Curse of the Kings (10 page)

I did so. The transformation was miraculous. It was indeed my color. I let down my thick dark hair, and with my eyes shining and color in my cheeks I would have been beautiful I thought but for my nose which was too large. Hadrian always used to laugh at my nose. t a forceful one,he said. t betrays your character. No one who was meek could ever have such a nose. Your powers, dear Judith, are not in your stars but in your nose.I giggled. In such a beautiful gown I could forget that offending feature.

ou look quite Spanish now,said Theodosia. our hair ought to be piled high on your head and you should have a Spanish comb. You look marvelous then. I wish it were a masked ball. Then it would be so much easier to hide you from Mamma. But she will know it is Father wish and will say nothing at the ball at least. She wouldn want a scene there.

he storm will come later.

I didn care. I would face that. I was going to the ball. I should have a little dance program with a pink cord and pencil and I would keep it forever, because I was certain that Tybalt initials would be on it.

I seized Theodosia in my arms and we danced round the bedroom.

The night of the ball had come. Thank Heaven, Lady Bodrean would be too busy to want to be bothered with me. y goodness,Jane had said, ee going to have a session. There her hair to do and Ie got to get her into her gown. When it comes to what jewels she to wear itl be this and thatnd that no good and what about this. It a good thing I know how to handle her.

So I was free to dress myself in the close-fitting green satin sheath over which were yards and yards of flowing silk chiffon. Nothing could have been chosen to suit me better. And when I had come up to dress I found that Theodosia had laid the Spanish comb on my dressing table. Hadrian was there to support me too. I felt that the position had changed since he had come back. I really had friends in the house now.

And on this night of the ball I prepared to enjoy myself.

Sir Ralph and Lady Bodrean stood at the head of the great staircase to receive their guests. Naturally I did not present myself. But what fun it was to mingle with the guests who were so numerous that I was sure I could escape Lady Bodrean eye. In any case she would hardly recognize me in my finery.

I danced with Hadrian who said it was rather like some of the tricks we used to get up to in our youth.

e were always the allies,he said, ou and I, Judith.

It was true.

sorry,said Hadrian, hat it my aunt you have to work for.

ot more sorry than I. Yet it gives me a chance to be at Keverall.

ou love the old house, don you?

t seems like part of my life. Don forget I was here almost every day.

feel the same. Theodosia lucky. Itl be hers one day.

ou sound envious.

sound as I feel then. You see I a bit of a charity boy myself.

h, no, Hadrian. Youe Sir Ralph nephew, almost a son.

ot quite.

hen, I tell you what you should do,I said lightly, arry Theodosia.

y cousin!

hy not? Cousins marry often. It a very useful way of keeping the property well within the family.

ou don think she have me, do you? I fancy now her gaze is fixed in another direction.

s that so?

ave you noticed her being eagerly intent every time anyone mentions the subject?

hat subject?

rchaeology. She so excited about this expedition. You think she was going on it.

rying to impress someone. Perhaps it you! After all it is your subject.

h no. Nothing of the sort. I not the chosen one.

I couldn bear to talk of Theodosia and Tybalt so I said quickly: on you wish you were going out to Egypt with the party?

enjoy it in a way. I hear that Sir Edward is very much a lone wolf. He keeps his team in the dark. It the way some people work. I was talking to Evan about it. We should have been flattered if we been asked to join the party of course. But at our stage it would only be in a minor capacity.

nd Tybalt?

ell, he the great man son. I daresay he won be kept entirely in the dark.

suppose one day hel be as great as his father.

e has the same passionate absorption.

saw him dancing with Theodosia but I didn see Sir Edward.

el probably look in later.

The band had stopped; the dance was over. Hadrian led me to a seat sheltered by pots of palms.

feel like a fox in his lair,I said.

ou mean a vixen,corrected Hadrian.

admit to a kindred spirit with that creature on certain occasions but at the moment I far too mellow.

