Connie Brockway by As You Desire

Author:As You Desire
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-04-25T11:55:17+00:00

Desdemona convinced Lord Ravenscroft to walk the short distance to Jabbar’s palace. As they rounded the corner of the boulevard, they were greeted by the sight of the Nile, smooth tea-colored waters flowing beneath them as, in the background, the Great Pyramid sparked with sunlight, a tiny triangle shimmering above a veil of heat.

“I’m surprised you can see it all the way from here,” Lord Ravenscroft said, leading her along the railed promenade beside the river.

“Yes. Magnificent, aren’t they?” She pointed out at the pyramids. “Legend has it that the last Mameluke Bey, the one routed by Napoleon, signaled his wife Fatima from atop the Great Pyramid after he’d paid Napoleon’s ransom for her.”

“Such a pretty storehouse of knowledge.” Lord Ravenscroft picked up her hand and raised it to his lips. “I did not get a chance to thank you, Miss Carlisle, for this morning’s excursion.”

He pressed a lingering kiss on her knuckles, his gaze intent. His hand was large and pale, unmarked by scars or calluses, the hand of a nobleman.

“You are most welcome, m’lord,” Desdemona said, watching the way the setting sun caressed his black, glossy hair. “You seemed in something of a hurry when we parted company. I trust that there were no extenuating circumstances demanding your attention?”

“Oh, no. No, indeed. It was all just rather overwhelming. I … I felt I needed some solitude in which to assimilate the experience.”

“I understand. The pyramids have that effect on me, also.” She nodded, pleased to find herself in such accord with him. “I hope I did not overwhelm you with too many details?” she added worriedly. It had crossed her mind once or twice during their tour that perhaps Lord Ravenscroft did not find the subject of ancient Egyptian customs as fascinating as she did.

“No, indeed,” he said, relinquishing her hand and leaning forward over the rail so that the breeze ruffled his long black locks. “You are an exemplary guide. So much information. So many facts. Your discourse on the embalming methods of the ancients was a revelation. And how conversant you are regarding eviscera!”

Desdemona laughed uneasily. “I’m afraid I sometimes get carried away. I’ve lived here for so many years that I forget what makes nice conversation. Forgive me.”

“Not at all, not at all. It was all most absorbing. Even the Coptic jars …”

“Canopic,” she corrected him. “Copt is a religion.”

“Whatever.” His gaze traveled over her face, her shoulders, her—

“Did you enjoy the sunrise?”

“Very much,” he murmured. She moved back a step. There was a lazy, sensual quality to his regard that she was unused to and therefore uncomfortable with. His gaze played over her entire person whenever she spoke, not stopping at her face and eyes, but slipping down her body, making; her feel unclothed, aware, above all the things she knew herself to be, that she was a woman. One of many. She dismissed the traitorous thought.

“The first rays of light bathing the pyramids are quite the most arresting vision one might have in Egypt,” she murmured.

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