Lion in the Valley

***Lion in the Valley*** [1895-96]

"Amelia finally gets her wish–she is returning to Egypt with her beloved husband and colleague in archaeology, Emerson, to excavate a pyramid. However, her excavation is quickly complicated by a disguised nobleman, distressed damsels, and a brilliant (and dashing!) Master Criminal. Amelia, with a pyramid to explore and a mystery to solve, is in her element."

"In other words, none of the eccentricities of the present volume are the responsibility of the editor. She has done the best she could and would suggest that complaints, criticisms, and other pejorative comments be addressed to the heirs of Professor and Mrs. Emerson, not to her." - From the Forward to Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters

## Characters

*in alphabetical order*

* Abdullah ibn Hassan al Wahhab
* Amelia Peabody
* Donald Fraser (Mr. Nemo)
* Enid Debenham
* Herr Baehler
* Kalenischeff
* Major Ramsey
* Master Criminal, The
* Mr. Gregson
* Mrs. Axhammer
* Miss Marshall
* Radcliffe Emerson
* Ronald Fraser
* Sethos
* Viscount
* Walter "Ramses" Emerson

## Notable Animals

### The Cat Bastet

Emerson, that villain–that remarkable, clever wretch–has seduced our cat! - Amelia Peabody

### Mazeppa

> Ramses’ excursion into grand theft had momentarily slipped my mind. I remembered reading that in the American West, horse thieves were usually hanged.
>
>
> Perhaps Ramses remembered this too. In the act of mounting he hesitated and then turned to me. With his most winning smile he said, “Would you like to ride Mazeppa, Mama?”
>
>
>
> “A very proper thought, Ramses,” said Emerson approvingly. “I am glad to see you show your dear mama the consideration she deserves.”
>
>

INSERT

## Locations

* England
* Alexandria, Egypt
* Cairo, Egypt (Shepheard's Hotel)
* Giza, Egypt (Mena House)
* Dashur, Egypt
* Sakkara, Egypt

## Amelia Describes Egypt

Despite the best efforts of my noble steed, the stars were blossoming upon the blue velvet of the sky before I reached Dahshoor. The afterglow washed the sloping sides of the pyramids in an eerie pinkish light, but the desert floor was veiled in twilight; long before I made out his form, I heard the well-loved voice: “Peabody! Peabody, is that you? Answer me, curse it.”

I woke at dawn, as is my habit in Egypt, whatever  distractions the night may bring. Our lofty perch presented me with an  unexampled view of the glorious sunrise and I lay in sleepy content for a  time, watching the soft shades of gold and rose strengthen in the  eastern sky.

“Not for long was my attention held by those in me immediate vicinity, for my eyes were drawn to the splendor of the view beyond. The two stone pyramids of Dahshoor loomed on the horizon.” - Amelia Peabody

## Historical Cameos

* James Quibell
* Howard Carter

## First Line

“My dear Peabody,” said Emerson, “Pray correct me if I am mistaken; but I sense a diminution of that restless ardor for living that is so noted a characteristic of yours, particularly upon occasion such as this.

## Quotes to Remember

If someone lies down and invites you to trample him, you are a remarkable person if you decline the invitation. - Amelia Peabody

So ended our second encounter with the strange and mysterious personage known as Sethos. - Amelia Peabody

In my opinion there is never any excuse for violence. It is the last resort of people and nations who are too stupid to think of a sensible way of settling their differences. - Amelia Peabody

What, thank my jailer for refraining from assaulting me? - Amelia Peabody

Who knows? Life is full of unexpected happenings; that is what makes it endurable. - Sethos

Thank you, no. I never drink with assassins and kidnappers. - Amelia Peabody

Emerson had been right and I had been wrong. The only consolation was that Ramses had been wrong too. - Amelia Peabody

“You have a pernicious weakness for young lovers.” - Radcliffe Emerson

“No, for I would have resisted the attempt with all the strength at my disposal,” I replied cheerfully. “No woman wants to be carried off against her will; she only wants a man to want to do it!” - Amelia Peabody

For in my opinion (which is based on considerable experience), there is nothing that annoys a woman so much as fawning, servile devotion. It brings out the worst in women - and in men, let me add, for a tendency to bully the meek is not restricted to my sex, despite the claims of misogynists. If someone lies down and invites you to trample him, you are a remarkable person if you decline the invitation. - Amelia Peabody

> Abdullah clapped his hand to his brow. “Not a dead man, sitt. Not another dead man…” A flicker of reviving hope returned to his stricken face. “Is it a mummy you mean, sitt? An old dead man?“
> “I am afraid this one is rather fresh,” I admitted.
>
>

“Watch your language, young man. Mrs. Emerson is not accustomed to vulgarity.” - Radcliffe Emerson

In lieu of a treasure, what would attract the Master Criminal? - Amelia Peabody

Nor had I any intention of going, hat in hand, to my own son and asking him to help me find antiquities. - Amelia Peabody

I have found that people are often struck dumb with amazement at the quickness of my intellect. - Amelia Peabody

The young do take themselves so seriously, poor things, and they tend to express themselves in theatrical parlance. - Amelia Peabody

Though concern about my personal appearance has never been a matter of paramount importance to me, I will candidly admit that my spirits rise when I know I look my best. I fancy there is nothing wrong with that. It displays a proper self-respect without which no individual, man or woman, can achieve great things. - Amelia Peabody

I particularly dote on the interiors of pyramids. - Amelia Peabody

I had every intention of keeping my word. Why look for trouble when trouble is certain to come looking for you? - Amelia Peabody

## Poetry

“You remember, I am sure, the Kadesh inscription of Ramses the Second, which exalts the pharaoh by comparing his powers to those of the god:

“Lord of fear, great of game,

In the hears of all the lands.

