The Honey Mummy (Folley & Mallory Adventure Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

wolf than gentleman in the moment. “There are a good many things that tie into items Miss Folley has already catalogued here. Miss Barclay also goes on to describe a set of sarcophagi that may well contain Egyptian royals.”
    Virgil’s eyebrows lifted and he regarded Auberon over the list of said items. “She must have good cause to believe this is genuine, then.”
    Auberon set his cup aside; it made a soft clatter upon the tray. “She has heard in local circles that George Pettigrew will be in attendance,” he said, leaning back into the worn velveteen of the couch.
    Virgil set the file aside. “George Pettigrew has a known past with Howard Irving,” he said. Virgil found it was becoming predictable—that someone tied to Irving would still be involved in matters he should not. Irving had tried to resurrect his dead daughter via the hands of Anubis; there was no telling what one of his known associates might attempt, given the items in the auction list. Among those items, Virgil had noted a collection of Egyptian rings and his gut tied itself into a knot at the mere idea. They simply could not go down this path again, not when they had returned the rings to Anubis.
    “Does Cleo have any idea where Pettigrew’s interest lies?”
    “Possibly in the royal sarcophagi,” Auberon said. “He may not attend—it may well be an agent of his, however it would be a simple enough matter to follow the agent.”
    Virgil allowed himself a smile. “Simple enough, they won’t involve locals, but…us.”
    Auberon’s laugh was calm and rich, a familiar comfort to Virgil. “She knows our ties to Irving and his men. Your ties.”
    “And your own.” Virgil crossed his arms over his chest as he too leaned into the couch cushions. “You never did say what you and she saw from Anubis—when we all had visions of our lives that were. As we were judged.”
    Silence again, and Virgil let it be. He watched Auberon, that strange shuttered look that spoke of things he could not voice, possibly matters for which he didn’t possess words. Virgil understood this state of being far too well.
    “I never did say,” Auberon agreed, and did not elaborate now.
    Virgil didn’t push. He gathered the files, knowing Eleanor would have a keen interest in the assembled list Cleo had sent. What treasures might she find there? No rings, Virgil told himself. He remained vexed over the one that had been revealed the night before, the small box that Auberon pressed into his hand even now.
    Safekeeping, Virgil thought, but didn’t wholly believe it. Surely these things were connected—the break in, the ring, and a collection of items up for auction in distant Alexandria that included more ancient Egyptian rings. He hated rings. The idea that one could carry Eleanor away from him was abhorrent.
    Down to his very soul, he hated rings.
    “When do we leave?”

Chapter Three

11 November, 1889 – Cairo, Egypt
    Dear Eleanor,
    I appreciated your letter of 1 November a good deal. Though I know it is completely imagined, I thought the cold of Paris clung to the paper still. I would welcome snow; it has been some time since I have enjoyed such. It’s a shame it didn’t get properly cold for the Exposition.
    I thank you, too, for the kind words about your mother and grandmother. I have certainly never encountered such a predicament and am pleased to know you thought it well-handled. How formal of me—but it is a relief to know my efforts helped and did not hinder. I cannot imagine how I myself would have reacted had it been my own late mother we were in search of. I suppose we never know how we shall handle a matter until it is upon us.
    I trust you know of the discovery of another
tomistoma
fossil outside Cairo? (Although perhaps you do not, given the often tortoise-like revelations of such news.) This specimen is said to measure over six meters in length! I have not yet had the opportunity to see it, but perhaps we can view those on display at the