This
week, my seven actions for
Operation Author: 365 Actions to
Becoming a Successful Author
I am continuing to serialize chapters from Solomon's Secrets.
I
recommend that you read the previous few posts to get up to speed with
the story so far.
Enjoy, and please leave comments. Thanks
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| The exterior or The British Museum (Image from: http://hmdegree.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/british-museum-postcard-wide-angle.jpg) |
The
British Museum, London
“The
Silk Road, eh? Not your usual archaeological diversion.”
“Oh, hello. You startled me, I was miles
away.”
“Dreaming of distant deserts and
discoveries?”
“Something like that.” Sasha turned to
Jon and smiled. “How was your business in France?”
A blackness fluttered across his eyes,
he blinked and looked away before painting on a smile.
He did that a lot. She found herself
wondering what was going on behind his icy blue eyes, and was it something she
should be worried about?
The last time a rich business man had
financed her work she saw her first dead body, killed a man in self-defence and
was chased through Amsterdam by an assassin. So far, her dealings with Jon
Solomon had been rather more civilized. Fancy dinners, foot massages and
friendly banter. But for how long?
“Why stop here when there is so much
more in this museum?” asked Jon, looking over her shoulder at the fragments of
an ancient Chinese parchment, suspended between two slices of Perspex, a
specimen in a lab.
She turned and folded her arms loosely.
“You know. I’ve worked on and off at
this place for years now. Dipping in and out of different projects. I remember
the first time I came here, as a child.”
She slowly walked the length of the
illuminated glass display cases, and Jon joined her. She was half looking in at
the remains of history and turning occasionally to look at him.
“Is that why you decided to be an
Archaeologist?”
“Partly. I remember walking in, seeing
the burial offerings from Sutton Hoo and looking up at my dad and saying wow.
As he took me around I kept tugging at his sleeve and pointing things out. It
was the first time I felt it.”
“Felt what?”
“That tingle. That delicious moment of
discovery. I guess it’s a surge of adrenaline. Whenever I come here I try to
feel it again. But it’s different every time. Each time I unearth something.
The first time is always the most memorable.”
She chuckled to herself and he was
smiling at the innuendo.
“It’s easy to get boxed into a subject,
to be consumed by the minutia of work. I like to drift around these galleries,
looking at things I normally steam past on my way to somewhere else and just
remind myself how much there is still out there we know nothing about. So much
waiting to be discovered.”
“But why this gallery? Why the sudden
fascination with the expeditions of Sir Marc Aurel Stein?”
She stopped and turned to him, “Because
of you.”
“Why me?”
“Silk. It’s your obsession. Surely
you’ve travelled up and down the Silk Road in the course of your business?”
“Many times,” his eyes lit up.
She had pressed a button, found
something.
“Of course, it’s rather more civilised
than in the early twentieth century. In Stein’s day it was camels and tents and
months in the saddle. These days it’s air conditioned four by fours and
helicopters. Still, the area has changed little in thousands of years. These
specimens were retrieved from the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas near the oasis of
Dunhuang. But I guess you already know that.”
She nodded slowly and smiled.
“I can’t shake the sense there is a
connection.”
“A connection? What do you mean?”
She paused, looked around the gallery,
“You know what. Let’s take a seat and I’ll tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
She slid onto a polished wooden bench
along the spine of the gallery and Jon perched beside her, his knees turned
into hers.
“I was looking through old microfiches
of The Times newspaper in the library this morning. I started looking for
something else for the research we’re working on but it occurred to me to take
the opportunity to look for reports of ancient Greek manuscripts. I ended up
wasting a lot of time, and just as I was about to give up, I came across some
of the reports and columns Stein wrote following his expeditions along the Silk
Road. There was a mention of a manuscript written in Greek. It was a passing
reference, nothing more but it made me question it.”
“Could it be? Do you think…Could it have
been in the Dunhuang library cave?” the colour had drained from Jon’s face.
“Perhaps? It’s certainly worth further
investigation. It would be out of place and worthy of note so it’s odd there’s
no other mention of it.”
“Some sort of cover up perhaps? Or maybe
it went missing? Or never made it back England?” his face was pinched in
thought.
“Any of those things could have
happened. You’re right though. It’s odd there’s no other mention of such a
manuscript? Perhaps it did go missing? While I’m here I may as well make the
most of my access to the old records. I’ll do some digging and see if I can
find any reference to it.”
“You really are a remarkable woman Sasha
Blake. Allow me to buy you lunch!”
“That’s very kind of you, thank you.”
He stood, and offered her his arm,
trying to wear a serious face which quickly wore off when she took his arm and
allowed him to lead her out of the gallery and into the sunlight.
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| Inside one of the galleries at The British Museum (image from: https://yy1.staticflickr.com/32/90232364_00663ef2f7.jpg) |
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| Kate Winslet as Sasha Blake (image from: http://www.spicycelebrities.com/gallery/kate-winslet/kate-winslet-05.jpg) |
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| Tom Hiddleston as Jon Solomon (Image from: http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/37029/tom_hiddleston_37029.jpg) |
Coming
soon - Solomon's Secrets is in the final stages of preparation for
publication. Help me to see it in print by pre-ordering now.
- e-Books £3
- Signed paperbacks £10 (inc P&P)
http://bit.ly/SolomonsSecrets_Fund
