Chapter 6
“You ran?”
“Yes.”
“From women…because they wanted to have sex with you?”
“Yes, Laknah. I ran away. Can we talk about ANYTHING else? What are you doing?!”
“I’m checking if you have a penis, Ardeth. No man in his right mind would run away from a willing woman.”
“Clearly one did since I AM a man and I did!” Adham walked in on Ardeth straining to get Laknah off of him. Ardeth was losing the battle. Laknah was quickly growing taller than all the men within the tribe and swifting turning into a hulking giant of muscle on top of that. They both scrambled apart at Adham’s entrance.
“Be understanding Laknah,” Adham said gravely. “Maybe Ardeth simply didn’t have enough cash?”
“Father!” Ardeth hissed.
“I see. Bring more cash next time, Ardeth.”
“Neither of you are funny,” Ardeth said with frustration.
“Or do you see your virginity as a delicate flower?” Laknah leered. Ardeth glared at Laknah wordlessly before stomping away. “I’ll take that to be a yes.” Ardeth ignored Laknah’s obnoxiously deep voice. He liked Laknah more when they were young boys. The older they got the more crude he was. Ardeth simply couldn’t see himself treating a woman in such a way, and didn’t see it as such a bad thing either as did the women within the tribe. His mother had not been teasing so much as boasting. Sure. The fact that Ardeth had actively run away from the prostitutes was quite humorous. But, him not being willing to use them at the drop of a hat was positively heart warming. All the other women thought so. Ardeth was going to have his pick of the girls within the village when he finally settled down. Basma had raised a good man.
“Do not listen to Laknah,” Basma whispered in his ear. Ardeth had stomped his way over to where she was cooking. “Your wife will appreciate your discretion, and you will learn to make her and her alone VERY happy.” Ardeth turned a bright red. His mother’s words were well meant, but he still didn’t want to discuss sex with her anymore than he did his Father.
“I’m going to go train,” Ardeth rushed out of the tent to Adham’s chuckles.
“I shall join him,” Laknah grinned. Before following to no doubt continue his teasing. As soon as the boys were gone, Basma leveled her husband with a chilled glare.
“My lovely wife,” Adham got up and gave Basma a cautious kiss to the cheek.
“You sent my son to follow a foreigner… alone?”
“She was just one woman,” Adham tried to reason.
“A woman who successfully drew our son into a brothel in a city that he does not know well. She clearly knew he was following her.”
“But he is alright!” Basma slammed her spoon down angrily.
“No thanks to you!” Basma countered angrily. “And if you EVER do such a thing again, I will ensure that every meal that you eat has a special, hidden surprise. I will fulfill your duty as your wife, but life will become VERY uncomfortable for you. Do you hear me, Adham?!”
“Of course, Habib. I promise you, I thought he would be just fine.” Basma was only barely appeased.
“And don’t think that I am unaware of the role Terrance played in this. He is the one who called you to Cairo in the first place. I am making everything he hates for family meals in the near future so he understands that.” Adham winced. His wife was absolutely perfect. Respectful and always showed the elders and men in their tribe their due respect as was their culture… But… Basma knew how to make you feel her displeasure. The things Basma came up with sounded tiny and small, but those tiny small things added together and grew more and more over time till you begged for forgiveness. Adham was going to be eating Fiteer Baladi at every opportunity Basma could manage. For Basma's purpose, it had the added benefit of being a food both he and Terrence greatly disliked for the indigestion it caused them; and Ardeth conveniently loved.
“I…completely understand, habib,” Adham sighed with resignation.
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Another man was following her. Hermione wasn’t surprised… but she did wonder that they didn’t realize that whatever this weird uniform that they wore was clearly tipping her off. Ah, well, she wouldn’t be the one to tell them. This one was clearly older. He was significantly better at the whole thing. Hermione could honestly say that if they had started with this gentleman, she may not have noticed. However, their initial stupidity was her gain. Not that they would have ever really been able to catch her. After all, Hermione was obsessively careful to make sure she was absolutely alone before doing anything remotely magical. And frankly, the poor man never stood a chance.
“How are you liking your new cat, Hermione?”
“I love him!” Hermione beamed. “He warmed right up to me the minute he was treated and bathed. I think he will fatten up in no time.”
