The Magnificent Marquis Read online

  It took a good amount of manoeuvring, but finally a large envelope was handed across to one of the crew.

  The Officer on-board the Destroyer then saluted the Marquis, who took the envelope and saw it was addressed to him.

  “Have you to wait for an answer?” he shouted.

  The Officer shook his head.

  “I’ve no orders to wait, my Lord.”

  “Thank you. It’s kind of you to bring this to me.”

  He knew that the Captain must be curious about the contents of the letter, but he did not ask any questions.

  He returned to the Saloon followed by Delia.

  “What can it be?” she asked a little nervously.

  The Marquis realised that she was afraid her father had found out where she was and had in some devious way persuaded the Admiralty to track her down.

  Then Delia told herself that there was no need to be apprehensive.

  After all, even if her father suspected the Marquis of taking her away from her home, there was no reason for him to think she was accompanying him on his yacht.

  She did not say anything, but her eyes were on the Marquis as he slit open the sealed envelope and took out two sheets of writing paper.

  On the first was written,

  “To the Marquis of Harlington.

  My Lord,

  The Prime Minister has sent this through to you on the private cable with instructions that we were to take it to you immediately.”

  It was signed with the name of the British Consul in Malta.

  Without speaking the Marquis handed the sheet to Delia, whilst he read the other one,

  “The Khedive Ismail of Egypt has now invited their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales to the Opening of the Suez Canal, which he has arranged to take place on March 6th 1869.

  Please discover who else has been invited and if, contrary to reports, the Suez Canal will be ready by then.

  Let me have your answer as soon as possible.

  Benjamin Disraeli.”

  The Marquis, as he read through the instructions, knew that the Prime Minister was surprised and perhaps annoyed that he had not heard from him already.

  In order to please Delia, they had not hurried along on their voyage and had spent what he now realised was precious time in Gibraltar and Malta.

  So it was now a question of full steam ahead.

  He handed Delia the second sheet of writing paper and then he walked out of the Saloon and up to the bridge to give the Captain his new orders.

  When he came back, he knew by the expression on Delia’s face how disappointed she was that they would not be able to divert their course to Greece.

  “We will do it on our way back,” he said before she could speak.

  “You promise, my Lord?”

  “Of course, I promise, and I never break my word, but now we must go to work, which is what we have come for and the first thing we must do is to inspect this Canal. Personally I will be surprised if it can be finished on time, the last word I heard about it, there was little but chaos.”

  “It may well be true,” agreed Delia. “But all those labourers working on the Suez Canal are rumoured to be performing miracles.”

  “Well, I rather doubt it, but we will be able to see for ourselves when we get there.”

  *

  Two days later they arrived in the dark at the Port of Alexandria.

  Delia was up early the next morning, because she was looking forward to seeing the beautiful City that had been founded by Alexander the Great.

  She had read that Alexander was only twenty-five years old when in 331 BC he conquered Egypt and ordered the new Capital to be built on the Mediterranean coast.

  She was gazing out at the harbour they had moved into during the night, when the Marquis joined her.

  “I already know without you telling me that you are thinking about Alexander the Great and that you expect me to be as powerful and as brave as he was!”

  Delia laughed.

  “I am not thinking about anything of the sort, but I do recall that the High Priest of the Temple of Amun hailed him as a God. I am certainly not hailing you as a God – at least not yet!”

  The Marquis chuckled.

  “I remember the story and when he died in Babylon of malaria his body was brought back here to Egypt to be buried.”

  “But you have forgotten that the High Priest at Memphis who sent it back to Alexandria claimed, ‘wherever this body may lie, the City will be uneasy, disturbed with wars and battles’.”

  “I can see that you are very well read, Delia, and I expect that you were also taught that in the end Alexander was buried in Soma in a tomb beneath his Temple at the main crossroads of that ancient City.”

  “My teacher said his body has never been found in spite of the claims of a Russian dragoman in 1850.”

  “I remember that too, although I was only nine at the time, but my Tutor was most interested in Alexander and told me all about the dragoman’s claim. But apart from Alexander there is so much history in this City.”

  Delia looked at the Marquis enquiringly.

  “St. Mark came here in 45 AD,” he continued, “converted a Jewish shoemaker and founded the Christian Church in Alexandria. Then he was martyred for refusing to accept the Greek God of Alexandria called Serapis.”

  He paused and realised that Delia was listening for more and went on,

  “I don’t know if you were taught at School that St. Mark was buried in Alexandria, but, unlike Alexander, his remains were found hundreds of years later and smuggled out of the City, then under Arab control, in a crate of pork meat.”

  “I have never heard that story, my Lord!”

  “It was to avoid inspection by the Muslims who are forbidden by their religion to eat pork, so they would be very unlikely to look in a crate of pig meat. Then he was brought to Venice, where he now rests in the famous Church of San Marco.”

  “That is a fascinating story, but something we cannot see. Now how are we going to reach the Suez Canal?”

