Page 10

Riding a Ship of the Desert

T wo hours later, across the river in Giza

Despite having awakened early that morning so he could spend time in the nearby gold shop he had spotted on their way to the riad , Tom’s perusal of the jewelry had to be cut short when their party was ready to leave for their excursion to the pyramids.

Having pared his choices down to a gold ring with a lapis lazuli stone or a silver pendant with a ruby, he opted for the ring and paid the shopkeeper. He didn’t bother trying to haggle, which seemed to bother the shopkeeper.

It bothered David even more, but they had run out of time. “You have someone in mind for that?” he asked, motioning to the ring.

Tom shrugged. “Maybe,” he replied, knowing his lack of a definitive answer would drive his cousin to distraction.

In reality, the sight of someone he hadn’t seen since the Morganfield ball had him remembering what it had been like to kiss her. What it had been like to hold her in his arms. Of what it felt like every time he saw her in his mind’s eye.

Lady Helen Tennison was in Cairo. Staying at the same riad as they were. And when he had spotted her the night before, she looked as glorious as he remembered her. With any luck, they might find a private garden in which they could reenact their kiss.

He tucked the ring into his waistcoat pocket and joined his aunt and uncle for the trip to the edge of the desert.

From his precarious perch atop a camel, Tom now watched his younger cousin as David seemed to be engaged in a staring match with the beast to which the cameleer had assigned him.

His knees tucked beneath his bulky body in the reddish sand, the camel gazed at David, its long-lashed eyes wide and—dare Tom hope?—full of mischief.

When David leaned to the left, the camel’s neck waved to his right, mirroring David’s movement. When he leaned to the right, the camel followed suit.

“If you’re trying to hypnotize him, it’s not going to work,” Tom called down to his cousin. “Besides, you don’t want him half-asleep or he’ll dump you on your bum.”

David gave him a quelling glance. Only the day before, their dragoman had explained the concept of hypnotism, saying the unfamiliar word as a means to explain the concept of ‘temple sleep’ employed by the ancient Egyptians.

The practice involved traveling to a temple to sleep in a darkened chamber and then await a dream that would reveal a curefor whatever ailed them.

“I’m merely introducing myself,” David replied, moving to the side of the camel. Gripping the T-shaped handle, he threw one leg over the strange saddle, and when the cameleer motioned for him to lie back, he did so.

He had already paid witness to the others having the done the same as a means to stay on their camels, for when the beast’s back legs unfolded, its back end rose while the front remained on the ground.

Then there was that moment of sudden adjustment before the front legs unfolded and the camel was finally on all fours—and not always happy about having a rider.

At least Aunt Barbara had been able to mount hers without incident, the sidesaddle an odd contraption that provided two seats instead of only one. Once her beast was on fours, she was able to arrange her skirts over the other seat.

Although Diana had opted to wear breeches and boots, she was happy to accept a camel with a sidesaddle. She grinned in delight as she watched her husband fuss over her mount. “Don’t delay the inevitable, darling,” she warned, nodding to where the cameleer held the reins of his mount.

Randy sighed. “You’re sure you’re all right?”

“I am fine,” she replied, tightening the straps of her straw hat beneath her chin lest the slight breeze send it flying.

“I’m a bit jealous you’re riding him.”

She inhaled softly, her grin replaced with an expression of surprise.

“If it’s any consolation, I’m not taking him to bed,” she whispered.

“Besides, there’s only one stud I have any intention of riding, and I as I recall, he bucked me off this morning.

” Her eyebrow arched in a tease, and Randy knew his face reddened with embarrassment.

“If it’s any consolation, I rather enjoyed the ride,” he countered. “But then I always do.”

She lifted a hand to her lips, pretended to kiss her palm, and blew it in his direction.

He pretended the kiss had been real but said, “When you go into the pyramid, could you let David go ahead of you?”

She furrowed her brows. “Why?”

“Because if he’s behind you, I fear he’ll grow to appreciate a particularly shapely bum.”

Diana tittered. “Oh, all right. He can lead,” she agreed. “But I’m giving him the directions.”

Randy nodded his appreciation.

Only the hour before, he had spoken with David about joining Diana for her expedition into the largest pyramid.

They had returned from a gold shop where he had found a chain on which she could wear her wedding ring when she was on expeditions.

His cousin’s initial enthusiasm had soon turned to suspicion, though.

“Wait. Why aren’t you going in?” he had asked.

Randy flexed his broad shoulders. “I rather doubt I could fit. Diana claims the passageway is rather small. I shouldn’t wish to get stuck,” he explained.

Although David responded with a guffaw, the answer seemed to satisfy him, for he readily agreed. “It will be good to see something with a real archaeologist.”

If the comment had been made in jest, it didn’t seem that way as Diana’s eyes had widened in surprise—and appreciation. “You do realize you’re now my favorite cousin?” she had asked, a grin lighting her face.

Preening in a manner better suited to a dandy, David had bowed deeply and thanked her for her regard as the others in their party chuckled.

R eluctantly, Randy moved to mount his camel. Having watched the others, he merely mimicked their moves, his expression blank as the camel rose to all fours in a much smoother manner than David’s had done.

Apparently his cousin’s attempt to hypnotize his camel had not worked in his favor.

A trio of riders from another nearby herd approached, Lord Everly leading the way.