Evan came up with Theodosia and sat down with us. Theodosia looked at me in my green dress with great pleasure.

ou are enjoying the ball, Judith?she asked anxiously.

I assured her I was.

Then Tybalt appeared. I thought he had come to claim Theodosia but instead he sat down. He did not seem the least bit surprised to see me.

Evan then said that he believed Theodosia had promised him this dance. They went off and Hadrian said he had a partner to find; that left Tybalt and myself alone.

re you enjoying the dance?I asked.

t not much in my line, you know.

saw you dancing a little while ago.

ost ungracefully.

dequately,I assured him. ou will be gone very soon,I went on. ow you must be longing to set out.

t a most exciting project of course.

ell me about it.

ou really are interested, aren you?

normously.

el go by ship to Port Said and overland to Cairo. We shall stay for a while and then make our way towards the ancient site of Thebes.

I clasped my hands ecstatically.

o tell me more about it. Youe going to the tombs, aren you?

He nodded. y father has been preparing for this project for some time. He was out there several years ago and he always had the impression that he was on the verge of some great discovery. It been in his mind for years. Now he going to satisfy himself.

tl be wonderful,I cried.

think it the most exciting project that Ie ever undertaken.

ou have been there before?

es, with my father. I was very inexperienced then and it was a great concession for me to be there at all. My father party discovered one of the tombs which must have been prepared for a great nobleman. It had been robbed, thousands of years ago. It was very disappointing as you can imagine. All the hard work, the excavating, the probing, the hopes and then to find that the tomb has been so completely cleared that there is nothing left which would help to reconstruct the customs of this fascinating country. I getting carried away with my enthusiasm, but it your fault, Miss Osmond. You seem so interested.

am, tremendously so.

o few people outside our little world understand a thing.

don feel myself to be exactly outside it. I was very fortunate. I took lessons at Keverall Court and as you know Sir Ralph has always been interested in archaeology.

ortunately, yes. He is helping us a great deal.

t was he who engaged Evan Callum to give us lessons. Then, of course, there was what was going on at Carter Meadow. I sometimes gave a hand there in a very unprofessional way, as you can guess.

ut you caught the fascination, didn you? I can hear it in your voice and see it in your face. And I remember how excited you were when you came to the house for books. And I do believe, Miss Osmond, that you are not one of those ridiculously romantic people who believe that this is all digging and finding wonderful jewels and the remains of old palaces.

know such finds are few.

t true. But I am sure you would like to dance. So if you don mind a little discomfort?

I laughed and said: l bear it.

And there I was, dancing with Tybalt. It was like a dream come true.

I loved him all the more because he kept putting his feet in the wrong places. He apologized and I wanted to cry: Your treading on my toes is bliss.,

I was so happy. Alison and Dorcas had said that I had the gift of shutting out everything but the moment and enjoying it to the full. I was glad of it on that night. I would not go beyond this glorious moment when Tybalt arms were about me and I was closer to him than I had ever been.

I longed for the music to go on and on but it stopped of course and we returned to our alcove where Theodosia was seated with Evan.

I danced with Evan who said how glad he was to see me there. I told him about how I had found the dress in my cupboard and Sir Ralph had wished me to come to the ball.

We laughed and talked about the old days and later we went to supper and were joined there by Theodosia, Hadrian, and Tybalt.

How gay I could be on such an occasion. I sparkled and made sure that the conversation circled about me. Theodosia was very gentle and did not mind, any more than she had in the schoolroom, the fact that I drew attention from her.

Tybalt was naturally a little aloof from our frivolous chatter. He was more mature than the rest of us and I could not help noticing how insignificant Hadrian and Evan were in comparison. When Tybalt was talking of archaeology he glowed with an intense and single-minded passion which I was sure only a man who could feel deeply would experience. I believed then that if ever Tybalt loved a woman it would be with the same unswerving devotion which he gave to his profession. Because I wanted to see Tybalt animated, glowing with that enthusiasm which thrilled and excited me, I introduced the subject of archaeology and almost immediately he was the center of a fascinated audience.

