Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
A red carpet had been rolled out to receive the guests at Abdin Palace.
Ginger paused as she exited the carriage they’d come in.
Built in the newer, European section of the city, the grand palace was a long stately building in front of Abdin Square.
The enormous arched main doors were open as guests filtered inside.
Only two years earlier, Ginger and some fellow nurses had come here for the installation of the new sultan of Egypt.
The pomp and circumstance had been a bright, festive occasion.
Hard to believe the man had already died since then.
He’d been kind to the nurses in Egypt, inviting them on several occasions to dinners and parties, both here and Alexandria.
William stepped out of the carriage to join Lucy, Ginger, and her mother. Ginger eyed his left arm, no longer in a sling. He must have told her family something but Ginger hadn’t been there for it. In typical fashion for her family, they pretended nothing had happened.
“You look lovely tonight, Ginger.” William sidled up to her. He offered his arm. “Would you give me the honor of escorting you in?”
Ginger gave Lucy an uneasy glance. If Lucy truly had formed an attachment to William, Ginger didn’t want her sister to feel bad.
Snubbing William’s proffered arm would be an affront, though. Especially after the previous night’s interaction. She gave him a taut smile. “It would be my pleasure.”
She took William’s arm and they made their way in, her family following. Whatever Lucy thought about William escorting Ginger, her facial expression didn’t reveal. Then again, there was an excited gleam in Lucy’s eyes as she took in the palace.
And with good reason. The cavernous marble staircase practically sparkled from the jewels of the women crowding it.
Expansive, stately, and expensive, the five-hundred-room palace was the pinnacle of Khedivate Egypt.
This sort of affair was exactly what Lucy had been dreaming of since they’d left England.
They reached the bottom of the staircase, and Ginger removed her arm from William’s.
Adjusting the tops of her long gloves, she tried to settle the flutter of nerves in her stomach.
She shouldn’t have come tonight. She needed to find Noah and tell him what she’d learned about Paul Hanover and her suspicions about Osborne.
Her time helping the CID felt like an utter sham. She’d been useful, but had it been because she was viewed as truly capable? Or had she been a mere pawn? And why did Osborne no longer want her involved?
Once they’d settled into the gathering, Ginger hung off to the side of the opulent stateroom with her family. The room glittered with majestic grandeur, both in décor and the dress of the guests, but relaxing into a jovial mood wasn’t easy.
She accepted a glass of champagne from a servant listening to her mother and Lucy exchange greetings with some of their friends.
“You look about as ill at ease as I feel,” William whispered to her. Then, a bit more loudly, he said, “It might be nice to have some fresh air before the dinner starts. It’s warm in here. Would you like to come with me, Cousin Ginger?”
A familiar figure across the room caught her attention.
Victoria?
She was the last person Ginger had expected to see, given her recent ordeal.
Ginger’s fingers tightened on the stem of her glass.
Whatever the woman had been through, she didn’t seem to suffer as much as Noah had suggested the day before.
In fact, she was smiling and laughing with some of her friends.
Lucy caught the direction of her stare. They’d tiptoed carefully around the topic of Victoria and the social losses that Lucy attributed to Ginger in the last few weeks.
Ginger hadn’t even really heard Lucy carry on about Angelica Fisher, as though Lucy was slowly growing more comfortable in society without an older, more experienced socialite to cling to.
“Ginger?” Her mother’s voice broke into her thoughts. She gestured toward William expectantly. “I think William asked you something.”
Ginger blinked, trying to remember what William had asked. Oh, yes, go outside. Her brows furrowed as she looked from her mother to William. They had only been in the stateroom for about ten minutes. What was the urgent need? “We’ve just arrived—”
“Ginger, go with William.” Her mother gave her a stern look.
What was her mother playing at?
Lucy looked suddenly somber.
Ginger gave Lucy a sweet smile. “Lucy, would you like to come with us?”
Lucy lifted her gaze sharply. Her dark eyes seemed unusually bright. “I don’t think that would be the best idea.”
Oh, no …
William cleared his throat. “Actually, Ginger, I really must speak to you. Forgive me if I wasn’t clearer. It’s regarding something that came up in our last discussion.”
Ginger groaned inwardly. And he couldn’t have done this at the house? Still, maybe something had come up in his confession to her family. She sipped her champagne. “In that case, to outside it is.”
