Chapter 18 Summary

Holding that fateful letter in her hand, Amal imagines Sharif at her current age: Tall, vigorous, dominating a room. She is half in love with her late great-uncle, about whom she has heard her father's stories, examined published accounts, and read his writings. In Layla's account, Amal pictures 'Omar; in Anna's telling, she sees an enigmatic, romantic hero. Amal's task is to weave the strands together to form a portrait of what he must have been.

Like his friend Sheikh Muhammad 'Abdu, Sharif has spent a lifetime holding himself in check, acquiring wisdom and diplomacy. They had dared much in the cause of Egyptian freedom, and seen comrades die on the battlefield and scaffold, and be exiled. They have learned caution and calculation. Seven weeks later, in the garden of St. Catherine's, Sharif is taken by surprise by Anna and cannot shake her...