The day passed smoothly and Charlie was pleased to see Jonathan finally join them. He immediately monopolised her company and regaled her with stories of his bravery in the face of impossible odds, making her laugh as she remembered how full of rubbish he could be. The fact that some of the things he spoke about were true, though, made for some interesting tales.
She didn't see Ardeth again until darkness had fallen and then he joined them as they ate, looking grim and quiet.
"Is something wrong, old chap?" Jonathan asked him, waving a bottle of some sort of amber liquid towards him.
Ardeth shook his head as he sat, letting the day's tension go out of his neck and shoulders. "I have just had words with one of my men. He shows no respect for anybody, and his attitude is getting worse instead of better."
"Well, why don't you just kill him?" the thinner man asked.
"The temptation was there, believe me," Ardeth replied, looking at Charlotte in the light of fire, his face softening. He reached out a hand and took hers, pressing a kiss on her knuckles and pulling her so she sat right next to him.
"I say, have I missed something at all?"
Charlotte looked at her cousin and blushed deeply, making Ardeth grin. "Your cousin has agreed to be my wife," he said, making Jonathan abruptly stop drinking, the bottle hanging under his mouth.
"Married? You?" he asked Ardeth, looking stunned.
"Huh, they're already married actually," Rick said, scoffing at his friend. He grinned unrepentantly when Ardeth glared at him. "Want to explain to Jonathan how that came about?"
"It has nothing to do with Jonathan," Ardeth said indignantly, but Rick shook his head, still grinning.
"Yes, it has, he's her male relative, he has to protect her good name. I think you should tell him about your sordid secrets!"
"Sordid? What's he done?" Jonathan asked his brother-in-law, frowning and trying to understand what they were going on about.
Charlotte glared at Rick. "He hasn't done anything, it's just some silly custom of his," she said quietly.
"Silly?" Ardeth asked her, frowning. "It is not silly, it is a morally correct custom to my people, and we have followed it for generations!"
She stared at him, worried. "I didn't mean I thought it was stupid. I'm sorry if I insulted you, I didn't mean to."
Ardeth sighed and squeezed her fingers. "You have not insulted me, my lady. I am just not used to having to explain my actions to anyone."
"You haven't!" Jonathan said, still waiting for someone to fill him in. "What have you been doing to my cousin?"
Ardeth transferred his attention from Charlotte to Jonathan and raised his chin. "I spent the night in her room, and to do such a thing means she is now considered my wife."
"He was in her bed, too," Rick pointed out, chuckling when Evy slapped him. "Well, he was."
"In her bed!" Jonathan burst out, not in the least bit angry, just finding Ardeth's discomfort amusing.
"We did nothing," Ardeth said, a smile touching his mouth when he saw Jonathan's lack of anger. "Although, again, the temptation was there." He looked at Charlotte again and smiled warmly at her, his eyes so full of emotion she blushed.
"Well, congratulations, old man," Jonathan said, grabbing Ardeth's free hand and shaking it enthusiastically. "When is the wedding?"
Charlotte looked at Ardeth and wondered the same thing, because he hadn't mentioned any plans. He shook his head. "I am quite sure the arrangements are already being made. As soon as we ride back to the village, when the dig is over, the ceremony will be standing ready for us. In a few short weeks she will be my wife."
Grayson Johns chose that moment to join them, his small eyes watching Charlotte intently. "Your life here will be very different from the one you know now," he said, glancing once at Ardeth.
"I know," Charlotte said, shrugging. "I'm looking forward to it."
"Well, I hope you're ready for all the hardships the desert can throw at you. Even seasoned explorers such as myself find it hard to stay out here any amount of time. I wouldn't like to live here," he said, giving a grimace of distaste that sent a flutter of anger through Ardeth.
"She will find no hardships living here, I assure you. Her every need will be met as she will become the wife of the leader," he said, his dark eyes narrowing as he stared at the older man. "I am sure she appreciates your concern, but it is misplaced in this instance."
Grayson gave a small cold smile, his eyes betraying an acute dislike for Ardeth before he lowered them. "I'm terribly sorry to have offended you in any way. My concern was merely for the young lady. I spoke out of turn."
Evy watched the by-play between the two men with confusion. Grayson Johns had always been very friendly all the time she had known him, and this was the first time she had seen him in any way antagonistic. She supposed maybe he was more reserved with men he didn't know, than he was with women, and she shrugged, settling back against Rick as he put his arms around her.
Charlotte was unaware of any tension, but she wouldn't have noticed even if it had been much more obvious because she was so tired. The last two nights of travelling were catching up with her, and even the sleep she had taken on the way here was not enough.
It wasn't until she started leaning heavily against Ardeth that anyone noticed she was falling asleep, and Evy instantly stood up, brushing sand off her legs.
"I'll take her to her tent," she said, moving towards her cousin. But Ardeth shook his head, staying her movement.
"Please, allow me to take her, Evelyn. Thank you," he said, giving the young blonde girl a gentle shake that made her wake up. "You must lie down and get some rest," he told Charlotte when she looked blearily at him.
She nodded and stood up, helped by holding onto his arm for balance, and he lead her away from the group, Charlotte calling a soft goodnight to everyone.
The professor watched them go with calculating eyes, excusing himself shortly afterwards and walking towards the dark, deserted dig site.
He leaned against a narrow pillar and waited, a smile curving his lips when he faintly heard the almost silent footsteps approaching his position. "You can't fool me, you know," he said into the darkness.
"Yet I will continue to try," the man said as he reached Grayson. "Did you see him with the English whore?"
"Yes, I saw him. I don't think the girl is a whore, however, but I understand your point of view."
Aslar snorted derisively. "He has no respect for himself or his own customs. He disgusts me!" he spat.
Grayson chuckled, pulling out a misshapen pack of cigarettes and lighting one up. "Believe me, Aslar, he disgusts me just as much. Soon you will be able to rid yourself of him and all his relatives, then you can become the leader of your little tribe."
"The time cannot come soon enough for me," he said, almost snarling. "Why must we wait for so long?"
"Because we must find the bracelets, as you well know. Without them we don't have the displacement spell, and the resurrection can't take place."
"Your English friends thought that it could," Aslar said, raising one eyebrow doubtingly.
"My English friends jumped the gun, and they paid for their haste with their lives," Grayson said, drawing deeply on his cigarette. "And that's another thing your noble leader will be paying for."
"I think we should kill him now. Him and his western whore!"
Grayson stared at him disparagingly, wishing he didn't need this cretinous individual. But he had to get rid of the Med-jai, and he had to have the girl. Therefore, he had to rid himself of anyone who would protect her. He would never have found the whereabouts of the bracelets without this little weasel, so he supposed he should try and get along with him, while he had to. "That isn't possible just yet, and besides, I thought you wanted to make him suffer?"
"I do," Aslar snapped, sighing with frustration. "It is just hard to wait when we are so close. After all these centuries, my ancestor's death will be avenged, and I will have my rightful place."
"And for that we need the girl, don't we?" Grayson pointed out.
"For her virgin blood, yes. A pity, because I should have liked to see Ardeth Bay know the agony of seeing his woman raped and killed in front of his eyes!"
Grayson smiled. "There are other ways to see him in such pain before we kill him. How about if the woman he loves betrays him?"
"How would you get her to betray him?"
"I wouldn't, I would merely make it appear as though she had. The effect will be just as strong. Don't worry Aslar," he said with a chilling laugh, "Ardeth Bay will know much pain before he dies. Of that you can be certain."
**** Ooooh, the plot thickens....at last. Sorry if it's been slow! Sex addicts should like the next chapter however.....mmmm!****
