Recriminations
"Hey, Dad, that looks like
yours!" Alex exclaimed, pointing at the
tattoo on Amanda's wrist.
Amanda self-consciously hid her
hand behind her back. She realized what
she was doing and put it in her pocket instead. She caught Jonathan's frown and she avoided his gaze, knowing he
was not going to be happy with her.
"How did you come by that?" Rick asked, his expression one of interest
tempered by suspicion.
"My father put it there." Amanda replied quietly, raising her gaze to
Ardeth. "He put it there so my brother
would know who I was."
You could have heard a pin drop
in the silence that followed her statement. Jonathan felt his stomach clench, knowing she had lied to him yet
again. He walked to the window, looking
out as she stared after him helplessly.
"You're Ardeth sister?" Rebecca asked, tucking her arm through his
in a show of support.
"How is that possible?" Evy demanded. She could see the hurt on her brother's face, and it made her
angry.
"My mother was visiting
relatives here in Cairo." Amanda
answered. "She met your father when she
made inquiries about Hamunaptra. He
warned her not to go."
She paused, her gaze going to
Ardeth.
"They had an affair. She discovered she was pregnant on her
return to England."
"This would have been after the
death of my mother." Ardeth stated,
squeezing Rebecca's hand when it slipped into his own.
"My mother wrote your
father. I was three the first time she
brought me to Cairo to see him. He
offered marriage, but she refused. They
were not in love."
"I remember him speaking of a
woman." Ardeth admitted. "He never mentioned you."
"Is Amanda your real name?" Jonathan asked, his voice heavy with
sarcasm.
Amanda winced at the coldness of
his voice.
"It is the name my mother gaze
me." She said with a sad smile. "Father used to call me Lailah."
Ardeth was startled. His father had said that name on his
deathbed. He'd assumed it was the name
of he woman that had refused to marry him. He'd promised his father that he would tell her of his death, but he'd
had no way to find her.
"He told me that if anything
should happen to my mother I should come to him. If he was not alive, I was to come to you. Mother died just before I came to Cairo to
work in the museum."
"That was 11 years ago." Evy pointed out. "What took you so long?"
"It is not very easy to track
down a Medjai warrior." Amanda replied
wryly. "That is why I stole the box
from Jonathan. I knew it would get your
attention."
"So it was never about gold for
you." Evy said slowly.
"It was, to an extent. I needed the chance to learn about you,
Ardeth."
Amanda saw Jonathan turn and
exit the room. Her heart
plummeted. She'd lost him.
"How do I know you are telling
the truth this time?" Ardeth asked, his
gaze holding hers.
"Because she is who she says she
is." Denari, Ardeth's grandmother, said
from the doorway. "I knew she was here
when you sent for me, grandson."
"Well, that's it then." Rebecca murmured, knowing that Denari could
see what others could not. She'd
predicted Rebecca's marriage to Ardeth, as well as the child she now carried.
"I don't expect
acceptance." Amanda began, startled
when Denari took both her hands in hers.
"You will get it." Denari promised.
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Jonathan sat at the bar with a
scowl on his face, turning when Rebecca tapped him on the shoulder.
"You shouldn't be in here." He said, tossing back a drink and signaling
the bartender for another.
"Neither should you." Rebecca said quietly. "You should be talking to Amanda."
"Why? So she can bloody well lie to me again?" Jonathan asked irritably.
"She shouldn't have
lied." Rebecca agreed, eyeing the
half-empty bottle sitting before him. He'd had a lot to drink, yet was still amazingly steady. "But she didn't know you. I think she was protecting herself."
Jonathan made a rude noise even
as her words made its way into his brain. It was a small point, he thought with irritation, but it was a
point. He filled his glass again, scowling
when Rebecca signaled to the bartender to take the bottle away.
"You're raining on my
party, little sister."
"It's a pity
party." Rebecca replied without
sympathy. "I can't let you sit
here drinking yourself into idiocy because you feel sorry for yourself. If you're mad at her, go tell her."
He finished his drink in
silence, finally turning to look at her.
"You're
meddling." He informed her.
Rebecca grinned at him as they
stood. He put an arm around her as they
headed for the door, squeezing her to him for a hug.
"Go talk to her." Rebecca said, reaching up to kiss his cheek
as Ardeth walked up.
She watched him walk away, only
a slight weave betraying his drunken state. Ardeth slid his arm around her waist, pressing a kiss against her brow
as she leaned against him.
"I leave you alone for one
minute and I return to find you kissing another man." Ardeth said mildly, the twinkle in his eyes
betraying the fact that he was teasing her.
"Hmm…I guess you shouldn't
be leaving me, then." Rebecca
replied, tipping her head back to look up at him as they stepped into their
house.
He lowered his lips to hers,
pushing the door shut with his foot as her arms wrapped around him, pulling her
close.
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Amanda's eyes flew open at the
sound of a thud in her living room. She'd returned to her own home earlier that evening, uncomfortable after
Jonathan had left. Evy had given her
the cold shoulder. Ardeth had accepted
that she was his sister, but she felt unwelcome. Not that she could blame any of them. She'd been allowed to join the group under false pretenses. She'd lied twice.
She slid out of bed silently,
padding across the carpet of her bedroom to listen at the door. She wasn't actually sure if she'd heard
anything. She waited, and when she
heard nothing further she relaxed. She
opened the bedroom door, stepping out into the moonlit room. She peered around, relaxing further when she
saw nothing. She shook herself, heading
for the kitchen. Maybe a glass of wine
would help her to sleep.
