Amanda Grange & Jacqueline Webb by Pride, Pyramids Page A

their new venture, and while Beth sketched and painted, Jane was often to be found running round her grandmama, while it was common to see Margaret with Sophie.
    The two were together now and as John ran off to help fold a sail, Darcy smiled to see them. His youngest daughter was often overlooked, especially by her grandmama, who preferred the more boisterous older children, but Sophie had taken the little girl under her wing and Darcy felt very glad they had brought Miss Lucas with them. She was looking very pretty in a summer dress with a light spencer jacket, the sun playing on her fair hair and the breeze catching at the feather in her bonnet.
    He went over to her and complimented her on her embroidery, then praised Margaret’s sampler, which was covered in shapes that resembled hieroglyphs.
    â€œThat is an unusual pattern,” he said.
    â€œIt’s Egyptian writing,” said Margaret seriously.
    â€œMargaret designed her sampler herself,” said Sophie, looking fondly at the little girl.
    â€œAnd what does it say?” Darcy asked his daughter teasingly, for not even Edward could unlock the secrets of the strange pictorial writing, though he spent the greater part of every day trying.
    â€œIt says, ‘Aahotep nefer ,’ which means ‘Aahotep the beautiful,’” said Margaret gravely.
    Darcy was surprised at her imagination, which had never been in evidence before. But ever since she had discovered the doll it had been developing, and he found himself wondering if his youngest daughter might follow in the footsteps of Fanny Burney and become a novelist; although, if the things he had overheard her saying to her doll were anything to go by, she would be more likely to write Gothic horrors and become a second Mrs Radcliffe.
    John a soldier, Meg a novelist, William the heir of Pemberley, Beth an artist… and what would Laurence and Jane become when they grew up? he wondered.
    His thoughts were brought back to the present by the sight of Elizabeth standing at the prow of the ship. Her face was turned into the fresh breeze and her hair was blowing loose of its pins, dancing across her neck in a tantalising manner. He went to join her. He put his arms around her waist, and she turned at the feel of him, smiling up into his eyes. He thought how lucky he was, knowing himself to be as much in love with her as he had been on the day they married.
    â€œIs it not exhilarating?” she said, her eyes sparkling.
    He kissed her cheek lovingly. “It is. Ah, you mean the voyage!”
    She laughed and put her arms over his.
    â€œI was on the point of regretting the voyage when we were all afflicted with seasickness, but now I find myself wishing it would never end,” she said. “There is something invigorating about a life on the water.”
    â€œThis is just the start of things,” said Darcy. “Only a few more weeks, and we will be in Egypt.”
    â€œToday it is all water, then it will be all sand!”
    â€œAnd I have something to show you when we arrive.”
    â€œOh? And what might that be?”
    He took evident satisfaction in her curiosity.
    â€œLet us just say it is a surprise.”
    ***
    While the others amused themselves on deck, Edward was in his cabin, poring over a print of the Rosetta Stone. He had been obsessed with its translation when it had first been discovered at the start of the century, but his interest had waned, only to be reawakened when he had found the map.
    He became thoughtful as he relived the memory.
    His father’s tales of Egypt had inspired him as a boy, and the thought of a map marking the spot of an undiscovered—and unplundered—tomb had fired his imagination. But his father had refused to let him examine the map, saying it was worthless and telling him not to waste his life on daydreams. So Edward had stopped talking to his father about Egypt, but he had not stopped visiting museums, reading about the