Chapter Three
Constance wavered in her perch on the camel's back, blonde curls falling loose and sagging, sweat dripping down her face. The wide brimmed hat she wore did little to stave off the heat. She concluded, upon this following morning, that this trip was a very, very big mistake. Evy would surely hear about her suffering.
Why the hell am I here? she thought darkly, Why in God's name did I agree to go to
With cracked lips, she mumbled, "Are we there yet?"
Ardeth glanced back at her. "No."
"When will we be there?"
"Soon."
She huffed. "Mr. Bay, I truly feel like I'm about to die!"
Ardeth glanced back at her again, pressing his lips together. Jonathan, atop his own camel, let his beast catch up to theirs, wincing through the bright blinding sun to look at Constance's face. He made a ‘tsk’ noise.
"Damn, Ardeth, old mate," he said, "Poor Connie looks pretty exhausted."
Ardeth nodded. "Indeed." He pulled out the water skin, pulling out the stopper and handing it to her. She lifted her hands, fingers shaking, mouth opening and closing in anticipation for the water. Of a sudden, her eyes bugged, and gripping her saddle, she leant over the side of her beast, her stomach lurching and ridding itself of its contents.
"Ooh," Jonathan gave a sympathetic hiss, "That's not good."
Ardeth eyed her, face tight with worry. "She has heat exhaustion." He pulled his camel closer to Constance's steed, pulling her limp form up as she finished her coughing and spluttering, dragging sweaty strands of hair from her red blotchy features with his own shaking hands. "Miss Adams... are you all right?"
She gave a soft whimper.
Ardeth shook his head. "This is my fault."
Very faintly, Constance nodded.
Ardeth gave her a non-appreciative glare before lifting the water to her lips, cradling her jaw with a strong tanned hand. Constance's eyes lolled, eyelids low, the heat and effort of her body catching up to her and swamping her with an awful ache and lilting spoil within her bones and muscles. She felt truly awful.
"Please, Miss Adams," Ardeth said, hand slipping to the back of her neck, "Drink up."
He tilted up the water skin, supporting her head carefully, Constance swallowing the water faintly as it flowed from the skin into her mouth. It soon turned to gulping, and she tilted slightly unkempt brows at Ardeth.
"Mr. Bay..." she breathed softly.
"Yes, Miss Adams?"
She blinked slowly, gulping another mouthful of water before turning the skin away. "If I die, I shall haunt you for the rest of your days."
Ardeth's brows tilted, and he sighed. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am, Miss Adams..."
Constance shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she said, "Not unless I die."
"You won't die," Ardeth said, "It is only heat exhaustion. Many people of your complexion suffer from it the first time they encounter such heat."
"People can die of heat exhaustion," Constance said. "I read about it once."
Ardeth nodded. "As long as we keep you cool, you should be fine. Take off this jacket."
Constance just wavered in her seat, staring at him. With a jut of his bottom lip, Ardeth plucked open the buttons of her jacket swiftly.
"Mr. Bay I shall slap you if you continue to disrobe me."
"Miss Adams - you must cool down or you will get worse. If we keep you cool, this shall be a passing inconvenience. If not, it could mean your death." Ardeth looked past her to Jonathan. "Jonathan - take your water skin and please wet a blanket so we may lay it over Miss Adams' shoulders and arms."
"Right-O," nodded Jonathan, leaning over the side for his water skin.
Constance frowned at Ardeth. "Why didn't I get a water skin?"
Ardeth looked back at her. "You didn't ask for one. I assumed you had your own."
The blonde woman swallowed, meeting his calm but firm look. "Mr. Bay, I feel quite ill."
"I noticed."
With a cold wet slap, the heavy wet blanket landed over the woman's shoulders, and she shrieked.
"OH!" She looked around her, "That's awful!"
"It will save your life," Ardeth said.
The woman sighed, batting her eyelids in defeat. "Oh, very well!"
With a final sigh of relief, Ardeth shook his head. "Miss Adams, I mean you no offense, but you can be a very difficult woman."
She lifted a finger and pointed at him. "The Modern Woman often is, my dear Mr. Bay."
~~*~~
Time: 2 pm
Date: November 14th, 1934
Dear Diary,
Is hard to write. Am on camel still. Need to write to keep mind off feeling so damned awful. Got heat exhaustion. Shall kill Mr. Bay for keeping water from me. I would accuse him of trying to top me but I fear he is too ignorant to understand that a woman of the West is not suited to such harsh conditions.
