by Lara Temple
He reached for it, but not before she read the words aloud.
‘“One vessel for all you gave and one vessel for all I could not give. To carry that part of my soul that will always be yours in friendship and gratitude. Tessa...”’
Her voice faded on the name and she let go and it rolled back into shape. Very carefully she put them back inside and held the vase out to him. He shook his head.
‘Keep it. I gave it to you.’
‘But I cannot. This meant something to her. To him. The other two notes might refer to his search for the anonymous author, but not this last note. And not the vase—it was obviously something precious to him if he sent its twin to Egypt with Mallory. It belongs to your family. Please take it.’
Once again he closed her hands around it and this time it was worse. The temptation to go down on his knees right there and beg was so powerful it choked him.
But his mother’s words stung hard. Friendship and gratitude. He’d gained those from Ellie, he knew that. But he wanted more. A life’s worth more than that. And it terrified him that like his mother’s unsettling message to Huxley, this might be all the woman he loved could give him. He would not risk what he held, not until he was certain...
‘I want you to keep it with you for now, Ellie. You are an inseparable part of this.’
Chapter Seventeen
‘I promised you that if we made it to Egypt, I would take you to the pyramids, Miss Ellie Walsh, and I am a man of my word. Mostly. So? What do you think of them?’
Ellie heard Chase’s question, but could not answer. It was a good thing the small mare she was mounted on was of a slothful disposition, because had the horse decided to bolt she probably would have fallen off in her stupefaction.
None of the illustrations or the descriptions in Huxley’s notebooks or the Desert Boy books truly prepared her for Egypt.
They’d left Portsmouth under a sodden blanket of fog and now the world looked like it had never met a cloud, let alone a drop of rain. It was barely past dawn, the sun not yet more than a sulking smear on the far side of the Nile, half-hidden by a row of date palms, but it was already pleasantly warm and the sandy plain between them and the horizon looked as hard and inhospitable as Lady Ermintrude’s dining room.
And then there were the pyramids.
They made no sense whatsoever.
In illustrations they looked impressive, but it had never occurred to her to question how they were possible any more than she would question a cathedral or a castle.
But now that they stood before her she realised they were impossible.
In fact, almost everything in the past weeks felt impossible.
‘I think I might be dreaming.’
She hadn’t meant to say the words aloud, but Chase laughed and Sam turned in her saddle and smiled as well, the first unforced, purely joyous smile she had seen on the woman’s face since they boarded the Seahawk. And as if something inside Ellie had been waiting for it, a knot inside her unravelled with an almost audible sigh.
‘Is it a good dream at least?’ Chase asked.
‘The very, very, very best. At the moment I feel capable of living up to your Madame Ambrosia occultist fantasy and leading us all to a fabled treasure.’
‘Lead on, Madame Ambrosia. Just don’t expect me to do the digging. After that voyage I need a rest cure and so do you.’
‘This is better than any rest cure. Perhaps I have the fever, too, because from the moment we disembarked nothing feels quite real and the pyramids look taller than anything on earth.’
‘They are.’ Chase answered. ‘Napoleon said he calculated there are enough stones in that big one to build a wall nine feet high and three feet thick around all of France.’
‘That is a great many stones.’ She gaped. ‘But how do you know what Napoleon said?’
‘What a suspicious mind you have, sweetheart. Since he made that comment some two decades ago I assure you I wasn’t a fly on that wall.’
The endearment, casual though it was, sent her heart thumping and a flush wholly unrelated to the rising sun spilled heat through her body, making her feel like a parched plant under a long-delayed rainfall.
But beyond that was the reminder of the other Chase, who dealt with secrets and quests. The one who just yesterday introduced her to his brother and his wife with cool respect as if she was precisely what her role purported—a favoured connection of Henry’s and now companion to Sam. This Chase was here to help his sister and satisfy Huxley’s wishes, not to fulfil her own unrealistic fantasies, and she had best remember that.
‘I quite thought the moment we disembarked you would go directly to find Mallory and Huxley’s box.’
She felt him measuring his answer as he patted his mare’s perspiring neck.
‘I wouldn’t dare open the box without you after all your efforts; no doubt Madame Ambrosia would cast a curse upon me at the mere thought. But I could hardly renege on my promise to show you the pyramids and today we are invited to attend a ball at Jasperot’s. I doubt another day or so will make a difference. Tomorrow we leave for Qetara and hopefully we shall find the box safely awaiting our arrival.’
‘Did you tell your brother everything when we arrived yesterday?’
‘Everything?’ The corner of his mouth twitched.
‘About the letter and the notebooks and...the rest.’
‘The rest being your little sham with Henry?’
‘Yes.’ She flushed.
‘Yes.’
‘Oh. He was very nice to me, though.’
‘Of course he was. We Sinclairs know full well not to condemn others for not being completely straightforward with the world. I also told him how grateful we are to you for helping Sam during the voyage. Had you not been there I honestly don’t know if I would have found the fortitude not to disembark at the first port and board the first ship back to England.’