“Is there any chance I can stop by to see him soon?” Evelyn said hopefully. Hermione froze. She couldn’t let Evelyn in her house. Evelyn was far too smart. And the measures that Hermione had taken made it impossible for no explanation to be given BEFORE entering, let alone afterwards. Evelyn could see panic and fear in Hermione’s eyes. She couldn’t understand why Hermione didn’t want her to see her home, but the very thought clearly terrified her.
“How about I bring Harry over to see you?”
“I would love that,” Evelyn smiled sadly.
“I’m sorry, Evelyn. I wish I could bring you to my house, but there is more than one reason why I can’t. You are my only friend. I promise you… if I could, I would have already brought you there.” Evelyn could see the truth in her admission.
“I understand. You are always welcome to bring Harry over… or stay over if you like,” Evelyn offered. Hermione surged forward and gave Evelyn a hug that nearly bowled her over.
“I love you so much for that, Evelyn,” Evelyn hugged her back.
“I love you too, oh secretive one.”
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Haseeb couldn’t understand what was happening. Every day, without fail… he would lose the European woman. He had thought it comical at first that Ardeth had been tricked by a mere woman; but now, he understood it far too well. The only reasoning Haseeb could come up with is that Miss Evans could scale walls. He began looking up the minute she wasn’t immediately visible. And swore, SWORE on his Father’s grave he occasionally could hear her laughing at him in those moments. It was baffling. He found that when Miss Evans was with the klutzy woman from the museum; Haseeb was able to keep eyes on her easily. He knew where THAT woman lived. But the minute the two of them parted, Haseeb knew that the chase was on… and he was losing.
Two weeks. Haseeb played this game for two weeks before she decided to make her own move.
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Hermione was bored. Life was a little too static and she was seriously starting to get annoyed with her ever present black shadow. Hermione thought after she disappeared into thin air a couple of times he would get the hint. He lasted a whole week longer than she thought he would and this was getting old. He was getting desperate, more brazen in his attempts to follow her, and Hermione thought that a little prank was in order. Early one morning, she went back to that same brothel that she had tricked the boy into going into.
“We don’t do THAT type of pleasuring here,” the madame said bluntly.
“Oh. No, no of course not,” Hermione blushed brightly. “I’m afraid that I’m here for my husband. He is absolutely… insatiable and I feel that I need a bit of a break.” Hermione said it as if she was telling a great secret. “I wanted to surprise him with a gift,” Hermione winked and handed over a large sum of money. “He will be following me here later in the afternoon. If you do a good job, I PROMISE that I will be most grateful and ensure he comes here whenever he has the need.” The madam raised an eyebrow, but took the money and smiled.
“We will do our best.” Hermione had allowed him to follow her easily that day, and Haseeb had been hesitant to enter the building. Hermione had walked out the back door and immediately apparated to an alley across the street. She saw him finally go in and leaned up against the opposite building to wait with a shit eating grin.
Haseeb staggered out the building desperately holding onto his unraveled keffiyeh and clearly disheveled not long after, and was unbearably confused. The grabbing woman had said his WIFE had paid them… Farah would NEVER pay for him to have a prostitute! Or for that matter, let him live to tell the tale. He did not anger the woman who handled his food. Farah was capable of atrocities. She wasn’t a close friend with Adham’s own terrifying wife for no reason.
“Not your cup of tea?” Haseeb’s neck cracked as he whipped his head up to see his target casually leaning against a wall. “Maybe I should marry one of your men,” Miss Evans said with seriousness. “That aversion for sex work is sadly a rare quality. Amusing results for me, though,” she chuckled.
“You….!” Haseeb pointed at her accusingly.
“You’re better than the last one,” Hermione said serenely. “I’ll see you around.” Haseeb didn’t even try to follow her. What would be the point? Miss Evans would just vanish into thin air… again. And she clearly knew he was following her, Haseeb had to report back. Dr. Bey was going to be furious.
Hermione nodded to herself with satisfaction as the man stayed put. That was money well spent. Maybe she had a few days of not being followed until the lovely Doctor found somebody else.
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When Ardeth saw Haseeb and Uncle Bay riding into the camp, he ran back to their tent and planted himself right next to his mother.
“Is there a tent on fire?” Basma questioned with amusement.
“Haseeb is back,” Ardeth blushed with embarrassment.
“Ahhh… and you’re curious?” Ardeth nodded. “I’ll make sure that you’re in the meeting,” Basma winked at him and Ardeth grinned back. Terence was absolutely fuming when he entered the tent.
“Well, you are not the only one who was scared off by a couple of women,” Terence grumbled to Ardeth. Haseeb gave him a glare.
