The array of artifacts up for auction was truly amazing. Isabelle wasn't sure she'd ever seen quite so many priceless pieces gathered together in one place that wasn't a museum. A part of her was angry that so many of them would not see the light of day for many, many generations to come, if at all; not to mention the fact that most, if not all, had been looted, stolen, or otherwise acquired in a less than legal manner, robbing the people who should have been allowed to take joy in their history.
She kept her anger under wraps, however, all but forcing Jax to accompany her as she pored over the artifacts, glorying in the opportunity to hold them - albeit under close supervision - and authenticate them for herself. It had taken the better part of that second day at the stately home for her to do it, and they had attracted something of a crowd made up of the other guests, who all seemed very interested in everything she and Jax had to say about the pieces. And it was for that reason alone that she had to be very careful about what she murmured to herself as she studied the scarab, the last artifact on their tour. She knew what she was holding, fluent in hieroglyph and hieratic. She also knew that it was very likely she - and possibly Jax - were the only people who knew exactly what was written in that cartouche.
All this was very interesting, but it was really just a formality. Jax already knew about many of the objects up for auction, and while it was a shame he couldn't save them all, it was the scarab that mattered. He knew how important it was, not only to those who had sent him here to obtain it, but to science and history. It was also important in a way he hadn't shared with Izzy, but so long as he got what he'd come here for, it didn't much matter. One way or another, he wasn't leaving without that scarab - it was a matter of life and death.
"11th century BC, you say?" an excessively upper-class gentleman was saying as Isabelle reluctantly handed the scarab back to the curator of the artifacts.
She turned to the man as she peeled off the cotton gloves she had been wearing. "It's difficult to say with certainty," she told him, glibly lying through her teeth. "The scarab is a very common theme. But a conservative estimate would place it around the time of Tutankhamun or Smenkhare."
Jax said nothing. Isabelle was the expert, after all. He wasn't a scholar. Everything he'd learned, he'd learned from experience. A lot of experience. He'd also learned a lot from her and from his travels in Egypt and elsewhere, but he was nowhere near the expert that she was; and hence, he let her do the talking when it came to questions regarding the scarab. Besides, he didn't want anyone to know how valuable it really was, if he could help it.
"Ver' interesting, ver' interesting," another guest said, nodding sagely as they group began to disperse.
Isabelle fought hard to conceal her smile at the sheer lack of actual knowledge in this collection of private collectors, turning to Jax. "I think we're done here," she told him. "What would you like to do now?"
"Besides stuff that thing in your purse and hightail it out of here?" he asked, keeping his voice low for her ears alone. That was obviously not what he was going to do. Though he was sorely tempted, he knew he wouldn't get ten feet from there before he'd get caught by Alonzo's goons.
The smile he got in return for his comment was decidedly more sultry than it really deserved, but she had to do something to keep the guards near by from growing suspicious. Tugging gently on his shirt, she drew him closer, lowering her voice as she leaned into him. "Keep saying things like that, and I won't be able to talk you out of trouble next time."
"Well, what do you want me to say?" he asked quietly as she drew him close. There was nowhere they could go where they couldn't talk without risking being overheard. He couldn't be sure they'd found all the bugs, and Alonzo's goons were everywhere they turned. Leaving the premises wasn't an option,either. He needed to stay close by and keep an eye on that scarab. "Walk in the garden?" he asked, trying to think of someplace they could go where they might not be watched as closely.
"Seems like a good idea," she agreed with a softer smile, sliding her hand down his arm to take his as she turned to head out of the ballroom. The guards watched them go with a heavy gaze; despite outward appearances, Miss Granger and Mr. Jackson were being watched very closely indeed.
Jax wasn't entirely stupid. He knew they were being watched. He knew Alonzo had his suspicions, but the truth was they were here for the same reasons everyone else was here, and that was to bid on and obtain some item or other, for whatever reason. Jax wondered if he was the only one there who had underlying reasons not even Izzy knew about for being there. He'd been as honest as he could with her, but he just couldn't risk some things being shared where Alonzo might hear about it. He offered the guards a smile and a nod of his head as he led her out of the ballroom, as if to acknowledge that he knew they were watching.
