Shadows of the Nile (9 page)

“What do you make of them?” Peter nudged her. “Which would you rather be – one of the rich women, a prisoner of convention, or a slave girl enjoying herself?”

“Neither, I think.”

He grunted.

“This way.” Achmed led them to the inner room. “Here you will note there is a small alcove where the two statues of the entombed husband and wife would have stood; it is a little bit dark to see. Offerings would have been left for them, like food and drink, so they didn't go hungry or thirsty. Note also the paintings, once again depicting the life of the farmer, and showing how he enjoyed fishing and hoped to do more in his afterlife. We will now go down to the burial chamber itself. The steps are quite steep but there are handrails and it is very well lit. Just hold on carefully.”

Aline followed Achmed. Her hand trembled as she held the rail, and she walked slower than usual down the steps. When she got to the bottom she felt breathless and suddenly frightened. The walls seemed to close in on her.

“There isn't a tomb?” Cheng asked.

“No. Nothing very much was found in here,” Achmed answered.

Aline could just make out the shadow of something. “A chair, perhaps,” she murmured.

“Yes, there was a chair. And there were two statues in the alcove, and a decorated box. They have been removed to the local museum. We will now return to the top rooms and when you are ready we will let the next people in.”

Aline was glad to leave the tomb chamber. In the outer room she lingered, looking at the paintings and the hieroglyphics. Slowly she traced her finger very delicately across the symbol of a bird, and then onward to the farmer. From the deep recesses of her mind strange feelings emerged. ‘I could write,' she thought. ‘I could write about you and the family if only you'd let me. But you won't because I am only a girl.' A deep sadness engulfed her, and when she left the house she didn't join the others immediately but sat for a while, trying to brush off the darkness she felt.

*

She wasn't alone for long however. Peter ambled up and sat down heavily next to her.

“What's this?” he said in a kindly way. “Not our writer, looking deep and melancholy? Are all these tombs getting you down, Aline? You should be out there swimming and enjoying yourself.”

She smiled at him.

“I'm here to do a job,” she answered quietly. “If I don't put in a good article I could lose my job.”

“This tomb has made an impact on you?”

She nodded. “I think because it's a small burial place for an ordinary family it strikes home far more than all the past grandeur we've seen. If I'd lived in their time, it's possible this would have been the sort of burial place I'd have had. Maybe because of that I feel close to the people who once lived here.” She did feel close to them. She felt she could almost reach out and touch them, but they had gone and she felt tears for them.

“Well, you know,” Peter said, catching her mood, “it's not very likely your ancestors would have come from this country. You have the Anglo-Saxon look about you. Far more likely your ancestors would have been buried near Stonehenge or somewhere like that.”

Aline stared at him. Something else stirred in her memory. A shadow of a couple on a big white horse swirled before her eyes. Then the image went, leaving behind a passionate desire to know who they were.

*

The party made a quick visit to the temple. Aline was intrigued by the idea of it being dedicated to two sets of gods. A sensible use of resources, she wrote in her notes.

*

As they returned to the boat, Achmed stopped to make an announcement. “This evening, we are going to have a celebration. It's called a Galabeya evening, and some of us dress up in Egyptian robes. Outfits can be bought from the shop, here on the boat.”

“What sort of clothes?” Gerald asked.

“Well, it can be something like a long dress with a head covering for the ladies, and a turban and long robe for the men. If you feel like dressing up, the outfits in the shop are very cheap.”

Gerald grabbed Aline's arm. “Shall we go and have a look?”

They found Jan already there, having heard the news, surrounded by robes of different colours, and trying on a silky red hat-scarf with gold tassels.

“Oh, I'm so glad you girls have come,” she breathed. “There are so many nice things here and I can't make up my mind which to get – which is unusual for me. I just want them all.” She laughed.

“I think the red suits you,” Aline said.

“Do you? Well perhaps I'll take this and team it up with my glittery black dress.”

“Very good choice,” the shop owner smiled at her. “So none of my dresses?”

“Not this time, maybe the next party we have I'll think again.”

“And you, lady?” his dark eyes smiled at Aline.

She looked at the long robes. They seemed very shapeless. “What else have you got?”