Jonathan has been lifesaver. If not for him Mr. Bay would have bullheadedly kept on, and I would be dead.
Mr. Bay seems incredibly sorry about it. He keeps looking back at me and looking as if he wants to kick himself. He is quite welcome to. Am an hour from Hamunaptra.
Thank Bloody God.
~~*~~
The great hollow in the ground that was the Hamunaptra dig opened up before the group as their beasts plodded over the final dune towards their destination. Upon seeing the tents, marquis and small buildings, Constance gave an abrupt yelp of exultation. Jonathan merely grinned.
"Oh, thank God," Constance sighed, leaning her head back, the wet blanket gone, her white shirt unbuttoned to her navel and a makeshift shade-cloth erected over her head.
"Oh, Evy will be thrilled to see you," Jonathan said. "She really will."
Constance huffed with a lazy smile. "I'll be rather glad to see her too!"
Before she could finish, a stiff young cry interrupted her.
"MUM!!! CONSTANCE ADAMS TRAVELLING PARTY AHOOOOY!"
Constance narrowed her eyes, seeing a young blonde boy leap down from a look-out and run towards the group. She shifted uncomfortably in her saddle, looking back to Jonathan.
"Does he bite?"
Jonathan grinned. "Not hard, no."
Constance whimpered.
"Oh come on now, Connie," Jonathan said, his camel stopping aside hers before he slapped her on the upper arm, "He's a kid. I thought women were supposed to be great with children."
"Not me, Jonathan."
"Uncle JON!"
Jonathan climbed down from his perch on his camels back as the boy fidgeted with the reigns of the animal, grinning at the man dismounting it. Once on the ground, the boy threw his arms around his uncle. Jonathan chuckled.
"Hey Alex!"
Alex grinned and ruffled his uncle's curly brown hair, in which Jonathan ruffled the child's hair in response. Jonathan stepped back and dragged Alex around his camel.
"Hey Alex," he said, "Meet your Mum's friend - Constance Adams."
Constance smiled - it was a strained expression. Alex smiled up at her.
"Hello, Miss Adams."
"Hello, Alex," she said, pulling a straggled sweat-soaked tress from her face, "It's lovely to meet you."
Alex skipped around her camel and raced up to Ardeth, punching him in the thigh lightly as the beast knelt down to let its rider off.
"Hey, Ardeth!" he grinned, giving a salute, "Did you protect Miss Adams from jackals and scorpions?"
Before Ardeth could speak, Constance muttered, "No, Alex, he gave me heat exhaustion."
Both Ardeth and Alex turned to look at her slowly, blinking. At this, Constance gave a light smile, urging her camel onwards and towards the excavation camp.
"She always like that?" Alex asked Ardeth. Ardeth sighed.
"I am afraid so."
Constance stretched her neck, standing on the back of the camel some, feeling a smile take her face. Excitement spirited through her as she kept an eye out for the unmistakable long curly brown hair and large brown eyes of her closest friend. She could hear an excited shout, and she tried not to bounce in her seat.
"Hi."
Constance glanced beside her. A man stood next to her camel, dirty grey suspenders accentuating his wide shoulders, his light brown hair with sun-bleached streaks looking a little on the long side for her tastes and dust and dirt smeared on his square, statuesque features. He wore brown pants, knee-high boots and he stood with a cocked knee, smiling up at her with large blue eyes. Were he naked and helmeted with curly long hair, he would have made a fine David for Michelangelo, but as it was he just looked like a scruffy ruffian. She smiled politely at the man.
"Hello..."
"Oh, Rick O'Connell," the man said, extending a hand to Constance. "Evy's husband?"
Constance smiled thinly, shaking the hand carefully for all the dust on it. "Yes... I know who you are, Mr. O'Connell."
O'Connell stared at her a moment, flashing a wince at her. "Wow. You're like Evy before I got to her..."
Ardeth brought his camel alongside Constance's, looking to O'Connell with a warm smile.
"O'Connell..."
"Hey, Ardeth," O'Connell flashed a small smile back at the Medjai. "How was the trip from Cairo?"
"Bloody arduous!" cried Constance, "I very nearly died!"