  “The Captain has made enquiries and tells me that the nearest point to the Canal is just over one hundred and sixty miles away. I have agreed that our best plan is to sail immediately from here to Port Said, where I can inspect at least the Northern part of the Canal and its outlet into the Mediterranean.”

  Delia nodded her head to show that she understood, but said nothing.

  “We should arrive late this evening and can spend the whole of the next day there. I would hope you will not be disappointed, but in fact, I don’t think there is anything else for us to see here in Alexandria itself and certainly not as much as the Arab General who wrote in 642 AD, ‘I have taken the City of which I can only say that it contains 4,000 Palaces, 400 baths, 400 theatres, 1,200 greengrocers and 40,000 Jews’!”

  Delia laughed.

  “How can you remember all that? Have you been swotting up on the way here, my Lord?”

  “I admit I have been reading about Egypt while you have been asleep, but actually I was made to learn that fact as a punishment at Eton when I was caught not attending during a history lesson!”

  “It will not be so useful to us now, my Lord. Have you remembered anything more about Alexandria?”

  “I can report that Napoleon Bonaparte besieged it seventy years ago, and the City surrendered to him because they knew that Cairo, which was then the centre of Egypt’s wealth, learning and power, would fight on.”

  “I can quite see that my education will be improved by coming here with you,” smiled Delia.

  “And now eat your breakfast, Delia, then if you are really interested I will tell you about Florence Nightingale, who was here nineteen years ago and she said scathingly – ‘There is nothing in Alexandria but the Frank Square and the huts of the Alexandrians’.”

  Delia laughed and they walked into breakfast.

  *

  They were at sea again the whole of that day and reached Port Said late in the evening.


  The next morning they hired a carriage and Delia could see the Suez Canal that there had been so much fuss about.

  To her delight it was exactly as she had expected – not very broad and the land on either side was sand and not at all prepossessing.

  There were a great number of men at work.

  ‘The Babel of Nations’ certainly produced a babble of voices all speaking different languages.

  The Marquis knew that de Lesseps had provided for their different religions and their medical needs.

  In fact, although he did not want to bore Delia with it, he had learnt that the death rate during the four years of construction was only one and a half percent a year out of over twenty thousand labourers.

  The Marquis noticed was that there were two large pavilions being constructed outside Port Said.

  He supposed this was where the guests, who were to be expected next March, would be entertained and it would certainly be in a grand and ostentatious style.

  Even as he was thinking of it, an Egyptian Officer in charge of the labourers came to the side of their carriage.

  “Can I be of any assistance, sir?” he asked. “I can see you are interested in the Canal.”

  He spoke in Arabic and the Marquis looked at Delia.

  She translated the Officer’s question and told him in no uncertain terms how distinguished the Marquis was.

  He then enquired if there was anything that such an important visitor would like to know about the Canal.

  Delia conveyed this to the Marquis, who then said he understood that the Khedive intended to open the Suez Canal next year.

  Were the extremely grand pavilions being erected for the distinguished guests who would be present?

  Delia translated this to the Officer.

  The Marquis thought that she sounded fluent and confident in doing so.

  The Officer then pointed out the places where the bands would play, the many guns fire salutes and where the Khedive would receive his guests on his yacht Mahroussa.

  “There will be three long days of celebrations,” the Officer related. “We are expecting all the Arab leaders and at least fifty men-of-war from all nations to be anchored outside the harbour.”

  It all sounded intriguing and Delia wished that she could be present.

  While the Officer was speaking, the Marquis was looking as closely as he could at the Canal.

  He was certain that it would not be too difficult in the months in between to have everything ready, at least in this section of the Canal, as the Khedive had planned.

  He was also sure that if the Prince and Princess of Wales did attend as the honoured guests of the Khedive, they would be treated in great style.

  He could certainly not report that the project was not significant enough for them to grace its Opening.

  The Suez Canal was, in fact, he thought to himself, a miracle wrought by man.

  After so much opposition and so much contention that the whole project was completely impossible, the Suez Canal was definitely viable and commercially of great potential.

  When they had finished talking to the Officer, they drove back to Port Said.

  Then Delia asked the Marquis,

  “What are we going to do now?”

  “We are leaving,” he replied, “to sail up the nearest arm of the Nile Delta to Cairo.”

  “Then we can visit the Pyramids,” Delia exclaimed excitedly, “and I do want to see them more than anything else.”

  “Of course you do, Delia. Although I have seen the Pyramids once, I am perfectly prepared to see them again. But we have first to enquire if the Khedive is in residence.”

  “Do you mean we are going to call on him?” Delia asked, her eyes widening.

  “Yes, and as you realise, I have a report to make to the Prime Minister. I think it is essential for me to see the Khedive so that I can tell the Prime Minister exactly what he wants to know.”

  “I am sure that you are right. Am I to come with you, my Lord?”

  “Of course you are, after all you are my interpreter, and I am not certain whether Ismail can speak English or only French.”

  “I should imagine, as the English have been very unkind to him until now, he is not particularly keen on our language.”

