The shutters of the carriage would be closed, according to the custom of
Arab ladies, and on entering the vehicle Victoria would find a negress,
a servant of Lella M'Barka Bent Djellab. This woman would dress her in a
gandourah and a haick, while they were on their way to the house of
Victoria's hostess, and on stepping out she would have the appearance of
a lady of Algiers. Thus all trace of her would be lost, as one Arab
carriage was exactly like another.
Meanwhile, there would be time to pack, and write a letter which
Victoria was determined to write. To satisfy Si Maieddine that she would
not be indiscreet in any admission or allusion, she suggested
translating for him every word she wrote into French or Arabic; but he
refused this offer with dignity. She trusted him. He trusted her also.
But he himself would post the letter at an hour too late for it to be
delivered while she was still in Algiers.
It was arranged that she should carry only hand-bags, as it would be too
conspicuous to load and unload boxes. Her large luggage could be stored
at the hotel until she returned or sent, and as Lella M'Barka intended
to offer her an outfit suitable to a young Arab girl of noble birth, she
need take from the hotel only her toilet things.
So it was that Victoria wrote to Stephen Knight, and was ready for the
second stage of what seemed the one great adventure to which her whole
life had been leading up.
Pages:
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227