“I have this.” He drew out a dress from behind the counter. It was quite short, made entirely of gold fabric, which glistened seductively.

“I'd need to try it on,” Aline said, hesitantly.

“You take it to your cabin. If you like it, you bring money back to me. And to match it you need something in gold to cover your hair. See what you think of this headpiece.” He gently drew her to him and started to wind an exquisite gold-coloured scarf around her head, placing it first across her forehead, pulling it tightly round the back of her neck, and then up onto the top of her head, where he knotted it tightly. Thin gold chains fell from the edge of the scarf down her forehead almost to her eyes.

“Ah, that is beautiful,” he murmured.

“It does look nice,” Gerald agreed. “And it would match the dress. Go and try it on.”

“Leave the scarf on,” the man advised. “See the effect it has on the dress. And here,” he held out some gold sandals. “See what you think of these.”

Just as she left the shop, Aline saw Nephthys wandering along the corridor, a little smile on her lips.

*

The dress was like no other she'd ever worn. As she slipped it carefully over her head it seemed to take over her body. Surprisingly it was quite heavy. The stretchy gold material clung tightly to her breasts, it seemed to shrink to nothing as it corseted her waist and then it stretched a little to tighten around her stomach, and finally wrapped itself so tightly round her thighs she wasn't sure if she could walk. Only her shapely legs were left free of any adornments.

Then she put on the sandals. They were like iron weights and the heels were very high. She could only wear them by pulling the leather fasteners round her ankles and securing them in such a way that they dug into her skin. She looked in the mirror. Someone stared back at her. The woman was so tightly bound in stretchy elastic she could hardly breathe, her head was wrapped in a fabric which had fallen a little onto her forehead, so that her eyes were veiled and she couldn't see properly, and her feet fettered by sandals so she could hardly walk.

She most certainly was not going to wear that outfit.

*

She hesitated just outside the restaurant doors. She knew she was late. It was deliberate. She knew Nephthys would be watching out for her, wondering where she was. She could see them all, through the glass. They'd already started their dinner. Peter was chuckling over something and there was an empty chair next to him. That would have been saved for her. Laughter, loud talking and the sound of eating drifted through to her.

She pushed open the doors and stood at the top of the steps which led down to the dining area.

She stopped. They all seemed to see her in one second and all noise ceased.

“Wow,” she heard somebody breathe.

They all stared at her in amazement. No one said anything.

Her long gold dress, which she'd brought from home and not as yet worn, accentuated her curves. It was slit at the side from the hem to above the knee, revealing her shapely legs when she moved slightly. The long wide sleeves revealed gold bracelets on either wrist. Gold around her throat accentuated the high collar of the dress. Some of her hair was held in place by a golden clasp on the top of her head, the rest cascaded down in voluminous brown curls onto her shoulders.

She stood for a moment, and then she moved her right arm across her chest. Then very slowly she placed her left arm over it, allowing the wide sleeve to fall back from her arm. The snake ring caught the light and sent beams bouncing off the walls and onto the ceiling. She saw Nephthys's expression, a shadow of fear darkening her face. She saw Achmed give a secretive little smile and bow his head. He rose from the table and walked towards her. He took her ringed hand and put it over his so the gold shone out in all its glory.

He accompanied her to her chair and sat her down. The room was still very quiet, with no sound from anyone.

“Very dramatic,” Peter whispered. “Very beautiful. Only someone as creative as our Aline could carry this off.” He leant over and kissed her hand. “Welcome to the Egyptian party, my dear.”

*

The party carried on in the nightclub area of the boat. Aline watched the games being played and joined in one or two. Peter and Mary then retired, and Gerald and Cheng left a bit later. Aline assumed Nephthys must have gone off somewhere as well, as she'd not been seen since dinner. She'd sat sullenly eating at the table and then quietly disappeared after the first course. Aline wanted to find her.

She wandered up to the top deck. The air was warm, and lights flickered in the nearby town. There appeared to be no one around, and yet she soon sensed Nephthys's presence. It was no longer the perfume that alerted her; it was the sharpness of the sudden wind, warning her to be alert and to guard herself. It was in the ring, which tightened round her finger, protecting her. She now knew the other woman was no friend to her.

