Chapter Three
Amanda noticed that as they left the room together, that both the young Egyptian, his companions, and Spencer Hampton watched, obviously curious. Her worries were soon forgotten, for the moment they entered the elevator, Landers pulled Amanda into his arms for a kiss, but she stopped him and instead reached under her dress and plucked out the handgun. She let out a sigh as she stood up and straightened her dress.
"It was pinching my skin," she explained, glancing down at the gun which Landers stared at, shocked. "It's only a gun, William. It's not a cobra. It won't bite you."
"I don't approve of guns."
"Sir Spender does. We are being followed by the same Egyptian who was on our airplane. I don't like surprises," said Amanda. The elevator came to a jarring halt. She grabbed his arm to keep from stumbling, then ended up throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him full on the mouth. His thick moustache tickled her mouth and her nose, yet his lips perfectly melded against her own, tasting of cigar and wine, making her giddy all over. She might have gone on kissing him forever, but he drew his head back, grinning wide, to look at her thoughtfully.
"You're drunk," Landers said, laughing. "On very little, I noticed."
"Alcohol has a strange effect on me. I shouldn't drink. I become intoxicated way too easily. But you already noticed."
The doors opened. On the way out, Amanda tripped on a chipped tile, stumbled into Landers and suddenly found herself being scooped up into his brawny arms. He was none to please about the gun she was brandishing over his shoulder and quickly hurried with her down the hall and set her down outside her door. He took the key she offered, unlocked her door and barely had time to get her into the room and close the door before she tossed the gun onto a chair, then threw herself into his arms and started smothering his face with kisses.
Somehow they managed to back up to the bed and fall onto the mattress together, wrapped together, lips locked. Rolling across the bed, groping and pulling at clothes, the sensual mood was momentarily called to a halt when Landers let out a yelp and reached beneath him. He pulled out a number of items he'd never noticed strewn across the mattress, including a sketch pad which opened right up to some drawings made by Amanda's aunt. He stared in amazement at the face of Imhotep, then looked up at Amanda and showed her the picture, silently demanding an explanation.
"Are you comparing us? Is that what is this is all about?"
Amanda swiped the notebook out of his hand, her lips still tingling from the sensation of his thick moustache brushing against her sensitive flesh. She placed the notebook under the pillow, disappointed it seemed a fight was brewing between them.
"My Aunt Evelyn drew that picture twenty-five years ago. I know he does look a little bit like you. But only a little bit. You have more hair." She rested against the mattress as Landers reached over her and fished the notebook out from under the pillow. "What is the matter?"
"You didn't answer my question, Amanda. Are you interested in me because I resemble Imhotep or perhaps it is because of my job?" Landers leaned over her, one arm flung across her, as he gazed down at her with angry eyes. She took the notebook from him and tossed it onto the floor, then cupped her hands around his broad face and kissed his mouth softly.
"I'm interested in you." She kissed him.
Landers drew back. His thoughts seemed far away from Amanda. "I have heard all of the outlandish stories told by your father, about living mummies and man-eating beatles, and curses from beyond the grave. Do you believe I am Imhotep? I demand to know what you are thinking, Amanda."
"Perhaps you are Imhotep reincarnated."
"Does the idea disturb or excite you? Or a little of both?"
"Right now, I don't really care either way."
Landers found himself being pushed against the mattress as Amanda straddled him, so that her skirt hiked up high, revealing the length of her long, tan legs. She removed his tie, tossed it away, then proceed to unbutton his shirt, pausing to kiss him while he lay back with his arms spread wide, letting her have her way with him. He wore an undershirt beneath, which she pulled up to exposed his flat stomach and muscular chest, and with an appreciative grown, she slid her hands up his hairy chest. She dipped down low to kiss his chest, slowly working her way up to his neck, then returned to his lips.
Their lips connected and arms and legs entwined as Landers pulled Amanda beneath him for a passionate, heated kiss. He was much larger than Amanda, but she was not at all phased by his size and weight as she thrashed under his muscular body, completely intoxicated by his hungry kisses and desperately desiring closer contact. Her hands began to roam across his shoulders beneath his shirt, down to his flanks, then moved to the front where she started to unbuckle his belt.
At the sound of his pants unzipping, Landers' expression grew cloudy and he grabbed her hands, disengaging from her. He climbed out of the bed and stood at the edge, obviously aroused and yet angry. Adjusting his tie and smoothing his ruffled hair, he couldn't have struck Amanda as more pathetic. She tossed her shoes at him, making contact, shrugging when he glared at her.
