by Stacy Henrie
“Ah, of course.” He scooted to the side to give her more room, snuffing out the minuscule flicker of disappointment that she’d only been teasing.
Soon she was finished. Syble lifted the notebook for him to see the drawing. “It’s not nearly as good as anything my friend Clare has drawn or painted, but I think it’ll suffice.”
“I agree.”
She put away her things and shouldered her satchel. “Should we go tell everyone the news?”
“Absolutely. They’ll be thrilled to hear it.”
“Race you to the bottom, then,” she said with a grin.
Marcus didn’t even have time to blink before Syble took off over the brow of the hill. She clutched her skirt in one hand as she half slid, half ran toward the valley floor. Had she truly challenged him to a foot race? At their age? It was preposterous. And yet…
Her dare lingered in the air, along with the enticing scent of orange blossoms, as Marcus stared after her, frozen in indecision.
CHAPTER 7
When he did move, it was as much from instinct as from a deep-seated flicker of competitive drive he hadn’t known still existed inside himself. He’d enjoyed racing as a child. At least, until he’d realized he could never out-win his much older siblings. Yet here he was again, plowing down a hill after Syble.
He kept his arms outstretched for balance as he propelled forward. Had he ever looked more ridiculous? Likely not. He blamed Syble’s beguiling smile and spontaneity entirely for this temporary slip into madness. Rather than feeling irritated, though, Marcus found himself laughing more freely than he had in ages, especially when he narrowed the distance between them.
Syble must have heard him gaining on her. She looked back over her shoulder, and her eyes widened in shock. Though he couldn’t say if she was more startled at his speed or the fact that he’d been willing to race her at all.
They reached the bottom of the hill at the same time. “A draw,” Marcus declared in a labored voice. His hat had toppled off a few feet away, but he ignored it for the time being as he bent over, his hands on his knees, to catch his breath.
“I didn’t think you’d actually try.” She sounded as winded as he did. “But I told you I’d get you to do something fun.”
Marcus gave his head a slow shake. “Fun is having a new book to read or visiting a new exhibit at a museum. Not throwing oneself headlong down a hillside.”
“Your smile suggests otherwise.”
Even out of breath, one hand holding her side, she seemed none the worse for wear after racing him down the hill. On the other hand, Marcus figured he’d be pouring sand from his shoes for days. Strange, then, that he couldn’t stop smiling.
He finally managed to stand up straight again. “You threw out a challenge,” he said as he went to collect his hat. “I couldn’t very well stand there and do nothing.”
“So that’s the way to get you to do something fun.” Her eyes flashed with amused triumph. “Issue you a challenge. In that regard, I think I won.”
“It was a draw, fair and square.” He ran a hand through his windblown hair and motioned toward the queen’s tomb. “Are we going to tell my gran the good news or not?”
Syble chuckled. “I’m coming.”
He put his hat back on as he waited for her. When she caught up to him, she surprised him by placing a hand on his sleeve. He felt the warmth of her touch through the fabric.
“Thank you for taking the map seriously, Marcus, if only for today.”
He considered resting his fingers over hers, then thought better of it. “You are welcome.”
Releasing his arm, she cocked her head. “Should we race back to the tomb?”
“Oh no. One race is enough for me.”
Her grin reappeared. “Suit yourself,” she said before taking off again, not in a run but in a brisk walk that communicated her eagerness.
She drew ahead of him in moments, but he made no attempt to quicken his pace. There was no need to rush, even in his excitement to tell the others what he and Syble had discovered. Marcus didn’t want to arrive wheezing. More than that, he needed a bit of space and quiet.
If he didn’t know better, he would say he’d begun to feel more attracted to Syble than annoyed. And that was something he could not allow. Not only were she and Esme too alike in many ways, but a relationship had to be built on far more than attraction, especially between two people of such opposite personalities as his and Syble’s.
Marcus had learned that painful lesson three years ago; he didn’t wish to repeat it. A solid relationship was founded on mutual interests and temperaments. His own parents stood as testaments to that. Still, no amount of internal scolding could drive away the memory of Syble’s bright smile and musical laughter from his thoughts. Or the feel of half holding her in an embrace on top of the hill.
His earlier smile was well and truly gone now as Marcus frowned with self-annoyance. Perhaps, in spite of their discovery, he ought to have followed the widows’ lead and rested in the tomb, far away from Syble Rinecroft.
* * *
Syble remained intent on returning to Nefertari’s tomb ahead of Marcus. Not so she could actually win this time—well, not just for that. She needed some distance between her and the young man following purposefully behind her.
Her pulse still raced as if she’d just finished her sprint down the hill. But this time, it had nothing to do with physical exertion—and everything to do with the arresting image of Marcus after their race. Without his hat, his curls had stood attractively on end, and his green eyes had glowed with victory and what looked to be pure enjoyment. The whole effect had stolen her breath all over again.
Much as hugging him had earlier. She only hoped Marcus had been too stunned by her spontaneous show of excitement to notice her pounding heartbeat as they’d embraced.