She rummaged around in her
cabinets, coming up with a dusty bottle of scotch. Seeing it brought back the memory of the night Jonathan had
kissed her beside the fire…she shook herself again, pouring an inch of the
liquid into a tumbler, bringing it to her lips for a taste.
"I wouldn't mind a glass of
that myself."
Amanda froze as his voice flowed
over her. She should have known. He always managed to find his way into her
apartment, no matter how many times she checked the locks. She turned to face him, seeing him leaning
against the kitchen doorway. He
straightened, walking toward her slowly, reaching out to take the glass from
her suddenly nerveless fingers. He
brought it up to his lips, tipping it back to take a taste before setting it on
the counter.
"Couldn't sleep?" Jonathan asked softly, bringing up a hand to
stroke her cheek gently. "A guilty
conscience will do that for you."
Amanda would have melted beneath
his touch if it weren't for the dangerous edge of anger in his voice. He slid his hand back behind her head,
tangling his fingers in her hair as he stepped forward.
"Jonathan." She began with a tremor in her voice as she
brought her hands against his chest to put distance between them. "I think-"
"Shut up,
Amanda." Jonathan replied,
trapping her hands between their bodies as he moved forward until she was
pressed against the counter top. She
could smell alcohol on his breath, and knew he'd had more than the sip he'd
taken of hers.
His free hand slid up an arm
left bare by the flimsy nightgown she wore, toying with the strap as the hand
that was tangled in her hair pulled gently, tipping her head back. She was trapped by his stare, helpless as
his lips lowered to hers. She could not
control the moan that broke from her as fire rushed through her body, weakening
her limbs and spinning her mind out of control. Her hands clutched at his shirt as his mouth ravaged hers until
she was unable to think, only feel.
Jonathan stepped back abruptly,
watching as she sagged against the counter, her breathing as ragged as
his. He turned away, shoving his hands
in his pockets, fighting the urge to touch her again. He couldn't look at her, or all would be lost. He'd meant only to talk to her, but seeing
her in the small room wearing only a thin white gown, with her hair falling
down her back in a riot of curls, had snapped his control.
Amanda was fighting her own
battle as she watched him. She couldn't
think, not while the taste of him still lingered on her lips. She ran her tongue over her swollen lip, tasting
the hint of alcohol left behind. She
slowly straightened, taking the nearly forgotten glass he'd left on the counter
and tossing it back quickly, steeling herself as he turned to look at her
again.
"I came here to talk to
you." Jonathan said slowly,
running his hand through his hair. "I didn't mean to ravish you."
"You didn't." She said, smiling softly at him. "I owe you an explanation."
"You do." He agreed. "You'd better put on some clothes first."
"Good idea."
Amanda went into her
bedroom. When she came out ten minutes
later bundled in a robe that concealed her from view it was to find Jonathan
stretched out on her sofa fast asleep. She sighed, pulling the blanket off the back of the sofa and spreading
it over him. She turned back to her
bedroom, even though she knew she would find no rest that night.
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Jonathan stirred as the smell of
coffee drifted in the air. He sniffed
appreciatively, opening his eyes to a glaring sunlight. He swore, pulling the blanket up over his
head as he tried to process where he was. He heard humming, female, coming from somewhere in the apartment. He groaned as he recalled the night
before. He sat up just as she came into
the room, looking disgustingly cheerful and well rested.
"Oh, you're up." Amanda said, startled. "I wasn't making too much noise, was
I?"
"No. I smelled coffee." Jonathan replied, his gaze going to the mug
she held.
Amanda handed it over, amused by
the hopeful gleam in his eye. She
watched him as he took his first sip, smiling at his appearance. Sleeping on a sofa did not appear to
disagree with him, he still looked dashing as ever.
"I made muffins
too." She informed him. "I'll be right back with one."
"Muffins." Jonathan mumbled. 'How bloody early did she get up?"
She was back quickly, setting a
plate down on the small table before him. He watched her, amused by her need to mother. She'd done it on their journey to Hamunaptra every time there'd
been a meal. For someone who lied as
easily as she breathed, she made sure to take care of those around her. He frowned, wondering if her care of others
was only to her benefit.
Amanda caught the frown and
stilled, sitting in a chair across from him. She knew she had to answer for what she'd told him. She waited for him to speak.
"So, what's your motive
this time?" Jonathan asked, eyeing
her above the rim of his coffee mug.
"I don't have a
motive." Amanda said carefully,
twisting the fold of her skirt in her fingers.
"You've lied to me,
twice. The first time I
understand. You had after all, stolen
from me. I understand the need to save
your neck better than most, I guess."
"When I came home and found
you in my apartment that night, I didn't know you." Amanda pointed out. "You frightened me. I wasn't about to tell you who I was."
"And after I convinced the
others to let you join us?"
"How would it have looked
if I'd told you then?" She asked,
defensive.
"No worse than it looked
finding out last night." Jonathan
said with a scowl. "Do you know
how humiliating it was to have you show the others how right they'd been about
you? That I'd been completely wrong to
trust you?"
"I'm sorry." Amanda said softly, looking down at her
hands.
"No." Jonathan said with finality. "I'm sorry. You never trusted me."
"I do trust you." She protested, rising as he got to his
feet. "Jonathan-"
"Oh yeah." He said bitterly, stalking to the door. "You trust me. Now that there isn't anything to hide."
The slam of the door struck her
like a gunshot. Amanda sank to the
floor, burying her face in her hands as sobs shook her body.