The Curse of Pharaohs. A novel

Information for Reflection: “The Carnarvon Case’”

BARTHOLO, READS A PARCHMENT. Whereas upon true and faithful Report, made unto us—

COUNT KNOCKS IT OUT OF HIS HAND. What need have I for all this Gibberish?

ROSINA. Yes, aloud I say it, my Hand, my Heart shall be for him who frees me from this detested prison, where my Person and my Fortune are detain’d against all Laws both human and divine.

BARTHOLO [To the Count]: It is Francinette in the Song; but to render it more agreeable and suitable to my present Circumstances, I chang’d it for Rosinetta’s. [laughs] Ha! Ha! Ha! – An’t I right – Isn’t it the Tune?

After breakfast, Gregson decided to delve into the case file regarding the demise of Lord Carnarvon: apparently, for now everyone around knew more about this matter than the brand-new investigator. He returned to his quarters, retrieved a substantial folder from his bag and commenced a meticulous examination of the papers, keeping in mind that the major would not include anything in the file without a reason. Many of the materials were not the documents in the traditional sense, but rather excerpts from documents and the authenticity of those had to be taken for faith. Certain names and dates have been omitted and replaced with ellipses.

Numerous newspaper articles detailing the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the subsequent demise of Lord Carnarvon. Gregson had previously read some of these articles, but now he was struck by the variety and diversity of interpretations. Most of them focused on the mysterious insect from the Pharaoh’s tomb and hinted at mystical elements. Nonsense! However, there were also versions suggesting a wound by a dirty, infected razor. Where the English lord might get a dirty infected razor?

Here are copies of the official telegrams. An excerpt from the medical report written by Lord Carnarvon’s personal physician, Frank McClanahan. According to it, the cause of death was pneumonia. At first glance, the cause of death appears to be quite natural… Was the practical and materialistic Mademoiselle Saad right? The image of the mocking Arabian girl suddenly appeared in his mind, and Gregson had to force it away.

So, what else is there? The personal opinion of a certain physician regarding the discrepancy between the symptoms and the nature of the disease and the diagnosis. The common cold, which typically leads to pneumonia, is not possible in the dry and warm Egyptian climate. And most importantly, the sudden outbreak of a high fever, followed by an equally sudden improvement in condition, and then a sudden recurrence of the fever. This pattern has persisted for twelve days. These symptoms are very different from those of either typical pneumonia or blood poisoning. This led to the suspicion of an unknown infection, possibly contracted in an ancient tomb. Of course, this is only a hypothesis – about the tomb, but the peculiar course of the illness is, perhaps, a fact! This has to be sorted out!

And here is the Politics that caused Saed-midjar to be so alarmed! A cablegram containing information about the appeal of Mr. Howard Carter to the Office of the High Commissioner Lord Allenby with a request to provide additional security measures for His Lordship Lord Carnarvon during his stay in Egypt due to anonymous threats to His Lordship’s life from nationalist and religious fanatics. Justification: His Lordship’s acute conflict with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. A note from the Office of the High Commissioner said: “no follow-up required”. Negligence or…?

Here is a report from a secret informant: immediately after Lord Carnarvon’s death, the original letter from Carter in the office of the High Commissioner was withdrawn from the case and presumably destroyed. Sabotage? Highly unlikely! Most likely someone just wanted to cover his butt retroactively.

And what is this? An excerpt from the report of another unknown informant: “In a private confidential conversation with me, Henry Herbert Carnarvon accused his mother, Lady Almina Carnarvon, of indecent behavior and attempts to assassinate his father, Lord Carnarvon.” Oh my God, is everyone being watched like that? Or just a cream of society? But perhaps it is worth taking a closer look at the family of the deceased. If the death was homicidal, then the search for the murderer should be based on the principle of qui prodest, and all members of the count’s family might gain from the death of the count. Although the will is supposed to be revealed only after the funeral, no surprises are expected. The main beneficiaries of the property are the widow Lady Almina Carnarvon and the son Henry Herbert. The daughter Evelyn also should receive her share of the property after officially coming of age in just a few months. Moreover, Henry immediately receives the title of the Sixth Earl of Carnarvon. Maybe someone wanted to speed up the receipt of an inheritance or a title?

And what exactly is the property? How big is the jackpot?

Gregson plunged into the study of the prudently prepared reports on the Carnarvon family affairs and suddenly recalled how at breakfast Mademoiselle Saad asked if he liked The Barber of Seville? Suddenly it seemed to him that the Carnarvon’s family history would have something subtly in common with the characters of the play should the plot had turned a little differently.

Firstly, the count married the money at the time. That is, he was forced. Lady Almina married the title and not a love. So, she was forced too. Suppose that the precaution would not have been in vain and Figaro would not have arrived in time and Dr. Bartolo would have successfully realized his intention to marry the money of his ward Rosina. What would have happened next? Rosina is quiet and compliant, but she was always able to insist on her own decisions. The doctor could very well accidentally get poisoned with arsenic from his own first-aid kit and the inconsolable young widow would have rightfully regained her fortune and significantly increased it.

In the silence of the cabin, the steamship’s running engines were tapping softly:

Gregson shook off the intrusive phrase with difficulty.

The Carnarvons did not consider each other attractive partners. Consequently, there could not be a particularly warm relationship between them. Most likely, on the contrary, dislike has been maturing for a long time. A motive for murder? You never know!

