CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ardeth stood hesitantly at the connecting door between his room and Charlotte's. He knew that Evy had given him permission to go in and check but he felt reluctant to do so. He knew his own limitations and he found this young English woman far too tempting. He shook himself and quietly opened the door. It would not do to shy away from this, which should be part of his duty. He did, after all, protect people and Charlotte needed him. He found that thought gave him a warm feeling.

He entered the darkened room and allowed a few seconds for his eyes to get used to the darkness before making his way over to the bed, using the faint glow from the half obscured moon to guide him. Charlotte was moving about restlessly, her brows drawn down in a frightened frown and her breath coming in small gasps. She was obviously reliving what had happened to her and Ardeth sat carefully on the edge of the bed, stroking a hand gently over her forehead.

The reaction he got was not what he expected. She sat bolt upright suddenly and gave a frightened cry, scrambling backwards on the bed to get away from him. Two huge tears formed in her eyes and fell down her cheeks, leaving silvery trails that glowed on her skin in the light from the moon.

"Charlotte..." he whispered, reaching towards her and taking her hands.

"No...no...no..." she whispered, obviously still in the throes of her nightmare and seeing him as one of her captors.

"Charlotte, shhh," he said softly, pulling her resisting body against him and hugging her tightly. "It is alright, it is me, Ardeth. I won't hurt you, little one. Calm down now, shh, shh," he kept on repeating, rocking her gently in his arms until she quieted, crying softly.

"I'm sorry....I'm sorry," she whispered, her breath still hitching with the sobs she tried to hold back. Good God, this man would think she was nothing more than a blubbering wreck.

"You have done nothing to apologise for. If anyone should say sorry then it is I for making your ordeal that much worse," Ardeth said, concerned beyond belief by how upset she was, how much her kidnapping was still affecting her. He swore he would do everything he could to help her get over this and protect her from anything happening in the future.

After a while, when she had stopped crying and was laying against him quietly, he started to ease her back onto the pillows, intending to leave her to get some more sleep. But Charlotte clutched at his robes and stopped him from moving.

"Please don't go," she whispered, staring up at his silhouette pleadingly, her eyes filling with fresh tears.

"Charlotte, it would not be seemly for me to stay here any longer. Your reputation would be severely compromised," he explained softly, his arms nevertheless going back around her and holding her close to him.

"I don't care about my reputation. Please don't leave me alone," she said, her arms creeping up around his neck to hold him even closer. All her previous thoughts of animosity disappeared as he comforted her, needing his strength where hers had all but failed her.

Ardeth found that he did not have the strength himself to deny her this, and he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Very well, I will stay for a while," he said, disentangling her arms from around him. "First let me remove this outer robe and my belts, they will make you uncomfortable." Charlotte reluctantly let him go and he quickly stripped off the heavy outer robes, leaving him in a black tunic style shirt and loose trousers. When he returned to her he immediately drew her against him, pulling her up the bed with him so that they were both laying on the pillows, wrapped in each others arms.

He had fully intended to wait until she dropped off to sleep and then leave, but before he knew it her warmth had sunk into him and he drifted off to sleep with her, her head nestled just under his chin.

The first thing he became aware of the next morning were irritating voices disturbing his sleep and he reluctantly raised his eyelids to make them stop. Evy and Rick stood just inside the room with their arms folded and amused looks on their faces, looks that got worse when Ardeth suddenly realised where he was. Charlotte lay curled trustingly against him, her head and one of her hands on his chest and one of her legs curled over his while his arms were completely encircling her. The only way it could have looked worse, he decided, was if they had both been naked.

"Well, I know we wanted you to protect her, but this seems a little extreme," Evy said, smiling.

"Yeah. You know, your room is only a few feet away, if she had called out you probably could have gotten to her before anything happened. Did you think she'd benefit more from a closer watch?" Rick grinned at his friend's discomfort and forced himself not to laugh.

"This is not exactly how it looks," Ardeth said hesitantly, not moving even though his first instinct was to draw away from the warmth and softness of Charlotte's body. "She was having a bad dream and asked me to stay with her. I did not intend to stay so long. Nothing happened, I assure you!"

"And we only have your word for that?" Rick asked, looking smug.

"You do not trust me?" Ardeth asked him, worried now that he had lost his friend's trust.

Rick burst out laughing at the horror on Ardeth's face and the noise woke Charlotte up. "Of course I trust you, you idiot! No matter how bad the situation may look."

"Leave him alone, you nasty thing!" Evy said, giving Rick a sharp poke in the ribs. "Good morning, Charlie. Er....sleep well?"