"So much for the mighty and high priest of Osiris. I really expected a bit more," Amanda said, crawling toward the edge of the bed, her mind cloudy from the booze. She reached for the edge of his jacket and instead contacted with a thigh made of steel. She caressed his leg and let out a yelp as he slapped her hand away. "Why did you bring me here if you didn't want me?" He frowned. "Oh, should I say making love instead?"
"You would have to be in love to make love. You are drunk. I won't take advantage of you."
His words wounded her but she never let on that she'd been hurt. He walked over to a table near the window and poured himself from a crystal decanter a large glass of cognac. When he looked back over at her and took a drink, he watched her get up from the bed and walk over to him on bare feet.
"I thought we were getting on quite well," said Amanda, confused and frustrated.
"While it might be customary for you to jump in and out of bed with the first available man, Professor Shaw, I can assure you that I have not remained a bachelor for forty years simply to enjoy the carnal pleasures of the flesh. I believe in true love. What is most important of all in a lasting relationship is love, for without love you have no foundation on which to build, nor will it hold up when tested and love is always tested. Only the greatest of loves can withstand anything, all the pressures, stress and heartaches that are involved in a mature relationship. I believe that each of us is destined to find our soul-mate who we are destined to be with forever."
Amanda crossed her arms over her breasts. "You were willing a few minutes ago. In fact, this was your idea. We all want to find our soul-mate. But you can have more than one soul-mate. I've been reincarnated too many times not to know. I do not believe we are destined for only one person for all eternity. It can't work that way. It's too limiting. The human heart is capable of loving more than one person and I think it completely necessary to grow and develop as a human and for the perfection of the soul."
"Your heart. Your soul." He set the glass down. "But not mine."
"How do you know I'm not a soul-mate? What changed your mind, William? Maybe you're hiding something from me. Maybe that's what this all is, and now you feel guilty."
Landers cleared his throat. "One day I will find her. My soul-mate. And it will be in Egypt. That is something I have known since I was a boy."
He started for the door. She stepped in front of him.
"What if I told you that I am looking as well and that I am willing to take a risk that it's you, Dr. Landers?" Amanda felt a moment of triumph when he paused to study her thoughtfully. "What if I said that I knew the moment I saw you that I knew we'd met before in a past life and that you were meant to be with me in this one?"
"I'd say you were childish and naive."
"Of course you would. Why am I not surprised?"
Landers placed his hand to his forehead. "Amanda, I really think we should drop this subject and simply go to our separate beds. I made a mistake. I did have every intention of seducing you and I find you....beautiful. While it's obvious that my body wants to mingle in the sheets with your's, mentally and emotionally, I'm not ready for that type of relationship. We are going to be working be closely together."
"Go then! I won't stop you!"
Amanda suddenly pushed him toward the door. He dragged his feet, completely shocked by his behavior, but his expression changed suddenly when she used all her weight to thrust him toward the door. He staggered forward and threw up his hands to keep from colliding with the door. While slender in build, Amanda was physically very strong.
"Don't be blinded by your obsession for perfection or your quest for true love," Amanda practically hissed at him. "The perfect woman is not always so perfect. I think a few flaws are far more attractive and it gives you something to atone for later. Your problem is that you are afraid of love, as much as you talk about it, you're terrified of getting too real with anyone made of real flesh and bone."
With his hand on the door knob, Landers turned toward her, a mocking look on his rugged face. "Ah, and here you are the one in love with a dead priest. Talk about being afraid of loving a real man."
"It's not my fault!" Amanda hung back behind Landers. She met his gaze, the consternation in his gaze, causing her to sigh heavily. "Aunt Evelyn twice met Imhotep, mummified alive for the murder of Seti, who returned three thousand years later to claim power and reunite with the woman he loved. Uncle Rick defeated Imhotep the first time, but the second, Imhotep was defeated for blindly loving the Pharaoh's mistress, Anck-Su-Namum, for when her love was put to the test, she ran when she should have stayed and helped him. In despair, he threw himself into the pit of hell to be damned for all eternity. It's a tragic story but also romantic. I guess I've been a little in love with Imhotep ever since I heard about him."
"And you thought you could help him?"
"Yes. always thought I'd be the one to help redeem his soul so he could be reborn again into this world, but as a man with a good soul. All it takes it one good deed to be redeemed. Only one. I don't know how I'd do it, but I thought I could."
"Interesting." Landers held out his hand. "Let me borrow the notebook."
