by Stacy Henrie
Marcus held his breath. Surely Syble would refuse Kirk after the way things had ended between them. He wanted her to refuse. But she offered a brief nod.
“That would be fine, Mr. Kirk.”
The instant they were alone, Marcus tried again to repair the damage that had been done. “I am sorry, Syble. I should have told you that Kirk and I are old friends and that he had mentioned you when he came to see me.”
“Yes.” She spared him a quick look. “You should have, but instead, you kept something from me. Something significant.”
When she lowered her chin, he sucked in a painful breath. His confident Syble looked anything but self-assured in this moment, and it hurt him to witness it. What could he say to help? Would anything restore the closeness they’d enjoyed earlier?
“I think I’ve had my fill of the ball for tonight.” Her voice lacked any of her usual animation.
She started to turn away, and in his desperation, he reached out to cup her elbow. “Syble, please. What else can I say or do?”
“I need some time, Marcus.”
The words came out as hardly more than a whisper, but they sounded ominous inside his head. Time wasn’t necessarily on their side right now, not when Syble would be leaving Egypt in a few weeks. But he offered her a nod and lowered his hand to his side. “I understand.”
“Good night.” She attempted a smile, but it flattened almost as soon as it appeared.
Marcus watched her walk away, feeling even more gutted than he had after Esme’s final exit from his life. He picked up his neglected glove. Had it only been a matter of minutes since he’d touched Syble’s face and kissed her? Since he’d felt alive with hope? Now his hopes for a future together lay bruised and flattened like the petals of bougainvillea at his feet. Emptiness yawned inside him as he moved toward the ballroom, and this time, he recognized that no amount of books or digs or hidden treasure could fill the hole.
CHAPTER 15
Still dressed in her ball gown, Syble sat on her bed in the hotel room, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her eyes remained dry—she was too angry and confused to cry. The beads of her dress pressed into her palms. She hadn’t felt like changing, especially after being at the ball for so short a time. What had started out so beautifully had ended so miserably.
She could hardly believe she’d kissed Marcus less than an hour ago. And when he had kissed her back…Syble squeezed her eyes shut against the threat of tears and the now-bittersweet memory of his lips on hers, his affection every bit as ardent as her own.
Then Mr. Kirk had arrived, and everything had changed.
She’d been shocked to see her former suitor and to hear that he and Miss Dyer were not married or engaged. There had been little time to process the news, though, once Mr. Kirk had revealed that he and Marcus were friends and had talked about her.
Opening her eyes, Syble glared at the opposite wall, her frustration rising anew. She didn’t believe Mr. Kirk’s accusations that Marcus had reframed from championing her to his friend because he’d intended to court her himself. At the time, Marcus had likely thought he’d never lay eyes on her again. His agitated reaction to seeing her again in Egypt had clearly indicated that he had not expected their paths to cross. But he and Mr. Kirk had discussed her.
Footsteps sounded in the sitting room, signaling the return of her grandmother. Syble had purposely avoided the widows when she’d escaped upstairs a short time ago. The door cracked open. “Syble?” Nana half whispered.
“Come in.”
“Oh, my dear.” Her grandmother entered the room and came to sit on the edge of Syble’s bed. “Marcus told us that Mr. Kirk is here in Luxor, and that he is no longer engaged.”
Syble released her knees. “Did Marcus also tell you that the two of them are old friends? That they discussed me right before Mr. Kirk made the decision to cast me aside?”
“Yes.” Sadness and compassion creased the lines of her face. “He shared the details of their conversation last year, when Mr. Kirk came to ask his advice.” Nana reached out to touch Syble’s arm. “I don’t blame you for being angry. Marcus might have helped your suit with Mr. Kirk.”
Pushing out a heavy sigh, Syble rested her head on the wall behind her. She’d asked herself over and over again since leaving the ball what she felt most angry about. “I’m not upset by that.”
