TRIP TO CAIRO

Tarita had begged Tehotu not to make the trip to Egypt.  However, the instant he read Laurel's diary, he was hell-bent to confront Laurel and her lover.  He didn't doubt for one instant that the man who had taken Laurel's virginity was the one responsible for killing Reginald.  Tehotu had grown up in a crowded city, but nothing he had ever experienced was like this.  He immediately realized that he didn't like Cairo and would only linger as long as necessary.  His only problem was somehow finding a person willing to take him to the Nomad.  Not only would he seek vengeance for Reginald, he also intended to seek some for himself as well.  His stepdaughter had followed the same path as her mother, shamed Reginald, and herself.  What man would want her now?  What good was she to him and his business if no other man would look at her?  Some Nomad from the bowels of the desert couldn't suddenly come into civilization and take over his interests.  Actually, he wouldn't have it.  The only man who could have was Reginald Portafoy.  Since he couldn't have that, Laurel wouldn't have any happiness, not if he could help it.  However, first, he would have to find her.  He didn't realize that he would run right into her in the same city.

*  *  *

Laurel insisted on following Bart to Cairo.  He didn't exactly need her assistance, but she wanted to avoid the village for a little while.  She continued to visit Waqi and didn't treat her any differently, but all the same, it hurt.  It hurt even more when Ardeth was around.  If she had avoided him before, she literally ignored him now.  He simply didn't exist.  Of course, it wasn't his fault that she had suddenly gotten stupid.  Time and time again, her father had tried to tell her, but as always, she allowed her stubbornness to turn her deaf to his words.  As long as she kept her mind occupied, she thought she would be all right.  While her father sat in a boring meeting with several Egyptian curators, Laurel picked and poked around the museum.  She longed to reach out and touch some of the artifacts, but knew it wasn't such a good idea.  Hadn't she been told that if she touched something in here she would die?  Who told me that?  Why Ardeth did.  Bloody hell.  The only way she could get him out of her mind was to leave Egypt completely.  Her father was working on that as well.  He was desperately trying to get her into a good school that wouldn't frown upon a woman sitting amongst the ranks of brilliant young men.  In the back of her mind, she could almost hear Tehotu's voice:  You will meet men there.  She thanked the higher powers for taking her stepfather out of her life.  Since Reginald was gone, perhaps he would leave her alone.  Her only worry in that was her mother.  Tarita was stuck with the bastard.  She had gotten very angry with her mother, but she had done a wonderful thing for her.  Her mother would never admit that she wanted to leave.  It saddened Laurel to think of her mother trapped.  She knew exactly how it felt. 

Laurel turned suddenly and closed her eyes when a voice called out a Polynesian curse.  It sounded so familiar to her ears.  No, it can't be.  Please tell me I'm asleep and having a nightmare.  She opened her eyes and nearly passed out when she saw Tehotu standing no more than five feet from her.  Why do you care?  He can't hurt you now.  His plans to marry you off to Reginald were thwarted.  You're here with your father and you're safe.  She didn't move any closer to him.  She noticed that he was gazing at her almost incredulously, as if he thought he was hallucinating.  It was what prompted the curse.  She didn't know much of her mother and stepfather's native language, but she thought he might have called her a whore.  Her heart thumped hard in her chest, making her head swim.  What did he want?  What was he doing here?  "What do you want, Tehotu," Laurel demanded, holding up her chin defiantly.

Tehotu stared at the young woman he had known so long as his daughter.  Right now, today, she was no more than a stranger to him.  She was responsible for breaking the biggest deal of his life.  "It's Tehotu now, is it?  I remember that you once called me Father.  After Reginald died, I was given his belongings.  Apparently, he didn't have any family outside of ours.  I went through what little that was left of him, and I found your diary.  You allowed a savage Nomad to spoil you and then you let him kill your fiancé."

Laurel's face grew alarmingly white with shame and red with anger at the same time.  How dare he believe that Ardeth killed Reginald?  Reginald had tried to kill Ardeth.  "What are you talking about?  This savage Nomad you're speaking of saved me more than once.  He didn't kill Reginald.  Reginald tried to kill him.  As for me being spoiled, I do not think that concerns you."

"I've been talking to people, Laurel.  They've all said the same.  I was told this savage killed a gang of men and then turned his sword on Reginald in cold blood."

Incredulous, Laurel gawped at him.  "Are you not listening to me?  Reginald Portafoy was a bastard.  From the first day he met me, he was manhandling me to get his hands on your money.  This man whose praises you sing at every breath was a thief, Tehotu, he was a thief and a murderer.  He ordered a man killed.  You knew little of Reginald's true nature."