"Why? What do you want with it?"
"I'm curious," he said. "Your aunt sketched Imhotep from first hand memory after meeting him. I want to take the notebook back to my room and look at it. Is that all right?"
"Just don't lose it. It means a lot to me."
Amanda went to the bed, retrieved the note book and handed it over. He tucked it under his arm and immediately left her room. But as she poked her head out of the hallway to watch him enter his own room, aware of a large dark shadow of a jackal's head at the end of the hall. She caught her breath, only to let it out quite slowly as a hotel employee came around the corner with an ornamental head of Anubis which was placed down the hall on an empty pedestal. Once the employee dusted off the painted head and walked on, she hurried down the hall and covered it with a towel.
"So much for you, Anubis. You have on more than one occasion tried to kill my family and I don't know what you have planned now, but I'm not about to let such a vindictive, hateful god have a full view of the hotel hallway." Amanda withdrew her hands and touched the charm around her neck. It was still there. "If you can hear me great and powerful Osiris, your humble servant prays that you protect William Landers and myself from the dark forces of Anubis."
Outside the hotel she heard the rumble of thunder and jumped backwards. A door behind her slammed shut, she heard the sounds of a brief struggle, and turned around to discover that the noise was coming from her own room. She paused outside her door and tried the handle. It was locked. Nervous, she looked up and down the hall, wondering if she should call for Landers, when her door slowly opened. Her heart leapt to her throat. She expected to see the nightmare from her childhood, like mummies swaddled in lose wrappings staggering toward her, but instead saw the same young man from the airport seated on a couch in her room.
"Come in," he replied.
"You again. What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you. Please, Professor Shaw. It's very urgent that I speak to you in private. Your life may depend upon it."
Amanda immediately stepped into the room. The door slammed shut. Another man stood behind the door. Several more peeked out from the drapes at her bed, leaving her wondering if they'd been there all along and watched her smooching with William on the bed. The young man stood up and approached Amanda. She caught her breath, her heart pounding in her chest, as he stopped in front of her and took her hand to stare at the palm. With his index finger, he outlined the shape of a pyramid in the middle of her palm, retracing a pattern she'd been born with and confirming in his eyes, and those of his companions, that she'd been reincarnated from ancient Egypt.
"I am Achmed Bay, Old One." The man bowed his head. "I recognize the symbol on your hand. You are from the House of Imhotep, high priest of Osiris, but you come not from noble blood but are the daughter from the savage tribes from the north. We heard your prayers to Osiris in the corridor beyond, and we," he paused to glanced at his five companions, have come to protect you and others from He Who has Been Resurrected."
Amanda shook her head. "Hold on a minute. What did you say?"
"Imhotep walks among us once more."
"You mean Dr. Landers? I assure you," said Amanda, keeping one eye on his companions, "Dr. Landers is very harmless. He might look like Imhotep, but he has no such illusions himself."
"Please believe me, Professor Shaw," said the young man, rising to his feet. "Our Brotherhood has guarded the secret of the location of many secret places in Egypt, including Osiris' true tomb, for thousands of years. Perhaps you did not know that Imhotep was the protector of the real tomb of Osiris?"
"At Karnak. Seti chose Imhotep to build the temple. He was also the guardian. A pity he wasn't here earlier."
She looked around in disgust at her room, noting that scattered throughout the room were her maps, books, a set of binoculars, a khaki coat and a second pair of boots. She objected the most to the lacy bras left on top of her stack of clothes, once neatly folded without a crease, but stopped after two strides toward her underclothes to instead stare at the shredded parchment at her feet.
"I see you and your friends have not only been looking at my father's maps, but have actually destroyed them"
Achmed shook his head. "No. That was not us. There were others in your room whom we sent running out into the night." He joined her near the bed and watched her frantically looking for something that was apparently no longer there. "May I be of any service to you? You are searching for something?"
"It's nothing," said Amanda, finding the gun under her backpack. She hid it behind her back and turned. "What were these men looking for? I wasn't gone that long."
"Perhaps what you yourself could not find."
Amanda glared at the young man. "And you saw these men?"
"Yes. We came upon three men ransacking your room. They left by means of the window. It is fortunate for you that I have been watching you since you left New York. You are in danger, Professor Shaw. You must believe me. You must not take Imhotep reincarnated to the Temple of Osiris."
"Why should I believe you or your Brotherhood?"
"Because...."
