Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus

CHAPTER NINETEEN A Tisket, a Tasket, a Please-Forgive-Me Basket

I HAD SO MUCH TO DO ON SATURDAY THAT, for the first time ever, I was hoping Mum would forget her promise to help me and Henry dye Easter eggs. It had sounded like a lot of fun a week ago, but now, with the Emerald Tablet and mut hauntings, I was simply too busy for something as frivolous as Easter eggs.

Not to mention I'd been up half the night writing down spells from The Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Henry continued acting strangely when he came down for breakfast. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes unnaturally bright as he surveyed the sideboard. He helped himself to a bowl of porridge, a plateful of scrambled eggs, a second plate piled high with bacon and kippers, and a dozen slices of toast drenched in butter and jam.

He stolidly plowed through his meal, uttering nary a word of greeting or a whisper of conversation. My parents and I finished our meager-by-comparison breakfasts and then simply sat back to watch. When he had finally finished and licked the last remnant of jam from his fingers, Father looked at Mother in vague alarm. "Is he ill, or growing, do you think?"

"Growing," Mother said firmly, although the look she cast at Henry was a bit doubtful, and when she got up from the table, she rather casually felt his forehead.

When Father left for work, Mother promised to join him shortly then shooed Cook out of the kitchen, donned an apron, and rolled up her sleeves. "Let's get started, shall we? I'll put the water to boil. Theo, you get out the dye stuffs, if you please. Henry, go into the pantry and fetch the basket of hard-boiled eggs Cook left for us."

Mother set four pans with water on the stove while I rummaged around for the dye ingredients. When we had finished setting everything up, I went to join Henry at the kitchen table—where he was steadily eating his way through all the hard-boiled eggs.

"Henry!"

He flinched and dropped the egg he'd been cracking. "What?"

"We're not supposed to eat them! We're decorating them."

Mother left the stove to come peer at Henry in a worried fashion. "Didn't you get enough to eat for breakfast, dear?"

He shrugged. "I dunno."

Honestly! He was like a squirrel storing up nuts for the winter.

Or the afterlife.

Suddenly he pushed himself away from the table, stood, and unbuttoned the top button on his trousers. "I don't feel so well," he said with a groan. Then he waddled from the room.

With Henry gone, Mother and I attacked the remaining eggs with efficient precision. We both had more important things to do, after all. When all the eggs had been put to soak in their pans, Mum left me to watch them while she went to get ready for work.

That's the hardest part about egg dyeing: waiting for the eggs to absorb enough color. If you take them out too soon, they are too pale. Luckily, I had lots to think about and plan for as I watched them bobbing around in the colored water like little buoys.

I needed to contact Will. He hadn't shown up at the museum yesterday afternoon, and I was desperate to hear his side of the suspension story.

Which meant I would have to pay him a visit. I'd been very lucky in the past about being in the general vicinity of where I thought him to be, then having him find me. Perhaps that luck would hold. If not, well, Ratsy had announced their address to the entire Alcazar Theater.

Besides, we had more eggs than we could ever eat. Either that or Henry would make himself violently ill eating them all. I bet they would make Will an excellent peace offering.

An hour later, when Mum had left for the museum and Henry had retired to his room with a cup of peppermint tea for his stomach, I sneaked into the pantry and prepared for my visit.

I pulled down one of Cook's old shopping baskets from its hook and filled it with a dozen of the colored eggs we had just dyed. It looked quite cheerful, if a bit empty.

I went back into the pantry and climbed up on a stool, reaching for the place on the top shelf that Henry had shown me, where Cook and Mum hid the sweets. I found a bag of lemon drops, some peppermint sticks, and some leftover ribbon candy from Christmas. There was also another stash of colored eggs, but these were much heavier than the ones I had made with Mum. These were most likely the ones Cook had filled with chocolate. My hand hovered over the bowl. These were Henry's and my most cherished Easter treat, and there were only a dozen of them. However, Henry was clearly going to eat himself into a stupor, given the chance, and I—well, there would be more next year. With a small sigh of regret, I removed seven of the chocolate-filled eggs and put them into the basket.

Now it looked positively bursting with Easter cheer. I slipped into my coat and let myself out the back door. It would be a long walk, but it seemed like a fitting penance, since I had helped get Will into trouble in the first place.

Even beautiful weather and penance did not alter Will's neighborhood. Once I entered the Seven Dials I became distinctly uneasy. The streets and alleys were narrow and filthy, and though there were people about, they weren't doing normal-people things, like shopping or visiting with one another. They just loitered in doorways wrapped in thin coats—or none at all—and looked out at the world with bleak, hopeless eyes. Even the air here seemed heavier, dirtier. Many of the pinched, drawn faces stared hungrily at my basket. I gripped the handle tighter, looked straight ahead, and picked up my pace.