"What of you, Laurel," he said suddenly.  "What of you?  You gave yourself to this man.  Don't deny it; you wrote of it.  I read every word.  Apparently, you did something to the child.  You don't appear to be heavy."

"What in the bloody hell are you talking about," Laurel demanded.  "What child?  There was no child.  Reginald took me to a physician and there, I found out that I wasn't carrying a baby."

"As if I'd believe any word that came out of your mouth.  Not only are you the whore of a savage, you're also a murderer."  Before Laurel could react [she had been in the process of slugging him], Tehotu looked up when he saw a tall man with long hair approaching from around the corner.  He immediately recognized Bartholomew Robinson.  He watched as Robinson approached Laurel and took her arm. 

Bart immediately sensed that something wasn't right.  "Laurel?"

She tore her eyes off Tehotu's face and looked up at her father.  "I want to go."  She said nothing further to either her father or Tehotu.  Instead, she tugged on Bart's arm and led him away.  Once outside, she took a deep breath and let it out.

"Laurel?  Who was that man," he asked.

She sighed.  "You were looking at the man who raised me; Tehotu Aciquilla.  I don't know what he's doing in Cairo, but he mentioned reading my diary and then he accused Ardeth of killing Reginald.  He holds stock in many museums, I'm sure he came here to acquire stock in Cairo.  I want to try to find my mother."

"Tarita?"  The prospect of seeing her again was scary, but thrilling.

While Laurel and Bart made their way toward one of the finer hotels in Cairo searching for Tarita, Tehotu was doing a search of his own.  He hadn't lied when he told Laurel that he had been talking to people.  The man known only as Bishop had returned to Egypt, now calling it home.  He hadn't wanted to return to England until he avenged Reginald's death.  Tehotu had actually run into him by accident.  He had a picture of Reginald that he was showing to various people and he had hit pay dirt with Bishop.  The other man agreed to help Tehotu seek out the village to approach the alleged savage.  Bishop was hungry for revenge and blood loss.  Tehotu wasn't sure what he wanted out of the deal, but he did know that he wanted Laurel to hurt for what she had done to his plans for the future.  Actually, without Reginald, there was no future.  Harry and Robert weren't quite ten years of age yet, and by the time they reached the age of consent, Tehotu was afraid he would be a dead man.  Damn you, Laurel Robinson.  He didn't even want her to have his last name.  The bitch will pay, as will her lover.

Laurel and Bart found the hotel, but weren't sure they would have as much luck finding Tarita.  Laurel had a burning desire to apologize to her mother for her harsh words.  She had helped Laurel escape Reginald's clutches.  If it hadn't been for Tarita, she shuddered to think where she would be now.  You would be married to Reginald, making freakish sex with him, giving Tehotu his precious heirs, as if he'd stake claim to your children.  With Bart standing back and looking on, Laurel asked for Tarita, not exactly expecting her to be here.  However, she was.  Laurel had barely turned toward the stairs when her mother came flying down, crying "Sesha" excitedly.  She was so thrilled and oblivious that she didn't notice Bart at first.  She hugged her daughter furiously.  After she allowed her girl child to breathe, she backed away and finally settled her eyes on Bartholomew Robinson.  It had almost been twenty-one years since she had seen him, but he hadn't changed one bit.  She felt a lurch in her stomach and wondered if he would scream at her for denying him his child, or if he would move on.  What she did know was that the way he had made her feel before Sesha was conceived was exactly how she felt now.  She was glad that Tehotu was not here to witness this reunion.  Instead of immediately speaking to Bart, she turned her attention back on her daughter.

"Where are Harry and Robert," Laurel suddenly asked.  It was completely too quiet.  She wasn't accustomed to being near her mother without her brothers' constant fighting. 

"Back home with the governess.  Tehotu thought them too young and rambunctious to make the trip."  She stroked her daughter's hair.  "Sesha, you look so beautiful and happy.  What of you and the warrior?"

Laurel's smile died immediately.  "Nothing, Mother.  He will marry someone else."  My friend…he will marry my friend, and it's so hard to resist the urge to hate her.  "I've been helping Father, and he's trying to get me into the university."

