Page 14 of A Hint of Scandal

She clasped her hands. “I should like to be the one who finds it. My dream has always been to study the ancient remains of Egypt at first hand. Every epoch interests me—from the earliest pharaohs right through to Ptolemaic Egypt and beyond.”

He shook his head, further surprised by how glibly the correct terms slipped off her tongue. “It would be better for you to study it from afar. Visiting it would not be a safe undertaking. Especially not for a woman.”

She fell silent for a long minute as though digesting this warning. “But how else am I to see such wonders as the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx? And the River Nile—how can I live without ever having laid my eyes on that mighty waterway?”

Such enthusiasm. And from a woman.

She leaned forward a little more. “Tell me. Did you see the pyramids for yourself? They are a sight I would give anything to lay my eyes on before I die. Indeed, I believe I could die happy if I’d seen them.”

He shook his head. “Sadly, no. I admit I would have liked to, but our stay in Egypt was a military one, and our purpose to drive out the Turks and secure for Britain a base from which to operate against not just the Ottomans but also the French.” He paused. “Something I’m ashamed to say we failed at.”

She sat back as though disappointed in him. Most people, especially women, knew very little of the details of the war Britain was fighting. He had the feeling that despite her apparent knowledge of Egypt, her interest was confined to its past and not its present.

“Where did you fight, then?”

“We attacked Rosetta…”

This brought her forward again. “Rosetta? Where they discovered the famous Rosetta Stone? The stone which even now resides in the British Museum and some say will be the key to understanding hieroglyphs?”

He nodded.

Her eyes sparkled in the dim light. “That is something I would also give anything to go and see.” How wistful she sounded. “But even though we’re in London for the Season, I doubt very much if my family will allow me to do so. None of them would want to go, and they certainly wouldn’t allow me to go alone.”

Curiosity overtook him, encouraged by the companionable dark. “Why would they not wish to go and see something as interesting as that?”

She sighed. “My brother, who is in truth only my half-brother, and his wife are here solely for my pretty niece to make her debut in society and find herself a suitable match. That is also the only reason I’m here. They’ve brought me because Letty insisted. She persuaded them that I should come too as I am so useful to her. To all of them, I suppose.” She paused. “Well, to both Letty and Lady Gilbert, as I’m very good at running errands and doing their hair, but not so much to my brother, who I think sees me as a nuisance he is forced to tolerate.” Her voice trailed off.

For the first time in a long while Max felt a twinge of sympathy for another human being. He might be hampered by his arm, but this girl was hampered by her family, as he’d initially suspected on observing them from afar, and also from judicial enquiry of Maria, well out of his mother’s earshot. “And you? What do you want?”

She chuckled, her momentary melancholia brushed aside. “What I want is immaterial. But, as you have so politely asked, what I would like, as I cannot up sticks and bolt to Egypt, is to visit the British Museum and see what they have on show in their Egyptian rooms. Particularly, I would like to see the famous Rosetta Stone. That would be the next best thing to traveling to Egypt myself.”

He slapped his left hand on his thigh. “Then you will do that. And I shall take you there. I don’t think your brother and his wife can object to you having a gentleman caller who wishes to take you out walking. Accompanied by your maid, of course. Can they?”

This silenced her again, for a full two minutes this time. Her whole body, silhouetted against the pale light of the windows, had stiffened.

Max waited as the silence stretched on.

Eventually, she found her voice again, suddenly almost timid, as though she couldn’t believe someone would want to do something for her alone. She must have spent a long time at the beck and call of her brother’s family. “You-you would do that? For me?”

He nodded. “I would. To encourage a fellow scholar in their studies.”

“But everyone says a woman cannot be a scholar. Ogden has told me so many times. Whenever he catches me with a book, in fact. And Araminta says it is unmaidenly to study foreign civilizations.”

He huffed. “Of course a woman can be a scholar, and it makes her all the more interesting and not at all unmaidenly. A woman who can talk of nothing but the weather or what hat she should wear is as insipid as…” He groped for a simile and failed. “Well, she’s insipid, and that’s all there is to say about that. I think an outing with you to the British Museum would be anything but insipid. And besides, my own sister-in-law, who is altogether too solicitous of my welfare, would see a visit by me to anywhere as progress.” Especially if she thought he was going in the company of a young lady. He indicated his arm. “I have been a little self-conscious of my disability, you see, and didn’t want to come up to Town at all.” Why was he even admitting this to her? He certainly wasn’t about to confide in her that this was also a quest to obtain a suitable bride just so he could inherit his estate.

She turned her head and the light caught her smile. “I would be delighted to accompany you to the British Museum, Captain Aubrey. And proud to do so with a war hero.”

Whatever had given her that idea? He shook his head. “I’m no hero, so please don’t think I am. Everything I’ve done in my life was just my duty to my king and country.”

She smiled again. “You may say that, but to me you are my hero, if only for the fact that you have offered to do something for me that will make me happy.”

She didn’t need to tell him no one had ever tried to make her happy before. He’d guessed that already.

Max got to his feet. “Now, I think it might be an auspicious time for us to return to the ballroom. But not together, or tongues will wag. If you like, I will go first, and brave the curious stares of the servants. You, perhaps, should wait here for ten minutes or so before returning. I wouldn’t want to give anyone cause to gossip about you.”

She nodded. “Thank you, Captain Aubrey. I shall look forward to renewing our acquaintance when you come to call at Great Titchfield Street. My brother has taken a house there for the Season. You will find us at number thirty four.”

He bowed. “Until tomorrow, then. Or perhaps I should say until later today, as midnight has passed. I wish you goodnight, Miss Gilbert.”