She felt embarrassed that the two of them had discussed her without her knowledge, but she believed Marcus had been honest in reporting what he’d said—and she was grateful he had remained neutral. She wanted to be chosen for her own merits and not because Mr. Kirk had been persuaded to pick her. Besides, if she had been his choice back then, she never would have come to Egypt. And that was something she would never regret doing, even if things between her and Marcus were now more complicated than ever.
“What is most upsetting to you then?” Nana asked, lowering her arm to her lap.
Syble brushed an errant strand of hair from her eyes. “Marcus never told me that he knew Elijah Kirk. Not even after I told him everything about last season and Mr. Kirk’s rejection. He kept something from me.”
“He did, and we are all in agreement, even Ethel, that doing so was wrong.” The idea of the widows roundly defending her nearly drew a smile from Syble. At least until her grandmother continued. “Marcus also shared with us that he wasn’t fully aware until the trip to Karnak how deeply Mr. Kirk had hurt you.”
Straightening away from the wall, Syble stared down at her dress. “That may be true, but he should have shared everything that night. I certainly did.” She ran her hand over the beads, the movement almost soothing. “I’m also not sure Marcus would have ever said something, not if Mr. Kirk hadn’t shown up tonight.”
“How do you feel about Mr. Kirk being here?”
Syble offered a conflicted shrug. “I don’t know. I can’t believe Miss Dyer ended things between them and that he’s not engaged anymore.” She lifted her gaze to meet her grandmother’s. “He wants me to join his party for breakfast tomorrow.”
“Is that a wise idea?” Concern colored Nana’s tone. “Things did not end well the last time you saw him. I hate to think of you getting hurt again.”
“I appreciate that. I really do.” Syble scooped up her grandmother’s hand inside her own. “I was hurt, and your visit last fall was an answer to prayer. That being said, it’s just breakfast. I don’t plan on pursuing him or being courted by him. I just want to show him—and myself—that I really don’t hold any hard feelings towards him anymore and that we are still friends.” Her next admission wasn’t as hard to voice as she would have once thought. “I know he didn’t intend to hurt me. He is still a decent man, and we had a great deal of fun together.”
Nana squeezed her hand. “What about Marcus? How do you feel about him?”
The question renewed the wash of tears in Syble’s eyes and elicited a lump in her throat. How did she feel about Marcus? Earlier tonight, she’d been certain she was falling in love with him. She had even risked her heart by telling him how happy she was with him, how much she liked him. She’d been the one to initiate their first kiss too. But now?
“He chose not to share something important with me, Nana. And that’s made me wonder how well I actually know him.” She withdrew her hand and hugged her knees to her chest again. Perhaps that would ease the ache expanding inside her. “A few weeks in each other’s company eight years ago and some more time this winter isn’t long enough to form a complete picture of someone. I spent months in Mr. Kirk’s company, yet I still didn’t really know him. Not enough to realize he felt differently about our relationship than I did.”
Syble fixed a pleading look on her grandmother. “I’m wondering if I’ve been rushing things by risking my heart a second time. I probably should have thought it through some more, instead of acting impulsively again.” Especially when it came to kissing Marcus. “Maybe it’s time to stop being so spontaneous.”
“Oh, Syble.” Nana rested he
r hands on Syble’s knees and gave them a gentle shake. “You don’t want to stop being yourself.”
Several tears slid down her face, dropping onto her ball gown. “I do if it keeps bringing me heartache.”
“You’ve really come to care for Marcus, haven’t you?”
She didn’t need to answer the question. Her tears were proof enough of the pain throbbing inside her head and heart.
“We all hoped this would happen.” Her grandmother seemed to be talking as much to herself as to Syble. “We just never dreamed Mr. Kirk would show up unattached—or that other surprising truths would come to light.”
Brushing the back of her hand across her cheeks, Syble narrowed her eyes. “Nana? What did you hope would happen?”
“There’s something I have to confess.” Nana released her hold on Syble, her features full of resignation. “The purpose of this trip wasn’t just so I could see the progress on the dig I’m funding or for Ethel to finance one of her own.”
