The Magnificent Marquis Read online

  He told him he had arrived on a private visit in his yacht and that he wished to meet with the Khedive on the instructions of the Prime Minister.

  He would therefore be grateful if the Consul would arrange for him to have this meeting as soon as possible.

  He signed his name and sent one of the sailors, who was more intelligent than the rest, to deliver it.

  The Marquis and Delia set off in an open carriage.

  As the sunshine was very strong, Delia was carrying a sunshade to protect her face.

  As they drove into the narrow streets, the Marquis knew that she was thrilled to see the people dressed in their colourful clothes.

  It took them some time to manoeuvre through the crowded streets and then to Giza where five miles further on the Great Pyramid had stood for over four thousand years.

  “How old is the Great Pyramid?” Delia asked him.

  “It was built about 2,500 BC. It was the amazing burial place built for Pharaoh Cheops, covering an area of over thirteen acres. Inside the Pyramid is Cheops’ burial chamber and around the perimeter are the chambers of his children, courtiers and officials.

  “All those around him? Why?”

  “So that they might attend to him in the after-world. The ancient Egyptians, like many other races, seem to have attended no less to their Rulers after death than when they were alive.”

  When they arrived at the Great Pyramid, it seemed unbelievably enormous and overwhelming.

  As the Marquis told her, it had been calculated that the area of its base could contain the Houses of Parliament as well as St. Paul’s Cathedral and still leave a great deal of space unoccupied.

  “It’s fantastic,” cried Delia. “I cannot imagine how they could have built all this with so few tools and none of the machines we have today that make building so much easier.”

  “It was said to have taken twenty years and it is still standing, while not many of our buildings have lasted more than a few hundred years!”

  “It is wonderful, just wonderful and please can we go inside it.”

  The Marquis shook his head.

  “Not now, Delia, but we will come another day and visit the other two Pyramids, one of which is almost as big as the Great Pyramid, and the Sphinx as well.

  “We must return now just in case there is a message about meeting the Khedive. It would be extremely rude, if, after having asked to meet him, we were either late or so careless as to miss the appointment altogether.”

  “Yes, I do understand, my Lord.”

  If there was one thing he really liked about this girl, he reflected, it was that she was always reasonable about anything suggested to her.

  The women he had known in the past were usually most unreasonable – so that he had found himself on many occasions on the verge of losing his temper.

  When they reached the yacht, Delia claimed that he must have been using his Third Eye because they found the invitation waiting for them.

  It was that the Khedive Ismail would be delighted to receive the Marquis at five o’clock that afternoon.

  The Marquis felt that he had almost won a battle, as he was quite certain that if he had gone to the Consulate himself, it would have taken longer and he would have had to explain to the Consul the full reasons for his request.

  At once Delia asked him breathlessly,

  “Am I coming with you, my Lord?”

  “Of course you are, Delia, so put on your prettiest dress. As you are English, they will expect you to wear a hat, but if you were an Arab, you would have to cover not only your head but also your face.”

  “I am so thankful I am not one!” exclaimed Delia. “It must be terribly hot wearing one of those yashmaks in this heat. Also, if you are pretty, it seems sad to me that no one can see your face!”

  “Except your husband. And as the Khedive has a goodly number of wives, he would judge your appearance critically.”

  Delia laughed.

  She changed her dress into one she considered the prettiest of all they had bought and wore a hat that matched the gown.

  They arrived at the Khedive’s Palace in Cairo where a crowd of servants were ready to greet them.

  They were escorted with much pomp through many rooms until finally the Marquis and Delia were taken into a room where the Khedive was waiting.

  It was not a surprise to the Marquis, although it was to Delia, that the room looked exactly like any study they would find in an English ancestral house.

  The Marquis knew that the Khedive was an admirer of all things European.

  He was small, ugly and looked a great deal older than he actually was, but, as the Marquis had been told, he had an unmistakable charm.

  He greeted the Marquis most effusively.

  And only after the Marquis had spoken to him in a complimentary manner of the progress he had made with the Suez Canal, did he say,

  “I hope, Your Highness, I may introduce my niece who is accompanying me. She is as impressed as I am by the marvellous speed in which you have accomplished so much in so little time.”

  The Khedive accepted the introduction, but he was obviously not interested in a young woman.

  Instead he indicated two large chairs close to each other where he and the Marquis could sit and talk.

  They were at the moment speaking French and the Marquis had learnt that the Khedive was quite fluent in the language.

  Now as they sat down, he commented,

  “I am very sorry but I cannot speak Arabic, Your Highness, although my niece strangely enough learnt it at school from an Egyptian girl. She will interpret anything you wish to say to me in your own language.”

  The Khedive looked surprised.

  Then, as if he was testing the Marquis, he spoke to Delia.

  He asked her in Arabic if this was her first visit to Egypt.

  She then answered him in the flowery language the Egyptians were so proud of, saying that she was overcome, astonished and rendered speechless at the miracle he had accomplished in building the Suez Canal.

