Epilogue
Christmas Day
Scarborough Expedition House
Giza, Egypt
Barr sent a glance about the courtyard of his expedition house that lay framed on three sides by the one story building.
In the distance, the triangle tops of the Great Pyramids of Giza were visible.
He couldn’t help but grin, for three years ago, being in Egypt and sponsoring an archeological dig was only a dream.
Standing there under the stars, clad in boots, breeches, and a fine lawn shirt rolled up to the elbows and opened at the placket with a gentle breeze ruffling through his hair was, to him, the epitome of success in his life.
This was the second winter season that he and his wife, Cate, had spent in Egypt, and in two months, they would celebrate their second wedding anniversary. They would head back to England in early April, but for now, that seemed like an eternity away.
In the two years since that memorable Christmas, they had made no effort in preventing pregnancy during their frequent couplings, and though there had been a hint of increasing a couple of times, nothing substantial had developed.
However, neither of them had been disappointed, for his son had a child now, and his daughter was currently in the early stages of her own pregnancy after marrying six months earlier.
There was no end of activity, joy, and laughter at the London townhouse when everyone was in Town, and Barr wouldn’t have it any other way.
“You look quite pleased with yourself,” Cate said, her voice a purr, as she walked over the stones of the courtyard to his location.
The hem of her cotton dress whispered in the relative silence, and the navy color made her blend in with the night around her.
“Can I assume there was a significant find today?”
He slipped an arm about her waist, for there wasn’t a day that went by when he wasn’t so damned grateful for her.
Since the day he’d wed her, they had rarely been out of each other’s company for more than several hours at a time.
“Not large or significant according to Belzoni’s standards, of course, but every shard of pottery, every scrap of papyrus with written words are clues to other things.
It’s all steps in the right direction and the chance to preserve the past.”
During their first year in Egypt, he and Cate had agreed to sponsor a portion of Giovanni Battista Belzoni’s recent dig.
Belzoni was Italian explorer and archaeologist who made significant discoveries including the tomb of Seti I, which is sometimes referred to as Belzoni’s Tomb.
Since the man was incredibly active in unearthing treasures of Egypt, he’d also cleared the entrance to the great temple at Abu Simbel where he removed a seven-ton bust of Ramesses II, which he sent to England, funded by Barr’s generous monetary donation.
However, for the Christmastide season this year, Barr retreated to Giza where he had the expedition house, for since Belzoni had been the first to enter the Pyramid of Khafre, which was the second pyramid of the Giza complex, Barr had decided he would take his team and continue to explore that pyramid in the hopes of finding a new entrance or other treasures.
Belzoni didn’t mind, for his interests were many and varied throughout the country, and Barr suspected he merely wanted the headlines in the papers more than unearthing the past and preserving it for the future.
Besides, he’d been given permission to dig from Belzoni as well as the authorities in Egypt, so he was quite happy with his decision.
Of course, because of Belzoni, knowledge regarding Ancient Egypt in general, and languages and life therein in particular, exploded.
He had written a book and had set up a foundation which worked with others to preserve pieces of the past. One of those efforts was to try and prevent the theft and acquisition of great statues and tomb reliefs from being snapped up by wealthy men around the world to grace drawing rooms and such.
Shipping mummies back to London was a particularly gruesome hobby for some.
It was that foundation where Cate had found her passion, and she worked closely with it to further her own knowledge regarding the Egyptian world. Barr was convinced that soon, she would make some sort of discovery of her own, on inscriptions or in translations, and he couldn’t be prouder of her.
And this year was especially poignant, for his son, Geoffry, had decided to join the expedition, along with his wife, Alice.
They had a one-year-old son back in England, being watched over by Alice’s parents, and the two young parents had been desperate to get away from parenting duties for a few months.
Additionally, the younger couple was celebrating a fourth anniversary, and Barr suspected they had hopes of falling pregnant again.
“Well, regardless of whether or not your team finds anything, this has still been a lovely respite from the dreary weather in London.” She turned so that she was securely held in his arms and laid a hand against his cheek. “Congratulations for meeting a long-held dream.”
“One of many that have been reached ever since you can into my life.”
“Pish posh, Scarborough.” But there was pleasure in her smile. “We met. Then opportunities happened. I had nothing to do with it.”
“Let us agree to disagree.” He grinned and held her gaze with his.
“I hope you are hungry for Christmas dinner. Travers tells me that his wife has outdone herself this year.” When he’d removed to Egypt, most of his London staff had traveled with him, and that also made him happy, for they were very much his family.
Even now, the clink of silverware and crystal drifted to his ears in the courtyard, for the dining room was open with curtains on two sides, just across the courtyard from where they stood.
“I am, actually, and I’m also hoping that you will provide dessert a bit later.” The whispered words were full of innuendo that shivered down his spine to burrow through his shaft. “I quite fancy a mad romp in our bedroom.”
Oh, God.
He slipped his hands to her hips and roughly drew her against him.
“I think we can arrange that. After all, it is Christmas.” Then, because he could, and he was a damned duke, he claimed her lips in an intense kiss that saw them both breathless in short order.
That was how it always was between them.
The passion between them hadn’t faded since they’d met, which had delighted them, and just proved to him that they were indeed well suited.
When Cate pulled away, her grin was on the wobbly side. A shaky sigh escaped her. “That potency certainly hasn’t faded since that first Christmas.”
Before he could respond, Travers came out to join them in the courtyard. “Rein yourself in, Your Grace,” the valet joked. “Dinner is nearly on.”
Barr couldn’t help but laugh. “Can I help it if I still desperately love my wife?”
“I love mine too, but I can stand to be separated from her for a few hours.”
Cate laughed, and the sound of it sent warmth through his chest. “Do behave, Travers. Scarborough is a lovely man.” She sent the valet a wink. “Where are you off to?”
He hefted up wooden bucket. “To the well. Need some water for washing the dishes.”
Once Travers left, Barr took hold of Cate’s hand. “I’ll wager there’s about an hour until dinner. We can probably slip away for a bit of a pre-dinner nibble.”
“I like the way you think, Scarborough. Besides, we do need to dress for the meal, and you know how you enjoy helping me with that.”
“Absolutely…” And he grinned all the way into the house, along the corridor, and into their shared suite.
Life had only grown better as the years rolled on, and he was so glad he’d accidentally uncovered a book of erotic prose that had led to one of the best things in his life.
Odd how things like that happened.
The End