All Roads Lead To Egypt

Chapter 2

Author's Note: I decided to write this chapter from Evy's point of view (for reasons that will hopefully become clear later.) Thanks for the reviews, you guys rock. Unfortunately there is a ton of back story in this chapter, but don't worry it does eventually become important.

I DO NOT own, The Mummy or The Mummy Returns, I do however own Katherine Fernley though I doubt that's anything to be proud of ;)

An hour and an half hour later I was sat in the passenger seat of the car, Alex and Jonathon were lodged in the back and Rick was driving, we were on our way to my lecture.

I had been looking forwards to that lecture for months, ever since I had received the invitation. Yet I was partially nervous too, this was my chance to prove once and for all that Egypt was my subject area, and that I knew just as much about it as any Benbridge scholar.

That was part of the reason I'd been so snappy with everybody this morning, well that and Katherine Fernley. That girl always managed to make me feel hopelessly paranoid, and that mostly wasn't even her fault. It was her father's.

Eric Fernley (now very deceased) was renowned as one of England's finest Egyptologists, he had earned himself an absolute fortune, written at least 100 books on the subject, received world wide acclaim, and had been my father's best friend…

Originally Eric Fernley and (my and Jonathon's father) Sir Giles Henry Carnahan had been partners in exploration for 15 years, since they left Cambridge together at the age of 18. They had both hood winked their families into paying for them to travel to Egypt, where they almost literally hit gold, well the tomb of a moderately rich Pharaoh somewhere in the Valley Of The Kings. It had given the two young Egyptologists almost unimaginable kick starts to their careers.

The two remained close friends, Eric Fernley was the best man at my father and mother's wedding, and father was the best man at Eric's. When Jonathon was born (when the two friends were 33) Eric already had a son who was two years old, and later I believe dyed young in tragic circumstances.

However the year Jonathon was born, something very strange happened. Eric Fernley vanished, abandoning my father half way through a rather unproductive and very costly excavation. My father was naturally horrified by what his 'friend' had done to him and the excavation all but bankrupted him. When my father wrote to Fernley asking him to pay the money he owed for the dig, Fernley refused.

Only three months later Eric Fernley made the headlines as the 'Lone Discoverer Of One Of Egypt's Best Kept Secrets' He had somehow managed to discover the tomb of Queen Amenhotera, the profits of this discovery and said publicity made him millions.

Fernley had abandoned my father to run off to make a discovery and fortune which he did not even tell his 'best friend' and work partner about, not to mention almost bankrupting his 'best friend' in the process. My father never forgave him.

Of course all of this had happened 5 years before I was born, and 10 years before Katherine was born, and I know she can't really be blamed for a crime her father committed before she was even alive, but all the same you see my point? Luckily my father later more than made up his fortune and only 15 years after the Amenhotera incident Eric Fernley had dyed. At the age of just 48, it was rumoured he had become a violent alcoholic and had almost driven his wife to suicide; she only out lived her husband by a few months.

But there was another reason I disliked Miss Fernley the fact that a recent scholar's pamphlet had described her as 'The closest threat to Evelyn Carnahan-O'Connell's academic throne, it seems the rivalry between their two fathers has carried on into the next generation.'

And that's why I'm going to beat her, so that I can finally, oh I don't know 'defend my father's honour' or something.

It was an unwritten law between me and Jonathon that we would never mention the name 'Fernley' infact Jonathon had never even met Katherine, and the first time we'd mentioned her for a very long time had been breakfast that morning. I'd never told the story of the rivalry between our two families to Rick; I was always nervous he would think I was just being petty.

The lectures at the British museum in which I was taking part were running over the course of a week, so we were being payed by the Archaeology and Anthropology Society to stay in a luxury hotel during the duration, to be honest I was convinced that was the only reason Jonathon was coming along, well that and the prospect of free alcohol.

'Are you alright honey?' Rick asked me suddenly, snapping me out of my reverie.

