XIII.

Weary of the tangled web

Throughout the days leading up to Jonathan's latest party, Beni continued to meet Rick after work and insisted on taking him to bars and restaurants, as long as Rick paid for his own food and drink. He even brought Lucy one time, though it ended up being the most uncomfortable dinner Rick had ever experienced. Beni kept staring at him and Lucy, as if he expected one of them to burst into flames any moment, and he seemed fixated on the idea of Rick socializing with Mr. Henderson, among other people. It was good to keep busy, he kept telling Rick, and abruptly changed the subject every time Rick and Lucy tried to have a conversation.

If Lucy found her husband's behavior strange, she didn't show it. She merely smiled at Rick whenever Beni happened to look elsewhere and spent most of her time commenting on the food in gushing detail, sneaking in a playful wink or two when Beni absorbed himself in his wineglass. The only time she lost her composure was when Beni mentioned his plans to attend Jonathan's party that weekend. Her eyes grew brighter, her smile more strained, and she cut her food so vigorously that her fork and knife threatened to fly from her hands. It was in that moment that Rick realized how delicate the situation was between Jonathan, Lucy, and everyone who was closely involved in their desperate, lonely lives. Every moment was precarious, balanced upon a dangerous edge that could give way any second, and a single word or significant look could shatter the whole beautiful dreamworld that Lucy had found through meeting Jonathan again.

Rick kept his mouth carefully shut that night. He continued to keep it shut when the evening of Jonathan's party arrived and Beni's familiar car traveled up the drive in search of the most conspicuous parking space. Rick didn't have to be in the car with Beni to know that he was dying to show off his roadster to the vibrant crowd of partygoers, even if he would never meet a single one of them, and he watched Beni park close to the mansion where his gleaming vehicle would receive the most glances as people approached Jonathan's front doors in laughing groups of two's and three's.

He caught Jonathan lurking near the large double doors, a cocktail glass sitting neglected in one hand, and knew he was the only one who could guess at Jonathan's reasons for standing outside his home that night. To the rest of the guests Jonathan was merely another loiterer, just a nameless, faceless entity standing beneath Cairo's cloudless, star-studded sky. Nobody but Rick noticed the way Jonathan peered eagerly into the crowd of arriving guests, or the way his fingers tapped nervously against his cocktail glass. Nobody but Rick saw the way his eyes lit up the moment he saw Lucy step out of Beni's roadster, elegantly dressed with her brown hair neatly curled and pinned against her head. She sparkled under the lights that poured from Jonathan's house, though the sight of Beni clutching her arm somewhat tarnished the effect, and Jonathan never took his eyes off her as she walked with her sneering husband up to the house. She spotted Rick first and looked as if she wanted to embrace him, but Beni pulled her closer against his body and she settled for a wave and a smile, looking flushed and excited despite the obvious shackle that held her prisoner.

"Rick, you made it!" she cried. "Isn't the house grand? I never saw such gorgeous windows in all my life."

"They are just windows," Beni scoffed. "Everybody has windows."

"Darling, don't be silly," Lucy told him. "Nobody has windows like these!"

Rick cleared his throat. "You, uh, want to head inside?" He was looking specifically at Beni, who scowled at the colossal structure that rose before them in the dark.

"Oh, yes," said Lucy, answering for herself and Beni. "Darling, don't frown so. We're here to have fun!"

"Whatever you say, my dear," Beni shot back.

Rick led them up the front steps to the wide veranda, where Jonathan continued to loiter. Lucy pretended not to see him, though her anxious eyes and rapid glances gave her away, and Jonathan took a hasty gulp from his cocktail glass, his face suddenly red. "O'Connell, old boy, you made it!" he exclaimed, grinning at Rick. "Lovely night, isn't it? Bit nippy, of course, but I say, just look at those stars!"

"Hello, Jonathan," Lucy spoke up. She looked hopelessly fragile in that moment, caught between her greedy husband and the man she had once loved. "The house is beautiful."

"Yes," said Beni, his eyes fixed on Jonathan. "This looks like a very expensive house. What exactly do you do, Mr. Carnahan?"

"Beni," Lucy said quietly. "It isn't polite to ask him that."

Jonathan's grin faltered for a moment. "I'm what you'd call a salesman of sorts. Terribly boring, really. Why don't we, ah, head inside and I'll show you about?"

He took a step towards Lucy, ready to take her by the arm, but Beni maintained his possessive grip on his wife and quickly steered her to the door. Jonathan shrugged at Rick and drained the last of the liquor in his cocktail glass.

"What a night, eh?" he said, trying not to watch as Beni made a great show of opening the doors for Lucy.

"Yeah," said Rick. "Is Meela around tonight?"

"Oh, no. She's out of town this week. Very busy woman, you know."

