forgive me?’
He laughed. ‘Nothing like the cow I had to deal with today, thank God!’ He kissed the top of her head gently. ‘I even forgave her in the end! Of course I forgive you. I always do, my darling.’
‘It’s more than I deserve.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I have learned a few home truths about myself today. In- depth analysis, you might say.’
‘From Morgan?’ He looked incredulous.
‘From those!’ She waved her hands at the truncated coat hangers.
‘And what were these truths? Am I allowed to know?’ He was staring at the coat hangers with a puzzled frown on his face, clearly not recognising the route they had marked into his wife’s – and his own – subconscious.
‘In a nutshell?’ She paused dreamily. ‘I love you. I’m sorry I accused you of being a cheat because I know you’re not, and -’ she hesitated, suddenly afraid to say it out loud.
‘And?’ Colin stared down at her, his face so clearly registering hope, anxiety, fear, concern, that she reached up and put her fingers against his mouth as though to still his frightened speculation. ‘And – I want to have a baby.’
He stared at her. ‘Just like that? After all we’ve been through, suddenly, you’ve changed your mind?’
‘Just like that. And I want Morgan to be its godfather.’
Colin’s mouth dropped open. ‘Isn’t that being a bit premature?’
She shook her head. ‘No. Just well organised. I’m going to be very organised in future.’
‘You’re going to have to be.’ He scanned her face tentatively. ‘You know your dream job – the one you wanted so much? Well, it’s yours if you want it. At the practice. ‘Eve has left. I know once or twice you’ve come into the surgery and caught us together and I could see you wondering about us!’ He gave a hoot of laughter. ‘She was actually telling me confidentially how much better my predecessor was at everything. I got so sick of it! I think we can safely say we loathed each other by the end. I couldn’t stand the woman. And it was clearly mutual. When I went back to the surgery just now I found she had left us a note that she’s gone. No notice. No warning. I rang Bill before I came home and he agreed: the job is yours if you want it. It’s a good job. You’d be perfect.’
‘And if I was pregnant?’
‘If you didn’t mind, we certainly wouldn’t. There’s plenty of cover with the part-timers. And later, you can stick the baby in the back office.’ He was watching her anxiously. ‘You’d even be in the right place for emergency deliveries. We had a beautiful calf this morning. A heifer!’
She laughed out loud.
‘Any other godparents lined up?’
She shook her head. She did have an idea, that was true, but she wasn’t sure yet whether Hattie would qualify.
Putting her arms round Colin’s neck she hugged him. This time, when she heard children’s laughter, she was almost sure it came from their own garden.
Lost in the Temple
The first day of the cruise began so normally. The River Nile was bustling with boats of every size and shape. Palm trees stood sentinel on the far bank and a graceful minaret rose against the vivid blue sky. Emma glanced at Gill as they collected cereal and fruit from the serving table. ‘I can’t believe we’re really here!’
Gill grinned. Tall, blonde and tanned from the sun-bed, she had been noticed at once. The night before, at their first meal on-board, Emma, glancing round, had caught appraising looks cast in their direction by some of the men, not least the tour guide who, after doing the rounds of the tables, had finally settled in an empty chair next to them and introduced himself. His name was Mahmoud and, having established that they were without male escorts and so presumably potentially available, he hadn’t taken his eyes off Gill.
Emma sighed. She was used to this. Small in stature, shy, her dark hair cut to a shoulder-length bob, she had years ago resigned herself to being outshone by her friend. Strangely, in the end, Emma was the one who had married – even if it hadn’t lasted. And after all, it didn’t matter here. They hadn’t come to Egypt to meet new men. They had come to see the antiquities. Or she had.
Climbing onto the bus which was to take them from the boat through the teeming, noisy streets to the Temple of Karnak, she found herself sitting alone. Scanning the crowded seats in front of her she spotted Gill’s blonde head. She had taken a place near the front. Next to Mahmoud. Actually, Emma was quite pleased. She didn’t want to talk. She wanted just to look.
With a hiss of compressed air, the bus doors closed and it set off, lurching up the track from the river bank towards the road. On either side, mud-brick houses, adorned with brightly coloured rugs and blankets airing in the sunshine, alternated with groves of palm trees and exotic plantations. As the bus swung out to pass an old man perched perilously on the rump of a small donkey, Mahmoud stood up, holding on to a seat-back to keep his balance. Emma saw him glance down at Gill and wink as he launched into his running commentary. With a resigned smile, she sat back and turned towards the window. This was going to be the most wonderful holiday of her life and she was not going to allow anything to spoil it.
By the time they had disembarked and crossed the dusty car park to enter the Temple, Gill was once more at her side. Mahmoud was too busy, buying tickets and passes, ushering his charges through the gates and describing the avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, to pay her any attention. Emma smiled as she reached for her camera. ‘It looks as though you’ve made a conquest.’
Gill shrugged. ‘Isn’t he gorgeous?’
Emma was just standing there, staring at the statue of Rameses in front of them and nodded dreamily.
There was a peal of laughter from her companion. ‘Not that thing! I mean Mahmoud.’
Emma raised an eyebrow. ‘Each to his own. It’s the Pharaoh I fancy!’
Almost deliberately she found herself dropping further and further behind as Gill hung on Mahmoud’s every word.
The heat was unbearable. The sun beat down on hats and dark glasses, reflecting from every stone surface. Huge stone columns rose around her, casting black heavy shadows between ribs of vicious sunlight. Emma stared up at a distant lotus-shaped capital which had once, presumably, supported a roof. A group of Italian visitors passed her and for a moment she was engulfed in noise and laughter, then they disappeared towards the next gateway. Wistfully she watched them leave. Now they had gone, she was surrounded by silence. Even the cheeping of the sparrows had stopped. There was no one else in sight. She shivered. But not because there had been any relief from the heat. On the contrary, it was hotter than ever.
She stepped out of the shade and stared around, trying to orient herself. Suddenly she wanted to be back with Gill and Mahmoud and the other members of the tour. The Temple was teeming with visitors; she hadn’t strayed into some area that was closed. Only a moment or so ago, a tall, lithe Italian man clad from head to foot in Gucci had glanced back at her with a smile and lifted a hand with a soft
She hitched her thumb determinedly into the strap of the day-sack on her back and walked straight down the avenue ahead of her.
It was so hot, it was hard to breathe, the air around her seemed almost solid. She stopped and stared around again. Although she had been walking for two or three minutes, she didn’t seem to have moved. By some strange optical illusion, the same vista of columns appeared to stretch endlessly ahead and behind and to the left and right, but now, suddenly, there was more shade. She glanced up. She had, without noticing it, walked into an area that was still roofed. Here, the sand of the floor had been brushed aside to reveal smooth paving stones and it was cooler at last.
There was a movement in the distance. Emma’s heart leaped. ‘Hello?’ Her voice sounded muted, strange. It hardly seemed to penetrate the vast shadows around her, but at that moment a young woman appeared, running towards her through the columns. She was wearing a long, white dress with a veil looped around her shoulders and neck and over her hair.
Emma smiled and raised a hand in greeting, then the smile froze on her lips. The woman stopped, glancing