  The Marquis recognised that she was right.

  But he also knew, having come all this long way at the Prime Minister’s request, it would be a mistake to leave before he had seen the Khedive of Egypt and if possible discovered what his intentions were once he had officially opened the Suez Canal to the world.

  When they returned to The Scimitar, the Marquis told the Captain that they wished to sail up to Cairo.

  He was delighted.

  “I was half afraid, my Lord, that you would wish to return home as soon as you had seen the Canal. I don’t mind telling you that Cairo is a place I have always wanted to see myself, but have never had the opportunity.”

  “Well, I hope it does not disappoint you, Captain. Certainly there is more to see there than in Alexandria. We will take the Nile trip slowly as there is no need to hurry and I know my niece will want to admire the scenery.”

  “We will go slowly, my Lord, and when it is dark, we will anchor wherever we are and not push on.”

  The Marquis agreed to his plan.

  Then he went to find Delia.

  She was, as he expected, running from side to side of the yacht to make sure she did not miss anything as they came out of the port.

  “I am thinking,” she said, “of the enormous number of ships that will be here at the opening of the Suez Canal. You can imagine how impressive they will look with their flags flying.”

  “Are you suggesting we should come back again so soon? Having seen the Suez Canal, I can think of more exciting places in the world to visit.”

  “And will you take me with you, even if I don’t speak the language of whichever country you are visiting?”

  The Marquis hesitated.

  He knew it would be difficult for him to continue taking Delia with him once they had returned to England, even though she still pretended to be only fifteen.

  “All right, my Lord, I know what you are thinking and I agree, it would be difficult. But it would be far more difficult for me, because when we go back, I will still not be able to return to my home.”

  “I realise that and I promise to find you somewhere to live, Delia, but I refuse to talk about it now.”

  “You are quite right, my Lord, as it would spoil this enchanting voyage which becomes more and more enthralling every moment. So let’s talk about Cairo and please tell me before we arrive something about the City that I don’t know already.”

  “I have an idea you know a great deal more than you pretend to, but you will certainly have the Pyramids to talk about, even if there is not as much else as you imagine there to be.”

  “Oh, please, it may bore you, but I want you to tell me everything you know about Cairo, just in case we miss something exciting and I will not be lucky enough to come here again.”

  The Marquis reckoned that was the way everyone should feel when they were about to visit a new place and he had fortunately read a great deal about Cairo apart from having visited once before.

  “I would expect, Delia, you will be most interested to know that near the site of Cairo, built much later by the Arabs was the ancient City of On, called by the Greeks Heliopolis, the City of the Sun. It was where the God Ra Harakhte was worshipped, but all that is left of it is a single standing obelisk.”

  “Can we visit it, please?” asked Delia.

  “I suppose so, but I have not seen it myself. There is also a sycamore tree, known as the ‘Virgin’s Tree’.”

  “Why is it called that?”

  “Legend insists that the Virgin Mary and her Son rested beneath it during their flight from Herod. Of course, if we are honest, the tree is really a replacement for the old one that fell down in 1670, but the new tree is still worshipped as the place where the Holy
Family rested.”

  “I like that story and if it is true, then any prayers we say to it will be very special. If God is kind, we will be granted all we ask for.”

  “And what do you want, Delia?”

  She looked away from him.

  He surprised himself by feeling sure, although she was silent, that he knew the answer –

  Like all women she was seeking love.

  The love he had told himself he would never find.

  It was certainly different from what was called love by the Beau Monde in Mayfair and the love he himself had expressed lightly and cynically to the many women who offered him their favours.

  It suddenly occurred to him that the love Delia was seeking was something especially wonderful and, perhaps one might almost say, sacred.

  Then he told himself this conversation or rather his interpretation of it was a mistake.

  “We must concentrate on the Egyptians whilst we are in Cairo,” he remarked lightly. “We will have time later to learn the history of the brilliant builders of the Pyramids.”

  “I am so excited just by the thought of seeing the Pyramids, my Lord.”

  Then Delia added almost as an afterthought,

  “This morning when I woke up, I heard the Muslims being called to prayer from the nearest Minaret. I thought how sensible it is that they should remind their people to pray before they start the day’s work.”

  “Are you then suggesting,” he enquired, “that we should build Minarets in England to alert us Christians?”

  “It is certainly an idea and I thought the Muezzin’s call from his Minaret – ‘Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar,’ was in fact very musical.”

  “Then what do you suggest that Christian Priests should call out?”

  “We should try to think of something appropriate and compelling, but I am afraid they would not call it and morning prayers, if they are said at all, will not be heard.”

  Then, as they were sailing past an interesting part of the Delta, she could think of nothing but that the legendary land of Egypt was on either side of them.

  She was actually here in a country she had thought she would never have the chance to visit.

  They stayed the night not far from Cairo.

  *

  As soon as it was light, the Marquis wrote a letter to the British Consul in Cairo, Mr. Edward Rogers.