"I hate the way they look at us," she murmured to him as they crossed the main hall to the doors, abandoning his hand to tuck her arm about his back to feel a little more secure. "As if they know something we don't."
"One more day, and we're done here, Izzy. We can leave and put this place behind us forever," he assured her, draping an arm around her shoulders as she tucked an arm around his back. Not for the first time, he wished he hadn't dragged her into his mess, but it couldn't be helped now. If he'd known she'd be here, would he still have come" Then again, he hadn't had much choice in the matter. What was she going to say when she found out about his little white lie" Hopefully, she'd understand.
"You say the sweetest things," she drawled with no small amount of sarcasm, flashing him the familiarly exasperated smile he always seemed to be able to get out of her. In daylight, the gardens were prettier than at night, less filled with shadows, but somehow less private, too. "What I'd like to know is ....how do we debug the room tonight without them knowing for a fact that we know we're being watched?" she asked curiously.
"Maybe we don't," he suggested quietly. He'd been thinking about this, too, wondering if they'd made a mistake by debugging the room and disabling the cameras. They didn't want Alonzo to suspect anything. After all, there wasn't really anything to suspect. They just wanted their privacy, but Jax couldn't help thinking Alonzo was up to something else here, and Jax had an idea what part of it might be. "Why do you think he invited you here?" he asked, careful to lead her down paths where no one else was wandering.
"I'm not sure," she murmured worriedly. She'd spent a great deal of thought on just that matter, more-so since they had reunited the day before. "Who knew that you were coming, Ryan?" she asked him softly. "Could they have been broken by Sisman's thugs" Could he have known in advance that you would be here?"
"No," he answered, almost immediately. There was no way anyone he was working for would have betrayed him - they wanted the scarab too much. "He invited you here because you're the scholar, Izzy. You just confirmed for all those buyers that what?s up for auction is genuine. Not just the scarab, but all of it. That's why he wanted you here. Not because he's hoping you buy it. Because he needed you to convince the rest of them. At least, I think that's why you're here. Or part of it, anyway." It seemed the most logical explanation.
She kept her anger under wraps, however, all but forcing Jax to accompany her as she pored over the artifacts, glorying in the opportunity to hold them - albeit under close supervision - and authenticate them for herself. It had taken the better part of that second day at the stately home for her to do it, and they had attracted something of a crowd made up of the other guests, who all seemed very interested in everything she and Jax had to say about the pieces. And it was for that reason alone that she had to be very careful about what she murmured to herself as she studied the scarab, the last artifact on their tour. She knew what she was holding, fluent in hieroglyph and hieratic. She also knew that it was very likely she - and possibly Jax - were the only people who knew exactly what was written in that cartouche.
All this was very interesting, but it was really just a formality. Jax already knew about many of the objects up for auction, and while it was a shame he couldn't save them all, it was the scarab that mattered. He knew how important it was, not only to those who had sent him here to obtain it, but to science and history. It was also important in a way he hadn't shared with Izzy, but so long as he got what he'd come here for, it didn't much matter. One way or another, he wasn't leaving without that scarab - it was a matter of life and death.
"11th century BC, you say?" an excessively upper-class gentleman was saying as Isabelle reluctantly handed the scarab back to the curator of the artifacts.
She turned to the man as she peeled off the cotton gloves she had been wearing. "It's difficult to say with certainty," she told him, glibly lying through her teeth. "The scarab is a very common theme. But a conservative estimate would place it around the time of Tutankhamun or Smenkhare."
Jax said nothing. Isabelle was the expert, after all. He wasn't a scholar. Everything he'd learned, he'd learned from experience. A lot of experience. He'd also learned a lot from her and from his travels in Egypt and elsewhere, but he was nowhere near the expert that she was; and hence, he let her do the talking when it came to questions regarding the scarab. Besides, he didn't want anyone to know how valuable it really was, if he could help it.
