“The adjoining pieces will match precisely,” offered Thomas. “By that you will know they are genuine.”
Wilhelmina carefully re-rolled the human parchment and passed it to Thomas, who returned it to its cover. The four had then returned to the wadi camp, where Khefri had organised a special dinner of roast goat to celebrate the successful completion of the dig. They had eaten and talked late into the night, and now, as the sun was rising in the east, it was time to depart.
Wilhelmina started down the avenue towards the spot where Giles was waiting. Kit lifted a hand and called, “Farewell!”
“Go with God, my friends,” shouted Thomas, waving them away. “Grace and peace attend you.”
But his words were lost in the shriek of the wind that suddenly gusted along the ancient pavement. The world grew hazy in a mixture of dust and grit… and the next thing Kit knew, a fierce rain was beating on his face. His clothing whipped about his limbs in a gale-force wind that, unlike his other experiences, did not summarily die away upon their arrival.
“I think we’ve landed in the middle of a hurricane!” he shouted, trying to be heard above the crash and roar.
“What?” came Wilhelmina’s voice from a distance that sounded like miles, but must have been only a few feet away.
“This storm,” he cried. “We’re in the thick of it.”
“It’s always storming here,” she shouted, emerging out of the lashing wind. “It never stops.”
“Never?”
“Not ever.” She pressed her wet face closer. “Not that I know.”
“You’ve been here before?”
“Lots of times.”
He felt her hand grip his arm.
“This way. Stay with me.” She turned her head and shouted over her shoulder. “Giles! Are you with us?”
“Here, my lady,” came the reply from somewhere close behind.
“Take hold of my hand. I’m going to count to three, and we run straight ahead. Ready? Here we go… one… two… three.. . Go!”
Kit did as instructed, sprinting blindly into the teeth of the storm. For an instant it felt as if his flesh would be ripped from his bones, and then… darkness and silence. He was tumbling through an emptiness, through an airless void so absolute he thought he was suffocating. He gagged, but could not draw oxygen into his lungs.
He felt a sharp sting on his cheek.
“Breathe, Kit!”
He opened his eyes to see Wilhelmina standing before him with her hand poised to strike again. “Hah!” he gasped, staggering backwards. “Stop that! I’m okay.”
Mina turned to Giles, who was kneeling on a broad, leaf-strewn path a few paces away. “You okay?” Upon receiving his grunted reply, she said, “Sorry, guys. That one was the worst-but it saved us four more jumps and maybe two days of overland travel.”
“Anything for the cause,” said Kit, woozily shaking water from his clothes. “I’m soaked to the skin.”
“You’ll dry.” Wilhelmina started away. “Have you still got the map?”
Kit patted his stomach, where the bundle resided under his shirt. He nodded.
“Good.” She started away. “You’ll feel better once we’re moving again. It’s best to walk it off. Come on.”
“Where are we?” Kit glanced around. They seemed to be standing in a lightly wooded countryside; the air was cool and redolent of fallen leaves. He could hear insects buzzing in the branches of the nearby trees.
“We’re about three miles north of Prague,” she said, stepping off the path. “There’s a road a little farther along. It runs beside the river. It’ll take us into the city. If we’re lucky, we might be able to hitchhike the rest of the way.”
“ When are we?” Kit asked.
“Well, we’re somewhere in the autumn of 1607 during the reign of Emperor Rudolf. If we hit it right, we’re in early September.” She started towards a bayberry bush growing beside the path. “Or possibly August.”
“And we’ve come here why?” wondered Kit.
“I live here,” she said. “We need a good safe place to lay up for a few days to study the map and figure out what to do next. Wait here,” she said, stepping behind the bush. “I have to change.”
“You stashed a change of clothes?” said Kit. “Nice.”
“I dare not be seen dressed like this in the city. Too many people know me.”
Kit looked down at himself. “What about Giles and me?”
“Giles is fine the way he is,” came the reply from behind the bush. “As for you, take off that dumb turban and wrap it around your waist. Tie it like a sash; it will help disguise your flouncy shirt.”
“Flouncy shirt,” muttered Kit. “It’s a jalabiya, I’ll have you know.”
“I’m sure it is. With a sash, people will just think it’s a labourer’s smock. They wear those around here.”
Kit obeyed as instructed, much to the amusement of the watching Giles. “Where did you go, you and Giles, when we left the wadi the first time? While I was helping Thomas dig up the tomb, where were you?”
“In Edinburgh,” came the reply from the bushes. “Dr. Young was there. I went to convince him to help you excavate the tomb.”
“But that’s-How can that be? He was in Egypt with me… wasn’t he?”
“Not yet,” said Wilhelmina. “I should have thought that would be obvious.”
“Not to me. Explain.”
“It simple. Time, as we know, operates independently in different frames of reference.”
“As we know,” Kit agreed.
“So I simply had to reach him before he left for Egypt on his expedition.”
“But that would mean I was already with him, digging up the treasure before you even asked him,” Kit pointed out.
“Right,” said Wilhelmina. “Neat, eh?” She stepped out from behind the bush, wholly transformed. Gone was the girl in the camouflage jumpsuit and sky-blue scarf and desert boots; in her place stood a winsome lass in a long skirt, white blouse with puffy sleeves, and multicoloured shawl. She carried a cloth bag, which she handed to Kit.
“This way, chaps,” she said, and soon they were moving through the long grass and down a gently sloping hillside.
Kit could see the gleam of a river at the bottom of the incline and, sure enough, a road.
“If we don’t dillydally, we can have dinner tonight at one of the best restaurants in the city.”
Kit stopped walking and stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time. “Gosh, Mina. You are amazing. How do you know so much about all this?”
“Practice,” she said. “Lots and lots of practice. And mistakes.”
CHAPTER 24
The end, when it came, was swift and unexpected. Lord Gower had complained in the evening of feeling unwell. He had taken tea and a bit of dry toast and retired to his rooms. By morning he was no better, so a doctor was summoned to attend him. That same afternoon, in a feverish sweat and complaining of headache, he had lapsed into a fitful sleep from which he was not to be roused. Archie was with him when he died two days later; standing by the earl’s bed, he marked the toll of the nine o’clock bell from the tower of St. Mary’s Argent Square as his benefactor’s spirit fled its mortal confines. Archie bent his head and shed a private tear for the man who had been his teacher, friend, and, so far as Archie was concerned, the only father he had ever known.
The next day was spent in the offices of Beachcroft and Lechward, Lord Gower’s solicitors, who arranged for the funeral and burial according to the earl’s will and special instructions. The funeral was held seven days later at
