Page 10 of Tomb of the Sun King

Adam’s back teeth ground together. “Nope,” he replied, turning a grimace into a thin smile.

At least that one wasn’t an outright lie. Hewasn’ta member of the wealthy and powerful San Francisco Bateses—not since his father George Bates, the head of that expansive insurance empire, had formally disowned him.

If you don’t start taking things seriously, you’ll spend the rest of your life letting people down.

Thankfully, Lady Sabita saved Adam from the need for any further elaboration. “I must say—I am very cross with you, Eleanora!” she exclaimed. “Why would you choose to journey to Egypt all on your own when you might have come along with us only a little earlier?”

“I told you, Mum!” Constance shot Ellie a quelling look. “Ellie was tied up with work, and she was able to join a very nice family from Essex for the trip. The Nitherscott-Watbys.”

At the sound of Ellie’s ridiculous former alias, Adam choked. He managed to turn it into something approximating a cough.

“Sorry,” he rasped when he realized everyone was staring at him. “Just, ah… ate a bug.”

“That was certainly very kind of the Nitherscott-Watbys,” Lady Sabita said, though her tone still indicated a careful disapproval. “You must provide me with their address so that I can thank them for seeing after your friend.”

“I’m sure that’s not necessary,” Constance assured her. “And anyway, they’ve gone on to… er, India.”

“Oh?” Constance’s Indian princess grandmother smiled a little dangerously. “And where in India have they gone?”

“Kolkata?” Constance offered back hopefully.

“Well, we are all here now, at any rate,” Lady Sabita concluded. “So we shall make a little party of it.”

“Indeed,” Kumari Padma agreed blandly. “Your mother has only just invited Mr. Forster-Mowbray to join us for dinner.”

Forster-Mowbray.Of course The Mustache would have a double-barreled surname.

“I wouldn’t want to impose.” Mr. Forster-Mowbray flashed Constance an ingratiating smile.

“You wouldn’t be imposing,” Lady Sabita hurriedly assured him.

“But Mum,” Constance said a little desperately. “Surely you can see that Ellie is exhausted. She’s only just come from a very trying journey and clearly needs a quiet evening to recover.”

“That’s thoughtful of her,” Adam murmured.

“No, it’s not,” Ellie hissed back under her breath. “She’s just impatient to interrogate me.”

Adam blanched at the notion of precisely what information Constance hoped to grill out of Ellie.

“Ellie is very welcome to a quiet evening,” Lady Sabita returned shortly with a sharp look at her daughter. “She might even take advantage of the sauna—I know Sir Robert finds it most refreshing after a long journey.”

Adam’s ears perked up at the mention of a sauna. He loved saunas.

“But that would leaveyouat odds and ends for the evening, wouldn’t it?” Lady Sabita continued with a dire look at her daughter. “If I had not invited some charming company to dinner.”

Adam had been a San Francisco Bates long enough to know an upper class courtship ritual when he saw one—if only so he could avoid them like the plague. It was pretty clear that Lady Sabita hoped to turn Julian Double-Barrels into a suitor for Constance’s hand.

Given her princess grandma, her dad’s high-ranking position in the local government, and the seeming lack of any siblings, Adam guessed that Ellie’s intimidating peanut of a friend was most likely a substantial heiress.

The Mustache was clearly interested enough to play along. Constance seemed less enthusiastic—but Lady Sabita was obviously determined to encourage the match regardless.

At least Lady Sabita’s maneuvering meant that Constance’s interrogation of Ellie would have to wait. Her dinner invitation had been lessrequestand moredirect order.

Constance clearly recognized the difference. “Of course, Mother,” she agreed, flashing a thin, steely smile.

??

Three

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