Ginger gave her mother a parting, questioning glance and made her way toward the back of the room with William. They proceeded out to a well-lit courtyard, then down a set of stairs onto the dusty path lit with flaming torches staked into the ground at intervals.
The grounds were lacking in gardens. Irritation tickled the back of her throat, and she’d been grinding her teeth while they walked. After downing a few more swallows of champagne, she discarded the empty glass to a passing servant.
They didn’t appear to be the only guests who had come outside from the overly-crowded stateroom. Several ladies and gentlemen gathered in small groups, smoking or conversing together.
“I see you’ve regained full usage of your arm,” Ginger said.
William bowed his head. “You can’t know how much I regret lying to you, dear cousin. To all of you. I spoke with Lucy and your mother about it first thing this morning and made my apologies.”
The moon was nearly full, illuminating the surrounding area. A few tall palms in the courtyard stood silhouetted against the inky sky awash with stars. She thought of her wedding to Noah, the warmth of the Egyptian night.
She shouldn’t have come into the courtyard with William.
“Impersonating a serviceman is disgraceful, William. But pretending to be a cripple? After the work that I’ve done as a nurse, that’s a little harder for me to forgive.
You don’t know what these men have suffered.
” Ginger bristled, realizing she was more frustrated with his deception than she’d had time to think about.
William stopped, clasping his hands behind his back. He ensured they were sufficiently alone, and asked, “Then you don’t forgive me?”
She sighed with a bit too much exasperation. “It’s not about forgiveness. I can forgive you easily enough. But if you lied about something like that, how do I know what else you’ll lie about?”
William reached for her hands and took them in his own. “Allow me to make my apologies another way, then. Do me the honor of being my wife.”
He can’t be serious. “William!” She pulled her hands away, her own wedding ring seeming to weigh more noticeably than before.
“I want to assure you—I discussed it all thoroughly with your mother. I know your love for the medical world has your heart, but, I can promise you, I would take no issue with you continuing your studies if you wanted to in England. I must admit, I had the impression that you were in love with someone else, until your mother disabused me of the notion. And I can’t tell you how much relief that brought me. ”
William reached for her, a hopeful smile hinting at his lips.
My mother did what?
Before she could answer, a servant carrying a tray of champagne glasses came waltzing by. He thrust the tray between them. “Marhaba.”
The servant lifted his head, meeting her gaze. His dark-blue eyes fringed with long dark lashes scrutinized her. Her heart gave a jolt. Noah!
Why was he disguised like a servant? A scruffy beard hung low on his chest.
She swallowed hard, her tongue seeming to stick to the roof of her mouth.
A range of emotions clawed its way through her. Anger, irritation, relief … and something else she couldn’t quite name.
“Your presence is requested, my lady,” Noah said before handing William the tray of champagne glasses. He put his hand on Ginger’s elbow. “If you’ll permit me.”
William drew his head back, his lips parting. “My dear fellow—”
“Oh, William, dear, we will have to continue discussing this later. I’m certain it must be urgent.
Please lead the way, sir,” Ginger said, her cheeks flaming.
As they hurried through the courtyard, she didn’t look back at William.
“You could have found a more appropriate way of interrupting,” she hissed.
“Yes, I feel terrible. ‘Dear’ William looked like he was in the middle of something important.” Noah didn’t slow, making it nearly impossible for Ginger to keep up with him without tripping.
“Will you slow down? I’m not upset that you whisked me away, but what on earth are you doing here?
” And where was he leading her? Not back to the party.
He went back into the palace through one of the servants’ entrances on the ground floor.
A few servants exiting there gave Ginger an odd look, but no one dared to say anything.
Noah diverted her down the dimly lit corridor, a maze of closed doors. He opened one, then pulled her inside it.
As he closed the door, she attempted to catch her breath. They appeared to be in some sort of butler’s pantry, but the only light revealing the space came from a small window on the far side of the room. “What are you doing?”
Noah’s fingers tightened around her elbow. “I might ask you the same.”
“I’m attending a party, for goodness’ sake.”
He lifted a wry brow. “I meant strolling in the moonlight with your cousin. But yes, I was surprised to find you here. You need to leave at once.”