Treasured Dreams (23 page)

Rosalina was at his side. It was hard to believe she was still awake. Her stubbornness was probably the only thing keeping her standing upright.

It had been an afternoon of debating that resulted in them cruising to the Solomon Islands rather than chartering the plane. There were many pros and cons to each, but finally it was the ability to keep the details of what they were doing contained that dictated cruising. If they'd flown, yes, they would have saved time, but once they got there, they'd have to hire dive boats, dive gear and possibly storage and guards if they actually found what they were looking for. Keeping anything secret would've been impossible.

Once the decision was made, it was a grand scramble to stock up
Evangeline
with all the necessary equipment, food and fuel. Of course Rosalina also had a heartfelt hello and goodbye with Nonna. Once she finished with Nonna, Rosalina conceded they were doing the right thing. Nonna had been surprisingly supportive of their plans and for that, Archer would be eternally grateful.

Even though Filippo was still captured by Nox, Archer was positive he'd remain unharmed. Nox needed Rosalina's brother to exchange for the treasure. If they found any treasure, that was. With a bit of luck they'd find bucket loads of it and Archer hoped he could show Rosalina just how exciting treasure hunting could be.

Archer had offered to take the first shift while Jimmy got some shut-eye. Jimmy would take over at four a.m., and the rotation would continue all the way to Alexandria, Egypt.

Archer tugged his beautiful Italian woman to his side. ‘Are you okay, sweetheart?'

She nuzzled in. ‘Yes and no.'

He knew exactly what she meant. After the night she'd been through, she'd welcome her safety, but knowing her brother was still captive would be eating her up. ‘If you want to go to bed I won't mind.'

‘I want to stay with you.'

He kissed her forehead. ‘Okay.'

After a while though, she couldn't hold her eyes open a moment more. Archer set the yacht on autopilot and guided her to their bed. He tucked her in, kissed her goodnight, and returned to his place on the bridge.

Their first stop at Alexandria, Egypt, was set to take three to four days. He'd make it in three.

***

Day after day they cruised the sparkling blue Mediterranean Sea beneath the cloud-dotted sky. Bottlenose dolphins raced alongside for a while, and both Ginger and Rosalina squealed each time they launched from the water. Archer smiled along with them as he watched Rosalina's childish glee at nature's impromptu show. Despite seeing her laugh, he knew she was brooding over some deep stuff inside. He hoped this change of pace would help her release it soon and let his fun-loving Rosalina return.

Alessandro continued to receive fishing lessons from Ginger, and thanks to Rosalina's magnificent cooking skills, they feasted on seafood dishes with flavours from all over the world.

Late after their third night cruising, Jimmy sidled up beside Archer in the bridge. ‘Give me a meat pie any day.'

‘Had enough of the fish, buddy?'

‘Haven't you? I miss my meat. I'll tell you somethin'—the second we land in Darwin, I'm off to find me a good Aussie T-bone steak. When was the last time we had something like that? All this fancy food is driving me crazy.'

‘Do you want me to let Rosa know?'

‘No. Don't. I'm sure this cooking is taking her mind off things.'

Archer sighed. ‘Every day she's getting better. I think we should check out the diving in Alexandria. Just a fun dive—no treasure hunting.'

Jimmy's eyes lit up. ‘Fuck yeah.' He slapped Archer on the back. ‘Is it good diving?'

Archer smiled at his best mate. ‘Some of the most interesting in the world. Ask Alessandro to give you a history lesson.'

‘Ah, no thanks.'

‘I'm serious. You'll be intrigued.'

***

It was eleven o'clock the next morning when Jimmy spied the Egyptian shoreline on the horizon through the high-powered binoculars.

‘I'll get the tender ready.' Jimmy strode away, and Archer didn't bother to tell him to wait. They were still at least an hour before anchoring and the tender was already primed for use. Jimmy was going a little stir-crazy. Archer, on the other hand, could cruise the world, never leaving
Evangeline
, and be a happy man forever … as long as Rosalina remained at his side.

Once Archer let the anchor go, he called everyone to the lounge area. Rosalina looked magnificent in a powder blue maxi dress with a split that allowed her long legs to peek through as she walked. She was way overdressed for shopping in an Egyptian market, but he'd have no hope of getting her to change. Which was why he was happy he'd made some pre-arrangements.

