idea imaginable. Not only would they be going off on a wild goose chase, he would be subjected to two weeks in the company of a woman he found exquisitely alluring.
Rousing himself, Seb pushed open the door with no warning knock. Emma almost jumped from her seat. He heard the rustle of paper or papyrus and caught a glimpse of the scroll she was doing her best to hide away in her skirts.
Seb’s breath caught in his throat. He’d only seen one corner of the document, but that was enough to set his heart pounding. The royal seal of Rameses II was in the top left corner. The papyrus was old, almost falling apart and the ink that had been used was faded.
Seb had seen plenty of forgeries that looked this good, but something made him pause. There was a quality about the document, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on, that made him certain it was genuine. Miss Emma Knight had somehow got her hands on an authentic Ancient Egyptian scroll.
He tried not to let his excitement show. For years he had been searching for something like this, an opportunity to discover an important tomb for himself. Nonchalantly he strolled over to his desk and sat down.
‘Have you any more information for me?’ Seb asked, trying to keep the excitement from his voice.
What he really wanted was a good look at the document. He wondered if it was a map or a written passage, something that described a location.
‘From my calculations it would take about a week to reach the destination I have in mind.’
Seb mentally calculated where that would take them on the map. Close to Luxor, close to the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Over a decade ago Belzoni had discovered a few new tombs in the area, but not much had been uncovered since. Maybe Emma had a map of the location of an undiscovered pharaoh’s tomb.
He frowned. If that was the case, he was unsure why they had to go by land. It would take them a few days to travel from Cairo to Luxor on the river, and from there the Valley of the Kings was easily accessible.
So maybe it was somewhere else altogether.
‘And who would be travelling?’ Seb asked.
‘Just myself and Ahmed.’
A small party, then. And notably no female chaperone.
Seb sighed and then nodded. ‘Very well, Miss Knight. I’ll do it. But you will have to trust me with more details once the trip is underway.’
Emma bounded from her seat and threw her arms around his neck. Seb was unprepared for her reaction. He felt her lithe body press up against his and instinctively his arms encircled her waist, pulling her in closer to him. She was warm and firm beneath his touch and Seb wanted nothing more than to lay her back on the desk and cover her with his body.
With great self-resolve Seb gently pulled away. He was going to be living in close proximity with Emma for the next couple of weeks, so he would have to learn to curb his urges.
Emma fastened her bonnet under her chin and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. The desert was going to be an unforgiving place. Within minutes her skin would redden and freckle, her throat would become parched and she would start to perspire. She knew all of this and more. She knew one wrong turn and they could be lost for weeks amongst the sand dunes, without water or hope of rescue. She knew there could be bandits eager to rob them for any money they carried or even just for a flask of water.
Emma knew of all the dangers but she still couldn’t help but feel a thrum of anticipation for the expedition. All her life she had been sheltered, shielded from the real world. And all her life she had listened to her father’s stories of Egypt, of the adventures he’d shared with her mother when she was alive. Now here she was, about to set off on an adventure of her own.
‘Are you ready, my dear?’ Colonel Fitzgerald asked as she hurried down the stairs to the hallway.
Emma glanced behind her, wondering whether she was making a mistake. It would be so easy to call the whole thing off, to spend the next month enjoying civilised Cairo, but she would regret her cowardice for the rest of her life.
‘I’m ready.’
Colonel Fitzgerald was taking her to meet Sebastian. Mrs Fitzgerald still had no idea Emma was about to set off into the desert with just Mr Oakfield as her guide. Emma knew it was cowardly, but she was glad she wasn’t going to be there when Mrs Fitzgerald found out. No doubt Colonel Fitzgerald would be subjected to a long lecture on how irresponsible he’d been to allow her to go gallivanting off into the desert with no female chaperone. Maybe the old colonel would claim he’d hired someone for the occasion.
Ahmed came hurrying down the stairs carrying her small bag. She had packed light, forgoing all the luxuries she had brought with her to Egypt. She knew they would be riding all day and camping at night. There would be no spare water to bathe in and no spare horses to carry her baggage. She had packed just one change of underclothes and one clean dress, the lightest garment she possessed. The bundle Ahmed carried weighed hardly anything and Emma was confident she would be able to transport it all the way herself if required.
Just as they were about to leave, Dalila came hurrying towards them with a soft bundle over her shoulder.
Colonel Fitzgerald turned to Emma and explained, ‘Dalila is going to visit her family for a few days, but if anyone asks she is to be your chaperone whilst you are in the desert.’
Emma nodded, understanding how the colonel’s mind worked. He might be happy to trust Sebastian Oakfield with her virtue, but he wasn’t silly enough to think other people had the same high opinion of him. This deception would protect her reputation.
Colonel Fitzgerald led their little procession out of the house and up into the carriage. Emma found herself unable to sit still; she was nervous, she realised, and it wasn’t entirely because of the nature of the trip. Her mind kept skirting around the real issue that was bothering her, unable or unwilling to admit that she was nervous about spending such a long time in Sebastian’s company.
The man did things to her brain she couldn’t explain. Ever since that ill-advised night with Freddie, and the disastrous morning after, Emma had built up her defences. The charms of men no longer worked upon her. She could see a lingering look or dazzling smile for what it really was: flirtation with no real meaning. She had continued to socialise, despite all the disgusted looks and whispering behind hands, but she had done so with her defences firmly up.
But Sebastian was another matter altogether. Ever since the first moment their eyes had met over the sparkling waters of the Nile, Emma hadn’t been able to get the man out of her head. She seemed to lose all reason when she was around him. A smile or a fleeting touch set her heart pounding in her chest and made her want to smile or touch back. She found herself thinking of him even when he wasn’t around, imagining his response to a comment in a conversation, or his smile when something amusing was said.
It was ridiculous, when she thought about it. She’d only met the man three times and now she was imagining him everywhere.
Emma supposed it was inevitable, really. Sebastian was a good-looking man, in an unconventional way. He didn’t look or act a single bit like Freddie, or the other men of her acquaintance back in England, and she supposed that was part of his appeal. Whereas most Englishmen