“My dear Aline,” Nephthys's voice drawled from the dark. “How sweetly you walk in the shadows. How prim you are in your dress, covering you from head to toe. Do tell me, did you get all that false gold in the market or did you earn it?” Nephthys emerged. “Well, Aline, are you learning things, or are you as dumb as when you first came to Egypt?”

Aline stood quietly. She could feel a tremendous power coming from within and surging through her. “Disappointed with my clothes?” she murmured. “Did you really think I'd wear that outfit you'd so obviously picked out for me? Yes, I paid the shopkeeper for it, to make you think you still control me. Then I threw it out.” Her eyes mocked her. “You're right about most of my gold. I bought it from the market, except for one piece of my jewellery. Oh, don't step away from me, Nephthys; I've something to show you.” She brandished the snake ring in the other's face. “I think you know what this is.”

Nephthys trembled a little. Aline noticed it.

“Here, try to take it off my finger. See how loose it is. Here, do it, do it.”

Aline held her hand out to Nephthys. The ring had become very loose and looked far too big for her finger.

Nephthys suddenly seized Aline's hand and yanked at the ring, but as soon as she touched it, it became very small.

“Yah!” Nephthys screamed.

Aline gave a little laugh. “My dear Nephthys. Did you really think it would be that easy? The ring is real. It's solid gold. It belongs to the Snake Goddess. If you tried to damage my finger you'd suffer the most terrible curse. But you know that, don't you, my dear Nephthys?”

“You think you're so clever,” hissed Nephthys. “But you don't know who really gave it to you, do you? You think it was the Snake Goddess. But maybe it was someone else? What was its purpose? You'll want to find that out, my dear Aline. You'll want to go back. There's someone you want to find, isn't there? Who is it? You don't know, do you?”

“But you do,” Aline retorted fiercely. “Who is it? Tell me.”

It was Nephthys's turn to mock.

“Find out,” she snarled.

“I've every intention of doing just that. You can't stop me or dominate me any more, Nephthys, and do you know why? Well, I won't tell you just yet, because I wouldn't want you to learn too much. Maybe I did come here as an innocent journalist, you're quite right about that, but there's nothing innocent about me now. Every minute my eyes are open to things, and the old ways, and every second I grow more knowledgeable. You're nothing. You're a painted doll, trying to intimidate with your perfumes and your cheap jewellery, but that's the lowest form of magic, isn't it? Anyone can do that.”

She watched Nephthys getting more and more furious. Her face became red and ugly with rage, and her coloured fingernails clawed backwards and forwards as if she'd have liked to scratch Aline's eyes out.

Aline gave a slow smile. “Goodnight, Nephthys. I've so enjoyed our little talk.”

“You'll learn,” shot Nephthys as a parting gift. “You'll learn.”

Aline turned as she reached the steps to the lower floor.

“I certainly hope so,” she murmured.

*

“We have a plan to go to a small museum this morning,” Achmed said when they gathered in the foyer early the next day. “We just have time before the boat sails at lunchtime. If you can all keep up with me I would be pleased.”

Again Nephthys wasn't around, and Aline wondered if she'd left the cruise after their words the night before. She didn't know where her own strength and sudden understanding had come from, but it had certainly startled herself just as much as it had startled Nephthys. She'd lost all fear of the other. She no longer found her awesome. Nephthys had become an ordinary woman – at least for the moment.

The museum was quite close, not far from the tomb they'd visited the day before.

Just before they were left to wander round on their own, Achmed called them all together in front of a glass case.

“I would just like to draw your attention to this. It is a box encrusted with jewels. It was found in the inner tomb of the place we went to yesterday. The jewels are only semi-precious stones, which is maybe why any tomb robber would have ignored it, or maybe they thought it was some sort of sacrificial container, because inside the box were locks of hair from a woman. What was unusual about the hair was that it was of a golden colour, which isn't a colour usually found in this country. It could be the original colour has disintegrated with time, or maybe the woman had dyed her hair. It is a bit of a mystery, but then,” he gave them all a smile, “there are a lot of mysteries we can't explain. Now, please feel free to look around, and we will meet up in an hour for coffee.”