Under A Desert Moon. Laura Martin
escaped her lips.
Instantly the figure was on his feet. With a final glance around the room he vaulted over the small table and out of the window.
Finally galvanised into action, Emma rushed to the window just in time to see her mysterious intruder disappear around the corner.
In shock, Emma sank onto the bed and felt her hands start to shake. She hadn’t managed to get a good look at the intruder—the baggy robes had disguised his build, and all but his dark eyes had been covered on his face—but she knew she’d recognise those eyes if she ever saw them again.
Once she had regained a little of her composure she contemplated calling one of the servants, but quickly dismissed the idea. She knew exactly what the mysterious intruder had been searching for, and luckily she had had the forethought to tuck it into a concealed pocket in her skirt before breakfast. Informing the household of the intruder would just open her up to questions of what he could have been searching for.
Emma’s hand closed around the small scroll in her pocket as she reassured herself it was still there. This was her father’s most treasured possession, and he had bequeathed it to her on his deathbed. For years he had studied the scroll, making notes on the accompanying pieces of paper, deciphering the ancient language and piecing together a location from the obscure references. Emma had wondered whether he had planned one final trip to Egypt before he died.
Quickly she stood and straightened out the room. The intruder hadn’t made much mess—there were just a few papers to be straightened and the sheets on the bed to be smoothed.
After a couple of minutes she looked around the room with satisfaction; no one would know anything untoward had happened here.
Grabbing her parasol and closing the door to her bedroom behind her, Emma realised the incident had made it even more imperative that she find a suitable guide quickly. She didn’t want to put the Fitzgeralds in danger. So if that meant begging Mr Oakfield to be her guide, well, she would have to swallow her pride and do just that.
Seb whistled while he worked. He was in a good mood: he’d found a buyer for his latest acquisition, and today some scrolls he had been waiting for had been delivered to his office. Everything in life was going smoothly.
Well, almost everything. There was the small issue of Miss Emma Knight, the petite Englishwoman who seemed to have bewitched him during their first meeting. Sebastian was a man of the world; he’d flirted and kissed and shared intimate nights with a good number of women. The encounters had always been fun but fleeting. Many years ago he’d realised he would never marry, never have children. It was a choice he had made, and one he made sure the women in his life were well aware of before they became intimate.
Emma was not the sort of woman he should be dallying with. She was obviously from a respectable family, and was the sort a man ought to propose to if he compromised. There was nothing on earth that would convince Seb to get married; he wasn’t going to make the same mistakes his parents had.
Therefore the best solution would be to avoid the very alluring Miss Knight so he didn’t find himself seducing her on dark terraces and wishing for more.
An image of his mother flashed into his mind and he stopped what he was doing momentarily. He missed her. He missed her quiet voice and gentle smiles. Every day he wished he’d been able to persuade her to leave his father, to come away with him and start a new life, free from fear of violence in the one place she should feel safe. Sebastian knew he had failed her, knew her death would always sit heavily on his conscience. Silently he cursed his father, and the image of the man he hated most in the world reminded him why getting involved with anyone like Emma Knight was a bad idea.
There was a sharp rap on the door and Seb jumped a little as he was roused from his thoughts.
‘Come in,’ he called.
‘Colonel Fitzgerald is here to see you,’ Tariq, his assistant, announced.
Seb nodded and a couple of seconds later Colonel Fitzgerald entered the room followed by Emma Knight.
Seb tried to suppress a groan. Emma hadn’t seemed the type prone to hysterics, or likely to make a scene out of their kiss the night before, but he had only known the woman for one day.
‘Colonel, Miss Knight, what an unexpected pleasure.’
The colonel smiled. He didn’t look like a man who was about to demand Seb ‘do the right thing and marry the girl.’ Seb liked the colonel. They’d spent some time working together before the colonel had semi-retired from the army, been on missions that had bonded the two men together as only danger could.
‘Please have a seat.’ He gestured to the two leather chairs facing his desk and watched as his guests sat down. Once they were comfortable he sent Tariq to make some coffee then took a seat himself.
‘What can I do for you today?’
Emma wasn’t meeting his eye. In fact she looked more nervous than either of the previous occasions that he’d met her. One hand was twisting the material of her dress whilst the other was tapping out a silent beat on the side of her chair.
‘We need a favour,’ Colonel Fitzgerald said, getting straight to the point.
Seb raised an eyebrow and felt himself relax inside. So Emma hadn’t let the secret of their kiss slip out.
‘What sort of favour?’
Colonel Fitzgerald motioned for Emma to speak. Seb watched as she swallowed, straightened her spine then lifted her head to meet his eyes.
Her gaze was unwavering and Seb felt himself shift under her scrutiny.
‘Colonel Fitzgerald assures me you are the best,’ she said.
Seb couldn’t help himself, he grinned. Emma’s eyes immediately widened as she realised what she’d just said but she ploughed on.
‘The best guide. That you have the best knowledge of Egypt.’
Seb didn’t deny it. He had scoured almost every mile of the country at one point or another. The only places in Egypt he hadn’t been were the bottom of the Nile and a few of the desert villages.
Tariq knocked quietly at the door and set a tray of coffee down on the desk. Silently he poured three cups. Just as he was about to leave Colonel Fitzgerald caught his eye.
‘Might I have a quick word about the latest shipment?’ the colonel asked.
Tariq nodded and waited for Colonel Fitzgerald to follow him from the room.
‘Alone again,’ Seb murmured.
Emma cleared her throat and ignored his comment.
‘I need a good guide, the best, to take me into rural Egypt.’
Seb looked at her for almost a minute. It was a strange request. Certainly he’d acted as a guide for archaeological expeditions before, but never had he had a lone woman ask him to guide her through the wilds of Egypt.
‘There are sightseeing trips,’ he said. ‘Groups of like-minded people who see the main sights Egypt has to offer.’
Emma shook her head. ‘I don’t want to see the main sights.’ She paused and corrected herself. ‘At least, I do want to see the main sights, but that’s not why I’m here.’
Seb waited for her to continue.
‘I have a specific destination in mind.’
‘Where?’
‘I can’t tell you, at least not yet.’
‘So you want me to be your guide to a specific destination but you won’t tell me where?’
She nodded.
‘I would find it rather difficult