Charlotte felt her face heat as she looked at the position she and Ardeth were in. She groaned and hid her face in his shoulder, not even thinking of drawing away from him, instead using him for comfort as she had the night before. Ardeth couldn't help smiling. He hugged her against him and sent Rick a defiant glare.

"Perhaps we may have some privacy so we may make ourselves presentable?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and looking supremely confident.

Rick had to admire his stance. He had obviously felt embarrassed at being caught in such a compromising position, but the moment Charlotte had needed him he forgot his discomfort and became his usual assertive self. He reminded Rick of himself. "Sure thing. We'll be downstairs in the dining room. Join us for breakfast when you're ready, okay?"

"Thank you," Ardeth replied, watching with relief when his two friends left the room and closed the door behind them.

He looked down at the small, womanly body curled against him and felt his own body respond helplessly at the sight and feel of her. This was wrong, and he knew it, but he couldn't help himself. If Allah had wanted him to have more restraint then he would have given him more self-control, he decided as he urged Charlotte's face out of the crook of his neck.

Her soft brown eyes soon came into view, surrounded as they were by flushed skin, a flush that got worse when she saw the heated way he was looking at her. "Ardeth...?" she whispered, staring up at him as he held her face gently in one hand, his thumb stroking across her bottom lip.

"You are so beautiful, like a flower just beginning to bloom. I cannot believe that Allah would tempt me with such beauty if it was so wrong to taste it," he said softly, his eyes lowering to her mouth seconds before he took it in a passionate kiss, his arms pulling her completely against him, smoothing her hips against his own. She felt the evidence of his arousal pressing against her and stiffened momentarily in shock, but his kiss soon emptied her head of any protests and she started kissing him back just as passionately. Her hands crept up to his neck and tangled in his beautiful hair, pulling him as close as she could get him. It wasn't close enough.

All she could do was feel as his hands began a thorough sweep over her silk-clad body, running over her thighs and hips and up her back, before moving around her ribcage and stroking over her quivering stomach. He tried to stay away from all her tempting places, but when she uttered a small groan he couldn't resist and moved his hand slowly upwards until he could enclose one firm breast in his palm. It instantly peaked as his fingers stroked the soft skin, moving in small circles toward the hard tip. Charlotte was completely carried away by sensation and didn't have any voice to protest the intimacy. His mouth left hers to trail small kisses down her throat and he nibbled at the sensitive spot on her shoulder, making her squirm in his grasp as his beard tickled her skin.

Her own hands were doing some exploring of their own and she was mapping all the muscles he had on his back and arms, her fingers crawling over them, frustrated at having the cloth in her way. She soon found the edge of his shirt and her hands crept stealthily under it, finally stroking his smooth skin, feeling the small scars he had in various places from old wounds.

Ardeth groaned harshly as his restraint was sorely tested by her caresses, wanting nothing more than to strip both their clothes off and take her. The warnings about what he was doing were looming darkly at the back of his mind, but he shrugged them off for a time. His life was so full of duty and the endless barren terrain of the desert that he had no wish to draw away from this brief oasis of pleasure in his otherwise bleak existence.

He drew the strap of her gown down over her shoulder and followed it with his mouth, sipping at the silky skin he uncovered as he pulled the strap lower still. His lips worked their way over her collar bone and down to the upper slope of her breast, his eyes taking in the untouched swell of her flesh, pearly white against the darkness of his hand. The thought that she had allowed no other man these liberties spurred him on and he bent to take the hard tip of her breast in his mouth, drawing on the pebbled flesh through the silk of her gown until she arched up against him and her hands threaded through his hair to hold him to her.

Never in her life had she felt such pleasure and she was almost mindless with it. Whatever it was he was doing, she didn't want him to stop anytime soon. If she wasn't so caught up in it all, she would have been horrified at letting anyone touch her so intimately, but she wanted whatever he could do to her, welcomed it.

Ardeth gave another groan of frustration, his lips releasing her flesh only to draw the thin material away from the perfection underneath, his breath catching at the soft rose and cream colours he uncovered before his mouth returned to suckling her.

It wasn't until he moved his other hand and gently squeezed her backside that everything changed. Her soft moan became a moan of pain and she tensed against him, drawing her breath in on a sharp gasp, her eyes flying open and her senses crashing back down upon her.

Ardeth instantly withdrew his hands from her and sat up, looking almost bewildered. "Allah," he muttered, mumbling more Arabic as he reached out to cover the flesh she still didn't have the mind to know was uncovered. "Are you alright? I hurt you?"

Charlotte was at a total loss for words. She looked down at the large wet spot on her gown through which could clearly be seen her breast and suddenly felt horribly embarrassed, especially when her mind helpfully replayed everything that they had just done. She covered herself with her hands and sat staring at him with her mouth hanging open, her lips still swollen from his kisses.

