Page 132 of What the River Knows

Elvira immediately turned toward Tío Ricardo. “We’ve met once before, Señor. Don’t you remember?”

The lines fanning from the corners of his hazel eyes tightened. “Dios save me from wayward females. I’ll be booking a passage for the both of you—”

“No, you can’t,” I cried, thinking fast. “I could stay and help—”

“Your cousin can hardly travel back on her own,” Tío Ricardo said. “You’ll have to accompany her for the return voyage.”

The noise in the lobby rose to a deafening roar, but all I could hear were my uncle’s words repeating themselves in a horrifying manner. “You’re still sending me away. Even after… everything.”

“Because of your prima,” my uncle said slowly, as if he were speaking to a willful toddler. “You can thank her for that.”

Elvira had the good sense to appear sheepish. “I’m afraid I didn’t think beyond meeting you in Cairo. Surely, we don’t have to leave so soon.”

“I must return to my work,” Tío Ricardo said coolly. “I haven’t the time to manage you both.”

Frustration loomed over me, and I fought to keep myself from shaking. While I’d been worried and distraught, he had been kind and thoughtful, intent on helping me. But now, his earlier anger toward me had returned. I still wasn’t forgiven. In one sentence, my uncle had reduced everything I’d done—all of the careful artwork and sketching—down to nothing.

But then, this served as the ultimate punishment. I met Tío Ricardo’s gaze to find him watching me. A hint of a challenge lurked in his hazel eyes, confirming my suspicion.

Elvira’s attention had flickered to the brawny man attached to our group. She studied Whit, and her green eyes gleamed with appreciation. He sketched an ironic bow, his roguish attitude so like the one I’d first encountered on the docks of Alexandria all those weeks ago. It was the mask he wore, and I doubted he’d show me what lay beneath it ever again.

“I must find a chaperone for you two,” my uncle continued. “It’s perfectly clear that I can’t trust either of you to behave as young ladies should.”

My right eye twitched. As if he cared about the rules of propriety. Anger bubbled to the surface and I fought hard to keep myself from glaring at my cousin. If it hadn’t been for her, I’d at least still be on Philae.

“I’m going to send a telegram to your aunt,” my uncle continued gruffly. “Meet me down here at half past eight. I’ll escort you both to dinner. Whit, I’d like a word.”

He led him away as if he couldn’t escape fast enough.

Elvira tugged impatiently at my sleeve. “There’s so much I have to tell you.”

But I didn’t want to hear any of it. “Why are you here, Elvira?”

Her smile dimmed at my expression. “I came to be with you,” she said. “I would have gone with you, had you asked me.” There was a faint note of accusation in her voice. “It’s clear you need me. Look at the state of your clothes!”

I glanced down in surprise. My ensemble was rather worse for wear, the Turkish trousers stained with stubborn dirt, but at last clean enough to wear, and my once-white shirt no longer truly white. My leather boots were as scuffed as my uncle’s, and I didn’t need to look in the mirror to see that the sun had tanned my complexion to a rosy hue.

In comparison, Elvira looked every inch the young lady in a resplendent day dress that complemented her dark hair and eyes. All her bows were tied prettily and not a hair was out of place from its elaborate updo.

“You made all of us worry,” I said finally.

“I madeyouworry?” She laughed. When I didn’t join in, it died on her painted lips. “What about what you did?” she said, anger threading her voice. “How many times did I sit by your side as you cried about being left behind? Your parents died and then you were gone, without a word to anyone. Without tellingme.”

She was right. I’d behaved abominably. It was unfair to be angry with her—she didn’t know how her arrival had upended my life. “Elvira, I’m so sorry. Perdóname.”

“Of course I forgive you. I came all this way so you wouldn’t be alone.” She reached out to hold my hand. “And I had to sneak away, because my mother would never have allowed it otherwise.”

For a second, I sympathized with my uncle. He must have felt the same way I did when I had first seen her, all alone in a city she didn’t know.

“I just can’t believe you sailed all the way out here on your own—”

“I had help,” she said. “Your maid arranged everything the same way she did for you. She even dressed me in black for the voyage. Really, it was quite easy when I pretended to be you. I kept asking myself, what would Inez do in this situation?” Her lips pulled into a sly smile. “Turns out, quite a lot.”

“You need to write Amaranta,” I said. “She’s furious, and threatened me with a life of misery should anything happen to you.”

Elvira paled. “Dios, she’s terrifying when she’s angry.”

“Oh, I know. I used to hide from her underneath my bed.”

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