Secondly, let’s assume that our hypothetical married Bartolo and Rosina have a heir. Then, in all likelihood, Count Almaviva would have become his real father anyway, and the story would have partially turned back on the common track. And again, an obvious analogy manifested itself: for a long time it was believed that the son of the Earl of Carnarvon was extramarital child of Lady Almina. After the marriage, the Countess should have immediately presented the family with an heir, but she could not. Who is to blame for this? In all likelihood, it was the Count himself, suffering from the consequences of shameful diseases caught in the brothels around the world. However, two and a half years after the wedding, Almina became pregnant safely. The real culprit of this joyful event in society was Victor Duleep Singh, a friend of the earl since his days at Eton. He often visited the count’s estate and brightened up the Countess’s loneliness there. The flirting of the son of the last Rajah of Lahore and the beloved adopted son of Queen Victoria with the young Countess of Carnarvon was quickly noticed and the high society enjoyed airing dirty linen of the Carnarvon family. When the son of the current Earl Henry Carnarvon was born, the opinion of society was split on the subject of the real father of the boy: the Count or the Rajah? The Count “covered up the sin” of his wife and officially recognized the son as his own. It is possible, however, that the son really was from him, but within the family the scars from such public scandals never heal and maintain mutual hostility between the spouses. Is it a motive? Yes, it is!

Now the sound of the ship’s engines was repeating:

Damn it, such a stupid sticky thing! However, perhaps the restless Figaro himself could become a father of the heir…

Finally, thirdly, who started this vaudeville? Who and why organized the strange alliance of the Carnarvons marriage? Who is that behind-the-scenes Figaro arranging the plot intrigue? It is easy to guess that in the case of the Carnarvons, the Rothschild family was behind the scenes. This marriage was the result of more than half a century of very tender and reverent relations between the Carnarvons and the Rothschilds, the product of the merging of Jewish capital and the hereditary English land aristocracy.

Here is Rosina, a girl of unknown origin, who somehow turned out to be a ‘ward’ of Dr. Bartolo. Lady Almina before her marriage was also a girl of questionable origin, who was ostentatiously patronized by Baron Alfred Rothschild. In society, Almina was considered his illegitimate daughter. Her mother Marie Wombwell allegedly hid the “secret’ of the girl’s origin in exchange for financial assistance and expensive gifts “from an unknown person.” Actually, the “secret’ besides being apparent was flaunted in every possible way. The first letters of Almina’s name matching the first letters of Alfred’s name loudly hinted slow-witted folks at the identity of the “unknown”. Baron Rothschild surreptitiously supported this legend, although officially acknowledging nothing, however not refuting it. Almina’s dowry of half a million pounds served as unofficial recognition of Alfred Rothschild’s paternity.

Indeed, everything in this story was a secret wrapped in a mystery and placed inside a puzzle. And the key to it is money interests. It’s so obvious!

Stop it! And here are some more documents… oh! As it turns out, the stake is higher than only a money. Because in fact, Lady Almina could not possibly be the real daughter of Rothschild. The documents Gregson had seen clearly disproved Rothschild’s paternity. According to those documents, should they had been officially presented to the court, even Baron Alfred Rothschild, if he was still alive, could have been imprisoned for a long time on the shameful charge of . Of course, no one in their right mind in England would prosecute Baron Rothschild or any other respected member of society for as long as such gentleman maintains external decorum, avoids open statements about his passions and does not get into public scandals. But information about this is collected and, just in case, filed by the special services. Alfred Rothschild was a , incapable of having relationships with women, he never openly admitted his perversion and tried his best to keep up appearances. Just in case, he laid straw for a soft landing. For the purpose of such a soft straw he presented to society his romantic relationship with the Frenchwoman Marie Boyer Wombwell, who had a daughter. Alfred subsequently became the guardian of the girl and started a deliberately loud story with his alleged paternity, the only purpose of which was to reliably hide from society the fact of his .

So, Alfred Rothschild is not Lady Almina’s real father. Nevertheless, for some reason he gave her a huge dowry! Monstrously huge! The amount of the dowry of half a million pounds is amazing and therefore requires a separate explanation. Lady Almina is not Jewish by her mother, so in this case it cannot be assumed that the money remained in the “family’. That’s not how they do it. Therefore, it was an investment of capital. Into what? Is it just the reputation of the Rothschild family? But why back up the family’s already strong reputation with such an exorbitant amount? In all likelihood, it was an investment in a certain venture, and late Lord Carnarvon was appointed a nominal manager and formally received the money at his disposal. What kind of venture? Under what obligations? And what if the naive Lord Carnarvon, after the death of Alfred Rothschild, considered himself free from obligations and was punished for it? Perhaps this is also a possible motive!

And what could be such a venture in which Rothschild invested?

Gregson carefully reviewed the information about the property of the deceased. Highclere Castle and a huge manor house. Vast lands. It is expensive and beautiful, but from a financial point of view it is a liability: the estate requires permanent maintenance expenses and the land itself does not provide income. Probably, the count had shares the income from which went to the maintenance of the castle and the manor. Rothschild’s money in stocks? But who prevented Rothschild from simply investing his money in shares and entrusting the management of the package to his managers, who in any case would have handled this matter better than the count and his managers? Rothschild could have invested in the steel, oil or chemical industries himself, without an intermediary. An intermediary is needed only for the venture where the Rothschilds are not allowed yet or where the Rothschilds cannot publicize their participation. Stop! What did the Count suddenly do after his marriage? Egyptology! But what is Rothschild’s interest in Egyptology? Who needs millennial potsherds and broken pots? Or are they still needed? Pure art? Is the flow of antique valuables turning into such a cash flow that even the Rothschilds might be interested in?

There is too much speculation! It was pointless to think further without new facts. The first thing to do upon arrival at the scene is simply to find out if the death was natural or violent. If the death is natural, further questions would disappear naturally and you can return with a clear conscience and write a report. If not, then… there is no point in even thinking about it now.

Then the bell rang, inviting passengers to lunch. Gregson suddenly felt hungry again: mental exertion requires a lot of energy for the brain. He put the documents in his valise, locked the cabin and went to lunch.