Page 66 of The Stolen Queen

Lori appeared at the doorway, looking concerned. “Is everything all right?”

“Hey there,” said Charlotte. “I’m going abroad for a while, so you’ll have to be second-in-command over Thanksgiving. I understand you got a callback, is that right?”

Lori’s face brightened into a smile, perhaps one of the first smiles Charlotte had seen her make since she’d arrived. “I did. It’s right after Thanksgiving.”

“I’m sure you’ll do well,” said Charlotte. “Break a leg, kid.”

Thanksgiving Eve, Charlotte settled herself into her window seat on the flight to Cairo, hoping she’d be able to get some sleep. As the last of the other passengers filed onto the plane, she leafed through the articles Tenny had given her as a way to calm herself down.

She couldn’t believe she was on a plane to Egypt, that she’d made it this far without the trip being thwarted by a loved one dying or some terrible aviation tragedy. It was very possible she was puttingherself in harm’s way by flirting with the curse so brazenly, testing whether or not it existed. Helen might think it was superstitious nonsense, but Charlotte knew better. Anything could go wrong, she had to be prepared for the worst.

“Um, hi.”

Charlotte looked up and froze.

A young woman smiled nervously down at Charlotte, hitching the strap of a backpack over one shoulder as a flight attendant slammed shut the last of the overhead bins.

Annie Jenkins was coming to Egypt after all.

Chapter Twenty-One

Annie

After Charlotte walked away from Annie in Central Park, Annie had waited a little and then followed her from a safe distance. On Broadway, she loitered inside a doughnut shop until Charlotte finished up her business at the travel agency, and then darted in, saying she was Charlotte’s assistant at the Met and that Charlotte had asked her to reconfirm the date and flight number.

Armed with that information, she collected her money from the jar in Mrs. H’s kitchen, grabbed her passport from the small desk in the basement apartment where her mother stored their important papers, and then, for the second time in her life, walked into a travel agency, where she paid in cash for an economy-class ticket on a flight to Luxor that connected in Cairo, leaving the next evening.

Charlotte needed her; she was certain of that. Just as her mother had needed Annie, and Mrs. Vreeland had as well, for a short while. Annie would make herself indispensable to Charlotte, who was far too old to be flitting off to a foreign country alone. While Charlotte said she was going for personal reasons, the timing was too convenient. Surely she was hoping to retrieve the Cerulean Queen, andsince she had no idea what the thief looked like, Annie would be able to help in that regard. Then, Annie could clear her name and be allowed to return to the Met, even if it was only as a visitor and not as Mrs. Vreeland’s assistant.

She was taking a huge risk, and when she saw Charlotte’s shocked expression on the plane, the recklessness of her decision hit with full force. She quickly slid into her seat, in the row just in front of Charlotte.

“What on earth are you doing?” hissed Charlotte, leaning forward.

Annie twisted around so she could see a sliver of Charlotte’s face between the seats. “I thought I might be able to help?” she answered, her voice rising with doubt.

She didn’t mention that yesterday a pair of men in suits had shown up at the door of the basement apartment. Joyce had been out, and Annie began to shake as she watched from behind the curtain of Mrs. H’s living room as they waited for someone to answer. It reminded her of the night the men in suits brought the devastating news of her father’s death: the solemn looks on their faces, the way they spoke to each other in hushed tones.

Eventually, the two men left, but Annie knew they’d be returning soon. Just as Mr. Fantoni predicted, Annie was wanted for further questioning. The thought terrified her.

As the jetliner rose into the air, Annie gripped her armrests and closed her eyes tight, overwhelmed by the loud piercing screech a huge metal tube filled with people made as it strained to fight gravity. She was grateful that Charlotte was seated a row behind and so didn’t have to witness her panic at being on a plane for the first time. When the aircraft gave a strange shudder during their ascent, she yelped.

“It’s just the wheels retracting,” said the man seated next to her. “No cause for alarm.”

She whispered a thank-you and spent the entire flight distracting herself with the travel guidebook and the history of ancient Egypt that she’d bought earlier that day, figuring she should learn everything she could if she was going to be of help.

When they finally landed in Cairo, Annie’s relief at being back on the ground was short-lived. They had to run to make the flight to Luxor, which left no time for conversation, and the smaller plane turned out to be even louder than the one they’d just taken, more skittish in the air, but at least the flight only lasted an hour and a half. By then, her mouth was dry and her eyelids drooping. The jet lag was like nothing she’d experienced before; thoughts floated into her head a few beats behind their normal speed, and her body felt vulnerable and weak. Charlotte, meanwhile, read through some archaeological journals the entire flight and, after they landed, headed to the exit at a brisk pace.

“I’m sorry for showing up unexpectedly,” said Annie as Charlotte tried in vain to hail a taxi.

Charlotte spoke without looking at her. “I don’t know how you figured out where I was going and when, but I don’t appreciate you sneaking around like that. When I said you weren’t invited on the trip, I meant it.”

Taxi after empty taxi passed by them, instead pulling over for male passengers who were waiting a little farther up the curb.

“What on earth is going on?” said Charlotte under her breath.

“They don’t want to pick up two women,” said Annie. She marched off the curb and stood in the middle of the road, one hand outstretched, palm out. The next cabbie who approached honked his horn and waved for her to move, but Charlotte was quick to the punch, opening the back door and sliding in before Annie joined her as well.

“Well done,” Charlotte murmured. “We’re going to the Winter Palace Hotel,” she said to the driver.

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