Jonathan grabbed the door, which Beni didn't bother to hold open once Lucy passed through, and hurried into the front hall where Beni and Lucy stood waiting. Rick followed Jonathan at his own steady pace and noticed that Beni's scowl deepened as he took in the sight of the expensive furniture, rugs, and chandeliers that decorated the room. Lucy gazed about with bright eyes, drinking in the whole display in a state of radiant delight, and tore herself from Beni's grasp so she could grab an appetizer from a waiter bearing a tray.

"It's wonderful, Jonathan," she said. "What's the occasion?"

"One doesn't need an occasion to throw a smashing party, my dear," said Jonathan. "You ought to know that. You are American, after all. Now let me show you to the bar..."

Jonathan led her away, talking amiably all the while, and immediately forgot about Rick and Beni and everyone else in the room. Beni shoved his hands into his pockets, his face twisted in an ugly frown, and glanced at Rick.

"He is an idiot," Beni remarked. "These wealthy British men are all idiots. How did he meet my wife?" His tone sounded accusing, as if it were Rick's fault that Jonathan and Lucy were acquainted.

"Why don't you ask Lucy yourself?" said Rick.

"I was hoping you could tell me, my friend. You live next door to this man."

"Doesn't mean I know everything about the guy."

"But you see him a lot. What the hell does he do, anyway?"

Rick's guess was as good as Beni's. Jonathan remained stubbornly close-mouthed on the matter, treating his vast wealth like a joke, and Rick figured it was none of his business to pry. "I don't know," he told Beni honestly. "He never bothered to tell me."

Beni looked at Rick out of the corner of his eye, still frowning, then heaved an impatient little sigh. "I need a drink."

He walked away with his lips pressed tightly in a thin line, looking skinny and awkward among the other laughing guests, and Rick stood by and watched him as he approached Lucy at the bar area. She was still talking to Jonathan, though Rick couldn't hear what they were saying, and at last Rick moved away and started to climb the grand staircase, weary of the tangled web of secrets and lies that grew more knotted by the second. He climbed the stairs until he had reached the third floor and kept walking until he found himself standing near the library, which beckoned to him with its quiet allure.

He stepped inside and found silence. Undeterred, he strode towards the tall rows of bookcases that stretched towards the ceiling and nearly collided with a ladder that stood against one of the cases. Evelyn Carnahan was perched at the very top of the ladder and gasped out loud, dropping the heavy book in her hand. It landed on the floor with a thud.

"O'Connell!" She cried, staring down at him with wide eyes. "You startled me!"

"I can see that," said Rick. He picked up the fallen book and read the title. "Seti I, huh?"

"I'll take that back, if you please," said Evelyn. She reached down to grab the book from his hands and nearly slipped off the ladder. "Oh!"

"I've got ya," said Rick. He immediately dropped the book, letting it thud to the floor a second time, and grabbed the ladder so he could steady it.

Evelyn slowly made her way down the ladder, taking one careful step at a time until her feet were both on the floor. Suddenly embarrassed, she straightened out her skirt and bent to pick up her book, keeping her face turned away from Rick. "Thank you," she said. "That could have been quite a disaster."

"No problem," said Rick.

She finally looked right at him, the heavy book clutched to her chest. "What brings you here on a night like this, O'Connell? I imagine my brother is wondering where you've disappeared to."

"I wouldn't count on it. He's a little... occupied."

"Oh." Evelyn forced out a smile. "I suppose Lucy is here then."

"You know Lucy?"

"Not very well. We didn't have much in common, aside from Jonathan, of course." She drew in a breath, then let it out in a soft sigh. "I don't blame you for helping Jonathan, but the woman is married now. The whole thing is rather, well — unseemly."

"Lucy's a friend of mine," Rick said quietly. "I felt I owed her one."

"I'm sorry. I — I didn't realize you and Lucy..." Evelyn trailed off, embarrassed once more.

"It's all right," said Rick. "Why don't we, uh, have a seat over there?" He gestured at the pair of armchairs that sat by the stone fireplace. "You can tell me all about that Seti guy."

Evelyn seemed eager to change the subject and launched into a history of the city of Thebes, which she planned to visit in a few weeks. Rick sat back in his armchair and listened, amazed that this woman knew so much about a civilization that existed long before her time, and allowed the minutes to pleasantly drift on by as the two of them talked about pharaohs and mummies and buried gold. Women like Evelyn—proper, educated women who had little use for a man like him—usually made him nervous, but he grew bolder as the minutes piled up and began to take the shape of an hour. He leaned forward in his seat and cleared his throat.

"I, uh—" Rick began to falter, but a look into Evelyn's eyes reminded him why he had spoken in the first place. "I want to take you to dinner."

"Me?" said Evelyn, looking amazed.

"Yeah. How 'bout tomorrow night? I'll pick you up."

"Why, I don't know how what to say."

"It's either yes or no," said Rick, suddenly feeling like a fool. He had no business asking a woman like Evelyn to have dinner with him, but the words were out in the air, impossible to retrieve.

Evelyn gave him a shy smile, her eyes glittering beneath the electric lights. "What time should I be ready?"