Part Seven
O'Connell and Jonathan stayed at the museum the next day whilst Evelyn talked to Professor Newman, the police and Hart.
Her fiancé was making more fuss about the whole deal than she was. Yes, she was a little shaken, but a good night's sleep had done wonders for that. The woman had faced a murderous, immortal being. A thief was small fish in comparison.
Hart was ranting incessantly though. Telling Newman that he should improve his security, telling the police that they had better damn well find the man who'd dared attack his fiancée. Scolding said fiancée for being so careless as to stay here alone.
Finally escaping the questioning, she headed for the sanctuary of her office. Jonathan was hot on her heels. Hart held O'Connell back.
"I just wanted to thank you personally for what you did last night".
"Don't bother", O'Connell replied. He hadn't done it for this guy.
He looked almost distraught, but O'Connell couldn't help but sense that everything about this man was staged and false. "If you hadn't been there then god knows what might have happened to my poor Evelyn".
His Evelyn? Since when?
O'Connell wondered if she knew he thought of her as his property. He mentally shook that thought away though. He wasn't going to resort to telling tales and bad mouthing her fiancé to win her back. Firstly, it was wrong and secondly, it would never work.
"Evelyn's a lot stronger than she looks", O'Connell said, beginning to follow the brother and sister, not wanting to spend anymore time than necessary in this man's company.
"Oh, I understand that", Hart said, falling into step beside him, "But what I don't understand is what exactly you were doing here, alone, late at night, with the woman who is soon to be my wife".
O'Connell glanced casually at him, seeing the man's suspicious hidden behind his geniality. He wasn't stupid, O'Connell had to give him that.
He fixed his eyes on the route ahead, "Just talking".
Hart nodded as they reached the office door.
"Talking. Of course". He patted O'Connell on the shoulders as he reached for the door handle.
"Don't".
"Afraid of the competition?" O'Connell asked quietly as they stepped into the room.
With Evelyn present, Hart had no opportunity to reply. She and Jonathan were chatting worriedly, both agitated. When the two men entered though, both attempted to look normal. As though they weren't really deathly concerned about something.
Hart frowned at their expressions, "Is something wrong?"
Evelyn shook her head hurriedly as she crossed to meet him, "No, nothing. Really...I...I do have a headache though. Could you be a darling and get me a drink?"
She tried to usher him out of the room, but he resisted, "A drink?"
"Yes. Tea would be very nice, thank you".
"Darling", he said, holding her at arms length, stopping her pushing, "Are you sure you're all right?"
She nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. Apart from the headache".
He shook his head, "I was so very worried when I heard about what happened. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you". He stroked his hand across her cheek, brought her face closer and kissed her, taking a small moment to look at O'Connell's face. The look there was very satisfying. When he broke the embrace, he ran a gentle hand quickly through her hair.
"I'll go and get you your drink. Then you should go home and rest, and tonight I shall take you somewhere very special, so you can forget all about this horrible business".
"That would be nice", she said quietly.
He smiled a left the room.
She turned to face her brother and O'Connell, her cheeks still slightly flushed from the kiss. O'Connell felt horribly jealous but by the look on Evelyn's face they had more important things to be concerned about.
"What's going on?" he asked, not allowing himself time to dwell.
Evelyn and Jonathan looked at each other and O'Connell rolled his eyes, "Please tell me that it doesn't involve curses and tombs and mummies".
Evelyn nodded, "Okay, I won't tell you".
"Of course", Jonathan added, "Then she would be lying".
"It's about the stolen book, right? You think some wacko's going to try and bring forth some great evil with it". He had already said as much to Jonathan the previous night and had expected Evelyn to come to the same conclusion. Obviously Hart had no knowledge of their previous adventures, which was why Evelyn had been so keen to get rid of him.
Evelyn nodded again, "I can't see any other reason why somebody would specifically want that book. In monetary terms there are far more valuable things here".
"Maybe it was for a collector who really wanted it", O'Connell reasoned.
Evelyn rolled her eyes at how ridiculous that sounded, "Who would be mad enough to steal something so unique and then display it?"
O'Connell had to agree with that, "So what do we do then? I'd like to stop this before it gets to the stage with human sacrifices and killer corpses".
"Ditto", said Jonathan from his perch on the desk.
"I shut the book", said Evelyn, decisively, "It will be almost impossible to get it open without damaging it".
"Unless you have the key", Jonathan added.
"Precisely. We must make sure it is safe".
"And who has the key?" O'Connell asked, already preparing himself for battle.
Evelyn shook her head, "I don't know. It wasn't amongst the artefacts retrieved from Hamunaptra, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't taken. Who knows what might have-"?
She stopped abruptly as Hart entered with her tea.
"There you go", he said, handing it to her.
She took it, thanking him. "Now, if all you gentlemen will excuse me, I have work to do". She sat at the desk and began to write, shooting a meaningful look at Rick and Jonathan.
Taking this as a cue to leave, the three men quietly departed, shutting the door behind them.