"Ver' interesting, ver' interesting," another guest said, nodding sagely as they group began to disperse.
Isabelle fought hard to conceal her smile at the sheer lack of actual knowledge in this collection of private collectors, turning to Jax. "I think we're done here," she told him. "What would you like to do now?"
"Besides stuff that thing in your purse and hightail it out of here?" he asked, keeping his voice low for her ears alone. That was obviously not what he was going to do. Though he was sorely tempted, he knew he wouldn't get ten feet from there before he'd get caught by Alonzo's goons.
The smile he got in return for his comment was decidedly more sultry than it really deserved, but she had to do something to keep the guards near by from growing suspicious. Tugging gently on his shirt, she drew him closer, lowering her voice as she leaned into him. "Keep saying things like that, and I won't be able to talk you out of trouble next time."
"Well, what do you want me to say?" he asked quietly as she drew him close. There was nowhere they could go where they couldn't talk without risking being overheard. He couldn't be sure they'd found all the bugs, and Alonzo's goons were everywhere they turned. Leaving the premises wasn't an option,either. He needed to stay close by and keep an eye on that scarab. "Walk in the garden?" he asked, trying to think of someplace they could go where they might not be watched as closely.
"Seems like a good idea," she agreed with a softer smile, sliding her hand down his arm to take his as she turned to head out of the ballroom. The guards watched them go with a heavy gaze; despite outward appearances, Miss Granger and Mr. Jackson were being watched very closely indeed.
Jax wasn't entirely stupid. He knew they were being watched. He knew Alonzo had his suspicions, but the truth was they were here for the same reasons everyone else was here, and that was to bid on and obtain some item or other, for whatever reason. Jax wondered if he was the only one there who had underlying reasons not even Izzy knew about for being there. He'd been as honest as he could with her, but he just couldn't risk some things being shared where Alonzo might hear about it. He offered the guards a smile and a nod of his head as he led her out of the ballroom, as if to acknowledge that he knew they were watching.
"I hate the way they look at us," she murmured to him as they crossed the main hall to the doors, abandoning his hand to tuck her arm about his back to feel a little more secure. "As if they know something we don't."
"One more day, and we're done here, Izzy. We can leave and put this place behind us forever," he assured her, draping an arm around her shoulders as she tucked an arm around his back. Not for the first time, he wished he hadn't dragged her into his mess, but it couldn't be helped now. If he'd known she'd be here, would he still have come" Then again, he hadn't had much choice in the matter. What was she going to say when she found out about his little white lie" Hopefully, she'd understand.
"You say the sweetest things," she drawled with no small amount of sarcasm, flashing him the familiarly exasperated smile he always seemed to be able to get out of her. In daylight, the gardens were prettier than at night, less filled with shadows, but somehow less private, too. "What I'd like to know is ....how do we debug the room tonight without them knowing for a fact that we know we're being watched?" she asked curiously.
"Maybe we don't," he suggested quietly. He'd been thinking about this, too, wondering if they'd made a mistake by debugging the room and disabling the cameras. They didn't want Alonzo to suspect anything. After all, there wasn't really anything to suspect. They just wanted their privacy, but Jax couldn't help thinking Alonzo was up to something else here, and Jax had an idea what part of it might be. "Why do you think he invited you here?" he asked, careful to lead her down paths where no one else was wandering.
"I'm not sure," she murmured worriedly. She'd spent a great deal of thought on just that matter, more-so since they had reunited the day before. "Who knew that you were coming, Ryan?" she asked him softly. "Could they have been broken by Sisman's thugs" Could he have known in advance that you would be here?"
"No," he answered, almost immediately. There was no way anyone he was working for would have betrayed him - they wanted the scarab too much. "He invited you here because you're the scholar, Izzy. You just confirmed for all those buyers that what?s up for auction is genuine. Not just the scarab, but all of it. That's why he wanted you here. Not because he's hoping you buy it. Because he needed you to convince the rest of them. At least, I think that's why you're here. Or part of it, anyway." It seemed the most logical explanation.