Epilogue

Colin watched as his wife leaned over the ship railing to get a better look at the dark River Nile as it flowed beneath them. The first time she had done that—before their ship had even left the harbor—had caused him heart palpitations. But she had done the same quite often as they journeyed from London and had not yet fallen overboard. Now all he felt was a mild squeeze in his chest, and beyond that only joy.

His wife was happy.

“Colin, look! A crocodile!” she called excitedly.

It was not the first time she had spotted one. To the contrary, crocodiles were nearly as commonplace here along the Nile as squirrels were in England. Yet, Claire never tired of them.

“Shall I ready the goat, sir?” his footman asked in resigned tones.

Because now he had a footman. It turned out they were really quite useful, particularly when it came to dangling a dead goat over the side of the boat in order to tempt a hungry crocodile.

The goat dangled. They waited. Then, with a thrash of its powerful tail, the monster exploded from the water, its mouth gaping to reveal large white teeth. It clamped its jaws around the goat before submerging beneath the dark river.

Claire looked at him. “Green eyes,” she said in a tone of supreme satisfaction. “Just like the others. I believe I shall write a treatise on crocodiles. If I must remember everything in such detail, I should at least like to make use of it. And crocodiles are such charming creatures, don’t you think?”

Colin looked at the heavy wood beam, from which a goat no longer dangled. The water, now a shade of dark red, still churned. “Oh, yes, quite so.” He swallowed a spike of trepidation, then laughed and kissed her upturned mouth. “You will, of course, be a safe distance away as you study them.”

“Of course,” she said cheerfully. “I will even allow you to stand next to me with a pistol at the ready.”

He nodded, satisfied.

Behind them, Deb cleared his throat. They turned.

“We have almost reached Luxor. We should arrive within two hours.”

“Oh, wonderful.” Claire clapped her hands in glee. “Do you think it is true, that across the river is the valley where the ancient Egyptians buried their pharaohs, as Belzoni recently suggested?”

Deb shrugged, but his eyes gleamed. “I will not answer, for your husband has often reprimanded me for being far too optimistic. What do you think, Colin? Will we find the treasure of the pharaohs?”

“As always, the odds are not in our favor. There is heat, and sand, and an indecipherable language.” He sounded stern, but then he turned to Claire and grinned slowly. “But then again, my wife is very good at finding things.”

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