Ardeth looked tiredly to O'Connell who nodded with understanding. It was at that moment an unaccustomed cry ripped through the air.
"Connieeee!"
Constance jumped up in her saddle, standing on the camel's back to see Evelyn O'Connell scamper up the side of the dig site with a mile wide grin. With a huge grin of her own, the blonde woman leapt off of her camel without so much as a blink at the fall, rejuvenated with affection and excitement. Ardeth threw himself towards her (O'Connell also jumping towards the hurtling woman), catching her deftly by the waist as a dancer would grip his partner to lift her, his face wrought with alarm at the woman's thoughtlessness. In her elation Constance seemed to miss that Ardeth had helped her at all. She ran to Evy who, with brown hair trailing in her gait, wrapped her arms around her old friend. Constance responded in kind, hugging Evelyn tightly.
"Oh, Evy!" she cried, "Oh, I never thought I'd see you again!"
Evelyn let out an excited cry. "Neither did I! Oh, look at you! You're even more beautiful than you were at Oxford! You don't look a day over twenty!" She grabbed Constance by the shoulders, twisting her around and shoving her at her husband. "Look at her Rick, look at that face. Is she not adorable? Does she not bear the most striking resemblance to Jean Arthur?"
Constance blushed, hair in her face and tossed about by Evy's rough handling.
"Who's Jean Arthur?" asked little Alex.
"Only the most glamorous actress there is!" said Evelyn, who looked to Rick again, turning her friend around once more, "Well sweetheart? Doesn't she?"
Rick tilted his head, thinly disguised dryness in his tone. "It's uncanny."
Evy sighed happily, looking to Ardeth now. "Connie was always the most glamourous of us both. She was the one that looked like a movie star and I was the one with her nose in the books but she always chose to spend time with me because she's a -"
"Modern woman," Ardeth finished for her. Evy blinked and grinned.
"Yes! And look at her! Even in desert clothes she's a picture!" She laughed and stepped back.
Constance felt a breeze at her chest, and looking down she gasped, eyes widening. Her white shirt fluttered open in the light wind.
"Nice undergarments," muttered Rick.
"Oh dear God!" Constance blushed red, buttoning up her shirt frantically. "Mr. Bay had helped me to cool off - it was the heat exhaustion! I'd forgotten it was undone to my - Oh God!"
Ardeth coughed, averting his gaze, and Jonathan covered Alex's eyes and turned him away.
"Yeah, had to keep her really cool," Jonathan said.
Rick nodded. "I'll bet."
Alex chuckled, twisting from his uncle's hands and nudging his father in the side.
"Anyway," Evy said, grasping Connie's hands, "You must be famished! Come on! We'll get you something to eat!"
"Actually - have you got any water?"
~~*~~
Time: 3.30 pm
Date: November 14th, 1934
Supplemental.
Dear Diary,
Have met up with Evy. She has changed more than I could ever think possible. The mousy studious girl I'd been friends with is quite the exotic woman now, and a part of me is surprised at this. Of all the people capable of such a change, I never picked sweet Evelyn. I am not sure why. I cannot wait to be alone with her so we may reminisce.
Her husband, Rick O'Connell, is just the scruff I imagined. His sense of humour leaves a lot to be desired, and having him in the vicinity of Mr. Bay and Jonathan is a lethal combination.
Little Alex is a smart one, which makes things worse. I simply have the most difficult time trying to talk to him. What does one say to a child? What can one say without belittling them or insulting them? All I know is my childhood was something I'd rather forget, so thinking back to it to try and relate to any child now is rather impossible for me. Still, Alex is a handsome child, very much like both his parents, and if there was ever a child that I could grow to tolerate, I think he'd be the one.
Haven't seen much of Mr. Bay since I arrived, as Evy has been showing me her finds, regaling me with tall tales of how she got to acquire the rights to her dig. It seems a rich social butterfly from Egypt had bought the land and had been looking for a specific mummified priest for some ritualistic reason that Evy said was too revolting to go into, and after the woman's sudden and unexpected demise the land and the dig was handed over to the Egyptian Government. The Cairo Museum automatically handed it over to Evy, given her experience with Hamunaptra. It's quite amazing that Evelyn is now one of the world’s leading Egyptologists. After her terrible time trying to get into Bembridge, I'm incredibly proud of her.
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Hello From Sunny Hamunaptra – Chapter 4