What had possessed her to do something so impetuous and inappropriate as to hug him? Syble mentally shook her head, glaring at the earth underfoot. One minute the man had nettled her, and in the next she’d basked in the feel of his hand resting at the small of her back. She was through with men and succumbing to their supposed kindnesses. So why wouldn’t her heart listen?
“It’s time you listen to your head, Syble,” she scolded under her breath. “For once, let logic and reason be your guiding rule.”
No more throwing her arms around Marcus or challenging him to races. No more intimate conversations or personal stories. No more noticing how well his glasses complemented him and enhanced his face…
“Grrr.” She could do this—she would do this.
Right, Lord? All I ask is for help to stay focused on what is most important here. And that is not paying more attention to Marcus than the map.
The sight of her grandmother and the others exiting Nefertari’s tomb brought her instant relief. Now she and Marcus wouldn’t be alone anymore. “Nana!” Syble lifted her hand in greeting.
Her grandmother smiled as she waited for Syble’s approach. “Any luck, my dear?”
“Well…you see.” Syble pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze to the ground, unable to resist teasing the others a little. “We looked and looked…”
Marcus came up beside her. “There are so few landmarks to go on.”
She threw him a startled look and found him watching her. A brief smile flashed across his mouth when their eyes met, then he became serious once more. He was playing along with her instead of calling out her ruse. Her pulse leapt at the realization, but she willed it to calm. Didn’t Marcus understand he needed to act more like his past self, rather than doing things that would only increase his attractiveness to her in the present?
“Oh dear,” Ethel said. “We still don’t know where to start digging, then?”
Florence sighed. “My vote is for staying inside this tomb until you lot are done wandering around for the day.”
“Wait, I’m only teasing.” Syble’s attempt at a joke had quickly deteriorated. “Marcus found the site,” sh
e explained as she pulled out the map.
“You found where to dig, Marcus?” Ethel’s dismay transformed into hopefulness.
“It was actually Syble who figured it out.”
She sensed his gaze on her, but she wasn’t ready to meet it directly yet. Not when pleasure warmed her from head to toe at his insistence that she’d been every bit as helpful as him.
“Syble had the brilliant idea,” Marcus continued, “to climb one of the hills and look out over the valley to gain a different perspective. That was when we realized that part of the map is meant to be viewed upside down.”
Nana moved to Syble’s side and stared at the map. “How do you mean?”
The others crowded around them as Syble twisted the parchment around. “See how the Arabic characters are now right-side up? And what we thought was a hilltop…” She handed off the map to her grandmother, then pulled out her notebook and showed them her drawing. “It turns out that hilltop is actually the shape of the shadow made by the surrounding hills.”
“Which part of the valley is this?” Rose asked.
Marcus answered first. “We believe it’s on the southeast side. The light is such that if we hurry, we can still see the shadow. That way we can fashion together some sort of marker on the spot.”
“Bravo, you two.” Nana beamed at them. “We have full confidence in the two of you.”
Didn’t she mean had full confidence? The feeling of confusion Syble had experienced frequently since their arrival to Luxor returned—along with the sneaking suspicion she’d had earlier while talking with Marcus. If the widows were secretly matchmaking, they were destined to be sorely disappointed. She and Marcus were the least likely pairing that Syble could think of, whatever the strange moments of attraction she’d experienced so far today.
“This is so exciting!” Rose exclaimed. “Should we walk or ride the donkeys to view the spot?”
Marcus adjusted his glasses. “If we ride the donkeys, we can leave directly for Luxor afterward and won’t have to walk back to Nefertari’s tomb to collect our mounts.”
Florence grumbled something about “those infernal creatures,” but she was also the first to head in the direction where they’d left the beasts and the accompanying donkey boys earlier. Syble smiled as she followed after Florence. For all her complaining, the widow did seem to enjoy some adventuring.
Within minutes, they all sat atop their donkeys. Nana asked Marcus to take the lead again, but Syble stuck close to the front of the group this time. It wasn’t because she wanted to be near Marcus, of course, though Nana and the others might hope that was her reason. In truth, she simply didn’t wish to wait any longer than necessary to see the actual site of the hidden tomb. That, and she had the drawing in her notebook.
Marcus stopped them once to consult the terrain, along with Syble’s drawing. “It appears to be a little farther onward, past that hill there. Would you agree?”
He was asking her? Syble blinked in disbelief and felt the gazes of the other women boring into her back. That Marcus wanted her insight and opinion pleased her far more than it should have. After all, it wasn’t so outlandish an idea. She’d proven her skills earlier, and she was partly responsible for the whole dig project in the first place.
“Yes,” she said, with a decisive nod. “I think it’s just beyond that hill too.”
Once they passed the hillside, Syble blew out a relieved breath to find the landscape on the other side still partially blanketed in shadow. She followed Marcus until he stopped a second time.
“This has to be it!” Syble climbed off her donkey. Her rudimentary drawing matched the landscape before them.
As the rest of them dismounted, Syble hurried forward until she reached the center of the irregularly shaped shadow. Then, hands on hips, she twisted in a slow circle. After years of wondering and waiting, she felt certain that she stood on the very site depicted on her map. “Too bad we didn’t bring a shovel.” They could have started digging right away.