‘Poor Sam, I was tempted to suggest returning to England myself, I felt so very guilty.’
‘Why guilty?’
‘I was hoping so hard she would not ask to return because I did not wish to return. It was selfish of me.’
There, it was out. She hunched her shoulders, waiting for his condemnation.
‘Good. About time you were selfish. And though I don’t want to tempt the fates, this is the first time in years I’ve seen her look a little like her old self. So perhaps our selfishness will yet bear unselfish fruit.’
‘You weren’t being selfish.’
‘Wasn’t I?’
‘No. Had you been selfish you would have left her safely in England and me to my fate and come to find the package on your own, so please stop trying to convince me you are something you are not.’
‘Far be it from me to convince you I’m not something I am.’
She sighed.
‘I see now we are safe on dry land you have donned your rogue’s façade once more.’
‘No, my dear, now that you are under the aegis of Lady Samantha Sinclair and not mine I no longer must be on my best behaviour.’
His eyes were narrowed against the glare and Ellie could read nothing but the usual light-hearted humour in the curve of his mouth. Then the moment was gone as Sam slowed her horse to join them.
‘The pyramids are amazing, aren’t they?’ she said with more warmth in her voice than Ellie had heard during the whole voyage. ‘I hadn’t quite remembered how enormous they are. How on earth did we make it to the top, Chase?’
‘Edge and I only made it to the top because you climbed up and were too scared to come down alone,’ he replied and Ellie wondered if Sam heard the strain under his teasing, but Sam laughed, her eyes more blue than grey.
‘I was not! I was merely tired and resting... Oh, very well, I was a little frightened. It seemed so unbearably high and I was thirsty and...’
‘And as you said at the time it was all Edge’s fault for telling you not to climb it in the first place.’
Sam’s smile dimmed.
‘Yes. I often blamed him for my mistakes, didn’t I? I was quite a trial for all of you.’
‘No, you weren’t,’ Chase said hurriedly, but Sam merely shrugged and nudged her horse forward again.
‘Blast,’ Chase muttered, a frown sharpening the already hard-cut line of his profile as he watched his sister.
‘Give her time, Chase.’
She wasn’t prepared for the swift return of his gaze to hers and her hands tightened on her reins in shock at the searing heat in his gaze. But then he looked away and for a moment neither spoke as their horses continued to pick their way over the rough ground. They had left the rows of palms and the fields behind and now there was only rock and sand before them with the pyramids rising starkly against the pale blue sky. A trickle of perspiration ran down her back and she shifted, wishing she could wear the colourful cotton robes Hamid and Youssef wore.
‘Oh, look! Is that the Sphinx?’ she gasped. It said much for how overwhelmed she was by the majesty of the pyramids and the jumble of her own emotions that she only now saw the imposing statue. The only excuse for her oversight was that the stone was the same colour as the pyramids and half-sunk in the undulating sand.
‘Can we go see it?’ she asked and his mouth quirked and she could almost see him visibly unravelling his tension.
‘Later. Hamid wants us in and out of the pyramid before someone decides we can’t.’
‘Why would they?’
‘Because though Muhammad Ali is uncontested ruler, there are endless squabbles about who is in charge of the antiquities. Every time you want to look at a stone you have to secure a firman and pay at least a dozen officials from the local Shaykh to the regional Kashif and up to whoever is in the Viceroy’s favour at the moment. It’s a business and as confusing as hell. Jasperot arranged this visit, but Hamid wants us in and out before someone pulls their weight and says we cannot. You may thank Jasperot nicely at the ball this evening.’
‘But I cannot go to a ball,’ Ellie said, appalled.
‘Why not? Do they throw you out in a rash?’
‘They wouldn’t take me in long enough to throw me out. I haven’t anything suitable to wear.’
‘We shall find something suitable, don’t worry.’
‘But...’
‘You may argue with me later. For now, your only task it to enjoy yourself.’
Her horse drew to a halt and she realised with some surprise they had reached the base of the largest pyramid. She leaned back to take in the full measure of the structure, still shocked by its immensity, but now she could see that it wasn’t smooth at it appeared from a distance. The large warm-coloured stones created an uneven surface though at the very top there were remains of a paving that she imagined had once covered the whole of the structure.
‘How on earth did Sam climb—?’ She broke off with a squawk as Chase grasped her waist, lowering her to the pebbled ground. There was nothing truly improper about helping a woman down from her mount, but when her feet touched the ground his hands softened on her waist, but did not let go. She looked up and was speared on the steel grey of his narrowed eyes, the half-smile that parted his lips jolting her with memories of the kisses that plagued her dreams.
It was the first time he’d touched anything but her arm since England and the storm of heat whipping up inside her had nothing to do with the desert sun. It was lucky her hands were still clinging to the reins because it was the tug of leather and her mare’s snort that stopped her hands midway to his chest.
‘So, you’re glad you agreed to come to Egypt?’ His voice was a rasp of velvet on her skin and the hair on her nape rose, her nerve ends stuttering with excited need.
