"I am afraid that, too, is a long story," Wigmere said, rubbing his temple.
Clutching my hands together tightly, I took a step toward Grandmother. "Remember what I said about national security?" I tilted my head in Wigmere's direction.
"Oh," Grandmother said, her eyes widening as she looked from Wigmere to me and then back to Wigmere, her expression a little less frosty. "I see."
Wigmere appeared relieved, which proved he knew my grandmother rather well indeed.
"I do need to speak with her for a moment before I have our carriage take you back to the museum," said Wigmere. "We could, of course, take you each directly home if you'd prefer, but it would raise fewer questions if you both returned to the exhibit opening."
"Of course we'll return to the museum," Grandmother said. "But we'll use my carriage, thank you."
"Lavinia..." Wigmere said, and then the two of them moved away to speak more privately. I was burning with curiosity but wasn't brave enough to follow them. I'd pushed my luck quite enough for one day.
Feeling somewhat exhausted, I sat down on the bottom of the concrete steps and waited for someone to tell me what to do next. Within moments, a large shadow loomed over me. It was Fagenbush. I was so tired that all I could manage was "Thank you for bringing help. That got rather out of hand."
His long nose twitched and I could have sworn I saw a faint glimmer of humor touch his lips. "One could say that." Then he did the most extraordinary thing. He lowered himself to the step and sat down next to me. Oddly enough, I was too tired to even try to scoot farther away.
He propped his elbows on his knees and watched with great interest as the men from Somerset House finished tidying up. All the fallen had been put on stretchers by now and were being carted away.
"They clean up rather like ants after a crumb, don't they?" he said.
I smiled. "Exactly like ants after a crumb," I agreed.
Fagenbush reached down and picked up a stray leaf from the pavement. "That was excellent work you did on the Sekhmet statue," he said. "I've confirmed your translation, and you're right, it does appear to be referring to an important temple."
I swung my gaze back around to him to see if he was pulling my leg. "Really? You've confirmed it?"
He nodded.
Then I couldn't help it. "Why?" I blurted out. "Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?"
He shrugged awkwardly. "Why did you ask for my help on the statue?"
Because he was close at hand, I almost said, then realized it was more than that. I was tired of loathing him. It took a surprising lot of energy, and there were just too many truly important things I needed to spend that energy on. I shrugged too.
"Exactly," he said, his voice as dry as a bone.
I thought for a moment. "Does this mean we're friends then?"
A small, bitter smile crossed his lips. "Don't know that I'd go that far. We'll start with not enemies."
"Wigmere will be so pleased," I murmured.
"Excuse me." A stern-looking woman wearing a nurse's uniform and a no-nonsense expression stood over me. "I'm here to check on the child."
"Of course," Fagenbush said, getting up. "I'll leave you to it."
When he left, I told her, "I'm fine."
"We'll let me be the judge of that." Her attitude brooked no disagreement. Honestly! She was as bad as a governess.
Against my protests, she led me over to one of the waiting unmarked carriages and shooed me inside, where she proceeded to give me a quite thorough (and embarrassing) examination.
"Well, there doesn't appear to be any sign of damage of any sort." She sounded so disappointed I had to resist the urge to apologize.
"Let's get you cleaned up then." She whipped a damp cloth out of her bag and thoroughly washed my face, hands, and wrists. Next she brushed the tangles from my hair and set it right. She even produced a needle and thread and repaired my ripped dress with terrifying efficiency. When she was finished, she said, "You're to wait here for Lord Wigmere."
"Yes, ma'am," I said, and then she left me to stew in my own thoughts and wonder what Wigmere would have to say.
A few minutes later, the carriage door opened and I braced myself to face Wigmere; I was overjoyed to see instead Will's dear familiar head peeking in. "Oy," he said, getting in and closing the door.
I hopped to my feet, nearly cracking my skull on the carriage roof. "You made it! Do you have the tablet with you?"
"Nah, I 'id it in a real secure location, miss. No one'll ever find it."
The carriage door opened again and Will stopped talking. Wigmere appeared in the doorway. "Excellent," he said. "I need to speak with both of you, and here you are."
He climbed into the carriage, then rapped on the ceiling and called out instructions to take us to the museum. "Your grandmother decided I could drive you back myself since we still have a few things we need to discuss."
"Sir." I rushed to begin. "I'm so sorry but I tried—"
He held up his hand to stop me. "You carry no blame in this incident, Theodosia."
That stopped me cold. "I don't?"
"No. Nor you," he said to Will, whose jaw dropped at this announcement.
"I'm afraid it's us who have let you down. Me, to be precise." He fell quiet for a moment and looked out the window at the passing buildings. "I tried to treat you like a junior agent, Theo. A smaller version of the many agents I have working for me." He turned his craggy gaze to me. "But you're not. You're ... something else entirely and I shouldn't force you into a mold you don't belong in." Something very tight and painful in my chest began to loosen. I couldn't say anything for fear that if I opened my mouth, my voice would wobble horribly.
"And you." Wigmere turned his fierce attention to Will. "You have reminded me how true loyalty and trust can mean more than the most expert knowledge and experience."
Will flushed bright red all the way to the roots of his hair. He tried, unsuccessfully, to squelch his goofy smile. "Does that mean I can 'ave me job back?"
"Yes, you are reinstated as often minutes ago."
Will bobbed his head in thanks, then hesitated a moment before rushing to ask, "Does that mean I can maybe be one of them Chosen Keepers? Someday?"
I held my breath, afraid Wigmere wouldn't be willing to go that far.
Will scooted to the edge of his seat. "I 'ave a plan for learning all that Egypshun stuff I need to know."
Intrigued, Wigmere said, "You do?"
"Aye." He jerked his head in my direction. "Miss 'ere's agreed to teach me all she knows."
Wigmere looked startled for a moment, then began to laugh, a great warm, rolling sound that filled the carriage. When he was done, he murmured, "If she can't turn a pig's ear into a silk purse, no one can." Louder, he said, "Unorthodox, admittedly, but if you can learn what you need to over the next few years, I will certainly consider it. As I said, loyalty and sheer doggedness are just as important as knowledge. Now, I believe we are here."
The carriage rolled to a stop. Will motioned for me to go first, but Wigmere held me back. "I need to speak with her a moment," he said.
Will nodded, then hopped out to wait. I turned to Wigmere expectantly.
"I will be in touch tomorrow," he told me. "We still have much we need to clear up. And if your parents notice you were gone, you are to tell them you and your grandmother went for a ride. That was her idea," he added.
I was dying to ask how he knew her, but almost as if he were reading my mind, he said, "Best hurry back in. It would be a shame to have them miss you this late in the game." And with that, he rapped on the ceiling, forcing me to jump out or go back to Somerset House with him.
Coward.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
All Mumsy Was the Brotherhood (or, Of Cabbages and Horus)