AN: I'm just not sure what they are exactly drinking and to me it didn't appear to be wine. This chapter is (hopefully) more interesting than the last one.

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Sorry for possible errors, but I had to write this chapter with my cellphone.

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Chapter 3: Deserts, drinks and dresses

René raised his eyebrows in surprise about Marion's sudden cooperation. Nonetheless he managed to keep a cool façade, even though it was difficult. He had expected her to be more feisty and resisting. This woman was really surprising. Either she wasn't as much of a fighter as he had expected - what wasn't very likely becaus if not she wouldn't have been able to endure her capture without losing her mind. Or his methods of "interrogating" were already showing success.

It was weird. Somehow the situation made him feel like a timid schoolboy who finally had obtained the courage to talk to the class queen or the most popular girl in school and was amazed about not getting the brush-off. Well, in some sense that was true.

René's reasons for bringing her the white dress had been numerous, he had wanted to give their conversation a nice start, win her over and - honestly - wanted to show off a little bit with his money. At first Marion had seemed a bit repulsed by the thought of putting it on but now she clearly appreciated it. And so did he. Seeing her dressed in the flowing lacy white gown stirred something deep within him.

Belloq had always had a great weakness for beautiful women given they were intelligent as well but this time was different . Before he had never ever allowed anyone, no matter if they were male or female, get between him and his goals. But his actual goal had been forgotten by now.

"So do I." He smiled. "And if we had one she surely wouldn't have allowed me to bring this for dinner."

René held up the bottle of Eau de Vie he had put on the table. To his pleasure he saw Marion's blue eyes widen with glee as she her glance met the bottle filled with the clear liquid. Belloq couldn't help but smirk even more in self-approval. Clearly he had gotten himself an advantage with this.

"I thought of everything. After all, what is a real gourmet dinner without something decent to drink?"

Now Marion smiled too and folded her hands on the wooden table. "Looks like you know what you're doing, Monsieur- euhm..."

The Frenchman quickly finished her sentence.

"Belloq. But please feel free to call me René. There's no need for formalities here."

"Alright, René."

Marion sighed and rested her chin on her folded hands, eyeing him curiously. She put her glass in front of him.

"You pour."

René filled both glasses with the clear liquid and put the bottle aside. They clinked glasses in silence and finished their drinks in one sip. René didn't take his eyes off Marion as she finished her drink, a mistake because made him choke on his family's production.

Que gênant! How embarrassing! The Frenchman covered his mouth with his free hand, inwardly cursing himself. He had been drinking this liquid since he could remember (literally) and now he had to cough from that stuff in front of a woman he was trying to impress! Irony was cruel. But said woman apparently didn't mind.

"Are you alright?" asked Marion, chuckling about his little mishap.

René was finally able to breathe again. "Yes, I'm fine" replied the Frenchman, still coughing slightly. "Don't mind me."

In order to distract her he held up the bottle again. "Do you want more?"

Marion nodded. Smiling she handed him her glass.

"Oh, yes please. It's very good. Quite a time has passed since I had something as tasty as this to drink."

René chuckled, rejoicing inwardly about his idea to interrogate her himself. It certainly had been a good idea even though his original intention to interrogate her was forgotten by now. Her pretty but seductive smile and finally being able to converse with someone in a relaxed civilized manner after being stuck with Colonel Dietrich for more than two weeks was already enough of a reward. Such a shame that he couldn't give himself a pat on the back!

They finished a few more drinks together still glacing playfully at each other. But aside from that Belloq couldn't help but feel astonished about how Marion finished her drinks.

"Chapeau! Most of the people who drank this told me they were barely able to stand after four glasses. You really have a remarkable tolerance!"

Marion just shrugged her shoulders and reached for the bottle. This time she refilled their glasses.

"It's remarkable strong but I ran a bar in Nepal for five years so I'm used to that. Don't worry about me."

That really called the Frenchman's attention. He had heard many weird stories in his life but this was new. And she had said it as if it were the most common thing in the world. She could have been talking just as well about the weather.

"Really? Did I get that right? You ran a bar in Nepal?"

She nodded.

"How the heck did you end up in Nepal?"

Marion sighed and took a sip of her drink. "That's a long story."