Before he could finish, Amanda pressed the tip of the gun to the man's forehead. He made a move to grab the weapon, she shifted her weight, dodged his attack, and came up behind him, penning him in a head lock, the gun again at his forehead. His companions suddenly revealed blades of their own from daggers to a scimitar. She suddenly smiled, a cold smile that Achmed took to mean the end of his life, and, as his eyes closed and he began to mutter a prayer, his accomplices dropped their weapons and ran toward the windows. She flipped Achmed onto his back and planted her foot in the middle of his stomach, while his friends escaped out the windows, leaving him defenseless and alone. She bent down, flashing the gun in his face.
"You better start explaining yourself real fast. Landers doesn't believe he is Imhotep reincarnated. He isn't interested in raising an army of the dead."
"I care about what he seeks that is hidden within the true temple."
"What true temple? You mean the Temple of Osiris which contains the Altar of Truth?"
Achmed shook his head. "You have not read the letter from your cousin then?"
"How dare you read my mail? I'm about an inch from shooting you, so don't you dare jump out the window. Stay right there."
Amanda left Achmed on the floor and hurried over to her skirt draped across a chair that she'd worn on the plane. Alex's letter lay on the cushion beneath the material, opened, obviously read by Achmed and first and foremost on his mind. She picked up the letter, reading it, while keeping the gun and her eye on her prisoner at the same time. The letter was written in Hopi and said, 'Dearest Cousin, coming to Karnak. Believe you are in serious danger. Landers searches for the Orb of Osiris. Jonathan says that H.G. Wells might have perfected time travel in literature, but Landers is certain to land the Nobel Prize for this discovery. Whatever you do, don't give Landers the Orb. I will explain everything when I see you. Love Alex.'
"Rot, Alex," growled Amanda, stuffing the note into her pocket. "Fortunately, for you, you little sneak, it's written in Hopi. I don't suppose you know Hopi?"
"No. But I recognize Alex's handwriting. I know your cousin. Very well. Can I get up now?"
"Tell me again who you are?"
"I was sent by my father, Ardeth Bay, to watch over Imhotep reincarnated, after his rebirth was predicted by our priests. It is said that He Who Is Resurrected by Osiris will be able to take the Orb and return to rule over all Egypt as Pharaoh, for the might of the Orb is great and he who possesses it will be invincible."
Amanda was excited. She couldn't believe what she'd heard, yet it was exactly what she'd hoped for. And more. Her father's dear friend had sent her a guardian angel. "Ardeth Bay? Ardeth Bay is your father? I know your father. I met him when I was a child. Why did he not come in your place?"" She realized then why the boy had seemed so familiar.
"My father selected me to come and find you. This is part of my initiation rite into the Brotherhood."
"What did your father say?"
"The Temple of Osiris is not the true temple. You will waste your time if you seek the Orb amongst these cursed ruins. The cult of Anubis long ago ruined their shrine and the soil is putrefied with evil. What you seek is not far from Karnak, and I could show it to you."
"And the Orb? Is it in this other place?"
"Yes. In this other place. But you will not tell Landers?"
"Maybe Ardeth should have come in your place? A man should never send a boy to do man's job." Amanda held her hand up to quiet his immediate rage. "Calm down. I did not mean to insult your manhood. Your father knows me better than that. No, I won't tell Landers about a second temple."
Amanda lowered the gun. He looked relieved.
"If your priests knew about William Landers," she said, "then they must been watching him since he was born. He would have been a young boy when Uncle Rick and Aunt Evelyn fought Imhotep, along with our fathers. What I don't understand is, that if the Ka of Imhotep is trapped in hell, just how can it be released? Your father, and apparently Alex, think Landers cannot be trusted. Do you think this is his goal?"
"Perhaps." Achmed nodded. "Yes. I am sorry. I know you have feelings for Dr. Landers."
"Don't worry about that," said Amanda, though inwardly she knew it was a problem. "Tell your father that the daughter of Jonathan Carnahan has vowed to slay Imhotep if his reincarnation restores his Ka and attempts to use the Orb for evil. That is a solemn vow, Achmed Bay, and one I think your father would respect and honor."
"My father told me many things about Jonathan Carnahan. He said that he was a man who could be trusted. I believe his daughter can be trusted as well. You will leave Cairo?"
"Yes. I'm going to Karnak in the morning with Landers. Alex will meet me there. Are you intending to follow us?"
"It is my duty. I must protect you. My father said...."
