Hearts In The Highlands. Ruth Axtell Morren

on.

      She smiled. “I’d hoped you’d be pleased.”

      Reid considered the enormity of the task. “I…am,” he managed, still trying to take it in. “It will take some time. I haven’t ever seen everything Uncle George amassed.”

      “Oh, it will take months perhaps. He left boxes and boxes of things, all labeled, of course. I’ve had them brought down from the attic and the stables to his study and library.”

      He shifted in his seat. “I don’t know how much time I would have to devote to it. I need to return to Egypt at some point.”

      She pursed her lips, and he recognized the signs of her displeasure. “Couldn’t someone take over your duties there for the time being?”

      “Perhaps I should have a look at the collection first. With the help of some assistants, it’s possible we could manage to catalog the items more quickly.”

      She shook her head. “Oh, no. I couldn’t bear to have the house invaded by strangers.”

      “It wouldn’t be anything like that. Museum workers tend to be very quiet, and perhaps with only one assistant, I could manage, at least enough to have the collection moved.”

      “No, no. I couldn’t have it. My nerves wouldn’t bear it.” She clutched her gnarled hand to her mouth and turned away.

      “All right, no one need come,” he assured her, not wanting to have to deal with a swoon. He wondered if Miss Norton would be coming back soon. She seemed to have a gentle yet effective way of dealing with his aunt.

      Before he could rise, his aunt spoke again. “I knew you would understand. Would you like to look at the collection now or come back tomorrow?”

      She seemed fully recovered. Reid flipped open his watch. “I have time now to begin to look at things, get a feel for the scope of the work. You said everything has been brought here?”

      “Yes. You can go right into your uncle’s study and the library. I’ll ring for the maid to escort you.”

      Reid stood, preferring to come to no decisions until he’d seen the state of the collection. Time enough then to think what this job of cataloging would entail. Time enough to think what remaining so long in England would mean…

      The moment Reid entered the study, memories of his uncle surrounded him. The scent of his brand of pipe tobacco lingered in the air. It seemed nothing had been changed from when his uncle had last sat here. The glass-enclosed bookshelves were crammed with leather-bound volumes and portfolios. The gilt-edged desk blotter still had ink stains on its green surface. Reid stepped farther into the room and examined the desk’s surface. Even his uncle’s pipe rested against the edge of an ashtray—a glazed piece of pottery from Crete.

      He turned to the black-clad maid. “Thank you. I’ll just look around.”

      She gave a brief curtsy. “Very well, sir. Just ring if you need anything.”

      The door shut behind her and stillness descended once again. Reid remembered his hours sitting on the straight-backed chair facing the large walnut desk, his uncle in the swivel chair in front of it. Uncle George would light his pipe and take a few puffs, the chair squeaking as he leaned back with those first satisfied puffs. Then with a conspiratorial grin, he’d show Reid an item or two and tell him the astonishing tale of how he’d come to acquire it. Then he’d finger the side of his nose and say with mock severity, “And not a word to your Aunt Millie about it!”

      Reid would promise with all the solemnity of a boy entrusted with a secret by so great a man as Uncle George.

      His uncle’s life had seemed one adventure after the other, and Reid had longed to grow up quickly to follow in his footsteps.

      Reid smiled to himself as he picked up a brass envelope opener—a medieval knife from the early Ottoman Empire—and fingered its sharp edge. He’d had a few adventures of his own since then. It would have been nice to sit here once again and swap stories with his uncle—but sadly he’d never have the chance now.

      He took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, remembering what he’d come for. Behind him, against one wall, were stacks of boxes. He peered at the topmost one: Egypt: Saqqâra Pyramids, September 1839. He took out his pocketknife and carefully cut the string holding the box shut.

      Everything inside was tissue wrapped. Reid took out a few items—vases, a female statuette, a broken piece of blue porcelain tile. The box was crammed full.

      He set the things on the desktop and entered the next room. The library was also as he remembered it, but stacked in its wide center were piles of boxes. He whistled as he looked around.

      This could mean months of work. He wasn’t sure how many notes his uncle had taken, but he’d have to uncover them if he hoped to place and date the relics stored in the boxes.

      He walked slowly around the room, reading labels where they were available, opening some of the boxes and looking at the samples inside. When he reached a smaller box, with the word Notes scrawled across it in black ink, he slit it open quickly. Inside he found leather-bound notebooks.

      He leafed through one. His uncle’s travel journals. He deciphered the neat ink scrawl. Some pages were stained, many were yellowed with age, while others were still clean and very legible. Many had to do with his uncle’s official functions, but others detailed his archaeological endeavors. “Eureka…” he breathed, his excitement mounting.

      After skimming a few pages describing a harrowing climb into a tomb, Reid closed the worn notebook. For all his adventurous side, his uncle had been a meticulous recorder. A life’s work summed up within the pages of a dozen or so notebooks. Uncle George had been a pioneer in a new branch of science. The few pages Reid had read reminded him a lot of his own work, but it also brought to the fore how primitive his uncle’s foray into this new field had been.

      He let his gaze roam around the room. Regardless of the enormity of the task, it had to be done. The record of the past needed to be cataloged and analyzed. The treasures needed to be brought to the light of day and shared with scholars.

      With a sigh he eased himself down on the floor and positioned himself cross-legged on the soft Persian carpet. Opening the journal to the first page, he began to read.

      August 12, 1840. Toured the inner chambers of pyramid. Intensely hot. Came to chamber of sarcophagi. Massive tombs. Crawled down narrow chamber, about two hundred feet lower…Air became thicker and staler the farther we went. Hoped no noxious gases lingering there. Wouldn’t have wanted to join the mummies resting there, only to be found by a future explorer a century or so from now.

      My dragoman almost left me. He didn’t like invading a tomb…Can’t be helped, I told him. Had to pretend an indifference I was far from feeling…

      Reid wasn’t aware how much time had passed when the sound of a throat clearing behind him brought him back to the present.

      He looked up to see Miss Norton in the doorway, holding a tray. He stood, then immediately bent to rub the top of his legs, which had become stiff. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”

      She smiled. “Please don’t get up. I didn’t want to disturb you, but when Lady Haversham told me you had been here since this morning, I thought you might like some refreshment about now.”

      The words made him realize he was both thirsty and hungry. He walked toward her to relieve her of the tray, appreciating her thoughtfulness.

      He set the tray on a desk and flipped open his watch. It was just past noon. “I didn’t realize I’d sat there so long, although my body certainly does,” he added with a grimace as he rubbed the kinks out of his neck.

      She poured a cup of tea, adding a sugar cube and placing a slice of lemon on the saucer. The simple task captured his attention. Perhaps it was the slim shape of her hands, or her graceful motions, or simply the fact that she’d remembered how he took his tea. She handed him the cup.