From his relaxed stance atop his mount, it was apparent he had experience riding a camel.

A lead rope was connected from the back of his saddle and attached to a ring strung through the nose of Lady Everly’s camel.

Lady Helen’s mount was behind hers and attached in the same manner.

“You’ve done this before,” Will accused as the earl approached followed by his countess and Lady Helen. The babe, Bradley, was not with them.

“It’s been ages ago, but yes,” Harry replied. He glanced back to ensure Stella was all right. “They have the oddest gait. You simply have to roll with it,” he suggested. “Think of it like riding a ship, but instead of being on the water, you are in the desert.”

“Indeed,” Stella and Will replied in unison.

F rom where he sat atop his own mount, Tom couldn’t help but stare at Helen. Although he realized now he should have expected to see her with her parents, he hadn’t been entirely sure she was the one he had seen with the babe on the shore of the Nile.

Dressed in a bright yellow day gown and a straw hat adorned with daisies, Helen was the epitome of a fresh-faced young lady out for a morning ride.

For a moment, he imagined her riding him. Her long limbs straddling his hips, her kid-gloved hands pressed to his shoulders as he rolled his hips beneath hers.

He wondered if her blonde hair was long or merely shoulder-length. If it was long, it would brush over his bare chest, tickling his skin as she rode him.

From the fitted bodice of her gown, he knew she was blessed with breasts befitting her Greek namesake. Although the daughter of Zeus was a mortal, she had been worshipped as the tree goddess.

Leave it to Lord Everly to come up with the perfect name for his only daughter.

As for worshipping her, Tom imagined undoing the fastenings of her gown until he could remove the bodice and hold the soft white orbs in his hands. The thought of those breasts had him wondering what they would look like. How they would react to his touch.

Would her nipples harden if he simply rubbed his thumbs over the rosy tips?

Or would he need to pull her down so he could use his tongue and mouth to coax them to readiness?

The thought of suckling her nipples had the oddest sound coming from his throat, and he had to stifle further thoughts of Helen and her nipples when the front of his riding breeches suddenly tightened.

He glanced down to discover his camel had turned its head to the side, one eye pinning him as if in rebuke.

That’s when he realized the others had already set off in the direction of the pyramids. He nudged the T-bar, and the camel lazily moved forward. Immediately understanding Lord Everly’s comment about camels being the ships of the desert, he soon learned how to simply roll with the odd gait.

“ T hey are closer than I thought,” Diana called out to Randy, her grin apparent in the morning sun. Only a few wispy white clouds interrupted the bright blue sky above. On the eastern horizon, a hazy band of red rested above the line where desert met the sky.

“There are more of them than I thought,” Randy replied, noticing smaller, stepped-style pyramids beyond the three larger buildings.

“For the queens and daughters,” she said.

His gaze went back to her, his pride in her swelling when he noticed how well she was riding. If she could handle a camel while holding on with only one hand, he could only imagine how well she would do on a horse once they returned to England.

“Even the surfaces of the larger pyramids look as if they are stepped. Like they have stairs,” he commented, his gaze on the closest pyramid.

“Now they do,” she agreed. “But they didn’t used to. Such a shame.”

“What do you mean?” he asked. Given how his uncle and cousin rode on the other side of Diana with Barbara’s camel attached to the back of Will’s, he knew they were listening intently to their conversation.

He hadn’t expected to learn more until they reached the base of the largest pyramid, the Great Pyramid of Khufu, where Lord Everly said a dragoman was to meet them.

“The pyramids were never meant to be climbed,” Diana explained.

“When they were built, they were sealed with an outer casing of polished stone held with mortar, and the edges were fitted so perfectly together, it was difficult to see the joints. When the sun shined on them, they gleamed like gold, especially at the very top.”

“What happened to the outer casing?” David asked, his gaze going from the base to the top of the largest pyramid.

“Time. Erosion from wind and water,” she replied with a shrug. “And theft. I’m quite sure those outer stones have been used in other building projects in the area.”

“What a shame,” Barbara commented. “Still, they are rather majestic as they are now.”

“Indeed they are,” someone said from their right. Garbed in a long robe and a keffiyeh , the bronze-skinned man rode an Arabian with ease.

The camels suddenly seemed to take their cue from him, increasing their gait to match that of the horse he rode. It was then Randy noticed the Tennisons were directly behind him.

“This is Salman,” Harry called out. “He is our guide today.”

The Bedouin lifted a hand in a wave. “Apologies I was not there when you arrived to meet your camels,” he said. “I am not used to Englishmen awaking so early.”

“You are forgiven, of course,” Will said. “May I ask how is it you speak such good English?”

The guide chuckled, his white teeth in sharp contrast to his darker skin. “Necessity,” he replied. “I make my living sharing the secrets of my ancestors with travelers. I do so with those from many lands, hence I must speak English, French, and German in addition to my own Arabic.”

“How impressive, Mr. Salman,” Helen said. “And might you tell us about your mount? He is a warm blood, is he not? An Arabian?”

Straightening in his saddle, Salman acknowledged her query with a nod. “He is indeed, my lady. Perhaps I shall allow you to ride him for the trip back.”

Helen dipped her head, as if hiding the blush that suffused her face. “He would no doubt be a more comfortable ride,” she replied, unaware of who was listening to her every word.