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Authors: Traci Harding
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together at the prospect of perhaps finding more ancient treasure than he could hope to exhume from the top of the ziggurat in the near future. ‘Picks will make light work of disposing of those bricks.’
‘You cannot use picks for such an operation,’ I protested. ‘These bricks are ancient and must be extracted and catalogued one by one. We could be desecrating a structure that is perfectly intact; I see no reason to destroy this site further.’
‘Well, Lady Devere, you might want to think again, as it seems that time may now be very much of the essence,’ Taylor retorted, obviously exasperated by my persistent conservation demands. ‘I have heard a whisper that the independent rulers of Herat are looking to the Shah to aid against their reabsorption into the Afghan kingdom.’
‘But Herat is a British protectorate. If Persian troops were to occupy the city, then the British would declare war on Persia,’ Lord Devere said, alarmed by the possibility.
‘The British have already issued a warning to the Shah against considering occupation,’ Taylor said.
I wondered at Mr Taylor’s resources. ‘For a man stuck in the middle of nowhere, you seem very well informed,’ I said.
Taylor sensed my curiosity and sidestepped it. ‘It is my job to keep informed—but I must confess that the information I have received could be weeks old, thus our need for haste.’
‘What will happen to us if war is declared?’ My husband was naturally more concerned about our safety than our quest.
‘The Shah will seize everything and we shall be sent packing,’ Taylor said. ‘Of course, that is the best-case scenario.’
As my husband fell silent and began mentally weighing up the risks of us staying at Ur, Mr Taylor turned his sights my way.
‘So I put it to you, Lady Devere, shall we spend what time we have remaining cataloguing bricks, or shall we discover what is beneath them?’
Selfish though it was, I allowed my concerns to be silenced, and it took no time at all for the workmen to smash to pieces a floor that had remained unscathed for most of recorded history. I could not watch, and climbed the ladder into the mid-afternoon heat to get some air.
‘The destruction disturbs you.’
I finished drinking down my hourly ration of water before I responded to Miss Koriche’s observation.
‘I really cannot say who is worse: the Catholic Church or the millionaire boys’ club here.’
This actually got a smile out of the linguist, who had warmed to Levi but had done her best to steer clear of the rest of us.
‘May I ask how it is that a woman comes to have so much influence within such a club?’ she said.
It was a fair question, but I got the distinct feeling that I was being interrogated. ‘I am in insurance,’ I told her, knowing that she was still curious about my area of expertise.
‘You are an assessor?’
‘You could say that,’ I concurred. ‘And speaking of assessing, I need to take a look at the cylinder clay columns you’ve been deciphering. It would not do to come all the way here and not complete the one request that Lord Malory made of me.’
I had been shown over the finds in the restoration rooms of the site house, along with the rest of my party, but had put off trying to probe any of the pieces for psychic imprints until a quieter, more appropriate time. I already knew from the bricks in the dig area, that had kept us all so engrossed this last week, that the text found on this mount predated all religious chronicles.
‘What the inscriptions have taught us already is priceless.’ Miss Koriche did not like the idea that a price might be placed on the ancient script she’d found so insightful.
‘I am sure that I agree with you. Still, I am unable to report as much until I can authenticate the said items.’
Miss Koriche was intrigued. ‘How do you plan to do that, my lady?’
‘I have a well-trained eye,’ I said, and I wasn’t lying: my inner eye was very developed.
‘You cannot use picks for such an operation,’ I protested. ‘These bricks are ancient and must be extracted and catalogued one by one. We could be desecrating a structure that is perfectly intact; I see no reason to destroy this site further.’
‘Well, Lady Devere, you might want to think again, as it seems that time may now be very much of the essence,’ Taylor retorted, obviously exasperated by my persistent conservation demands. ‘I have heard a whisper that the independent rulers of Herat are looking to the Shah to aid against their reabsorption into the Afghan kingdom.’
‘But Herat is a British protectorate. If Persian troops were to occupy the city, then the British would declare war on Persia,’ Lord Devere said, alarmed by the possibility.
‘The British have already issued a warning to the Shah against considering occupation,’ Taylor said.
I wondered at Mr Taylor’s resources. ‘For a man stuck in the middle of nowhere, you seem very well informed,’ I said.
Taylor sensed my curiosity and sidestepped it. ‘It is my job to keep informed—but I must confess that the information I have received could be weeks old, thus our need for haste.’
‘What will happen to us if war is declared?’ My husband was naturally more concerned about our safety than our quest.
‘The Shah will seize everything and we shall be sent packing,’ Taylor said. ‘Of course, that is the best-case scenario.’
As my husband fell silent and began mentally weighing up the risks of us staying at Ur, Mr Taylor turned his sights my way.
‘So I put it to you, Lady Devere, shall we spend what time we have remaining cataloguing bricks, or shall we discover what is beneath them?’
Selfish though it was, I allowed my concerns to be silenced, and it took no time at all for the workmen to smash to pieces a floor that had remained unscathed for most of recorded history. I could not watch, and climbed the ladder into the mid-afternoon heat to get some air.
‘The destruction disturbs you.’
I finished drinking down my hourly ration of water before I responded to Miss Koriche’s observation.
‘I really cannot say who is worse: the Catholic Church or the millionaire boys’ club here.’
This actually got a smile out of the linguist, who had warmed to Levi but had done her best to steer clear of the rest of us.
‘May I ask how it is that a woman comes to have so much influence within such a club?’ she said.
It was a fair question, but I got the distinct feeling that I was being interrogated. ‘I am in insurance,’ I told her, knowing that she was still curious about my area of expertise.
‘You are an assessor?’
‘You could say that,’ I concurred. ‘And speaking of assessing, I need to take a look at the cylinder clay columns you’ve been deciphering. It would not do to come all the way here and not complete the one request that Lord Malory made of me.’
I had been shown over the finds in the restoration rooms of the site house, along with the rest of my party, but had put off trying to probe any of the pieces for psychic imprints until a quieter, more appropriate time. I already knew from the bricks in the dig area, that had kept us all so engrossed this last week, that the text found on this mount predated all religious chronicles.
‘What the inscriptions have taught us already is priceless.’ Miss Koriche did not like the idea that a price might be placed on the ancient script she’d found so insightful.
‘I am sure that I agree with you. Still, I am unable to report as much until I can authenticate the said items.’
Miss Koriche was intrigued. ‘How do you plan to do that, my lady?’
‘I have a well-trained eye,’ I said, and I wasn’t lying: my inner eye was very developed.
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