Great of awe, rich in glory,

As is Set upon his mountain. . . .

Like wild lion in a valley of goats!

“How admirably does this same comparison suit the enigmatic person who has assumed the sobriquet of Sethos!” - Amelia Peabody

## Amelia Words

Soon we would be exploring the stifling, bat-infested corridors of one pyramid and the muddy, flooded burial chamber of another--scenes that would under ordinary circumstances have inspired in me a shiver of **rapturous** anticipation. How many other women--particularly in that final decade of the nineteenth century--had so many reasons to rejoice? - Amelia Peabody

The knife wound was on the outside of the man’s arm, from just above the wrist almost to the elbow. Fortunately it had not touched any of the major muscles or blood vessels, but it was still oozing the **roseate** **ichor** of life, so I bound it up as best I could. - Amelia Peabody

We stood in silence, **ensorcelled** by the magic of the night. - Amelia Peabody

Words fail me when I attempt to describe the grandeur of the scene. The swollen orb of the full moon hung in the sky, resembling the disks of beaten gold that had crowned the queens of this antique land. Her radiance flooded the landscape, silvering the mighty pyramids and casting eerie shadows over the enigmatic features of the Sphinx, so that he seemed to smile cynically at the insignificant human creatures crawling around the base. - Amelia Peabody

The effect of my statement upon my husband was terrible to behold. The alteration of his normally handsome features was so dreadful that Enid fled into the night and Ramses was moved to exclaim, “Such engorgement of the blood vessels may betoken a seizure, Mama. Some cold water dashed in Papa’s face--”

I was unable to prevent the application of this remedy, for Ramses acted upon it even as he spoke, and I must admit that it had a **salubrious** effect.

I was up with the dawn, filled with my usual boundless energy. There was a great deal to be done that day, and I looked forward to it as a **pugilist** rejoices in the prospect of testing his strength against a worthy opponent. - Amelia Peabody

Emerson is an **ebullient** person by nature; his fits of temper are brief, and as soon as they are over he immediately looks on the bright side. - Amelia Peabody

## Fashion

Ramses’ countenance, which seldom displayed emotion of any kind, darkened visibly. The wearing of the black velvet suit was one of the few things that stirred him to open rebellion … . I was forced to give way on this occasion, since the havoc that would have been wrecked on black velvet by an ascent of the pyramid would ruin the suit. A thoughtful expression crossed Ramses’ face when I expressed this opinion, but he did not, as I half-expected, offer to wear the suit after all. - Amelia Peabody

Ever since my first season in Egypt, when I had sometimes found myself uncomfortably, not to say dangerously, encumbered by the absurd female attire fashion forces upon the helpless female form, I had been refining and improving my working costume. - Amelia Peabody

Though concern about my personal appearance has never been a matter of paramount importance to me, I will candidly admit that my spirits rise when I know I look my best. I fancy there is nothing wrong with that. It displays a proper self-respect without which no individual, man or woman, can achieve great things.

Once stripped down to my combinations--a one-piece, knee-length cotton garment trimmed with lace and little pink bows--I picked up the filmy objects Sethos had supplied. - Amelia Peabody

## Ramses Being Catastrophically Precocious

“How could he do this? He left no message, no letter?”

“Oh yes,” Donald said. “He left a letter.”

“Then why have you not gone after him?” Emerson cried, snatching the grimy paper Donald held out.

“Because,” said Donald, “the letter is written in hieroglyphic.”

And indeed it was. I stood on tiptoe and read over Emerson’s shoulder. Ramses’ hieroglyphic had was extremely elegant, in striking contrast to his English handwriting, which was practically illegible. I doubted, however, that it was for that reason he had chosen to employ the former language.

“Mazghunah,” Emerson exclaimed. “He has gone to Mazghunah! For the purpose of speaking with the wah-priest. . . .’ That is a rather unorthodox use of the present participle, I must say.”

## Foreshadowing

### Manuscript H

“I observe with concern, Ramses, that you seem to be developing a literary, not to say poetic, turn of phrase. Writing verses and keeping a journal are excellent methods of expurgating these tendencies. Incorporating them into a explanatory narrative is not.”

“Ah,” said Ramses thoughtfully.

#### Whiskey and Soda

“But it is very useful,” said Ramses, holding out a glass as Emerson poured the whiskey. He lives in hopes that his father would absent-mindedly fill it and that I would absent-mindedly fail to see him drink. The chance of both those failings occurring on the same day were slim to the point of being nonexistent, but as Ramses had once explained to me, it cost nothing to make the attempt.

### Maybe for Falcon at the Portal?

Your intentions do you credit, my boy, but take Papa’s word for it: Young ladies in a state of great distress are best left alone, except, by the persons who occasioned said distress. - Radcliffe Emerson

## King Tut

“Perhaps you ought to consider working for Mr. Vandergelt, Howard,” I suggested. “He is a generous patron.”

“He did approach me,” Carter admitted. “But I don’t know that I would like to work for a wealthy dilettante, however keen his interest in Egyptology. These fellows only want to find treasure and lost tombs.”

## References

1. ↑ “Amelia Peabody Books”. barbaramertz.org. May 1, 2023.