When we paused Theodosia said: h, you are all so clever even Judith! But don you think this salmon is delicious?

Hadrian then told us a story of a fishing expedition he had enjoyed on the Spey, in the Scottish Highlands, where, he said, the best salmon in the world was caught. He was explaining how he had plunged into the river and pulled in the struggling fish, showing us the size of it at which we all laughingly expressed disbelief, when Lady Bodrean walked past our table in the company of several of the guests.

I was saying: f course, you know that all fishermen double the size of their catch and it wouldn surprise me if Hadrian trebled his.

And there she was, her eyebrows raised in astonishment as slowly her outraged feelings were visible in the expression on her face.

There was a silence which seemed to go on for a long time; then she took a step towards our table. The men rose, but she stared incredulously at me. I attempted to put on a calm smile.

One of her guests said: h, it Mr. Travers, I believe.

Tybalt said yes it was; and then Lady Bodrean recovered herself. She made introductions, leaving me until last and then: iss Osmond,she said, almost making my name sound obscene.

Nobody noticed and there were a few moments of polite conversation, and then Lady Bodrean and her party passed on.

h dear!said Theodosia, very distressed.

somehow felt it would happen,I added, trying to pretend that I was not really perturbed.

ell,said Hadrian, ir Ralph has to answer for his guests.

hat happened?asked Tybalt.

I turned to him. really shouldn be here.

urely not,he said. our company has made it such an interesting evening.

That made everything worth while.

may well be sent packing tomorrow morning.

Tybalt looked concerned and I felt absurdly happy.

Theodosia started to explain. ou see my father thought Judith should come to the ball and he and I put our heads together. I chose her dress and Sarah Sloper made it but Mamma did not know.

Tybalt laughed and said: here is always some drama surrounding Miss Osmond. If she is not dressing up as an embalmed body and getting into a sarcophagus she is dressing up in a beautiful gown and coming to a ball. And in neither place it seems is she expected to be.

Hadrian put his hand over mine. on worry, Judith. Youl weather tomorrow storm.

amma can be very fierce,said Theodosia.

ut,put in Evan, udith came as the guest of Sir Ralph. I don see how Lady Bodrean can object to that.

ou don know Mamma,said Theodosia.

assure you I do and the outlook seems stormy, but since Judith came at Sir Ralph invitation I can see that she has done anything wrong.

n any case,I said, his storm is for tomorrow. At the moment it a beautiful night. There salmon which we hope was caught in the Scottish Highlands and champagne from the appropriate district. The company is invigorating, so what more could we ask?

Tybalt leaned towards me and said: ou live in the moment.

t the only way to live. Tonight I a kind of Cinderella. Tomorrow I return to my ashes.

l be Prince Charming,said Hadrian. he music starting. Let dance.

I did not want to leave Tybalt, but there was nothing else I could do.

ongratulations,said Hadrian as we danced. ou were the calmest of the lot. You put up a good show. I suppose youe really quaking in your glass slippers.

resigned,I said. have a feeling that very soon I shall be back in Rainbow Cottage writing humble letters to prospective employers.

oor Judith. It hateful being poor.

hat do you know about that?

lenty. I have my troubles. I have to crave my uncle benevolence. My creditors are yapping at my heels. I must speak to him tomorrow. So you see, like you tonight I want to eat drink and be merry.

h, Hadrian. Are you really in debt?

p to the eyes. What wouldn I do to be in Theodosia shoes.

don suppose she gets as big an allowance as you.

ut think of the credit! Did you know that my uncle is fabulously rich? Well, dear Theodosia will inherit all that one day.

hate all this talk about money.

t is depressing. It one of the reasons why I like to be rich. Then you can forget there such a thing in the world as money.

We laughed, danced, and joked; but both of us were, I suppose, thinking of what the next day would bring. My ability to live in the moment was only with me when Tybalt was there.

I hoped to see him again, but I didn; and before all the guests had departed I thought it advisable to return to my room.