Harleigh Sinclair and the Raiders of the Lost Ankh by Tamara Grantham

Author:Tamara Grantham [Grantham, Tamara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Dream Garten Press
Published: 2023-10-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I caught my breath as we entered the dining hall. Chandeliers shone from a vaulted ceiling, glowing over the long oaken table, heavily carved with clawed feet and cherubs surrounding the edges. The place settings gleamed with porcelain and silver. Candelabrums arched gracefully as candles flickered. Despite the room’s beauty, the air held the trace scent of dust.

The arching windows revealed the Scottish countryside as evening descended over the valley.

Lexi and Gael sat chatting quietly at the table, and I walked to the empty chair beside my sister. As I got situated on the velvet seat cushion, Jagg and the professor took the seats across from us.

“You’re awake,” I said to my sister, giving her arm a playful nudge with my elbow.

“Yeah.” She pushed a strand of hair back in her ponytail. My sister was back to her usual chic self, with a little makeup and a bright turquoise blouse that contrasted her creamy brown skin. “Are you surprised?”

“A little. I thought you said you were sleeping for fifteen hours.”

She shrugged. “I decided I had better things to do than sleep.”

“Like what?” I placed the napkin in my lap.

She winked. “Like check out the gardener.” She nodded toward the door.

“Lexi.” I frowned. “Aren’t you with what’s-his-name?”

“Carlo?” She smirked. “I told him we’re not together and I’d think about getting back with him. I need some time to think.”

“Really?” I knitted my eyebrows. “When did this happen?”

“This morning. He kept texting me, trying to apologize and be like, ‘oh hey babe, I’m so sorry I didn’t show up.’ Whatever. So, I told him what I thought. Then I saw the gardener.”

“I see.” I pursed my lips. Lexi and her love life came straight from reality TV.

Several servers arrived pushing carts filled with silver domes into the room. As they lifted the lids, the heavenly scent of cooked meat and grilled onions filled the air, and my empty stomach growled.

“Right on time!” the professor announced, clapping his hands. Plates of meat pies, mashed potatoes, and sausages were passed around.

I speared a bite of sausage. Salty pork and spices burst in my mouth. Gael’s voice carried through the enormous room. He laughed with the professor over Scottish superstitions. The Bodach and Loch Ness monster. My mind wandered as we ate. What was in the archives? Could I find anything about my father’s sword?

Dad had spent so long trying to find out more about it, only to have met one roadblock after another. It was as if the world was against him finding the truth of the sword. He’d never gotten inside the vaults. Why would my luck be any different? If I were to get inside those vaults tonight, I would need help.

“…picture of Nessie displayed the mantel,” the professor was saying.

“Nay,” Gael said incredulously. “You jest.”

“Not at all!” the professor argued. “I took the photo myself almost a decade ago. Shall I prove it to you?”

“I think you must,” Gael answered.

“I’d like to see it, too,” Lexi said, bouncing from her seat.

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