Syble snapped to attention. All of her suspicions had been founded. “Your true purpose had to do with Marcus, didn’t it? That’s the reason you concealed the identity of your archaeologist until after we’d arrived.”
Her grandmother’s cheeks flamed a dark shade of pink. “The four of us have thought for years that you two would be perfect for each other. You only needed an opportunity to reconnect and let go of the annoyances of the past.”
Syble dropped her legs onto the bed. “I knew it! You were all attempting to be matchmakers, starting that first night when you insisted that I change my dress.”
Nana spread her hands wide. “What I can say? You did look very pretty in the dress you chose. Marcus couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
“That’s because he was upset at seeing me again, not because he was enthralled with how I looked.” A horrible thought entered her mind. “Do you think Marcus figured out what the four of you were plotting?” Before her grandmother could answer, a more awful notion took hold of her. “He doesn’t think I willingly went along with it, does he?”
Nana shook her head, bringing some relief to Syble’s mortification. “Marcus knew nothing about our plans, and I imagine he’s still unaware of them.”
“I know you meant well,” Syble conceded, her gaze moving to her notebook, where her list of Marcus’s admirable qualities lay tucked inside. She’d added a few more traits to the list since first penning it. Though, in light of tonight’s events, it no longer mattered. “Marcus and I are just too different, Nana.”
“That’s what makes you suit so well. You balance each other.” There were no traces of regret in her grandmother’s demeanor now. “We’d hoped that tonight you would both finally see that for yourselves.”
“Then maybe it wasn’t meant to be.” Syble hated the finality of her own words. “It would have hurt far worse to discover later on that I don’t know Marcus as well as I’d believed.”
She still cared for him, more deeply than she ever had for any other man. But this evening had shown her that spontaneity and romance weren’t enough on their own. Openness and steadiness were necessary for a relationship too. The absence of the first had been Marcus’s mistake, in not sharing about his conversation with Mr. Kirk, and the second was Syble’s.
“What will you do now, my dear?” Nana asked as she rose to her feet.
With a shake of her head, Syble stood as well. “I told Marcus I needed some time. Beyond that, I’m really not sure.”
* * *
He might as well have been eating sand for all he tasted at breakfast the next morning. Marcus had slept very little the night before. When he had drifted off, the hurt on Syble’s face had haunted his dreams, along with Kirk pointing an accusing finger at him.
In stark contrast, his friend had knocked on Marcus’s door this morning. Only his repentant demeanor had induced Marcus to listen to him.
His friend had apologized for letting his lingering hurt over Miss Dyer’s rejection spill over into harsh, unfounded assumptions about Marcus’s motives with Syble. He’d also stated his deep regret over interrupting the two of them last night and for his part in Syble being upset.
Marcus had swiftly forgiven him. After all, it wasn’t Kirk’s fault that Marcus hadn’t told Syble about their conversation last year. He also knew the difficulty of trying to manage one’s life and emotions after a broken engagement. Like him, Kirk was attempting to make sense of everything and establish some sort of normalcy once more. Marcus wouldn’t condemn the man for making mistakes in the process.
They’d ended the brief conversation with a firm handshake. But Marcus’s feelings of goodwill faded rapidly when Kirk inquired about his intentions with Syble. Was Marcus courting her? Was there an understanding between them? Everything inside Marcus had wanted to answer with an affirming yes. But he wouldn’t add lying to his own list of mistakes.
“We’ve become close,” he’d said at last, keeping his tone neutral. He wasn’t ready to reveal to anyone, particularly Kirk, the intensity of his feelings for Syble. “But our remaining time together is limited. I don’t know what or if anything will come of it, once she leaves Egypt.” The truth had never tasted so bitter to him, not even when he’d told his parents that Esme wouldn’t be marrying him after all.
It only confirmed the truth of what Marcus already knew—he was hopelessly in love with Syble Rinecroft. And though she’d confessed last night to liking him very much, Marcus understood that Kirk’s arrival, and his revelations, had likely changed that.
