'Steady on, dear girl. That's four questions in one, and I don't have an
answer to any of them.'
'Guess!' she invited him. 'Speculate! Throw some ideas around!'
'Very well,' he agreed. 'The seal was manufactured in Hong Kong. There
is a little factory there that turns them out by the thousands. Jali
Hora bought it from a souvenir store in Luxor when he was on holiday in
Egypt last month.'
She punched his arm, hard. 'Be serious,' she ordered.
can do better,' he invited her, rubbing
'Let's hear if yo his arm.
'Okay, here I go. Taita dropped the seal here in the gorge while he was
working on the construction of Pharaoh's tomb. Three thousand years
later an old monk, one of the very first to live here at the monastery,
picked it up. Of course, he could not read the hieroglyphics. He -took
it to the abbot, who declared it to be a relic of St. Frumentius, and
had it set in the crown.'
'And they all lived happily ever after,' Nicholas agreed.
'Not a bad shot.'
ny holes?' she demanded, and he shook Can you find a head. 'Then you
agree that this proves that Taita really his was here, and that it
proves our theories are correct?' -Proves' is too strong a word. Let's
just say that it points in that direction,' he demurred.
She wriggled around on the bed to face him squarely.
'Oh, Nicky, I am so excited. I swear I will not be able to sleep a wink
tonight. I just can't wait for tomorrow, to get out there and start
searching again.'
Her eyes were bright, and her cheeks flushed a warm rosy brown. Her lips
were parted, and he could see the pink tip of her tongue between them.
This time he could not stop himself. He leaned very slowly towards her,
treating her gently, giving her every opportunity to pull away if she
wished to avoid him. She did not move, but her shining expression turned
slowly to one of apprehension. She stared into his eyes, as if seeking
something, some reassurance.
When their lips were an inch apart, Nicholas stopped, and it was she who
made the last movement. She brought their mouths together.
At first it was soft, just a light mingling of their breath, and then it
became harsher, more urgent. For a long, heartstopping moment they
devoured each other, and her mouth tasted soft and sweet as ripe fruit.
Then suddenly she whimpered, and with a huge effort of will tore herself
out of his arms. They stared at each other, both of them shaken and
confused.
'No,' she whispered. 'Please, Nicky, not yet. I am not ready yet.'
He picked up her hand and turned it between his palms. Then lightly he
kissed the tips of her fingers, savouring the smell and the taste of her
skin.
'I'll see you in the morning.' He dropped her hand and stood up. 'Early.
Be ready!the said, and stooped out through the doorway of the hut.
was dressing the next morning he heard her moving a round in her hut,
and when he whistled softly at her door she stepped out to meet him,
dressed and eager to start.
