'I didn't hand it to them,' Mek corrected him. 'It was paid into the
state coffers, where I can keep an eye on what eventually happens to
it.'
'Still, fifteen mill is a lot of bread,' Nicholas sighed.
'Try as I might, I cannot approve of such extravagance, but I must admit
-Lat I do approve of your choice of running mate in your bid for the
Presidency in the coming elections.'
They both looked at Tessay's slim back and bush of springing black curls
as she strode along ahead of them on shapely brown legs under the white
skirt.
'I may not approve of you as Minister of Defence, but I can see that she
makes a very charming Minister of Culture and Tourism in the interim
government.'
'She will make an even more impressive Vice-President when we win next
August,' Mek predicted easily, and at that moment Royan looked back over
her shoulder at them.
'We'll cross the road here,' she called. Nicholas had been so engrossed
that he had not realized they had come up opposite to the new annexe to
the Luxor Museum of Antiquities. The two women waited for them to catch
up and then they separated and each of them took the arm of her own
husband.
As they crossed the wide boulevard, threading their way between the slow
clip-clopping horse-drawn gharries, Nicholas leaned down and brushed her
cheek with his lips. 'You are really quite delectable, Lady Quenton
Harper.'
'You make me blush, Sir Nicky,' she giggled. 'You know that I am still
not used to being called that.'
They reached the other side of the thoroughfare and paused before the
entrance to the museum annexe. The sloping roof was supported by tall
hypostyle columns, miniature copies of those at the temple of Karnak.
The walls were made of massive blocks of yellow sandstone, and the lines
of the building were clean and simple. It was very impressive.
Royan led them to the entrance doors of the museum, which was not yet
open to the public. The President was flying up on Monday for the
official opening, and Mek and Tessay were to be the official
representatives of the Ethiopian government at the opening ceremony. The
guards at the door saluted Royan respectfully and hurried to open the
heavy brass-bound doors to let them pass.
The interior was hushed and cool, the air conditioning arefully
regulated to preserve the ancient exhibits.
The display cases were built into the sandstone walls, and the lighting
was subtle and artful. it showed off the wondrous treasures of the
Mamose funerary hoard to full advantage. The exhibits, arranged in
ascending order of beauty and archaeological importance, sparkled and
glowed in their nests of blue satin, the royal blue of the Pharaoh
Mamose.
The four visitors were quiet and reverential as they passed, their
voices soft and subdued as they asked questions of Royan. Wonder and
amazement held them enthralled. They paused at the entrance of the final
