Page 6

Will did everything he could do to hide the smirk that threatened.

He might have been eight-and-forty, but he certainly wasn’t on death’s door when it came to pleasing his wife in bed.

The cooler temperatures at night had helped, sending her into his arms as soon as he was under the cotton bed linens.

From there, he was eager to warm her even further, delighting in her pleas for more and her attempts to keep the sounds of her pleasure from penetrating the walls.

“As am I,” Will agreed. He turned to George. “I wanted to thank you again for agreeing to take us to Cairo. I know packing enough food to feed these boys has to have overflowed your cargo space.”

George waved a dismissive hand. “I have four myself, so I know how they eat,” he claimed. “Besides, you paid well. You eat well.”

When Will took a seat at the trestle, an assemblage of heavy wooden planks secured to the deck above the cabins, he turned his attention back to his nephew.

Tom, lost in thought, was oblivious to his uncle’s gaze. He didn’t even help himself to any of the bowls of stewed fava beans, coddled eggs, fruit, or hunks of cheese. The loaf of bread, purchased from a vendor the day before, had been broken in half. A pitcher of beer completed the offerings.

When Will poured him a glass of beer, Tom finally emerged from his reverie.

“A penny for your thoughts?” Will said, helping himself to a few pieces of fruit and one of the eggs.

Tom shook his head. “I would only be cheating you,” he murmured.

He took a drink of the beer, aware his uncle was watching him.

A quick glance in his aunt’s direction proved she thought something was wrong as well.

He was relieved when David settled next to him, commenting on the fine weather as he filled his plate and announced he had begun studying a book he had purchased in Alexandria.

“Book?” his mother repeated. “Don’t you mean a new library?”

David shrugged. “I thought it important I have the entire collection, even if it is all in French.”

“What book?” Tom asked, confused by their conversation.

“ La Description de l’Egypte ,” David replied, his French nearly perfect. “It was written by the savants Napoleon brought with him when he invaded Egypt. Four-and-twenty volumes filled with maps, drawings, and very detailed descriptions of what they discovered.”

At the mention of Napoleon, Will stiffened. “Are these the same men who saw to removing statues and other artifacts to Paris?”

“Probably,” David hedged. “But they’re all in a museum now.

For safe-keeping,” he replied. “Much like what Belzoni took for the British Museum,” he added, referring to an Italian who had been responsible for the early exploration of Abu Simbel, some tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and of the temples of Karnak in Luxor.

Will seemed to relax, although Tom knew he was bothered by the pillaging that had taken place at some of the other historical sites they had visited on this trip.

“Are these books anything like Pausanias’ Descriptions of Greece ?

” he asked, referring to the books they had used for reference whilst they were in Greece.

“They are, although these are far more exact in terms of their drawings,” David replied. “They include measurements.”

“And the illustrations are very well done,” Randy announced, joining them at the trestle.

“You’ve seen them?” Barbara asked, angling a cheek when he leaned over to kiss it.

“From over Diana’s shoulder,” he replied. “She was reading quite late last night and was back at it again this morning. She’ll be along shortly.” He helped himself to some of the foods. “Apologies for my tardiness. I was sound asleep until I heard footfalls on the roof.”

“That was your brother,” David said, adding more eggs to his plate.

“Save some for Diana,” his mother scolded him, at the same moment George appeared with more food and a bunch of small bananas.

“So what, pray tell, had you up on the roof?” Randy asked, turning his attention to Tom.

His brother stiffened. “I saw some people on the shore. They were...” He shrugged.

“Dressed like us,” David finished for him. “I’m fairly sure I recognized the man with the gun.”

“Gun?” Barbara repeated in shock.

“He was aiming it at the...” He hesitated to mention more, as if he feared frightening his mother.

“A crocodile,” George stated, placing another plate of cut fruits on the table. “The beasties are everywhere in this river.”

Barbara exchanged a quick glance with her son and husband. “Those atrocious animals we saw in the menagerie?” she asked, her face screwing into disgust. “With the long jaws and large teeth?”

“That would be them,” Will affirmed.

“They stay close to the water’s edge. As long as we are moving, we needn’t worry they will come aboard the ship,” George assured her.

For a moment, she didn’t appear convinced. “Did he shoot it?”

David shook his head. “I didn’t hear a gun shot,” he replied.

“Who did you think it was?”

At that moment, Diana appeared, her hair swept up in a bun atop her head.

She was dressed in a pale blue gown and wore a shawl around her shoulders.

“Good morning. Please accept my apologies,” she said, her color still high from that morning’s lovemaking.

“I’ve been reading and didn’t realize breakfast was already served. ”

“You’re forgiven, Diana, and, oh, you look so pretty this morning,” Barbara commented.

“Thank you,” Diana said, taking the remaining seat at the table next to David. “Did I hear correctly that there’s been a crocodile sighting?”

“Not close enough to see directly,” David replied. “I was using the binoculars.”

“What made you think to even look?” she asked, nodding to George when he set a cup of licorice tea before her.

“Oh, well, I saw people on the shore. I’m fairly sure the man was Everly.”

Will gave a start. “Everly... as in the Earl of Everly?”

David nodded. “Isn’t he a naturalist, I think they call them these days?”

“Indeed,” Will replied, his brows furrowed in thought. “I saw him at the Morganfield ball we attended before we left London.”

“Did he mention he was planning a trip to Egypt?” Barbara asked.

Will shook his head. “No, but I did tell him where we were off to. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a grown man appear so jealous. He even remarked that he missed his days of traveling,” he commented. “In addition to the fish, he used to bring back exotic plants and birds from his excursions.”

“I hear he has a most impressive conservatory as a result,” Barbara remarked. “All glass .” This last was said with a good deal of awe, for at the time when it was built, glass had been taxed at rather high rates.

“Speaking of glass, isn’t he the one who has that large aquarium in his study?” David asked. “With a contraption that creates bubbles and another that keeps the water warm?”

“He is the one,” Will acknowledged. “Quite an accomplishment, but then he is as inventive as Henry,” he added, referring to Randy and Tom’s father, the Earl of Gisborn. “I wonder what he’s searching for here in Egypt?”

“Perhaps we’ll see him again on this trip,” Diana remarked. She held up a banana. “Although I would recommend he take a banana tree back to England, I can’t imagine how he would do so. They’re rather large.”

Will guffawed. “Considering the size of some of the the statues that are in the British Museum, I rather imagine a banana tree would be manageable.”

The others at the table snickered before they returned their attentions to their breakfasts and plans for what they would do when they reached Cairo.

All except for Tom. He was lost in thought, an image of a young lady with a baby in his mind’s eye.