Ardeth felt his chest contract at the picture she made and he reached out to hold her arms, a small smile playing around his lips. "Charlotte, did I hurt you?"

She started to shake her head, then remembered what had actually brought them to their senses and nodded instead.

"Where?" he asked softly, his eyes melting into hers from so short a distance.

"My...my..." she stuttered, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Here?" he asked again, one hand moving around her to her derriere and gently stroking. Again she nodded, ashamed at the way her body reacted to his touch. He saw the emotion clearly in her face and moved his hand back to her arm. "I am sorry I hurt you so badly. Forgive me," he said, taking both her hands and kissing them before bowing his head over them.

Charlotte was astonished to see him doing this. For each day that she had known him he had been authoritative and stern, only showing the occasional glimpse of softness or humanity and seeming uncomfortable with it. Now he seemed at ease with this side of him. She was silent for so long that he raised his head and studied her, smiling softly. "Am I forgiven, my lady?"

Her heart stopped beating for a moment at his words and then kicked up again at double speed. She didn't know why it should affect her so much being called his lady, but it did. She belatedly realised that he was waiting for an answer and she gave a small nod, biting her lip.

"We should perhaps join the others before they come in search of us once again," he said, moving off the bed and pulling her slowly up with him, releasing her hands as they stood. "I will refresh myself and get properly dressed in my room. I would advise you to do the same and I will join you downstairs when you are ready." He seemed to hesitate for a second before bending and placing a soft kiss on her cheek and leaving the room.

Charlotte placed a trembling hand over her cheek and stared at the closed door dumbly. She had a feeling that, even after all the upheaval of the last few days, her life was about to change again.

When she had washed and dressed, she walked slowly down the stairs and joined the others in the big family dining room, blushing as Ardeth immediately stood up and pulled out a chair for her. Billy was sitting next to him on the other side, obviously very proud to be so close to his newest hero, and Libby was propped into a high chair, busily mashing her food into her hair.

"Good morning, pumpkin," she said, moving to plant a kiss on the small boy's head before she sat down, Ardeth pushing her chair in with her solicitously.

Evy and Rick both gave her wide smiles and knowing looks. "How are you feeling this morning?" Evy asked her, pushing a plate heaped with food towards her.

"Fine, thank you," Charlotte mumbled, concentrating on her plate with undue interest.

"Yeah, you looked a lot better when you woke up," Rick said quietly, filling his mouth with eggs and keeping his eyes down.

Ardeth gave him a stern look that he didn't see, before seating himself again and starting to eat his own breakfast, his plate devoid of the meat that everyone else was eating. Charlotte noticed this and frowned.

"Don't you want bacon?" she asked, looking at the bounty of different foods Maria had cooked for them.

"I do not eat the flesh of a pig. These eggs will be sufficient for me, thank you," Ardeth replied, giving her a soft smile which held her transfixed until Evy cleared her throat and broke the spell.

"Charlie, have you decided what you want to do yet? Because I have to be out at the dig-site tomorrow, which means we have to leave today and catch the boat down the Nile." She smiled at Charlotte and picked up her teacup. "I'd really like you to come with us."

Charlotte was aware of being stared at by several sets of eyes and bit her lip. " I don't know....er....where is the dig-site?"

"It's between Memphis and Akhetaten, quite a distance away. We have to catch the boat at midday. If all this hadn't happened then I would have remembered to tell you sooner, I'm sorry," Evy said.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to go to this dig honey?" Rick asked her, frowning. "After all that's happened. There's still someone out there who wanted Charlotte kidnapped, and you. What if he tries it again?"

"Do not worry. My men will accompany you at all times," Ardeth told them, pushing his now empty plate aside and reaching for his coffee.

"And you?" Evy asked him, her eyes twinkling as she glanced at Charlotte.

"I will be with them."

"What about your other duties?" Rick asked him. "Haven't you got more important stuff to do than watch over us?"

"Whoever these men were, they wanted to resurrect Imhotep. It is my duty to make sure that it never happens again," Ardeth said and then smiled. "Besides, wherever you two go, trouble is sure to follow."

"Gee, thanks buddy. Nice to know you have such faith in us!" Rick scoffed.

"Well, he does have a point. We've been involved both times he was brought back before..." Evy began

"You were responsible for it the first time," Ardeth said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"But not the second time. That was Ancksunamun's doing, not mine!" Evy said quickly, defending her actions.

"Yeah, and let's not forget that it was you who dragged us into it all by coming to London and disturbing our peace!" Rick put in.

"And why did I have to come to London?" Ardeth asked slowly.

Rick fell silent and Evy bit her lip, trying to stop the smile from forming. "Because we had the bracelet of Anubis." She grinned. "Oh, alright, I'll admit that maybe I shouldn't have taken it home, but..."