Marcus looked at her as if she’d suggested they dance a jig in celebration. “I, for one, am glad we didn’t.”
“Why?” Syble crossed her arms. “We know where to start digging, and we already have the license.”
“Could we really just begin?” Ethel asked him. “Right this very moment, if we had the proper tools?”
Marcus shook his head at the same time Syble said yes.
Florence barked out a laugh. “How’d you two manage to agree on where the site is located?”
Ignoring her, Syble trained her attention back on Marcus. She wanted so badly to break into the ground right now and keep going until they found something. Didn’t Marcus ever want to just dive in? Probably not. Though he had raced her down that hill. That memory soothed some of her impatience.
She worked to keep her voice amiable as she asked, “What do we need to do to start?”
“After I bring in the crew and we set up camp,” Marcus said, his gaze sweeping the area, “we will divide the site into equal sections and the sections into squares. Each square will be assigned a number. And since we don’t have another map specific to this spot alone, we will also need to draw one ourselves, once all of the squares are in place.”
Syble sensed a headache coming on, even before Marcus finished detailing his list. At this rate, there would be no actual digging for several days. “Is all of that really necessary?” She prided herself on not sounding as piqued as she felt.
“It is if we want to do this properly and increase the potential of not missing anything.”
As much as she wanted to protest his methodical methods, Syble had to admit that she didn’t want to miss anything either. “No digging today or tomorrow, then? But can we still set up some kind of marker now?”
“Of course.” Marcus nodded. “If everyone will gather a stone or two, we can build a miniature monument to mark the spot where we will begin digging.”
Everyone went looking for rocks as the donkey boys looked on. Syble couldn’t help a giggle at how bizarre they must look as she searched the area for a rock that was large enough to be used for the marker but light enough to carry. Their group soon had a pile of stones, which Marcus stacked into a makeshift tower near the location where Syble had been standing earlier. When he’d finished, he rose to his feet and brushed the sand from his fingers. The widows were already walking back toward the waiting donkeys.
Syble peered at the shadowed pattern again. “I still think we’ll find the tomb over here.” She returned to her spot, a few feet from the rock marker.
“It’s possible,” Marcus said with a chuckle, “but it’s also highly improbable to know the exact location right away.”
She rolled her eyes. “All right. Where do you think the tomb will be?”
“I can’t say just yet.”
“Come on, Marcus. Humor me.” Just when she started to think they might actually get along, something happened to remind her of how differently they approached literally everything. Still, she was determined to ignite some spontaneity in him a second time. “If you had to decide, in this moment, where do you think we’ll find the tomb?”
His eyes narrowed behind his glasses, and for a moment, she wondered if he would refuse to join her little game. Then he pushed out a sigh and stalked over to a patch of earth a few yards west of her position.
“If I had to guess—and it is most certainly a guess—I would say somewhere near this spot.”
Syble tossed him a smile. “Care to make it a competition? I’ll mark my guess, and you mark yours.”
Again he hesitated, his gaze searching her face. What did he see? Would she always be her thirteen-year-old self in his eyes?
Remember, Syble, she retorted inside her head, it doesn’t matter what he or any other man thinks of you.
Marcus finally dipped his chin in a determined nod. “Very well. I’ll do it.”
“You will? Really? Why?” He’d surprised her again, and while she usually adored surprises, it
made her a trifle uneasy when they came from an unexpected source, namely Marcus Brandt.
He smiled, though it appeared far from innocent. “It might be fun. Unless you’re afraid you might be wrong?”
“Not in the least.” She marched to the area where she’d found her other rock. Syble gathered several, then she returned to her chosen spot and set up a tiny marker of her own. A glance out of the corner of her eye revealed Marcus doing the same.
Dusting off her hands, she joined him as he headed toward the waiting group. “I promise not to gloat when we find the tomb in my spot.”
“And I promise to console you when we don’t.”
“Ha,” she said with an incredulous laugh. Inside, though, she couldn’t help pondering an image of Marcus consoling her. A part of her wasn’t sure she would mind.
Syble shook her head at her strange thoughts. She had to be letting her suspicions regarding the widows’ possible matchmaking influence her. She didn’t need Marcus consoling her. Especially when she planned to win this competition between them.
“You may be the expert”—he grinned in triumph at her words, but Syble wasn’t finished—“but I still proved earlier that it takes more than education and experience to figure something out. Sometimes it takes a fresh perspective, a little faith, and a willingness to have some fun. And those are qualities I have in spades.” She didn’t wait for his reply as she outpaced him to reach their donkeys.
If she could figuratively stay ahead of Marcus, she could surely stop him from continually surprising her and leading her to think and feel all sorts of confusing things. They could be friends and business associates, even occasional competitors. But that was it. Hopefully Nana and the others could also see that.
The pair of them were too different and too often at odds to find real happiness with each other. Besides, Syble was perfectly happy on her own.
In light of such truths, she’d have to give up trying to encourage him to have more fun or be spontaneous. But she was willing to pay that price, especially if it meant keeping her heart safe until their dig was over.
