Page 63 of The Stolen Queen

Frederick, whose renowned expertise on Saukemet II would have been repudiated by Charlotte’s revelations about Hathorkare.

Frederick held up his hand. “At the moment, the focus is on recovering the Cerulean Queen, so keep your composure and take a back seat for now. I know you don’t want to hear that, and I know how hard you worked on the Hathorkare project, but I beg you to let the experts do their job.”

“What experts? Did you know there’s a ring of thieves focused on repatriating Egyptian antiquities?”

“Ma’at? Yes, I know of them.”

“The Cerulean Queen would be the perfect target for one of their heists, and they used diversionary tactics in their first two thefts. Does the board know about that?”

“I have no doubt they do. But my hands are tied, Charlotte. I have to let this play out with the board and Mr. Lavigne, no matter how frustrating it is to the rest of us. There’s a methodical and thoughtful approach that we simply must follow. They may have information we don’t, and we have to respect that.”

Charlotte was being constrained, and she hated that feeling more than anything. She worried that everyone was stalling right when they ought to be taking action, doing something bold.

Deep down, though, she knew that the thefts of the Cerulean Queen and her file, while devastating, were not the true reasons for her edginess.

The truth was out there. The truth about how the broad collar necklace ended up in New York, and the truth about what really happened the night the steamship went down. Charlotte had survived. Leon had survived. She had to know for certain what happened to Henry and Layla. That came first.

Which meant, for now, Charlotte wanted out. Out of the politics of the Met. Out of the gutting loss of her research and the missing Cerulean Queen. Out of New York.

And there was only one place she needed to be right now. The country that had swallowed her innocence and spit her out, breaking her heart and her spirit. For so long she’d been trying to ignore the past, to move on from it. But the events of the past twenty-four hours changed all that.

It only took her a few seconds to make up her mind. “I’m going to Egypt,” she said. The words came out gravelly, like she had sand in her throat.

“I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“I have to go. To Egypt.”

Frederick gave a small half smile, like she must be joking. “Don’t be silly.”

“I’m sorry to leave you with so much going on, but it’s important to me for personal reasons.”

Frederick’s half smile turned to a panicked grimace. “Well, it’s important for me for personalandprofessional reasons that you stay right here and help me manage the Tut opening. This is no time to travel to the other side of the world; in fact, it couldn’t be a worse time. This is your job, Charlotte.”

She rose to go. “I’m sorry.”

Frederick’s face had gone bright red. As he became more irate, she grew more composed, more confident in what she’d decided.

“If you go now,” he said, “I can’t promise what will be here when you get back. Including your position.”

Charlotte would be jeopardizing everything. But there was no other choice.

It had to be now.

Charlotte walked out of the museum, still stewing over her conversation with Frederick.

No doubt part of the reason he was so upset was that he recognized how integral Charlotte was to getting anything accomplished in the Egyptian Art collection. Frederick tended to be more concerned with wining and dining possible donors than managing the staff, and her absence would only make that more obvious. But maybe it was time for him to learn the hard way how often she covered for him.

She decided to walk across the park instead of taking the bus, as she needed time to think before she shared her plans with Mark.

“Um, hi, Charlotte.”

She looked up to see Annie Jenkins in her red jacket. She had deep circles under her eyes, and her shoulders were hunched as if she might crumple to the ground at any moment. She stood awkwardly in front of Charlotte in the weak November sun, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

“Hi, Annie. What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for you. Since I’m not allowed inside.” She looked forlornly up at the building like it was a lover who’d jilted her.

“I’m heading west. You can walk with me if you like.”

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