Part 11 (1/2)

'I didn't say that. But I am here on holiday. I want to relax. To enjoy myself. To see Egypt. And I don't want any complications.' Stepping back onto the path she left him abruptly, ducking back between the bushes.

To her surprise he followed her. 'I'm sorry. It was none of my business.' He shut his sketchbook and tucked it into his bag.

'I think it's time we found the others.' She didn't glance back at him. The mood was spoilt.It was early evening before she had the chance to talk to Serena again. They had taken the last two sunloungers on the top deck. The return from Kitchener's Island found the boat quiet again after a further search for the snake which had apparentlytaken up most of the afternoon. Serena and Anna had said nothing What was there to say? That the snake was magic? That perhaps it hadn't existed at all? If anyone needed to say something it would surely have been Ibrahim. They collected books and writing materials and went outside to relax after their exhilarating sail back. The plants had been watered, Anna noticed. The decking around each pot glistened in the evening sun; in only a short while the wood would be dry.

'I'll rescue it tonight.' Anna grimaced. 'I don't like the thought of it being soaked.' 'Of course, you could stand up now and walk over to it and dig it up. No one would notice. Probably.'

'Probably.' Anna smiled. And if they did whose business was it but hers? But she didn't move. A casual glance around the deck had revealed Andy asleep beneath his straw hat, a beer beside him on the small table between the chairs. There was no sign of Charley. And no sign of Toby.

144.

Moored as they were now alongside another much larger cruiser in the crowded river at Aswan she had the uncomfortable feeling all the time that they were being overlooked. Two people at least were standing on its top deck looking down at them. Perhaps a dozen more might be staring from behind the shutters of their cabin windows. But it was more than that.

She s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably in her chair and glanced again at the scarlet, green and orange of the plants.

A tall figure was standing beside them. For a moment she could not move. She stared, taking in every detail of the long white pleated robe, the dark, aquiline features, the glittering eyes. It must be one of the crew. One of the waiters. Slowly, hardly daring to breathe she raised her hand to her dark gla.s.ses and pushed them up onto her forehead so she could see better. Immediately he disappeared.

'Serena.' Her voice sounded strangled even to her own ears.

There was no response. Serena's eyes were closed.

'Serena!'

'What is it?' Serena sat up. She had caught the urgency in Anna's tone.

'Look at the plants!'

Serena swung round to look. Then she turned back to Anna. 'What?'

'Can you see anything? Him!' Without a word Serena turned back towards the bow of the boat. Then, slowly, she shook her head. 'What did you see?'

'A tall man. In a long white robe. He's guarding it!' She took off her sungla.s.ses with shaking hands. 'I saw him clearly. In broad daylight! With people all around!' Her voice had risen to a high- pitched cry. 'I saw him!'

She realised suddenly that she was trembling all over.

'It's all right, Anna.' Serena hauled herself up out of her chair and perched on the edge of Anna's to put her arm round her shoulders. 'You're safe. There's no one there now.

'What's wrong?' Andy was suddenly standing beside them. Obviously he had been watching them and heard her cry out. 'Isn't she well? Can I do anything?' His voice was sharp with concern.

Serena looked up. 'Thanks. She's fine. Just a touch of the sun and too much walking.' She glanced round and found a dozen pairs of curious eyes fixed on them. Most people looked away at once 145.

when they saw she had noticed them, but Ben had levered himself upright and was coming over.

Anna rubbed her face with the palms of her hands. 'It's OK. Please, don't fuss.' Andy squatted down beside the chair. He smelt gently but not unpleasantly of beer. 'You don't look OK. You're white as a sheet. Do you want me to help you to your cabin?'

'No. No, thank you.' She glanced down to where he had put a gentle hand over the back of hers. She didn't shake it off. 'I'm fine, Andy. Honestly.'

'It's very easy to get too much sun without realising it. Why not go down on the afterdeck under the awning? It's cooler there and I'll get you a nice cold drink.' Suddenly it seemed easier not to argue and the offer anyway was tempting. With a furtive backward glance towards the bows she stood up and let Andy and Ben lead her towards the shade. Serena gathered up their belongings and followed. If anyone noticed a slight shadow hovering for a moment over the display of potted plants on the deck they might have thought it came from one of the men who were ushering her towards the steps.

Once she was comfortably ensconced at one of the shaded tables Andy disappeared to find her a drink. Serena sat down opposite her. 'It could be imagination.' She shrugged.

Anna gave a small laugh. 'Perhaps they're right and I have had too much sun.' Looking up she gave a small grimace.

