Chapter 22 #3
With a humourless smile he turned to look at Hattie.
‘I decided that it was time I faced the inevitable. This holiday has brought everything to a head, and there’s no point in dragging it out further.’
‘The inevitable being . . . ?’ Hattie asked carefully.
‘I told her that I want a divorce.’
‘Oh.’ Hattie nodded slowly.
‘Our marriage is over.’
‘I see,’ Hattie said.
In truth, Hattie thought that she was hallucinating, and – for a fleeting moment – she was certain that she could see tiny Cupids, plump pink hearts and a pair of white doves circling Gerald’s head.
‘And how did Anouska take the news?’
‘Badly.’ He shrugged. ‘As you heard.’
They sat, letting the quietness surround them.
When Hattie felt Gerald’s warm body shift closer towards her own, she didn’t resist. When his hand reached out and stroked her face, gently tracing the curve of her cheek, her breath caught.
Staring into his blue-green eyes, she was reminded of sea glass, as though sunlight had filtered through shallow waves. Like an ebbing tide, her heart rose and fell as his mouth closed over her own.
Tentative at first, Gerald’s lips were careful, but the unmistakable pressure of his mouth on hers was too much to resist, and she leaned in to his kiss.
His hand remained on her cheek, as though she were something precious.
For a heartbeat, Hattie’s mind raced, surprised by her longing.
Closing her eyes, she savoured the thrill as almost-forgotten feelings returned, and in the silent tomb, on a sun-struck Egyptian hillside, Hattie’s world bloomed in glorious technicolour, and a long-closed door suddenly opened.
‘Wow,’ Gerald breathed when they finally parted. ‘I’m s-sorry Hattie, I shouldn’t . . .’
But Hattie touched her fingers to his lips, stopping the apology, then gently kissed him again.
‘How do we . . .’ Gerald muttered as he pulled her into his arms. ‘I mean . . .’ He searched her face as though the answer was written there.
Hattie felt the steady thud of his heart and smiled.
‘Gerald, you are still married, so let’s not get carried away,’ she murmured.
‘I can’t pretend that it didn’t happen, and I’m glad that it has, but I don’t think we should be obvious in front of Anouska.
I don’t want to antagonise her and make things harder for you. ’
‘But, perhaps,’ Gerald said slowly, ‘when I sort things out, we can enjoy taking it one step at a time?’
Hattie nodded. ‘That sounds sensible.’ She kissed him again.
‘Photo! Picture! In the tomb of love!’
A voice rang out, startling them, and they turned to see the Egyptian with the hopeful smile and outstretched hand standing only a few feet away. He’d been waiting in the shadows all along.
‘No photo,’ Gerald said and reached into his pocket once more to hand over money.
‘All good, good!’ The man beamed, tucking the note swiftly away. He drew his finger theatrically across his lips. ‘Closed, like pyramid,’ he said. ‘No see, no hear.’
In seconds, the man disappeared deeper into the tomb.
‘I guess we should join the others,’ Gerald said and, assisting Hattie from the ledge, they stood. ‘I still have your walking pole; it’s really helped and makes a difference.’
‘Keep it,’ she replied, as he looked into her eyes. ‘If I hold on to everything, I shall never have room for whatever comes next.’
Gerald stared at her with an understanding smile, then slowly nodded.
‘Come on.’ Hattie began to move, quickening her step. ‘Or Ezra will think we’ve been claimed by the curse of the tomb . . .’
As the party came out of the final tomb to stand in the sunshine staring down at the view, Anouska held back.
She could see Sam pointing out Elephantine Island and heard him explain that it was of great religious importance, being the home of the ram-headed god, Khnum, who was believed to control the Nile’s flood waters.
A temple dedicated to him had stood there.
Anouska didn’t give a fig for Khnum or his derelict temple and was far more interested in finding out where her husband was. Gerald was currently on the missing list and putting paid to her plan.
To her dismay, Peter, who was becoming as irritating as a rash, drifted over and stood by her side.
‘What a fascinating excursion,’ he said. ‘Of course, I know all about the tombs and their little secrets. Hidden chambers and escape tunnels, all in my field, actually.’
‘Fascinating . . .’ Anouska murmured, in a tone that suggested the opposite. She shaded her eyes to shield the sun, still searching the tomb entrances for Gerald.
‘I shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a concealed tunnel somewhere on the ridge,’ Peter continued. ‘I’d wager that I could find it in under ten minutes.’
‘Excellent idea,’ she replied absently, barely catching Peter’s drift. ‘Off you go.’
Peeved that he was being dismissed after all of Anouska’s recent attention, Peter hesitated then slunk away to find a guide.
Knowing how difficult Gerald would have found the climb, Anouska wondered whether he’d retreated to the café.
She was about to head back down the path when a white hat emerged from one of the tomb’s dark entrances.
Anouska recognised it at once, along with the pale pink shirt beneath.
When Gerald stepped out immediately behind Hattie, she stopped dead, her jaw tightening and implants grinding as she fixed them both with a glacial stare.
‘Caught you!’ she hissed under her breath as the situation became clear.
So much for ‘irreconcilable differences’! So much for ‘outgrowing one another’ and ‘wanting different things’. She thought of all the nonsense Gerald had preached during the night when he’d calmly broken the news she’d been expecting.
That their marriage was over. He’d poured himself a whisky and chatted as though they were discussing the day’s shopping list. His love for her, Gerald said, had been infatuation and a mistake.
Far too soon after Sally’s death. He’d even had the nerve to say that he would arrange a generous settlement that would tide her over for the next few years.
Anouska felt a surge of anger. The next few years! Was he mad?
She had no intention of being paid off with a paltry sum and a pat on the head and if Gerald thought he could rid himself of her so easily, he was gravely mistaken.
To hell with a reasonable settlement. His current will stood, and with those legalities in place, as his wife, Anouska would get everything.
She had no intention of letting him make any changes.
She stared at Hattie and shook her head. Here her cheating husband was, emerging from a tomb with a woman in a stupid white hat who was way past her prime, and if Gerald thought he was striding into some glorious second act, he was very much mistaken.
After all, tombs were for the dead, and Gerald was about to join them.