He checked at the clock in the galley, their timing was perfect. ‘Okay ladies, I've organised a driver to collect you and take you to a traditional food market away from the tourist areas. Whatever you do, don't leave his side, okay, Ginger?' He was certain Rosalina would be enthralled enough by the abundance of food variety to keep her contained in the market area. Ginger, on the other hand, was likely to wander off at any random point.

Ginger's eyes widened. ‘Is it dangerous?'

‘Some areas are known to be dangerous, but with your blonde hair you'll be hounded from the moment you step on shore. Which is why you need to hang with the driver. Understand?'

‘Yeah, sure.' Ginger sounded so flippant about it she clearly had no idea what it was like to be heckled. Archer wondered if she could handle it. She could be ditzy sometimes, and then other times she appeared mature beyond her years. He was still trying to figure her out.

‘See if you can get some meat,' Jimmy said.

Rosalina placed her hand on his forearm and smiled. ‘I'll try, but no promises.'

Archer turned to Alessandro. ‘I've arranged for another driver to take you to the museum in Alexandria.'

The Italian's eyes just about popped out of his head. Alessandro rubbed his hands together. ‘
Fantastico
.'

‘You can have a quick look around, but your plan is to meet people, get to know them, and see if you can make friends who may be able to help us if—no,
when
we return to Egypt. Jimmy and I'll load up
Evangeline
with fresh supplies and, all going well'—he glanced at the clock again—‘we'll all be back on board by four.'

‘I thought we were going diving?' Jimmy scowled.

‘We are; don't worry, we'll have heaps of time. If not, we'll have a night dive.'

‘You're diving at night?' Alessandro's bulging eyes showed his horror at the thought.

‘Of course. It's fun,' Jimmy said.

Alessandro shuddered.

The sound of a horn had them all turn to the shore. Two black Renault sedans were waiting. Their drivers climbed out and waved in their direction. ‘Good, they're on time. I'll take you all over.'

They loaded into the tender, and Archer navigated the abundance of children in tiny little handmade boats that looked likely to topple over at any second. They were selling all manner of wares, from clothing to food to souvenirs and sang ‘row, row, row your boat' at the top of their lungs in an attempt to catch their attention. Ginger and Rosalina playfully waved to the kids and sang along with them. But their reckless attempts to intercept his course to the jetty had Archer labelling the kids as downright dangerous. He managed to avoid a catastrophe though and successfully arrived at the jetty ten minutes later.

Alessandro climbed out first and helped Ginger from the boat.

Archer cupped Rosalina's cheeks. ‘Be careful, babe. Stay with the driver the whole time.'

‘I will.' She reached up on her tippy-toes and kissed him. ‘Don't worry.'

‘I'll stop worrying when you're beside me again.'

When she smiled, her eyes lit up, and he knew then that this little shopping expedition was exactly the distraction she needed. He kissed her again and watched her until she was secure within the vehicle. Then he pushed off the jetty and dodged the water sellers back to
Evangeline
.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rosalina clung to the door handles as the driver zipped through the packed Egyptian streets at a reckless speed. One glance at Ginger was enough to know she was just as terrified. Horns blared, tyres screeched, and drivers flung abuse out their windows. Every car she looked at had scratches and dents marring it. Some shouldn't have been on the road at all.

People were everywhere, young and old, smiling and scowling, colourful and drab. When they finally stopped, Omar, their driver, helped each of them out and instructed them to follow him.

From that point on, everything was an explosion to her senses. The smells were sweet and spicy, delicious and rank. A kaleidoscope of colours bombarded her from every angle, and the noise was the constant drone of busy Egyptian life.

Rosalina loved it all.

Omar led them to the spice market stall first where dozens of wicker baskets were filled to overflowing with a vast variety of colourful aromatic spices, some she recognised, some she didn't. It was overwhelming, and after ten minutes of trying to work out which ones to choose she decided to get one cup of each of them. When Omar explained what she wanted, the spice vendor flashed his toothless grin, and Rosalina chuckled at how happy he was.

The next stall overflowed with fresh vegetables, again, some she recognised—tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, aubergines, courgettes, eggplant and lemons—but some she didn't. She couldn't decide again, so this time she bought the foods she didn't recognise and added some of her favourites.

