CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Life of the Party

IT WAS INDEED A COLUMN, a standing column. Another hour's work revealed one on either side of it, which meant it was at the very least a new section of Hatshepsut's temple and could quite possibly be the Thutmose temple we'd been hoping for. Mother had Rumpf carefully sketch out the exact location of the columns, then had the men re-cover them with the debris so no one else would find them. If I had been expecting Jadwiga to cheer up at this discovery, I was sadly mistaken. His mood went from mournful to glum, but that was all.

Mother invited both men over to the house for dinner that night to celebrate our discovery. Jadwiga and Rumpf gave us just enough time to wash and change before they showed up on our doorstep. Mother brought out a bottle of champagne to celebrate and gave it to Rumpf to open. The cork shot off and nearly hit Habiba, who was clearing the plates. She sniffed in disapproval and removed herself from the dining room.

Rumpf poured the sparkling champagne into the crystal flutes Mother had produced from somewhere. Honestly! How had she known to pack those? Had she been that certain we'd find something?

"Here, darling," she said, and handed me a glass with an inch of champagne in it. "It was your discovery, after all, so you must join in the celebration." Then she lifted her glass and said, "To great finds, gentlemen!"

"To great finds, and the children who find them!" Rumpf amended. Have I mentioned that he is growing on me?

Even Mr. Miseryguts lifted his glass and gave me a morose nod.

I lifted the flute to my mouth, fascinated as the tiny bubbles popped and fizzed off the surface. It smelled fruity. Cautiously, I lifted it to my lips and took a sip. It crackled on my tongue, an odd sensation, but I did not care for the taste at all, so quickly put it back down on the table.

"Your mother said you were the one who discovered the second annex to Thutmose's tomb," Mr. Rumpf said. "How did a young girl like yourself come to make such a spectacular discovery?"

I looked to Mother for permission. After a faint pause, she inclined her head.

"Well," I began, not sure where to start. "In January, when Mother had just returned from months and months in the field, she suddenly needed to return to the valley to..." I didn't want to tell them of the ruthless competitive streak that had propelled her halfway around the globe so soon after returning, nor could I tell them it was a setup so that I would have an excuse to tag along and return the powerful Heart of Egypt to its rightful resting place before it destroyed my country. I glanced up at Mother, who was studying her champagne glass as if the secrets of the pharaohs could be discerned in its depths. "I decided I'd had enough of being left behind and, er, stowed away—"

"Invited herself along!" Mother said over me, then took a gulp of champagne.

"Right. Invited myself along. Then, once we'd arrived in Luxor, I'm afraid my impatience got the better of me and I snuck out one morning when my parents were still asl—"

"Dealing with the paperwork!" Mother said loudly.

"Right. Dealing with the paperwork." Honestly, was she going to tell this story or was I?

"And?" Mr. Rumpf prompted.

"And," I said, picking my way carefully over this part, "while exploring the tomb, I tripped and fell—"

"Such an awkward age," Mother murmured into her champagne glass.

"—against the back wall," I finished, but my focus was directed at Mother. She was embarrassed of me. She was nearly squirming with discomfort. Suddenly, my enjoyment of this story—of this discovery itself—turned to dust in my mouth. "It gave way and I tumbled into the newest annex."

Rumpf leaned forward. "And it was full of artifacts? Treasure of all kinds?"

Bother. Heard that, had he? But before I could try to explain, Mother gave a little laugh. "I'm afraid my daughter is mistaken, gentlemen. She was a trifle overset when we found her."

Overset? Overset! I'd never been overset in my life.

"She fainted shortly after that, and her father and I think she must have bumped her head in the fall."

Oh, how I longed to argue! I had not been overset and I had not imagined anything. "But Mother," I said sweetly, "how do you explain the Was scepter I found?"

She looked blank for a moment, unable to come up with an answer for that. However, before I could make a fool of myself and shout, "Ha!" Jadwiga spoke up.

"It was most likely the tomb raiders, ja? They are like a swarm of flies on honey. They can clear a tomb overnight."

Mother looked relieved. "Yes, perhaps that was it." She gave me a condescending smile that telegraphed quite clearly that she still thought I had imagined it all. A complete stranger believed me more than my own mother did. This was a fine state of affairs.

She began questioning the others about earlier digs they had worked on, but I hardly heard. I was torn between wanting to fume and wanting to weep. She was quite happy to benefit from my peculiar behavior—when it led to fascinating discoveries, say—but wanted to hide it from the rest of the world, as if it was something of which she was ashamed.

"And you, Mrs. Throckmorton?" Jadwiga asked. "What other digs have benefited from your expertise?"

The question jerked me out of my fugue, and I looked up at Mother. Perhaps her answer would reveal the temple where I'd been born.

As if quite aware of my powerful curiosity, she waved her hand prettily in the air. "Oh, the usual. Saqqara, Edfu, Dendera," she rattled off, then turned the conversation to a safer subject.

Pah! That was three different temples. There was no clue hidden there.

Suddenly I was gripped by some dark, ugly desire to remind her that there were far more shameful and embarrassing members of our family.

At the next lull in the conversation, I spoke up. "Did either of you know my grandfather?" I asked. "He was an archaeologist also, wasn't he, Mother?"

"Theo! How did you know of that?" she asked.

"I overheard someone talking of it once, at the museum."

"Well." She laughed nervously. "I'm sure these two gentlemen are too young to have worked with your grandfather." Then she changed the subject once again. But not before I saw the flicker of recognition in Jadwiga's brown eyes. He had heard of my grandfather.