'Yes, of course I'm fine.' I replied smiling and snapping back into normal non-brooding darkly Evy mode.

'Worried about you lecture old mum?' Asked Jonathon from the back seat.

I turned around to smile at him and Alex.

'Well sort of.'

'Mum, whatever you do,' pleaded Alex 'just don't talk about mummies, I'm sick of mummies'.

We all chuckled; I think being 'sick of mummies' was the current vibe in the Carnahan/O'Connell clan.

'Don't worry Alex' I reassured my son, 'my lecture is on Ancient Egyptian society and Hieroglyphs.'

Alex breathed a sigh of relief before sinking back into his seat, to ask only a minute later,

'Are we there yet?'

'Almost.' Replied Rick starring through the rain splashed windscreen at the dreary street outside.

Although our house was on the outskirts of London, the wretched traffic still meant it took us an annoyingly long time to get into the city centre where the museum was located. And even to longer to locate the Regency Hotel.

'Here we are.' Called Rick finally. Starring through the flooded windscreen I could just make out the outline of a large building. It then took us about 30 minutes to get parked, for a number of reasons; firstly the rain made vision rather difficult, secondly Rick was in an irritable mood and kept honking loudly at the other drivers whenever they dared to get in his way, and thirdly there were no visible spaces.

Finally we managed to find a miserable little piece of space about as far away from the actual Hotel as it was possible to be.

'Mum we are going to get soaked.' Moaned Alex as we stopped the car.

'Well put your coat on then.' I suggested to my son, to be honest I had the acute feeling that he was correct. I was going to greet the world's finest historical scholars looking like a drowned cat.

'I can't.' Moaned Alex from the backseat.

'Why not?' Asked Rick.

'Because I didn't bring it.' Was our son's somewhat guilty reply.

I rolled my eyes despairingly, I must have told him about 30 times to pack the wretched thing.

'Are we going to get out of the car or not?' Asked Jonathon impatiently.

'Yes in a second. Did you bring your coat?' I demanded, to my complete unsurprise Jonathon shook his head.

'Men.'

'Aww come on honey,' soothed Rick 'I remembered my coat.'

I smiled at my husband. Then a horrible thought struck me.

'Rick, you did pack my umbrella didn't you?'

Rick grimaced for an answer; I rolled my eyes again and climbed out of the car. It was absolutely pouring down, by the time I'd retrieved my luggage and reached the Hotel reception I looked as if I had decided to go for a rather leisurely swim in the channel.

A few minutes later Jonathon, Alex and Rick arrived looking just as wet if not more so if possible.

'Right you three stay here, I'll go and check in.' I announced fumbling in my handbag for the booking confirmation slip.

'Right old mum.' Replied Jonathon squeezing water out of his jacket.

'And try not to drip on anything.' I pleaded, poor Alex looked like he'd been caught in a tidal wave or some other type of strange nautical disaster, he even looked as if he had seaweed in his hair.

I reached the reception desk, which was deserted and rang the little bell on the counter. A minute or so later a man appeared.

'You wish to check in?'

'Yes.'

'Name, number of rooms and booking reference please.'

'Carnahan-O'Connell, three rooms.' I replied handing the man the required paper work.

'Still raining is it?' He asked looking me up and down and smirking slightly.

No you silly man I just jumped in the swimming pool.

'Yes.'

'Well Mrs O'Connell, welcome to the Regency. Breakfast is served from 7AM, luncheon from Noon and dinner from 6 PM. The bar and swimming pool are open daily from 11 Am to 11 PM. Please enjoy your stay.'

He handed me three sets of keys and I made a mental note NOT to tell Jonathon the latter piece of information.

A/N: Okay hope that wasn't too boring but I had to get all that explanation out of the way, coming up in the next chapter:

Katherine Fernley puts in an appearance (Boo HISS!)

Evelyn gives her lecture (Yay.)

Ands the O'Connell's receive a rather unusual parcel. (Du du du.)