Once they had settled into their new lodgings on the outskirts of Cairo, however, he said to her, “When would you like your surprise? Today? Or, if you are too tired, we can wait until tomorrow.”
She assured him that she was not at all tired and he said, “Then we will set out after dinner.”
“After dinner? Set out? But if we are going somewhere, will it not be better to wait until the morning?”
“This particular surprise will not allow it,” he said.
She tried to contain her impatience throughout dinner but when it was over and they had informed the others of their proposed absence, she could contain it no longer.
“Dress warmly,” Darcy said. “We are going to spend the night at the base of one of the pyramids.”
“It seems a very strange thing to do. If you want to show me the pyramids, I will see them better in daylight.”
“There is a reason for it,” he said.
He would say no more, and so, having dressed herself warmly, for the nights were cool, she told him she was ready.
Darcy, too, was dressed for the Egyptian night. He wore a caped greatcoat over his coat and breeches, and on his feet he wore boots.
They left the house by the light of the moon and outside they were joined by their guards, who followed them at a discreet distance as they walked through the deserted streets. Elizabeth took Darcy’s arm and relished the silence. Gone was all the raucous noise of daytime: the souk sellers crying their wares, the sound of copper pans being beaten, the braying of donkeys, the snorting of camels, and the incessant babble of voices, rising and falling like a tide rising and falling against the shore. Instead, there was a peaceful silence, broken only by the chirrup of insects.
They went on foot and Elizabeth felt her body relax. This was the exercise she preferred, away from the jolting of a donkey or camel and without the rise and fall of a boat. Instead, there was only the feel of the cool air against her cheek and the comforting feel of solid earth beneath her feet. She relished the exercise and squeezed Darcy’s arm, enjoying the wonder of it all. The light was intriguing, with dark shadows falling across their path as they walked past the houses that blocked the light, becoming brighter as they emerged into full moonlight. Here and there a minaret glinted as they wound their way through the narrow streets, and the stars glittered in the black sky.
They walked at first through the outskirts of the city, but soon they left it behind and found themselves on the edge of the vast desert. The dunes were eerily lovely, their great ridges sculpting the landscape with different shades of brown and black as they caught the diaphanous starlight or dropped down into blackest shadow where no light could reach.
And on the horizon loomed the pyramids, beautiful and mysterious in the moonlight.
Darcy placed his hand over Elizabeth’s arm and she looked up at him, wondering how she had been so lucky as to find herself here in this magical place with the man who had made her whole life magical. True, he could be infuriating at times and their life together had not been without its arguments, but she knew she could never have married anyone else. He had brightened every day with his presence and he still, after all these years, managed to excite and surprise her, as he was doing now by taking her on a midnight walk across the desert.
As they emerged from the fronded shadow of a palm tree and set foot on the desert, she felt the sand shift beneath her feet and shivered with pleasure. This was what she had wanted. An adventure! A wonderful chance to experience life anew and to feel again all the excitement of new places and the unforeseeable delights they might bring.
“I thought of having camels ready, but I know how you love to walk and it is not too far. Although it will not be easy walking, I have seen you walk much farther and on much worse ground at home.”
“You know me well!” said Elizabeth.
“I should, by now,” he said with a smile, dimly visible in the soft light.
“And that is why you wanted us to set out so late, I suppose, so that we could walk in the cool of the evening.”
Darcy did not reply.
Elizabeth’s eyes, accustomed now to the moon and starlight, took in the full splendour of the pyramids. They loomed ever larger as she and Darcy walked toward them, moving as briskly as the soft sand and stones beneath their feet would allow.
“To think, the great pyramid has been here for four thousand years,” said Elizabeth, adding, “You see, I have been listening to William. He has been reading all about it. I think he almost knows as much about Egypt now as Edward does!”
“I am not surprised. He spends his life with his books. But I intend to make sure he spends more time away from them now that we are on dry land.”
“It will do him good,” said Elizabeth.
They talked quietly as they walked onward until at last Elizabeth saw a small camp ahead of them. Several black wool tents were set up at the base of the great pyramid and in front of them was a campfire. The smell of roast mutton filled the air as it turned on a spit over the fire.
“I sent some men on ahead,” said Darcy by way of explanation.
Elizabeth was glad of it. She had enjoyed the walk but she was tired and the appetising smell revived her, as did the warmth of the fire. She sat down gladly beside it. The footmen who had set up the camp withdrew to a second set of tents some way off, and the guards withdrew to a discreet distance.
Darcy sat down beside her and they warmed their hands at the fire, until at last Elizabeth felt able to remove her cloak and Darcy his coat. He began to carve slices of the roasted mutton and he handed it to Elizabeth, together with the rice and other foodstuffs that had been brought from Cairo, on a china plate.
“I never knew you had a desire to sleep in a tent and eat from a campfire,” Elizabeth teased him. “Although it is rather an elegant form of making camp,” she added, as she took the china plate.
“Ordinarily, nothing could be further from my thoughts, but we are here for a reason, as you will see, and I could not let you starve in the desert, now could I?”
She began to eat, the hot food refreshing her. After they had eaten their fill of the mutton, Darcy set it to one side and then took some small cakes out of a box. Elizabeth savoured the sweet, honey-laden taste of them, and when they were done they sat companionably by the fire, which had died down and looked like a glowworm in the dark.
“This is perfect,” said Elizabeth, with a final glance at the stars when at last they retired to their tent.
Darcy took her hand. “The best is yet to come.”
***
Elizabeth was awakened early the following morning before it was light by Darcy kissing her cheek and shaking her gently, saying, “Wake up.”
She opened her eyes and then closed them again.
“It is still dark!” she murmured, turning over and starting to go back to sleep.
“It is time to get up all the same. I want to show you something. It is time for your surprise.”
She roused herself with difficulty and said, “You mean it was not sleeping out here under the stars?”
“No, it is something different, but I cannot show it to you until you get up.”
She rubbed her eyes and reluctantly sat up, pushing her hair out of her face and yawning. It was very early and she was still tired. To her surprise, she saw that Darcy was not only up, he was already dressed. He disappeared through the tent’s opening and returned a few moments later with a cup of hot coffee, which he handed to her, together with some small cakes and dates.
“Here,” he said. “You will feel better when you have had something to eat and drink.”