AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter eight
TORY
“Sohowlonghas the Bubastis project been running?” I asked, carefully picking my way between the numerous huge stone blocks that lay tumbled around the site. The site itself was vast, and though I knew some locations had already been excavated and you could see the outlines of buildings, the majority of the site was made of carved sandstone boulders that were scattered about the place, like someone had built a city with wooden blocks and then had knocked it over with one swipe of the hand. In some places the boulders lay surrounded in hard-packed soil and sandy dust, while in others, the pale stone stood out against the muted green of wiry grasses that grew in large, uneven clumps that made walking tricky.
“Oh, about four years, but we don’t get a huge amount of funding, so progress is slow.” My new acquaintance, Dr. Wesley Price, navigated the stones in front of me, and I grinned to myself as I watched him make his way cautiously between them. He wasn’t exactly dressed for the site. On reaching the university, I had asked around about the project and been directed to his office. I had been expecting an elderly gentleman with silver hair, but no, I had met Wesley. He was not that much older than me, with floppy brown hair and green eyes. Granted, he was wearing glasses, but if my university lecturers had looked like Wesley, I might have paid less attention in class to the topic at hand and spent more time fantasising about being bent over a desk. He was slender and tall, almost gangly, and the tweed suit he wore was just slightly too small, with leather patches on the elbows of the blazer. Even in this heat, he still insisted on wearing a shirt and tie, and he carried a battered leather briefcase. His shiny brown leather loafers were now thick with dust and slipped constantly on the sandy stones, their soles more fitting to university halls than a desert.
When I’d told him I’d come all the way from England to volunteer on the dig, he’d been very enthusiastic about personally escorting me to the dig site. I wasn’t sure his enthusiasm was based entirely on my commitment to the project, considering the way his eyes had travelled over my body when I’d stepped through his door. He was the perfect gentleman, however, opening car doors for me, and at first, he’d tried to help me across the rather tricky site, until it became clear that my hiking boots were far more capable of dealing with the terrain than his shoes were. He’d given up trying to help me balance and was now concentrating mainly on not falling over.
“I thought the project was funded by Lord Fallon.”
Wesley looked up as he stepped forwards and stumbled again, catching himself on the edge of a large boulder that bore carved hieroglyphics and an ancient figure.
“Yes, ah, yes, Lord Fallon has been most generous this season, but it is a new investment that only began recently. Normally our funding comes from the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities, and they are always struggling. There are rather a lot of projects applying for funding in this incredible country, as I’m sure you can imagine.”
I nodded, stepping forward. Not paying attention, I slipped myself and fell towards him. He immediately reached out and pulled my body against his to stop me from falling.
“Shit, I’m so sorry, Dr. Price,” I said, looking up at him. He gazed down at me, his arms tight around my waist. My heart was thudding, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the adrenaline from the near fall or from being in his arms. I watched as his eyes dropped from mine to my mouth, and without thinking, my tongue snaked out across my lips as my mouth suddenly felt rather dry.
“It’s Wesley, call me Wesley,” he murmured.
“Wesley.”
He blinked, and then I saw his pale skin flush, spreading up from under his collar. He released me and moved away, pulling out a large white handkerchief from his blazer pocket. He took off his glasses and began to clean them, avoiding eye contact.
“Yes, so, I’m sorry about the roundabout way of reaching the site. There is a road, but we’ve had some rough storms recently, and it’s currently being repaired.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. I wasn’t planning on a comfortable relaxing holiday, Wesley. I came here to work.”
He looked up at me again and smiled. It was funny how he could look quite plain when he was serious, but his smile was sexy as hell and transformed his face. He seemed completely oblivious to his charm too, which was adorable.
“Well then, let’s get to the camp, and I can introduce you to the head of the project, Professor Ayad. I’m sure you’ll love her. She’s very dedicated to the site.”
The camp at the Bubastis site was fairly small. A large container type building stood at the centre, its cream colour blending in with the sand and rock, and around it stood several tents of varying sizes. In front of the container was a large, open fire and some tables, one holding gas burners, and in the shade underneath stood several large water bottles. Numerous sandy-coloured dogs wandered the site, but other than that, the place seemed deserted.
“I wouldn’t have thought to find dogs here,” I remarked to Wesley, who strode briskly forward towards the container. A couple of the dogs came bounding up to meet us, and I let them sniff my hand before stroking their heads. Three more lay lounging in the shade of the container, and there was barely more of a prick of an ear at our arrival.
“They are mainly strays the team has adopted, but they are great for keeping down the rats and snakes.”
“I meant more because of the site itself.”
Wesley looked at me blankly, and I tried to explain. “The site? Bubastis. The House of Bastet. Wasn’t she a cat goddess?”
Understanding spread across his face, and he smiled again. “Oh, yes, sorry, I thought you were surprised there were dogs at an excavation. I see what you mean. Yes, the House or Temple of Bastet. There were plenty of cats back then. Many bronze cat figurines were found around the temple site, and then over there” —he waved in a vague direction— “we found holes carved in the cliff walls above human tombs, and inside were hundreds of mummified cats. It’s been theorised that the temple was used as a cat sanctuary. A very sacred animal to the Egyptians, cats.”
“Yes, I believe I read somewhere that killing a cat meant you would be put to death.”
Wesley nodded. “So it’s been said. Sadly, we don’t see many cats around here, just the dogs.” He paused outside the door of the container. “Right, let’s see if Professor Ayad is here.” He pushed open the door and gestured for me to follow, which I did.
Inside, the container was divided into various rooms and areas. Some were clearly used for storing finds—lone, narrow shelves stretched along the metal walls, bearing cardboard boxes and sealed bags all labelled in English and Arabic—and several walls bore huge pinboards covered in site maps, letters, typed on procedures, and various other bits of paperwork. Wesley led me through the main section to a door at the end and knocked on it.
“Yes?”
“Just me, Professor Ayad,” Wesley replied, opening the door. I followed him into the room, suddenly feeling rather shy. I was so used to everyone always knowing who I was that I was worried I wouldn’t be accepted on my own merit. What if she chucked me off the site and I’d come all this way for nothing?
The woman at the desk stood up, smiling warmly at Wesley. “Dr. Price, this is a nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting a visit until the end of the month. I’m afraid I don’t have any report ready for you to take back yet.”
“An unscheduled stop, Professor. I have a new volunteer for you, a Miss Victoria Hawke from England.”