'I just want to be a tourist, Serena.

'I know.'

'I could leave it there, in the earth. Or throw it in the Nile.' 'You could.'

'But it's part of my heritage! My great-aunt would never forgive me if I went home without it.'

'I'm sure she would if she knew what had happened.'

'How could I tell her? ”By the way, Aunty Phyl, that lovely little scent bottle you gave me when I was a small child turned out to be cursed”.' She closed her eyes and shook her head miserably. 'I don't know what to do.'

'I've told you, give it to Omar to lock up. We've got some exciting trips over the next few days. We won't be on the boat much. We don't start the return cruise until we come back from the two days 146.

in Abu Simbel. Relax. Be a tourist.' She smiled. 'And enjoy being the centre of attention!' She had glanced over Anna's head and spotted Andy approaching with a tray of drinks.

Anna followed her gaze and nodded ruefully. 'I'm not sure even that is without its complications. I can't believe your flatmate has hung up her duelling pistols yet!' Serena snorted. 'Probably not. But at least there is something very earthy about Charley. You don't have to worry that she might dematerialise or suddenly appear as a wraith in your shower.'

When Andy put his tray down they were laughing. He smiled. 'Feeling better?' Anna nodded. 'You were right. Too much sun. All I needed was some shade.'It was after supper, as she was sitting with Serena in the lounge that Toby came over. Andy was sitting at the bar. She suspected he had already had several drinks.

Toby perched on the edge of a sofa near them. 'I think I owe you an apology, Anna. Sorry if I trod on any toes this afternoon.'

She shrugged. 'You didn't. Not really.'

'No, you were right. It was none of my business.'

Serena stood up.

Anna frowned. 'Are you going?' Serena nodded. 'Forgive me. I'm so tired. I don't think I have ever been so exhausted or slept so well on a holiday before. Their policy seems to be to wear you out and then feed you until you can't move. Combine that with the heat and it works.' She chuckled. 'I'll say goodnight to you both. Don't forget we have another long day tomorrow.'

They watched her walk slowly towards the door. 'Nice woman.' Toby beckoned over one of the Nubian waiters. 'Can I get you a drink, Anna? Another peace offering.' He smiled.

She sat back on the sofa and nodded. 'Thanks. A beer would be nice.' Anna glanced at him sideways. She studied him with a quizzical smile. How could one man irritate so much one minute and intrigue her so much the next?

They sat in silence for a while, watching the others. It was she who spoke first. 'What do you do with all your sketches?' she asked curiously as Ali put down the gla.s.ses on the table. 'Do you work 147.

them up in your cabin or something, or will they all wait until you get home?' 'Most will wait.' He signed the chit and tossed it back onto the tray. 'I have been working on one or two. I need to do some of it quickly to keep the colour, the heat, the light, in my head.' He waved his arms as he spoke, drawing outlines in the air in front of him. 'One thinks one won't forget; the images are so vivid, so intense, but half an hour back in Blighty with its soft greens and mists and doudy skies and that intensity will begin to blur.' He picked up his gla.s.s and rolled it thoughtfully between his palms. 'Painters are greedy. They want to capture ideas and keep them imprisoned on the paper or canvas. They gloat over them. They pin them down like b.u.t.terflies wanting to trap the living essence of everything they see.

Anna smiled. She suspected he did not often reveal his inner thoughts like this, even perhaps to himself, and she was flattered that he trusted her enough to reveal his enthusiasm. 'I envy you your creativity.'

'Why?' Again the acerbic tone, the sudden direct look, which she found so disconcerting. 'Anna, remember, you are a photographer. It is the same for you, your medium is different, that's all.'

'No. No, it's not the same at all. You have genuine pa.s.sion. Commitment. And you do it professionally. Felix was right. I just play at it.'

'Art as a hobby can be just as pa.s.sionate as you put it, just as all-encompa.s.sing as when you do it as a profession. After all, how do you know you won't want to do it professionally one day? You are good and you have proved it, and you have that depth of understanding, that sense of rapport as you focus on your subjects which I suspect could make you more than good. It could make you first cla.s.s.' He raised his eyes to hers. She could feel the colour coming to her cheeks under the intensity of his gaze.

Toby buried his face in his gla.s.s and she had the feeling that he was as embarra.s.sed by his revelations as she was. When he looked up he was calm again. 'Louisa felt it, of course. The all-embracing intensity of this country. You can tell from her work. It must show in her diary too.' He was changing the subject and they both knew it. He put his head on one side. 'Would this be a good time to be allowed to look at it?'