous piece of flesh while Ginger irrigated the wound with Dakin’s solution.