I had never been to Will's house, but I remembered Ratsy calling out their address during Awi Bubu's magic show. I knew that Will's territory when he'd been a pickpocket was nearby, and I assumed that it would be close to where he lived. As I wandered deeper and deeper into this part of town, I realized that might have been a mistaken assumption.

I drew close to Nottingham Court, and my steps faltered when I saw the buildings—hovels, really. They were jumbled together and had no street numbers on them. How on earth was I to find Will now? As my heart sank in disappointment, I felt someone grab my elbow. I squealed and clutched the Easter basket with both hands then whirled around to see who was trying to steal it.

I came face to face with an enormous bowler hat perched on a pair of large pink ears. I let out a sigh of relief. "Snuffles!"

"'Ello, miss. Wotcha doin' 'ere?" As he spoke, his eyes fixed on the colorful contents of the basket and never wavered.

"I've come to visit you and your family and bring you an Easter treat. Is Will home?"

At this happy announcement, Snuffles grew quite enthusiastic. "Sure is, miss. Come on." He grabbed my elbow so I—and the basket—wouldn't get lost and led me to one of the large buildings. With long-practiced efficiency, he stepped between the small groups of people standing listlessly by the front door. Their sharp eyes zeroed in on us in a way that made me most uncomfortable. I quickly followed Snuffles into the building.

It was dank and damp and smelled of mildew and other much less pleasant things. People were camped out in the hallways. "This way, miss." Snuffles motioned for me to hurry along, which I did, following him up two flights of stairs. He led me past a series of small crooked doors until he came to the last one. He thumped once on the door, called out, "Company!" then opened it and went inside. I stood in the doorway, unsure.

I heard Will's voice. "'Oo's 'ere, Snuff?"

"Miss is. You know, the one you work wif."

Will left whatever he'd been doing and hurried to the door, looking fair flummoxed to see me. "Miss?"

Something—embarrassment?—flashed in his eyes. He gently but firmly herded me back into the hallway and closed the door behind us. He folded his arms and glowered at me, two faint spots of pink blooming on his cheeks. "Wot are you doin' 'ere?"

I cleared my throat. "Is it true that you got suspended?"

"Aye." His face relaxed a bit. "Because o' that fig-in-a-bush bloke."

"I-I'm sorry. I was certain once Wigmere heard what we had to tell him, he'd understand."

"'Tweren't your fault, miss. I didn't even get the chance to say a word. That nose Boythorpe walked me down the hallway and when I got to Wiggy's office, that figgenbush fellow was already there. Wiggy asked me if I 'ad a message from you for 'im. I told 'im, yes, and it was an important one. Then the greasy chap said, 'See what I mean, sir?'

"I turned to 'im and said, 'She couldn't very well give you the message, now could she, since you was 'ere instead of at the museum where you's supposed to be.'

"Then Wiggy said, 'Enough.' And suspended me. I asked if 'e didn't want to 'ear the important information first, and 'e said no. 'E'd wait until you reported it through the proper channels."

It sounded almost as if Fagenbush had set a trap and we'd walked right into it. "Oh dear. I'm so sorry. Here," I said, thrusting the apology basket at him.

He eyed it suspiciously. "We don't need no charity, miss."

"It's not charity, you dolt. It's an apology gift. People give them to each other all the time." And if they didn't, they should.

"Well, in that case, for the sake of yer conscience..."

"Absolutely. And I'm sure your brothers would enjoy it."

"Aye. That they would." He took the basket, his eyes growing wide as he saw all the goodies inside. Suddenly, I wished I'd packed real food instead of Easter treats. A roast chicken, and potatoes, a loaf of bread, and some butter and jam. Real food was what he and his brothers needed.

"I'll set things right, Will. I promise. I'll go see Wigmere as soon as I can and explain what happened. Once he sees the seriousness of all that's going on, he'll have no choice but to forgive us both."

"I 'ope so, miss, because me old gang's been on me like rats on rubbish to come back into the fold."

His old pickpocket gang, he meant. "Don't worry. We'll have you back working for Wigmere in no time," I said, hoping it was true.

"Course you will, miss. You'll come up wif somefink."

I was touched by his faith in me. So few others exhibited the same loyalty. "Thank you for believing in me," I said.

He looked fairly panicked, as if afraid I might get teary or something. "'Tain't nothin', miss. Besides, working with you is a lot more adventure than being a pickpocket."

That part was true, at least.