"You should never have discovered it in the first place. Still, now all is as it should be once again. For a short while at least, until you disturb another tomb or find another damaging artefact!" Ardeth shot at her, his face telling them that he held no grudges.

Charlotte was looking from one of them to another. "I don't know how you can joke about all that's happened to you, not after some of the strange things you've seen." She shuddered.

Rick gave a wry smile. "It's either joke about it or go mad, I suppose. You're lucky. You haven't seen anything unusual yet. Give it time, I'm sure Evy can dig up something undead to amuse you with!"
Evy slapped his arm and rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. The only undead thing you're likely to see on this trip is him!" she said, nodding toward her husband and giving him an innocent smile when he glared at her.

"Oh, you'll pay for that," Rick said to her, grabbing her wrist and tugging her as close as he could with her still sitting down.

"Richard, behave," Evy admonished, indicating their audience.

"You should have thought about that before you hit me," he said and growled at her.

Libby squealed from her high chair and stretched out her arms to Rick, wanting to be part of the action. Charlotte giggled at the easy by-play between Rick and Evy, finally feeling a little more light-hearted than she had done since she'd arrived in Egypt. Ardeth stared at her as she laughed, taking in the change in her appearance when she actually smiled, and Charlotte caught that look. She didn't hold his gaze, finding it uncomfortable to do so because his looks always seemed so intense.

"I would like to go with you," Charlotte said suddenly, surprising Evy. "But I don't want to put Billy in any more danger."

"He can come with us, we'll be protected by the Med-jai so he'll be fine. We were going to leave Libby here at the house, too, but I think we might take her with us," Evy said, looking at her daughter as Rick lifted her out of the highchair.

"I have an alternative suggestion, if you would allow?" Ardeth said, looking from Evy to Charlotte and back again. When Evy nodded he continued. "If you would permit, we could take the children to my village where they could remain for the time you are at the dig site. They would be perfectly safe there, no harm could ever come to them among my people, nor would anyone outside the village ever know they were there." He raised his eyebrows. "They would be well taken care of by the women. It may be a safer option than having them with you in the open where anyone could take them."

Evy frowned as she thought about it and looked at her husband. "What do you think?"

Rick shrugged. "Well, we were going to leave her here. It would be better if she was somewhere safer, somewhere that no harm could come to her. I say we should take both of them to his village and see what we think when we get there."

Evy nodded and then looked at Charlotte, everyone else following her gaze and awaiting her answer. "I don't know. Are you sure he'd be safe? What if he doesn't want to go?"

Ardeth took her hand, not seeming to care that they were in front of the others. "On my honour, he will be safe. Trust me."

Charlotte felt herself melting under that stare and slowly nodded, receiving a smile and a kiss on the knuckles from Ardeth. "Billy, would you like to go to my village and stay with some of my people?" he asked the young boy on the other side of him.

"Can I take my train?" Billy asked, naming one of the most important things in his life.

"Yes, you may take your train with you," Ardeth replied, patiently.

Billy thought about it for a second. "Can I take Charlotte with me too?"

Ardeth smiled. "Charlotte will come with you, but she will have to leave you for a short while. However, there are other young boys in my village who can play with you. They will be warriors like me someday, and they try to learn how to fight with a sword every day. Would you like to learn how to be a warrior?"

"Yes! Can I have a sword, like you?" Billy asked, his voice rising with excitement.

"You may have a sword, but it will be a little different from mine," Ardeth told him.

"A sword?" Charlotte said, frowning. "I don't like the sound of that."

Ardeth turned his eyes to her. "Do not worry, the sword is a training weapon, made of light wood so it is easy for children to handle. I said he would come to no harm, and he will not."

"Please say I can have a sword, Charlotte. I want to play with the other boys," Billy pleaded.

"Well, I suppose...alright. If you're going to stay in Ardeth's village, I'd better go and pack you some clothes," she said, rising from the table.

"You have not finished your breakfast," Ardeth said, reaching for her wrist and stopping her.

She gave a small smile. "It doesn't matter. It won't stay where I put it once I'm on the boat, anyway."

"You get seasick?" Evy asked her.

"Yes. I felt awful on the way over here, so I don't imagine I'll feel any better on this next trip. At least it's only for one night."

"You may find it isn't so bad this time," Evy said. "It's on the river, not on the sea. Not so many waves."

"I hope not. How many clothes should I pack?" Charlotte said.

Evy got up from the table. "I'll help you. You shouldn't need too many for young Billy here, and his clothing should be suitable. But we need to get you properly kitted out. You can't go around wearing those skirts all the time, you need some trousers." Evy told her as she led her out of the room.