"Well, Jonathan, dear boy", Nathan said, trying to be as friendly as possible, "Since your sister seems determined to blow me off again today, fancy a game of poker? I could get a few friends over and make a real occasion of it".
Jonathan had really made an effort to get on with the man, for Evie's sake. It didn't really help that he despised him intently. The sight of him made his skin crawl as though that damned bug was creeping up it again. Unfortunately, if the man was to be his brother-in-law, Jonathan was going to be seeing a lot more of him. Presently, however, he had the perfect excuse to avoid his company, and not being the kind of man to pass up the easiest route, he had no qualms about using it.
"Terribly sorry, Nathan, but I'd already promised O'Connell here a tour of this great city of ours. Maybe next time, huh?"
Nathan turned his attention to the American, "You've never been to London before?"
"No", O'Connell replied tightly, wondering whether the man was actually digging at him or whether it was just his overwhelming desire to find reasons to hate the guy making him paranoid.
Nathan confirmed the former with a smug grin, "Must be quite a shock to you. London is the polar opposite of the breedless vulgarity of the United States".
He smacked O'Connell on the shoulder, laughing at his own wit. For his part, O'Connell glared at the contact but refrained from saying anything.
Jonathan momentarily considered placing himself between the two. Evie would kill him if he let a brawl break out. The look on O'Connell's face was akin to that he had given Imhotep as the creature had taken Evie from them. Nathan somehow seemed to know just how to push up the steam gauge on O'Connell's temperature to dangerous levels, and at this moment he looked about to blow. And since, if he did blow, Jonathan thought it best not to be in his way, he decided stepping into the foray may not be such a good idea after all.
Instead he just laugh nervously, trying to diffuse the situation, "Actually, O'Connell hasn't been back to the Motherland in years, isn't that right? Spent a lot of time in Egypt".
Nathan snorted, "Oh God, that hovel? The whole country is a dirty, smelly, decaying, rotten pit. Why the government insists on meddling in their affairs is beyond me. Leave the place to wallow in its own filth, I say".
"Well, Evelyn seems to quite like it", O'Connell said, testily.
He waved the comment away, "Her time as a daughter and a sister has made her like that. But soon she won't be those anymore. She'll be a wife. And all that silly nonsense will be like a childish game to her".
O'Connell smiled and shook his head, "Gee, you really don't know her at all, do you?"
He turned on his heels and walked off. Jonathan soon scurried up to his side.
"You're right", O'Connell said, tightly.
"What?" Jonathan asked, not seeing his train of thought.
"He really is just...great".
O'Connell and Jonathan stayed at the museum the next day whilst Evelyn talked to Professor Newman, the police and Hart.
Her fiancé was making more fuss about the whole deal than she was. Yes, she was a little shaken, but a good night's sleep had done wonders for that. The woman had faced a murderous, immortal being. A thief was small fish in comparison.
Hart was ranting incessantly though. Telling Newman that he should improve his security, telling the police that they had better damn well find the man who'd dared attack his fiancée. Scolding said fiancée for being so careless as to stay here alone.
Finally escaping the questioning, she headed for the sanctuary of her office. Jonathan was hot on her heels. Hart held O'Connell back.
"I just wanted to thank you personally for what you did last night".
"Don't bother", O'Connell replied. He hadn't done it for this guy.
He looked almost distraught, but O'Connell couldn't help but sense that everything about this man was staged and false. "If you hadn't been there then god knows what might have happened to my poor Evelyn".
His Evelyn? Since when?
O'Connell wondered if she knew he thought of her as his property. He mentally shook that thought away though. He wasn't going to resort to telling tales and bad mouthing her fiancé to win her back. Firstly, it was wrong and secondly, it would never work.
"Evelyn's a lot stronger than she looks", O'Connell said, beginning to follow the brother and sister, not wanting to spend anymore time than necessary in this man's company.
"Oh, I understand that", Hart said, falling into step beside him, "But what I don't understand is what exactly you were doing here, alone, late at night, with the woman who is soon to be my wife".
O'Connell glanced casually at him, seeing the man's suspicious hidden behind his geniality. He wasn't stupid, O'Connell had to give him that.
He fixed his eyes on the route ahead, "Just talking".
Hart nodded as they reached the office door.
"Talking. Of course". He patted O'Connell on the shoulders as he reached for the door handle.
"Don't".
"Afraid of the competition?" O'Connell asked quietly as they stepped into the room.
With Evelyn present, Hart had no opportunity to reply. She and Jonathan were chatting worriedly, both agitated. When the two men entered though, both attempted to look normal. As though they weren't really deathly concerned about something.
Hart frowned at their expressions, "Is something wrong?"
Evelyn shook her head hurriedly as she crossed to meet him, "No, nothing. Really...I...I do have a headache though. Could you be a darling and get me a drink?"
She tried to usher him out of the room, but he resisted, "A drink?"
"Yes. Tea would be very nice, thank you".
"Darling", he said, holding her at arms length, stopping her pushing, "Are you sure you're all right?"
She nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. Apart from the headache".
He shook his head, "I was so very worried when I heard about what happened. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you". He stroked his hand across her cheek, brought her face closer and kissed her, taking a small moment to look at O'Connell's face. The look there was very satisfying. When he broke the embrace, he ran a gentle hand quickly through her hair.
"I'll go and get you your drink. Then you should go home and rest, and tonight I shall take you somewhere very special, so you can forget all about this horrible business".
"That would be nice", she said quietly.
He smiled a left the room.
She turned to face her brother and O'Connell, her cheeks still slightly flushed from the kiss. O'Connell felt horribly jealous but by the look on Evelyn's face they had more important things to be concerned about.
"What's going on?" he asked, not allowing himself time to dwell.
Evelyn and Jonathan looked at each other and O'Connell rolled his eyes, "Please tell me that it doesn't involve curses and tombs and mummies".
Evelyn nodded, "Okay, I won't tell you".
"Of course", Jonathan added, "Then she would be lying".
"It's about the stolen book, right? You think some wacko's going to try and bring forth some great evil with it". He had already said as much to Jonathan the previous night and had expected Evelyn to come to the same conclusion. Obviously Hart had no knowledge of their previous adventures, which was why Evelyn had been so keen to get rid of him.
Evelyn nodded again, "I can't see any other reason why somebody would specifically want that book. In monetary terms there are far more valuable things here".
"Maybe it was for a collector who really wanted it", O'Connell reasoned.
Evelyn rolled her eyes at how ridiculous that sounded, "Who would be mad enough to steal something so unique and then display it?"
O'Connell had to agree with that, "So what do we do then? I'd like to stop this before it gets to the stage with human sacrifices and killer corpses".
"Ditto", said Jonathan from his perch on the desk.
"I shut the book", said Evelyn, decisively, "It will be almost impossible to get it open without damaging it".
"Unless you have the key", Jonathan added.
"Precisely. We must make sure it is safe".
"And who has the key?" O'Connell asked, already preparing himself for battle.
Evelyn shook her head, "I don't know. It wasn't amongst the artefacts retrieved from Hamunaptra, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't taken. Who knows what might have-"?
She stopped abruptly as Hart entered with her tea.
"There you go", he said, handing it to her.
She took it, thanking him. "Now, if all you gentlemen will excuse me, I have work to do". She sat at the desk and began to write, shooting a meaningful look at Rick and Jonathan.
Taking this as a cue to leave, the three men quietly departed, shutting the door behind them.
"Well, Jonathan, dear boy", Nathan said, trying to be as friendly as possible, "Since your sister seems determined to blow me off again today, fancy a game of poker? I could get a few friends over and make a real occasion of it".
Jonathan had really made an effort to get on with the man, for Evie's sake. It didn't really help that he despised him intently. The sight of him made his skin crawl as though that damned bug was creeping up it again. Unfortunately, if the man was to be his brother-in-law, Jonathan was going to be seeing a lot more of him. Presently, however, he had the perfect excuse to avoid his company, and not being the kind of man to pass up the easiest route, he had no qualms about using it.
"Terribly sorry, Nathan, but I'd already promised O'Connell here a tour of this great city of ours. Maybe next time, huh?"
Nathan turned his attention to the American, "You've never been to London before?"
"No", O'Connell replied tightly, wondering whether the man was actually digging at him or whether it was just his overwhelming desire to find reasons to hate the guy making him paranoid.
Nathan confirmed the former with a smug grin, "Must be quite a shock to you. London is the polar opposite of the breedless vulgarity of the United States".
He smacked O'Connell on the shoulder, laughing at his own wit. For his part, O'Connell glared at the contact but refrained from saying anything.
Jonathan momentarily considered placing himself between the two. Evie would kill him if he let a brawl break out. The look on O'Connell's face was akin to that he had given Imhotep as the creature had taken Evie from them. Nathan somehow seemed to know just how to push up the steam gauge on O'Connell's temperature to dangerous levels, and at this moment he looked about to blow. And since, if he did blow, Jonathan thought it best not to be in his way, he decided stepping into the foray may not be such a good idea after all.
Instead he just laugh nervously, trying to diffuse the situation, "Actually, O'Connell hasn't been back to the Motherland in years, isn't that right? Spent a lot of time in Egypt".
Nathan snorted, "Oh God, that hovel? The whole country is a dirty, smelly, decaying, rotten pit. Why the government insists on meddling in their affairs is beyond me. Leave the place to wallow in its own filth, I say".
"Well, Evelyn seems to quite like it", O'Connell said, testily.
He waved the comment away, "Her time as a daughter and a sister has made her like that. But soon she won't be those anymore. She'll be a wife. And all that silly nonsense will be like a childish game to her".
O'Connell smiled and shook his head, "Gee, you really don't know her at all, do you?"
He turned on his heels and walked off. Jonathan soon scurried up to his side.
"You're right", O'Connell said, tightly.
"What?" Jonathan asked, not seeing his train of thought.
"He really is just...great".