"In fact, miss, I been thinking." He looked around the hall to make sure no one else was listening, then inched closer. "I've decided, see, that I wants ter join the Brotherhood of them Chosen Kippers."

"Keepers," I corrected.

He drew back, looking affronted. "That's what I said. Any ways, I were asking Stokes about it one day when 'e was waiting ter get in ter see Wig. They make a lot more blunt than chimney sweeps and porters and even pickpockets. I figger if I can join up, then me mam won't 'ave to be a washerwoman till the day she up and drops dead. And me brothers? Mebbe some of them could even go to school."

"Aren't they supposed to go to school anyway?"

Will snorted. "Ain't no one checks up on 'em, miss. And we need what they can bring in just to keep a roof over our 'eads and our bellies full. But Stokes said most of 'em Kipper fellows had gone to school for a wicked long time. Them big fancy universities and the like."

"Oh, Will, how will you ever get to a university?" My heart was breaking. It was impossible for someone like him.

He looked surprisingly undaunted. "I can't, miss, but it don't matter."

"But then how will you join the Brotherhood?"

"I got somefink better than a university." He rocked back on his heels and beamed at me. "I got you."

"Me?"

"You! I figger you know more'n anyone about all the Egypshun stuff, and you can teach me."

I stared at him, speechless.

He must have taken it as a refusal, for he grabbed hold of my sleeve. "You gotter 'elp me, miss! If you can teach me about all the Egypshuns, then I can prove to Ol' Wiggy that I'm more'n just an errand boy."

As I stared into his big blue eyes, so eager and hopeful, I vowed that if he wanted a chance to prove himself to Wigmere, I would do everything in my power to help him. "Very well," I said. "I'll tutor you."

"You will, miss?" he squeaked.

"Absolutely. In fact, if you'd like, we can begin tonight."

His whole face lit up and he looked as if he might burst out of his skin. "Why? Wot are you cookin' up in that 'ead of yours, miss?"

"We-ll, it's a bit dangerous, and might be too frightening for you."

Will scoffed. "Nah, miss. Nothing scares me. Not after seeing those mummies of yours walking down the street." He shuddered ever so slightly.

I pretended not to notice. I knew better than anyone that being scared didn't mean you couldn't get the job done. "I'm so glad to hear you say that," I said, "because here's what we need to do. You remember Mr. Tetley?"

"The bad guy mummified as punishment?"

"That's the one. Well, his spirit, or mut, as the Egyptians called it, is haunting the museum. Haunting Henry, to be exact."

Will whistled. "Why 'im, d'you think?"

I gave Will a steely gaze. "Because he refused to wear the protective amulet I gave him, like the one I gave you."

Will swallowed. "I love me am'let, miss. Wouldn't dream of takin' it off." He fished around under his grimy shirt collar and produced the amulet I had given him.

"Excellent!" I said, surprised but pleased.

He leaned in closer. "Ratsy and Snuffles still have theirs too, miss. I warned 'em not to take 'em off. Not wif all the magic running around town these days."

At last someone who was taking the whole situation seriously! "See? You're already proving how good you'll be at this. Now, the only way to lay Tetley's spirit to rest is to give him a proper burial."

"'Owyou gonna do that, miss?"

"Well, as luck would have it, my grandmother is planning a memorial service for Admiral Sopcoate."

Will recoiled. "That traitor?"

"She doesn't know he's a traitor," I rushed to explain. "Hardly anyone does. But she's ordered a coffin for him, even though there's no body."

Will's face brightened. "And why let an empty coffin go to waste, right, miss?"

"Exactly."

"So alls we got to do is slip that Tetley fellow into the empty coffin before the service."

"Well, that's not quite all we have to do. There's a complication, you see."

"What kind of complication, miss?"

"It's hard to explain, because I barely understand it myself. I'm not sure if Tetley needs a Christian burial to be laid to rest or, since he was mummified in the way of the ancient Egyptians, if he needs ancient Egyptian funeral rites performed. He'll get the Christian rites at the memorial service, the blessing and all that, but I'm afraid we'll have to perform the Egyptian Rites of the Dead ourselves."

"We, miss?" he squeaked.

"Yes. We. And we'll need more than us to do it. You said Snuffles and Ratsy still have their protection?"

"Yes, miss."

"Do you think they could be talked into helping out? They'll be perfectly safe."

Will snorted. "Safe! You think livin' 'ere is safe?"

Good point, I thought. "Also, one of the most critical parts of every Egyptian funeral rite is the farewell feast for the deceased."

"Feast?"

"Yes, we'll have a picnic afterward, with lots of food."

Will's eyes brightened at that. "I'm sure they'll want to 'elp."

"Excellent. Now here's what I need you to do..."