The next stall offered freshly baked bread. ‘Oh Rosa, let's try some.' Ginger hooked her hand through Rosa's bent elbow and guided her into the stall. The owner of the stall was a woman whose breasts were as big as her welcome. She was flamboyant in her sales routine and insisted they sample almost everything.

‘Omar, what's this bread called?' Rosalina pointed to a flat round disc the size of a dinner plate that had a layer of what looked like finely ground corn grains on the bottom.

‘That's eesh baladi, a traditional Egyptian bread.'

He spoke to the woman behind the counter and with tissue-covered fingers, she picked up the bread and handed it to Rosalina. She broke off a bite-sized piece and tried it. The bread was quite dense. It was simple, yet fresh and delicious.

‘Can you ask her name please?'

‘Yasmin,' Omar said without asking. Omar probably knew every vendor along this strip and would be receiving a kickback for taking her and Ginger to these stalls. Rosalina didn't mind; this was how the world worked.

‘Can you tell Yasmin I'm a chef, and I'd love to learn how she makes this bread?'

Omar puffed his chest out with her request and before Rosalina had a chance to think about it, she was whisked into a back room. Her concern was only brief though as she was treated to a hands-on demonstration of traditional Egyptian bread-making.

At the back of the room was an enormous brick and stone oven, and from the distance she was standing she could not only see the flames, but she could also feel the heat. Three men in long white robes where positioned around a high wooden table. One shaped the dough into circular discs and threw them into large pans of the pale yellow grain. The second man loaded the round discs of dough onto giant metal shovels that the third man fed into the oven's mouth. A young boy, also wielding a long-handled shovel, removed the baked bread and placed it onto a nearly full tray on a wheelbarrow. As one of the breads was plucked from the oven, Yasmin swiped it with a paper towel and handed it to Rosalina.

The heat was intense but she daren't complain, aware that she may offend. She divided it in half and offered a share to Ginger. Rosalina closed her eyes and inhaled. It smelt of flour and yeast and a hint of smokiness. When she bit into it, the outer layer cracked with a crispy crunch but the middle was soft and doughy. The layer of bran on the bottom gave it an interesting grainy texture.

‘Yum,' Ginger said.

Rosalina nodded. ‘Please tell Yasmin this is delicious.'

When they finally left the bread vendor, they had enough bread to feed a small village. Omar waggled a finger in the air and two young men were instantly at their sides, offering to carry the bags.

The next stall offered fresh and dried meats. At first, the smell made her stomach flip. It was an unexpected reaction, and she shrugged it off as she scoured the glass cabinet searching for something to please Jimmy. She turned to Omar. ‘What is a local meat favourite?'

He smiled, showing off a gold-capped front tooth. ‘Pigeon.'

‘Oh no.' Ginger shook her head.

Rosalina was not expecting that and wondered if she'd understood his accent correctly. ‘Did you say pigeon? As in, the bird?'

‘Yes.' He pointed towards the counter with a grin. ‘Pigeon.'

Sure enough, dozens of plucked birds were lined up in rows at the far left side of the counter. She shouldn't have been surprised; pigeon pie had been around for centuries.

‘How do you cook it?'

‘We stuff it with rice and herbs and roast it.' Rosalina thought it would probably taste similar to chicken only a bit more gamey, like pheasant or quail. She could already picture a delicious dish, but knew she'd have no hope of getting Jimmy to eat it.

‘What else, Omar?'

‘Lots of choice, Miss Rosalina. We have goat. Rabbit. Turkey. Liver. And of course, beef.'

‘Yes. Beef. We should get beef for Jimmy.' Ginger jiggled with eagerness.

‘Thanks, Omar. Show me the beef.'

By the time they walked out of the shop, Rosalina had five kilos of rib-eye steak cut nice and thick. Jimmy would be a very happy man. After a few more stops where they purchased plump dried dates, creamy buffalo mozzarella, and an assortment of fresh herbs and nuts, they stopped at a street seller offering ready-to-eat foods. Rosalina chose lamb koftas on a skewer and Ginger chose a chicken shawarma, where spicy chicken and tahini sauce was wrapped in a fresh pita bread. As they ate their meals, they meandered back to the car.