He cut a glance to where Syble sat at a table with Kirk, along with the man’s sister and brother-in-law. As he watched, Syble tilted her head and laughed at something Kirk said. Marcus’s jaw tightened in response.
He’d sensed the conflict in her when she’d entered the dining room earlier—he had even hoped it meant she wouldn’t be dining with his friend. But Syble had squared her shoulders and walked to Kirk’s table. Apparently she’d relaxed enough by now to laugh. The realization soured his stomach with regret and jealousy.
Did Syble wish for Kirk to be her suitor again? Marcus didn’t know, and the uncertainty ate away at him and robbed the usually delicious fare of any flavor.
“I don’t see why she’s even talking to that charlatan,” Florence said, none too quietly. “Not after the way he behaved last year.”
Marcus felt the urge to smile for the first time since the ball. He’d always liked Florence.
“He is not a charlatan, Florence,” Rose protested. “And he didn’t mean to hurt our Syble.”
Florence sniffed. “Well, he did, and I, for one, am highly suspicious of why he is in Luxor in the first place. Did he know Syble would be in Egypt?”
“No.” The answer fell almost unbidden from Marcus’s mouth. He didn’t want to come to his friend’s defense, and yet he believed Kirk innocent in that respect. “He was as genuinely shocked to see Syble as we were to see him.”
Gran patted his arm. “She’s likely just being polite by having breakfast with him.” Marcus wondered if her reassurance was meant more for him or the other widows.
“Be that as it may…” Florence gave Kirk’s table a pointed look. “I still don’t like her reacquainting herself with that man.”
“I trust Syble,” Adelle said, giving her friend a sharp look of her own. “She’s not going to run headlong into anything involving Mr. Kirk. Not this time.” But Marcus didn’t miss the tightening of her lips as she, too, glanced at the other table.
He tried to focus on his remaining food, but the question foremost on his mind would not stay unspoken. “Now that Kirk is no longer engaged, is Syble hoping to renew their former relationship?”
“I don’t think so.” Adelle turned her gaze from her granddaughter to Marcus. “She enjoyed his company during the season last year. But joining him for breakfast is about showing Mr. Kirk, and herself, that there’s no hard feelings there—that they can continue as friends.”
Her answer failed to bring Marcus the
relief he’d been seeking. Even if Syble didn’t currently intend to reignite her feelings for her former beau, surely any time spent in Kirk’s presence would have her questioning what she ever saw in a bookish archaeologist like Marcus. His friend’s charm and amusement had once appealed to Syble. Why shouldn’t it again, especially now that Kirk was no longer engaged?
The possibility ended what remained of Marcus’s appetite. He didn’t want to know any more about Syble’s plans for the future, which likely no longer included him. If they ever had.
He was in the process of pushing back his chair, intending to return to his room, when Syble approached their table. “Nana? Mr. Kirk is wondering if I might join him and his sister as they explore Luxor over the next few days. I told him about the Ramesseum and the bazaar, and he’d like to see them.”
“That would be nice, except…” Adelle looked unsure of how to proceed. Her eyes flicked to Marcus’s, then away. “We were planning to set up camp at Marcus’s dig site tomorrow when he resumes clearing his tomb.”
Marcus glanced at Syble, but he couldn’t read her thoughts on her face. “Could I join you at the dig midweek?” she asked.
An awkward quiet settled over the table. And Marcus realized he had to be the one to end it. For Syble, for the others, and for himself.
“Why don’t the five of you stay at the hotel this week?” he suggested as he stood. “You can enjoy the sites of Luxor and return to a comfortable bed each night. I can let you know when it’s time to enter the treasury room.”
Gran peered up at him, her forehead creased with concerned surprise. “Are you sure? I was looking forward to camping with you again.”
“Me too,” Rose said. “I’ve enjoyed the camp even more than the hotel.”
He had also been looking forward to having their company on another dig. But after the events of last night, he wasn’t sure he could bear seeing Syble as often as before. Especially if she was spending time with Kirk too.