Achmed suddenly let out a shout and pushed Amanda out of the way as a dagger sailed through the air, hitting the wall behind them. He motioned for her to stay down, as he slid a knife from out of his boot, then with a wink, dove out the window. She followed after him, keeping low to avoid being hit by anything else thrown in her direction. She watched the boy scramble down the side of the building and run out into the night, disappearing into the street.
In the distance, she heard shouting, then silence. She shivered as she felt a cold breeze slide across her neck. She heard her bedroom door open and with the gun poised for action, spun around on her heels, knelt on one knee and aimed right at Greg Maxwell. He let out a shriek, turned white and fell backwards out into the hall in a dead faint.
"Why didn't you say something, you idiot?" She asked.
Amanda slipped the gun into the side of her skirt band and hurried out into the hallway. As she put her hands beneath Maxwell's arms and prepared to drag him into her room, Landers opened his door, dressed in pajamas, glasses perched on his nose, toothpaste on the side of his moustache, barefoot, looking as angry as any wrongly awoken mummy. He said nothing as he stormed across the hall, grabbed Maxwell's legs, while she lifted up his upper half, and gestured with his head for her to walk toward his assistant's room. Her door left open to any renegade in the hotel, she followed Landers to the room of Maxwell located at the end of the hall, finding his door open as well and the odor of incense unpleasantly intense within. Together they placed Maxwell on his bed and backed up, standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder.
"What in the name of Anubis happened?" asked Landers, annoyed.
"Please, don't utter the names of gods. They listen."
Landers looked annoyed. "Do grow up, Amanda. I hardly think my mentioning the name of the mythological god of the dead will cause us any problems. However, it is apparent by the looks for your room that someone was anxious to find something." He held up the notebook. "Perhaps it was this. Very interesting. Your aunt tells the whole story."
She took it from him. "You're not very clever, Dr. Landers."
"What do you mean?"
"I know you were on your knees listening at the key hole of my door because you have creases in your pants. I hope you heard something interesting. Your name came up several times. But as you can see, I can handle myself in a fight. My uncle taught me how to defend myself."
Amanda noticed Maxwell's eyes were open and that he was listening. She picked up a quilt off the end of the bed, threw it in his face and stormed out of the room, closely followed by Landers. She proceeded him down the hall, angrily muttering under her breath, until he caught her by the elbow and slowed her down so he could walk with her.
"I'm afraid now we have the Brotherhood of Osiris to deal with," said Landers. "How do you suggest we handle them?"
"They are the least of our worries. My life was saved tonight by a young man named Achmed Bay. I know his father quite well. He wouldn't have seen his son unless it was critical that we keep the Orb of Osiris from falling into the wrong hands."
Landers pulled her to a stop outside of his room, opened the door, drew her in and shut the door behind them. All she could think about was her own door being open and her gear spread out on the floor for everyone in town to steal, but her thoughts were quieted as Landers dragged her over to a lamp on the dresser. Without warning, he reached inside of the front of her blouse and as Amanda gasped out loud, he held up an ankh which hung from her neck.
"For protection against evil, I suspect? Against me? I am surprised you don't also wear a lucky rabbit's foot," said Landers, studying the golden charm. He released it.
"Don't flatter yourself into thinking this is all about you."
"Isn't it? Let me assure you, Amanda, that I have no such delusions that the Orb is anything more than a valuable relic made out of gold and ivory that deserves to be shown in a museum. Can you find it still without your maps?"
"I can find it, Dr. Landers. Trust me."
"I trust you, but do you trust me, Professor Shaw?" His hazel eyes bore into her soul. "I have my doubts, given the excitement you've seen today and what has been told to you by strangers about me."
"Figure it out yourself, Landers."
Amanda couldn't have Landers think that she didn't trust him, not when she knew so little about what he was up too, so she faked as if she was turning toward the door to leave, then spun around and before Landers could react, she caught hold of him by either ear, drew his head forward and planted a kiss right on his full, luscious lips. She meant to let her lips linger only a second or two, but his mouth tasted sweet and felt warm and soft against her own, his large, muscular body in comparison to a recent fight in her bedroom turned her insides all mushy, ending any urgency on her part to remember his stern wish to remain professional. His arms tightened securely around her body, squeezing hard, both catching her off guard and allowing her to feel every ripple of every sinew in his hard body. His mouth opened and she felt his hot tongue plunge into her mouth, entwining with her own, while his passionate nature seized hold of his logical mind and in one scoop, he picked her up in his arms and laid upon her on top of his bed.