"Tell me." René put his glass on the table beside his gorgeous conversational partner's plate, looking straight into her eyes. He was eager to learn something about her.

"I'm listening. My ears belong to you."

"Okay." She took the glass of her pink lips and put it back on the table next to her plate. "You're an archaeologist so I think you've heard about my father, Professor Abner Ravenwood."

Belloq nodded. Yeah, that was true. He had known Professor Ravenwood, every archaeologist knew his name.

"I grew up in Chicago where Abner used to teach archaeology at the local university. After an incident between him, me and –" she hesitated for a moment " one of his students he just wanted to get away from the States. So we left the United States when I was sixteen years old and traveled through Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Iran, Pakistan... almost the entire Middle East. After five years we ended up in Nepal. He decided to stay there and purchased a tavern so we could make some side income beside his archaeological digging in the mountains. I lead the bar most of the time and he kept digging in the mountains like a lunatic. Last year Abner went missing in an avalanche. I can only assume the worst."

René was close to choking again on his drink. Of course, Dietrich had informed him about the Professor's disappearance. Damn it! Why hadn't he thought of that earlier?

"Oh, yes. I heard he died. I'm really sorry for your loss Marion. As a professor he was very inspiring. I met him once during my studies."

Her eyes widened again. For a moment she seemed to be surprised that he called her father by his first name but eventually decided not to pose questions. Again Marion just shrugged her shoulders.

"I managed to get over it very quickly. I know this might sound selfish but my greatest worry was being stuck in Nepal forever. I want to get back to the States but only with enough money. But that's enough about me. What about you? Is there anything interesting about your parents?" she asked, glancing at him with honest interest.

The Frenchman put his glass on the table. Okay, now it was his turn. Where could he begin?

"Well, as you have most likely already heard in my accent I'm a born-and-bred Frenchman. I grew up in France, in Marseilles to be exactly. I was born on my family's estate Forteresse Malevil and spent my entire childhood there together with my father Baptiste, my mother Faustine and my younger brother Claude. Do you have any siblings?"

Marion shook her head.

"No, I was an only child. My mother died when I was only two. I only know her from photos."

"It really must be hard for you, first your mother and now your Dad. " interwined René anxiously.

"Thanks for your concern but it wasn't that bad. I was never really affected by that because as I already said I don't remember her. But it certainly affected my father. We never had a close relationship. I even used to call him by his first name instead of Dad."

René's ears perked up inmediately. Those were conditions he was all too familiar with himself.

"So did I"

Marion looked genuinely surprised. The Frenchman had to surpress a boyish giggle as she had been visibly close to choking on her recent sip of Eau de Vie.

"You do?"

He nodded. "My parents were truly stereotypical French parents. They were always on business trips and rarely at home. My brother and I were almost completely raised by the employees, especially by our nanny Anne. She was British and through her Claude and I learned to speak English fluently. We were also homeschooled. Sometimes we didn't see our parents in months. They didn't attend most of our birthdays not to mention Christmas"

That had obviously triggered something in the ravenhaired girl's memory. A flash of recognition was visible in her eyes. Apparently this was something that had been on her mind for a long time.

"I was also left to our butler most of the time. My father always cared more about his studies than me. But after the incident I've already told you about he just wanted to get away from the States. He claimed that it was for my own safety and protection but I just know it wasn't. He just kept digging in one country after another in search of the Ark of the Covenant. It was his obsession. Abner never found it and with these endless travels my schooling was ruined. But he never cared."

"My family also didn't support my plans."

"Really?"

René nodded. Now their conversation was getting really interesting.

"When I told my parents that I wanted to study archaeology they tried to talk me out of it, especially my father. He said I would be wasting my potential and would be better off with something like medicine or law. Around that time I was somehow the black sheep of the family." He chuckled at the memory. "They even threatened to cut me out of their will."

"But I guess they didn't?" interwined Marion.

"You're right. Luckily there are laws in most countries of Europe including France securing a percentage as a minimum that you have to hand down to your children. But that didn't matter. I studied archaeology, history and arts at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my hometown but back then I just wanted to get away and start my own life. Shortly after I graduated and attained my doctor's degree both of my parents died in a car crash."