  She went on to tell him how thrilled she was by the magnificence of the Great Pyramid.

  The Khedive was delighted and clapped his hands as Delia finished speaking.

  “She is very good,” he said to the Marquis and then he realised he was speaking in Arabic and hastily translated it into French.

  The Marquis asked him, without making it sound as if he was prying, what was his ambition for the future.

  The Khedive then burst into an animated reply that revealed how obsessed he was with his new project – to the point that he could scarcely express his feelings. He stumbled over his words and used his hands even more than usual to illustrate all he was trying to say.

  Talking in a strange mixture of French and Arabic, he explained just how he intended to transform Cairo into a European City.

  He believed that only the Europeans could help him achieve this and that he would eventually make Egypt itself into a European country.

  The Marquis was astonished at this revelation and he was clever enough to spur the Khedive on.

  He learnt that the Khedive’s chief ambition was to achieve more independence from Turkey and to implement his grandfather’s plan to conquer the whole of the Sudan and its outlying areas.

  “In other words,” he intoned solemnly almost as if he was making an oath, “I want Egypt to be at the head of an African Empire.”

  It was a notion, the Marquis mused, that the Prime Minister knew nothing about.

  He then asked the Khedive if he thought his people would be content with such a change.

  “My country and my people,” he replied, “are no longer in Africa, they are in Europe!”

  He spoke so positively that it was impossible, the Marquis decided, to argue the point.

  He then became aware that the Khedive was hinting that he needed British assistance for Egypt to seek financial independence from the French.

  After all that had been said and done in the past the M
arquis found this astounding, but he was clever enough not to let Ismail realise how much it surprised him.

  He was also aware that Delia was listening intently to every word and he felt sure that when overcome with his own excitement, the Khedive would break into Arabic and she could memorise and tell him later exactly what he had said.

  It seemed to him astonishing that after many years of hostility to the British, the Egyptians should now want to change direction so completely –

  To become as the Khedive insisted – Europeans rather than Africans.

  ‘Is it possible,’ he wondered, ‘that the Egyptians could become content with such a fundamental change?’

  All the Marquis could do at this early stage was to promise the Khedive that he would speak with the Prime Minister about his ambitions.

  He felt sure that Mr. Disraeli would be more than interested.

  “I think that you should know, Your Highness, that Mr. Disraeli is now extremely sorry that he did not support the building of the Suez Canal when it was first proposed by de Lesseps. I am sure now he will be only too willing to help you to achieve all you desire for Egypt.”

  He saw the Khedive’s eyes light up and carried on,

  “I will tell him exactly all you have said. There is one matter that the Prime Minister especially now feels sad about. That is that Britain has no financial interest in the Suez Canal.”

  The Khedive was quick-witted and the Marquis did not need to say any more.

  Now speaking in Arabic, the Khedive answered,

  “That may come somewhat later, but like all good things it will come.”

  “I understand, Your Highness, and I can only thank you again for granting me this audience. I promise I will do everything in my power to assist you in achieving your great ambition.”

  The Khedive was delighted.

  He rose to his feet and clapped his hands, bringing servants running into the room.

  He ordered coffee to be brought and then spoke to one of the senior servants in a quiet tone of voice.

  Delia realised he was asking for presents to give to them and she managed to whisper this to the Marquis.

  He nodded to say that he understood and when the presents appeared, he was suitably surprised.

  He then thanked the Khedive a thousand times for his unbounded generosity.

  They sat sipping the thick sweet coffee.

  Because she was a woman, the Khedive did not say anything to Delia except to tell her to explain something to the Marquis that he could only express in Arabic.

  When they rose to leave, the Marquis thanked him once again for his kindness and for the presents.

  Delia curtsied as she had done when they arrived.

  He patted her gently on the shoulder and said that she was a good little girl.

  She accepted this as a compliment, aware that if she had been Egyptian, she would have kissed his feet.

  The servants escorted them to the front door of the Palace and their carriage was waiting outside.

  As the servants bowed and they drove away, Delia exclaimed,

  “I just cannot believe that really happened. He is the most extraordinary man I have ever met. Now I must tell you, my Lord, what he said in Arabic when he became so carried away.”

  “I kept feeling so thankful that you were with me, Delia, and now you can tell me word for word all that he said. You realise how important this is.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  By the evening she had told the Marquis everything the Khedive had said in Arabic and admitted to being quite weary so they had an early night.

  The next morning, as soon as she had greeted the Marquis at breakfast, Delia asked him eagerly,

  “Now, what are we going to do today, my Lord?”

  “I know perfectly well you want to go sightseeing and I suppose I will have to climb the Great Pyramid!”

  “You did promise me we could go inside.”

  “Very well, Delia, but you will find it very airless and uncomfortable, especially as one has to crawl part of the way. At the same time when you go back to England, you can boast that you have done it.”

  Delia nearly enquired, ‘who to?’ and then she felt it would be drawing too much attention to her own troubles.

