unmarried innocent young woman. As much as he wanted to.
Emma Knight was exactly the kind of young woman his father had been so eager for him to marry all those years ago. Petite, blonde, pretty and innocent. The very embodiment of the saying ‘an English rose’. Seb had refused then, and now he was too old and worldly-wise to get himself in trouble over a pretty face and an enthusiastic smile.
‘I would offer to take you to the chamber,’ Seb said smoothly, ‘but unfortunately I’m not sure I’d be welcome.’
She nodded, clearly disappointed to have missed such a well-preserved slice of Egypt.
‘The chamber had a few statues dotted around, and on a raised stone platform was that Shabti.’
Emma glanced down to the Shabti in her hands, running her fingers over the engravings one last time before holding it out to him.
‘Thank you,’ he said, slipping the artefact back into his bag.
‘Will you sell it?’ Emma asked.
He nodded.
‘I would find it so hard to part with something so beautiful.’
Seb shrugged. Once, many years ago, he’d felt the same, but he couldn’t afford to be sentimental now. He had a business to run, and employees who relied on him to sell the artefacts they found, not become attached to them.
Mohammed shouted from the front of the boat and pointed ahead of them.
‘Cairo,’ Seb explained. ‘Is it your first visit?’
Emma nodded, her eyes widening with excitement.
‘You won’t want to miss this.’
Seb stood and held out his hand to help Emma rise to her feet. They moved to the edge of the felucca and watched the city take shape before their eyes.
Ten years ago when Seb had left England he’d been directionless, moving from place to place. He hadn’t known where he would settle or how he would make a living. He’d sailed down the Nile in a felucca very much like this one and when he’d caught his first glimpse of Cairo he’d known he was home.
‘It’s beautiful,’ Emma said.
Seb had heard Cairo being called many things but beautiful wasn’t the usual response. Most people fresh from the rolling green hills of England thought Cairo was dirty and dusty. Only a few saw the gem nestled in the desert, the charm of the whitewashed buildings and the narrow streets.
‘This is only the beginning,’ he said quietly to Emma.
She turned to him, the enthusiasm evident on her face.
‘I want to see it all,’ she said. ‘I can’t believe I’m actually here.’
Seb watched her as she looked out at the dusty city. He wondered what this well-brought-up young lady was doing so far away from home. There were plenty of Europeans in Cairo—the West had become interested in what Egypt had to offer in the last few years—but you didn’t see many unmarried, basically unchaperoned young women out here on their own.
He glanced at Emma’s elderly protector. He was originally from Egypt, if Seb wasn’t much mistaken. He watched his young mistress like a hawk, but Seb doubted he would be much use if she actually got herself into a dangerous situation. And he didn’t think Miss Emma Knight was the retiring kind of woman who kept herself out of danger well.
‘What are your plans when we reach Cairo?’ Seb asked.
For the first time since he’d met her, Seb noticed a veil come down over Emma’s expression. She glanced at him warily.
‘We will be staying with Colonel and Mrs Fitzgerald,’ she said after a few seconds. ‘They were friends of my father and have promised to help me arrange some trips to see different temples and tombs.’
Intriguing. If he wasn’t much mistaken she had a hidden agenda, something she didn’t want him to know about.
‘Mrs Fitzgerald is at the centre of the Cairo social scene.’
Emma looked at him quizzically. ‘There’s a Cairo social scene?’
He laughed. ‘Nothing like what you’d be used to in London, I’m sure.’
‘Are you part of this social scene?’
Seb glanced at her again. Anyone else with that question he would have assumed was flirting with him, but Emma’s face was free from guile. She was just genuinely interested.
‘The runaway son of an English lord? I’m the guest of honour at most of these events. The community here does love a little bit of scandal.’
He saw her face fall as he said the word scandal and wondered if Emma was running from something back home, too. He couldn’t imagine the woman in front of him being embroiled in anything worth gossiping about. She was too open, too sweet in nature.
He didn’t have time to enquire further. Mohammed shouted a request and immediately Seb was on his feet, helping his old friend guide the felucca into the jetty.
Seb breathed in the smell of the city. He felt at home in Cairo. He loved going on trips around Egypt, searching for lost temples or tombs, seeking the pharaohs’ treasures of old, but he felt most happy in Cairo.
Once the felucca was secured Seb waited whilst Ahmed and Emma got ready to disembark.
‘There’s a bit of a gap,’ he said. ‘Watch you don’t fall.’
Emma gathered her skirts in her hand and lifted her foot to step over the side of the felucca. Seb could see she was going to trip before her foot even met the wood. She stumbled, careening towards the water. Instinctively he leant forward and swept her into his arms. He lifted her over the side of the boat and set her gently down on the wooden jetty. Her body was pressed against his and he could feel she was trembling slightly. She looked up at him, her blue eyes sparkling in the sun, and her lips parted a little.
Seb felt his head dip towards hers slowly. One arm was looped around her waist, holding her close to him. The other hand reached up, brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. It was an intimate act, and Seb could feel Emma’s body responding to him. In that instant she wanted to be kissed. And he wanted to kiss her. But he wasn’t stupid enough to act on his urges.
Reluctantly Seb released her. Emma’s head dipped low, her eyes refusing to meet his, and he saw the first tint of a blush colouring her cheeks.
‘Thank you for catching me,’ she said, looking up at him again.
Seb swallowed. She was everything he couldn’t have, and right now she was everything he wanted.
‘It’s far too dangerous for a gently bred young woman to be gallivanting off into the wilds of Egypt without a proper escort,’ Mrs Fitzgerald said. There were murmurs of agreement from the other guests