‘I still think I must have been mad, but I am so happy,’ she admitted, unable to keep her joy out of her voice. She saw his chest rise and fall, his eyes skate over her face and rest on her mouth, and her lips felt parched and salty and practically begging to be licked. Her tongue pressed against her teeth as her own gaze settled on his mouth. She was not lost enough to think he might kiss her there, in full view of everyone, but it felt as though he had to. He could not prevent this from happening again.
Finally.
She must have lost a moment in time because his hands were no longer holding her and instead of kissing her Chase was handing their reins to the guide. She stood where she was, her heart thudding so powerfully she felt it could reduce the ageless structure that loomed over them to a tumble of stones. Then she heard Sam call her name and she moved.
* * *
Chase handed the reins to Youssef and watched as Ellie joined Sam and Lady Sinclair where Hamid was explaining about the pyramid. He wasn’t surprised Olivia and Ellie took to each other so well and so swiftly. Olivia might be an heiress, but her life had been anything but simple and her mind was as sharp as Ellie’s. Seeing the three women together, he was more than ever convinced he had been right to bring Ellie to Egypt.
Even if it meant remaining in a constant state of frustration.
He’d been smarter than he thought, erecting a wall between them during the voyage because clearly he had absolutely no self-control around her. A few smiles and a little warmth in her voice and he was ready to go down on his knees in the sand and beg.
And ready to bend the rules. Holding her like that, even with the bulk of his horse shielding them from their view, was an invitation for disaster, but at that moment he hadn’t cared. Heat—animal, undeniable, possessive—overtook all else. It was still lashing about in him, like waves in a storm caught between the rocks.
He wanted to taste that pleasure on her curving lips, to lick the salty perspiration instead of her wiping it from her cheek. To taste her. Everywhere. Hell, after a month being on the same ship with her, but acting as if they were mere acquaintances, he was starving. It was like crossing the desert with a sealed bottle of water and knowing he was dying, but could not drink a drop.
All he wanted was a drop.
The tiniest brush of her mouth over his...
Liar.
You want to empty that bottle and lick the...
‘Coming, Chase?’ Lucas prompted and Chase scuffed his boot on the pebbled ground.
He was bursting to come, blast the woman. Another four weeks of this and he would need medical attention.
‘Hamid says he has checked the passages and they are clear up to the main shaft. I could do without another visit inside, but Sam is determined to see it again and Olivia is curious so I will have to resign myself to squeezing through that spine-cracking passage,’ Lucas said as Chase joined the group at the base of the stones, his careful avoidance of looking at Chase telling in itself.
‘Do you think Miss Walsh would like to enter or would you two prefer to continue your...discussion out here?’
‘I hope you crack your head on one of the granite blocks in there, Lucas.’
Lucas grinned.
‘Just getting a little of my own back, little Brother. You were more than a little smug when Olivia was putting me through hell. Ah, I see Sam convinced Miss Walsh. What a pity for you.’
Chase didn’t answer. There was no point. All his protestations—to himself and to Lucas—had foundered the instant his hands closed on Ellie’s waist. The sheer joy he felt at seeing her so...alive, so full of pleasure and excitement and knowing that he had given her this moment. He wanted to give her so much more—he wanted to give her the life she deserved.
And that was the problem.
He was still no nearer being certain he had a role in the life she deserved.
‘I like her. So does Olivia, which is impressive, she is usually quite wary of new people.’ Lucas’s black eyes were narrowed against the rising sun, giving nothing away, but
Chase knew him too well to try to avoid this conversation.
‘You needn’t warn me to behave, Lucas. I have no intention of doing Miss Walsh any harm.’
‘I know that. At the moment I am more concerned with your welfare than hers.’
Chase looked away and Lucas whistled.
‘I’m surprised the Sphinx hasn’t picked up its skirts and run off the way you’re glaring at it, Chase.’
Chase directed his glare at his brother.
‘It was a long voyage, that is all. There were times when I seriously considered forcing the captain to take us to the nearest port and boarding the first ship back to England. I didn’t know if Sam was truly ill or... Ellie said it might be that everything Sam had held inside was finally forcing its way through. I only know those first two weeks are a hellish blur.’
‘I am glad you weren’t alone with her, then. I feel guilty that all along I was in Venice with Olivia being thoroughly self-indulgent.’
‘Nonsense. You two deserved your time together. We made it safely and Sam looks...almost like Sam.’
‘She sounds more like herself, too. You, however...’
‘Oh, go sit on an obelisk, Lucas.’
* * *
Hamid led the way up the uneven blocks to the passage leading into the heart of the pyramid. The last time they were here was over a decade ago with Huxley, Poppy, Edge and a few others and Chase could already see the difference—it was now a site for curious travellers, not merely scholars, officials and hopeful plunderers. There were signs of many people moving around the flattened earth and the mounds of shifting sands that covered the lower parts of the pyramids were partially cleared away so they could be approached without climbing.
Ellie didn’t need his help, but Chase still placed himself behind her as she followed Sam inside. Immediately the temperature dropped and the cadence of the desert emptiness was replaced with the echoing, almost underwater sensation of the narrow tunnels.