  Instead she admitted,

  “You are so kind, my Lord, and I am sorry to be a bind, but I do want to see some of Cairo whilst I am here.”

  “Well, you should see Shepheard’s Hotel – ”

  Delia looked surprised and then she asked,

  “Why? Is it particularly interesting?”

  “It’s the most famous hotel in the Middle East. It was founded by Samuel Shepheard and it is patronised by the most important British visitors besides all the Officers of any Regiment in the vicinity.”

  He just prevented himself from adding ‘ – and all the prettiest girls.’

  Delia was puzzled as to why a hotel should be of so much interest.

  There were many Ancient Egyptian buildings she had not yet seen, especially the Sphinx.

  She was to learn later that people who patronised Shepheard’s used to sit at tables outside and claimed they saw ‘the world pass by’!

  What the Marquis did not tell her was that Samuel Shepheard had actually sold the hotel in 1861 for about ten thousand pounds and had returned home to England.

  Yet he had done considerably more than just secure a comfortable old age for himself and his family – as for many travellers his name had become a symbol of style and service that never disappeared from Shepheard’s.

  The Marquis thought perhaps they might go there for dinner and then he remembered that any English people there might recognise him.

  They would undoubtedly think it rather strange that he was with a beautiful young girl with long golden hair.

  Once again Delia was reading his thoughts.

  “You must go there alone if you want to, my Lord. I think it might be dangerous for me to accompany you.”

  “You are so right, Delia. When you have finished breakfast I will take you on a drive round Cairo. There are some very fine Mosques that will interest you.”

  He smiled at her as he carried on,

  “After luncheon we will go back to Giza for you to see the Great Pyramid once again. If you are not too long crawling around inside it, we might go and see the Sphinx and the two other Pyramids beside it.”

  “I would love to,” she exclaimed, “and perhaps you and I will guess what the Sphinx is really thinking. No one has been able to answer that question yet.”

  The Marquis smiled at her.

  He liked her enthusiasm.

  He thought how few women he had known in the past would have been far more excited at crawling inside a Pyramid than being alone with him!

  After their drive around Cairo, which Delia found entrancing, they returned to a delicious luncheon.

  They had just finished when the Steward came into the Saloon and handed the Marquis a card.

  “This has just arrived, my Lord, and the man who brought it indicates that he’s waiting for an answer.”

  The Marquis took the card.

  On it was written in large letters,

  “His Excellency Vizier Ahmed.”

  The Marquis stared at it and asked Delia,

  “I wonder who this is. Please read what is written underneath.”

  Delia then translated the words in Arabic under the name of Vizier Ahmed.

  “It says will you call on him immediately as it is of the greatest importance.”

  “I wonder what he can mean by that?”

  “Vizier is next to the Khedive in rank,” said Delia. “He is higher than a Pasha.”

  The Marquis realised that it must be someone really distinguished.

  “I suppose I shall have to go if he wants to see me and as he obviously speaks only Arabic, you must come as well.”

  “Of course I will come with you, my Lord. After all, I am your interpreter.”

  “I doubt if anyon
e looking at you would believe it,” the Marquis chuckled, as she ran to her cabin to change.

  Ten minutes later he thought she was particularly attractive with her hair curling over her pretty white dress.

  It was the expensive one she had kept for important occasions like visiting the Khedive.

  And now she decided that the same dress would be appropriate too for the next in line.

  “I do hope it will not take long, my Lord. I suppose you will want to send a message to the Prime Minister.”

  “I am not certain whether I would be comfortable in sending any confidential message from Cairo. I may have to wait till we reach a more civilised country like Greece.”

  Delia smiled.

  “So you have not forgotten you promised that we would call in there on our return journey.”

  “Of course not, Delia. As I have told you before, I always keep my promises.”

  “I think that is one of the nicest things about you, my Lord. You only say things that you believe and, if you say you will do something, you will never go back on your word.”

  “Thank you indeed, Delia. I am very grateful for this appreciation of my character!”

  Delia laughed.

  “I know that you think I am presumptuous and that I should keep my place as a mere woman, but I find myself expressing myself just as the thoughts come into my mind. You did tell me, when we first talked about it, it was what you wanted me to do.”

  “Of course, I want you to do so and I still find it so extraordinary, Delia, that you think so much and are so perceptive.”

  “How could we be anything else in Egypt? We all have something to learn from the Egyptians, although we do not admit it.”

  “If nothing else – how to build a Pyramid!”

  Delia smiled.

  “I hope we will not need to. But perhaps the Sphinx will be able to tell me the answer to my problems, my Lord.”

  The Marquis knew that she was still worried about what would happen to her when they returned to England, but he thought it a mistake to discuss it now and he merely replied,

  “I will send a message to the Vizier, whoever he may be, to say that we will call on him in half-an-hour’s time.”

  He told the Steward to convey this to the man who had brought the Vizier’s card.