“Say that to Farah, and when she invites you to dinner; don’t be surprised if she has consulted with the lovely Basma,” Haseeb bowed respectfully to Basma. “....for some tips,” Haseeb finished meaningfully. Basma smirked before placing a special cup of coffee in front of Terrance. He took one sip… and he knew. It tasted like dirty water. Terrance looked up sharply at Basma who had an especially sweet smile. Basma placed a deliciously strong cup of coffee in front of Haseeb. Haseeb smiled wide and gave Basma a nod of thanks after tasting his perfect coffee. Terrence put a hand over his eyes. This was why he would never marry.
“Let me guess,” Terence said with resignation. “Fiteer Baladi for dinner?”
“How did you guess?!” Basma said with exuberance. “You must have the gift of foresight!” Terrance looked at Basma with exhaustion. He had tried to find his way back into his sister-in-law’s good graces in the past. It was a waste of time. Terrance simply had to let her rage stay its course until she was no longer angry. Adham entered and Terrance gave Ardeth a glare.
“Don’t you have training to be off too?” He said haughtily.
“Actually…” Basma interrupted and placed a basket of potatoes in front of Ardeth and a knife. “...he has already offered his help to me.” Terrance looked about to protest, but was interrupted by Adham.
“Then let’s begin.” Ardeth peeled potatoes while carefully listening to Haseeb’s report. He was relieved to hear that Haseeb had essentially gathered the exact same information as Ardeth, despite having been following Miss Evans for two full weeks. Down to following her into the brothel, Haseeb had much the same experience.
“Are you saying, Miss Evans PAID prostitutes to accost you?” Adham said with disbelief.
“She certainly did. Even had a conversation with me after I managed to escape them.”
“What did she say?” Adham leaned forward eagerly and Ardeth put down the potato he was working on.
“She said I was better than the last one that you sent, and that maybe she should marry one of our men because of our rare response to prostitutes.”
“That’s all she said?” Adham asked, surprised.
“She also said, ‘see you around,’” Haseeb said dryly.
“Miss Evans knew it was the Medjai who sent you?” Terrance said with concern.
“No. She didn’t give any names. Very general in her description. Miss Evans was clearly amused that I have been following her around. It was my own fault for not being suspicious that she actually let me follow her to a building. She usually loses me within minutes.” Haseeb turned to Ardeth. “Considering how difficult it was for me, I think that it is safe to say that Ardeth never stood a chance of gathering any intel on Miss Evans. We can continue to send men. Hopefully, she will slip up. That is all we can really do.” Terrence grunted with dissatisfaction. Basma rolled her eyes at him into her cooking pot.
Terrence was a pain in the ass. Most intellectual men were. Adham was just as intelligent as his brother, but infinitely more humble. However, Terrance was loyal and dedicated. He would never betray the medjai, and that was why he was perfect to keep an eye out within the museum. It was definitely rankling his pride that Miss Evans was so easily evading all their attempts at information. If it wasn’t so concerning, Basma would be rooting for her all the way. If only for the entertainment of seeing Terrance stew and fester.
“There is no use going over and over this. Haseeb, choose someone to shadow Miss Evans; and spend some time with Farah. I’m sure she is anxious to see you.”
“You should eat with us, Haseeb. I’m sure that Farah would appreciate some reassurance about what happened in the city.”
“May Alla bless your kindness,” Haseeb said gratefully.
“Women,” Terrance grumbled.
“More COFFEE, dear brother?” Farah said sweetly and Terrance paled.
“I believe I should go with Haseeb to choose the man to follow Miss Evans.” Terrance attempted to stand, but was roughly shoved down by Adham.
“So help me Terance, you will take your share of suffering. All I have eaten is Fateer Baladi. Every. Single. Day. And so help me, it will continue until you have had suitable punishment. So. Stay. Seated,” Adham hissed angrily. Adham had been having a rough two weeks. If it wouldn’t have started up right back again, he would have run after the first week. However, Adham knew it would simply prolong his wife’s displeasure. As did Terance, he was just being a moron. Terance sulked as the meat filled fry bread was placed in front of him. He was going to pay for this, and there was nothing like traveling across the desert with diarrhea. Nothing. Ardeth smiled with his head bowed over the last potato. Father didn’t really deserve Mama’s rage, but Uncle Terence? Completely. Sometimes, Alla’s punishments came with casualties.