Marion's mouth opened in shock. Most likely she wanted to express condolences but Belloq was quicker.

"You don't need to be sorry. This may appear heartless but I didn't even shed a tear. Claude was very sad at first but quickly got over it."

"By the way, where does your brother live? Did he stay in Marseilles? What is his profession?"

"He's an archaeologist just like me. It was funny, when our parents were still alive he always used to claim that he wanted to become a doctor. He even started to study medicine in Montpellier for a couple of semesters. But after the car crash he abandoned that and enrolled inmediately at the Sorbonne to study archaeology. Right now lives in Switzerland and works in a museum as a curator. He just wanted to get away from Marseilles after our parents' death, that's why I got most of our family's posessions."

"So you still live in Marseilles, René?"

He nodded. "Yes, when I'm not traveling around the world in search of some ancient treasures or items I live on my family's estate. As I already said it's completely mine, including the vineyard."

Marion spit out her drink in astonishment.

"Wait, wait, did I get that right? You own a vineyard?"

This woman was truly fascinating. To René it felt as if they had already been together forever though they had been knowing each other for less than half an hour.

"Yes chérie. I own a wine making business. Where did you think did I get that bottle in the first place? Did you think I'd serve you some random cheap licquor from a service station?"

Marion burst out in laughter. Obviously she didn't mind that he had just called her sweetheart.

"Are you kidding? You- this stuff is really-?"

René was no longer able to hide his amusement and burst out in laughter, not the slightest bit ashamed.

"I grew up with this. It's my family label!"

Now she looked really impressed. She appeared to be a little bit drunk but still impressed.

"That's cool. That's really really cool. You must be quite the conversation starter at parties, aren't you?"

René needed a few moments to come down from his laugh attack.

"Depends. This might appear paradox but I only attend events and partys when it's necessary or- euhm- might bring some benefits." Dang it! What did I just say?

Marion's eye twitched in an inquiring manner. In order to prevent her from any questioning he continued quickly.

"Normally I prefer traveling over parties."

"I thought as much. But do you only travel for your work?"

"Oui. I travel most of the time for excavations. But that's not some sort of vacation. Endless days of fighting with the public authorities, organizing the workers, food, water, supplies, before you can even begin to dig... pure stress!"

"Yeah, I frequently observed my father during his work. I did it more under duress but I know a lot about an archaeologist's work. I could plan and manage an excavation all on my own, even though I've sadly never seen a university from the inside. Still I somehow can't imagine what's so interesing about excaving some ancient garbage."

"You can't imagine how often I already had to hear that."

In the past the Frenchman had been enraged when somebody had dared to ask him something like that. In this case... well, he didn't know whether it was the bottle of liquor or his growing infatuation with this woman but he could easily forgive her.

"I myself can not truly explain it. It's simply that...the end, when you finally discover something, when you bring remains to daylight that have been unknown for centuries and disclose secrets of the past, when all your work and efforts finally pay off... It's such a thrill, at least for me. It's the best feeling on earth. Because of that I've never understood why anybody does drugs."

Marion's expression had gone blank during his little speech and her beautiful eyes stared at him in a what-the-heck-are-you-rambling-about way.

"Pardon chérie, I got carried away"

Belloq sighed in relief as Marion's lips curled up into the cheerful smile he had already grown so fond of.

"Ah, no problem. I'm sure I will never understand the true thrill of this so-called sience but each man to his own."

"Yeah, I agree with you. But let's switch to more pleasent subjects. As I already told you, organizing such extensive excavations is a pain in the neck but I also have some fond memories that amuse me every time I think of them." He chuckled, amsused at the memory.

"Once I went to Arabia something really weird and hilarious happened to me."

"Tell me. I love funny stories."

René cleared his throat.

"Alright. Well I went to Saudi Arabia to dig in the Rub al Khali Desert. My intention was to excavate the remains of an ancient nomadic culture..."

Both of them were so caught up in their chatter that neither of them noticed the intimidating figure dressed in a black coat lingering around close to the tent.

To be continued..

In the next chapter Marion and René get to know more about each other. She also questions his hostility with Indy and his motives to find the Ark. Their interest in each other grows but things get a little out of hand as Toth enters the tent in a very inappropriate moment.

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