The moment Laurel said 'father,' Tarita's eyes wondered to Bart.  He had yet to stop looking at her.  What to say?  Everything that threatened to come out of her mouth seemed stupid and irrelevant.  "Bart, it's been a long time," she said quietly.  She knew her words were idiotic, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.  Forgive me for not telling you about our Sesha.  Perhaps one day, you will forgive me

Swallowing a huge lump in his throat, he nodded.  Could he speak?  "Yes, Tarita, it has."  He longed to take her arm and remove her to a remote location so they could speak properly.  There were so many things he wanted to say, so many questions he wanted to ask.  None of it was appropriate to mention in front of Laurel.  With his eyes, he was asking:  May I see you later?  Alone?  He thought she might have picked up on his thoughts, because her eyes seemed to answer him with a resounding yes.  "Laurel, we should be readying to go back…unless you wish to stay?"

Before Laurel could answer, Tarita shook her head.  "No, she doesn't need to stay here.  Tehotu is very angry with her.  You should take her back with you."

Laurel nodded.  "She's right, Father.  I don't want another confrontation with him."

Before either Laurel or Bart could leave, a hotel employee called out to Tarita and gave her a message.  It was from Tehotu.  In it, he had told her he would be gone for the better part of a week 'scouting.'  Tarita folded the note and tore it into tiny pieces.  She looked up at her daughter and then focused her eyes on Bart.  "It seems that my husband has gone prospecting for new artifacts.  Could I persuade you to allow me to accompany you back?"

Hell yes came Bart's mental shout.  Instead, he said, "It's a difficult ride."

Tarita nodded firmly.  "I'm sure it is, but I can handle it.  Sesha?"

Laurel shrugged, vaguely wondering what was happening between her mother and father.  I'm a dumb twit.  What do I think is happening?  She wants to be with him, and it's obvious that he wants to be with her as well.  At least one of us will be happy.  "He's not kidding about the ride, it isn't easy, but if I can do it, I'm sure you can.  Since Tehotu is gone, why don't we spend the day outfitting Mother?  We can then leave very early in the morning."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Bart said, and Tarita nodded her agreement.

Laurel smiled a little.  I'll bet you do.  "I'm starving.  Let's find food."

While Laurel, Bart, and Tarita enjoyed an early dinner, Tehotu and Bishop were on their way to the village to confront [and kill, if necessary] the bastard who killed Reginald.  If he couldn't beat the man with weapons, he would do so through words.

*  *  *

Later that night, Laurel excused herself and declared she was going to bed.  However, she told her parents a tiny little white lie.  She knew they wanted to be alone, but she had no intention of leaving them that way, not truly.  Although she knew it was horrid of her, she moved just far enough out of sight to listen and watch.  She had seen the love radiating between the two, and it made her heart swell with joy, but also ache in longing.  It's your own fault; you know that, don't you?  If you had done what you should have weeks ago, you wouldn't feel this way.  You're still a frightened little girl making the same stupid mistakes.  She shook thoughts of HIM away [she couldn't think of his name, or speak it inside her head].  From that day forward, he would always be HIM to her.  Again, she focused her attention on Bart and Tarita.  They were talking quietly, in hushed tones, not quite loud enough for her to hear.  She had a feeling that they were talking about her.  When he reached out and touched her mother's hand, her smile came back.  Please let this work out for her.  She deserves so much better than Tehotu Aciquilla.  She watched for a few moments longer, and then she slipped away.

The hotel where she and her father had chosen to stay was a bit further down the crowded city street.  She didn't doubt that her father would stay with her mother, or at least she hoped that's how it turned out.  Seeing them back together would do her heart good.  From the way Tarita spoke of Bart, she had never stopped loving him.  Just as you will never stop loving Ar…HIM.  Her mind drifted away for a moment and focused on Tehotu's harsh words to her earlier.  Why would he think her with child?  Why would he accuse her of ridding herself of it?  It made little sense.  Apparently, Reginald's poison had invaded Tehotu's brain and had taken him completely over.  She would never destroy a child belonging to HIM.  It was an insane idea from the mind of an insane man.  She had never understood Tehotu's fascination with Reginald.  She thought it unnatural and disturbing.  Everything was unnatural and disturbing.  The thought of returning home…returning to the village was one both exciting and distressing.  Waqi was her friend and she enjoyed the girl's company, but she was marrying Ar…HIM.  That could have been you if you hadn't gotten completely stupid.  You make love to him and then you run.  It wasn't very late, but Laurel was completely exhausted.  Her escape was either writing or sleep.  She no longer kept a diary [Reginald's discovery of hers soured her to it] and didn't want to write down her errant thoughts.  If so, she would only think of the man whose name she could no longer speak.

____________________

To be continued…