Chapter 36 #2
“I wish you smooth sailing, then.” Nodding slowly, the captain excused himself to speak with the authorities. Richard stood and led them from the ship.
As the group walked to their lodgings, Elizabeth’s father took her hand and wrapped it around his arm. “Dear girl, when that man took you away, I feared my heart would never recover. The loss of you would have been far more devastating than the scrolls.”
She chuckled despite his heartfelt tears and drew close to his side. “Are you certain, Papa? If you were forced to choose, as he attempted to force Fitzwilliam, are you sure you would choose me over the famed Library of Alexandria?”
“Well…” His grin was pure mischief. He swiped at his eyes. “Fitzwilliam, is it? Have you decided for him, then?”
She squeezed his arm. “He shall be the first to know.”
“For all your life, dear Lizzy, you have been part of my world. Yet every father knows there will come a day when someone else will take his place as the most important man in her life. I am preparing myself to lose you to him once we return to England, if not before. He has proven himself to be a gentleman I can admire and respect. I could not give you to anyone less than a man such as he, my girl.”
“He is perfect for me, is he not?” she teased.
“That he is.” Lifting his chin, her father escorted Elizabeth the rest of the way to their lodgings, the others following behind.
He sighed heavily. “Lizzy, we found the library only to see it burn before our very eyes. You, my dear girl, were nearly lost forever. But we are alive. We are together. The few precious artifacts Yusuf managed to save represent more than most scholars could hope to study in a lifetime. Our expedition is a success.”
The week that followed was filled with complex negotiations and unexpected generosity.
Thomas Bennet, despite his attachment to the rescued artifacts, insisted on presenting them to the representative of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Senior Director of Antiquities for Egypt.
This learned man, Omar Bey, understood the magnitude of what had been lost and what had been saved.
Darcy and Richard accompanied Elizabeth’s father to the museum at the invitation of the new director four days after Wickham was arrested.
“Good sirs,” Omar Bey bowed. Once they were served tea, he announced, “I was permitted to hire servants so we might filter through the ash and find whatever scraps of the scrolls remained. Unfortunately, nothing from the corridor survived. However, at the far wall, which protected whatever existed behind the stone, we discovered another plaque. By following your actions and referring to the clues you gathered from Rome, Athens, and Constantinople, we found what was hiding behind.”
Darcy held his breath until the man spoke again.
“Dear gentlemen, behind that corridor was a massive chamber, the largest ever found in the catacombs, filled with scrolls and unique artifacts.” Omar Bey’s excitement was matched only by his appreciation for the English visitors who had made the discovery possible.
“It will take a lifetime to recover and protect everything in that single chamber. Even more may be found.”
“Wonderful!” Bennet exclaimed, and Darcy and his cousin heartily agreed.
“You could have fled Egypt with these few documents you saved,” Omar Bey observed as he indicated the precious urns that Bennet had given him at their prior meeting. “Instead, you ensured that they remain in their homeland. This is the action of true gentlemen, not treasure hunters.”
The Egyptian authorities’ response was more generous than any of them dared hope.
In recognition of their integrity, Bennet was presented with two clay cylinders from the interior chamber and four small, sealed pottery jars containing unknown texts.
Omar Bey explained, “This will allow European scholars to participate in the study of our shared ancient heritage.”
Bennet’s final request touched everyone present.
“I ask only that Professor Phineas Drye of Cambridge University be given full credit for this discovery. It was his scholarship, his clues, his lifetime of research that made this possible. We were merely the instruments through which his genius achieved its final triumph.”
“It shall be done,” Omar Bey promised solemnly. “Professor Drye’s name will be recorded as the discoverer of the lost Library of Alexandria. His contribution to human knowledge will be remembered for generations.”
“What of Yusuf?” Darcy asked. He was concerned for the young man who had proven invaluable to their quest. “We would not have located the library without his guidance, nor would we have escaped from the catacombs alive.”
Bey broke into a broad grin. “Ah, yes―the young man with the artist’s pencils, the relative of my assistant.
He has been given a position that any loyal Egyptian would envy.
Even now, he is at work mapping the catacombs in their entirety, sketching every piece of history carved into every wall.
Once he completes that monumental task, he will assist us in recording and cataloging the documents we recover.
We calculate that such work will provide him with well-compensated employment for at least the next fifty or sixty years.
His family’s financial difficulties are now a thing of the past.”
“And Wickham?” Richard’s bearing betrayed nothing of the personal investment he had in the answer.
Bey became solemn. “Captain Walker of the HMS Intrepid discovered no evidence of the gentleman’s credentials that he claimed to possess.
The captain initially recommended that he be pressed into naval service.
However…” He chose his words carefully. “The Egyptian government was not so willing to overlook the destruction of our cultural heritage.”
“I see.” Darcy shook his head.
“When brought before our magistrate, Mr. Wickham showed no remorse whatsoever for his crimes. He said his actions were justified—he believed destroying irreplaceable scrolls was acceptable because they stood between him and what he called his ‘rightful compensation’ for years of perceived injustices.”
Richard exclaimed, “He disgusts me.”
Bey continued, “When informed of his sentence, he demanded to speak with British consular officials, claiming diplomatic immunity that he most certainly did not possess. When told that no such protection existed for common criminals, he became…unpleasant. He ranted that he had been denied his proper place in Society and others had stolen opportunities that belonged to him by birth.” Bey’s distaste was evident.
“Even facing death, he blamed everyone but himself for his circumstances.”
Bennet said, “I suppose justice is often swift and final, particularly when it involves crimes against a host nation’s sovereignty.”
“You are correct,” Bey replied.
“And Wickham’s final words?” Richard asked.
Bey’s expression hardened. “He cursed your name, Colonel, and Mr. Darcy’s as well. He claimed that his death was yet another injustice perpetrated by men who had always conspired against him. To the very end, he took no responsibility for the path that led him to our executioner’s block.”
Richard shook his head, completely unsurprised. “Then Wickham died as he had lived, blaming others for the consequences of his own making. The most fitting end imaginable.”
Instead of sorrow, Darcy’s initial response was relief. Wickham’s hatred stemmed from his own failures, and Darcy had nothing to regret in the way he had treated his former playmate.
“What of Dr. Hassan? Has he been held accountable for helping Wickham find the library?”
Bey scowled. “The authorities found him hiding in one of the smaller chambers. He had intended to steal some of the documents. Unlike Mr. Wickham, he was tried as a known thief, not a destroyer of treasure. He was stripped of his credentials before being publicly impaled. His body has been buried in an unmarked grave―a disgrace for an educated man. His punishment sets a precedent to discourage anyone from marketing valuable objects that do not belong to them.”
Later at their lodgings, Darcy contemplated Wickham’s death with conflicting emotions.
Profound relief that the threat Wickham posed was permanently eliminated mingled with sadness that this man, once his childhood companion, had possessed intelligence, education, and charm enough to achieve great things, yet chose a path that inevitably led to destruction.
When Elizabeth’s arms wrapped around him, Darcy was brought back to the present. Her embrace righted his world completely.