Amanda felt his large, long fingered hand upon her breast and nearly fainted when his kisses turned into a continued assault upon her senses, leaving her vaguely aware of her surroundings and partially imagining another place, another time. She thought of Imhotep holding in his arms in a more exotic location beneath palms trees and wondered if it was part of a vision or only her imagination. She could hear the palm branches swaying in the breeze above her head, then she realized she was on Landers bed, with Landers on top of her, his windows open to a cool evening breeze that gently knocked the palm limbs against his open window.
Amanda abruptly glanced at her wristwatch and groaned as Landers' lips trailed down her neck, as he unbuttoned her shirt, leaving a trail down to the top of her bra. He finished with the buttons and lifted her slightly to unfasten her bra, but she suddenly started to wiggle away from him and slid out of his arms and onto the floor. She peered up at him as she quickly buttoned her shirt and rose to her feet. He lay back on the pillows, a hand over the bulge in his pants, a look of utter disbelief on his face. His hair was a mess and his lips look so inviting she nearly returned to his arms.
"I'm sorry," said Amanda. "I forgot I was going to meet someone. I have to go. You'll have to take a rain check."
"Someone? The young Egyptian boy?"
"No. Not him. Someone else. Someone a bit older and a lot less attractive." Amanda waved at him and hurried to the door. She had to admit that despite what Achmed had said about Landers, he was still devastatingly sexy. "Sorry. I'll see you in the morning."
"Where are you going?"
"Room 213. But don't worry, I'll be sleeping in my own bed. This is purely business." Amanda met his dark, smoldering gaze and smiled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."
"Frustrated yes, but not jealous," said Landers.
"Now you know how I felt earlier."
Amanda Shaw didn't wait for any response and quickly left his room, returning to her own long enough to grab a coat and put it on, before she snuck down the stairs and went down to the next floor. She went to the room of the Englishman, knocked three times, waited, and was received into his bedroom. The prostitute he'd dined with was asleep, a bottle of booze held in her arms instead of her husband who was in his robe, walking animatedly in front of a number of weapons and bullets he'd managed to find on the streets of Cairo, among certain friends, which he provided for sale to Amanda. She handed him a wad of money, loaded as much gear as she could and when all she had left was a shot gun and a box of cartridges, she glared at the Englishman.
"Spencer, I could use some help. These guns happen to be heavy. Carry a few up to my room, will you? I'm going to drop something and wake up your date."
He glanced at the bed and dismissed the woman with a shrug.
"It's not a coincidence that I met you here at the hotel, Professor Shaw. When I received your father's call yesterday, Jonathan never mentioned that I'd have to do anything more than provide you with a gun. I thought the pistol was enough. However, you have blackmailed me for an arsenal. Need I remind you that I work for the British government?"
"No, you don't need to remind me, Sir Spencer. Nor more than I need to remind you that I'll never forgive you for sleeping with my mother. So, if it's all the same to you, old chum, thank you very much for the guns, but if you don't mind, I'm in a hurry, so pick up what I can't carry me and follow me upstairs or I'm going to inflict some serious damage to your corpse."
"In that case, I'm right behind you, Miss Shaw," said Spencer. The moment they made it up to her floor and Amanda opened her bedroom door, hitting the wall with a gun hooked over her shoulder and dropping a box of cartridges that fell onto the floor and started to roll in every direction, she heard a door open. She grabbed Spencer, thrust all of the weapons in his arms, and pushed him back right as Landers opened his door and looked out across the hall at her, aware she was with another man but not what she was doing. She gave him a smug look, not wanting to explain and upset him further on any count, and quietly closed the door. Spencer looked at her dumbly. She removed the guns, placing them on the bed, one at a time, then turned to the Englishman and held out her hand to shake his own.
"Thank you for your help, Sir Spencer."
"I'm simply glad we can put all that unpleasant business of the past behind us and move on. Hopefully, I have been able to make it up to you in some small way tonight, my dear," he said, walking over to the door. "If you do hear from you mother though, you might say hello for me. Still married to that rich doctor in California? Oh, you don't have to answer me. Jonathan already told me all about her. He was actually very gallant about it all. Very understanding and forgiving, in fact." He opened the door, stepped out into the hall, and suddenly replied, "Oh, excuse me, sir. I was just leaving."
Amanda heard a man's grumbled reply and a few seconds later a door slam shut. She knew it was William Landers and that he had seen the man exist from her room. Annoyed that he was watching her so closely, she slammed her door, locked it, then locked the windows and proceeded to clean every rifle and pistol.