Part 3.2: To Egypt, you say?

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by basketballdemon

by basketballdemon

"Hello Mr Lynn, I presume?"

"You're late, Miss Addington. You were meant to be here a little over thirty minutes ago."

"Yes, well excuse my rudeness but I couldn't just rush over to meet you in my petticoat, now could I? Whoever made these skirts, petticoats and corsets surely has a grudge with us women. I can barely breathe and it's quite unfortunate society won't tolerate a woman in breeches."

"I did not come here to listen to you bantering about fashion, Miss Addington."

"Oh yes, you said you needed a historian for your expedition to Egypt. Mayhap you could elaborate more. Your letter was quite vague, Mr Lynn. All I read was you needing me for your expedition to recover some ancient bird."

"I have established a crew of 30 men to explore and excavate an ancient Egyptian tomb in Memphis. I need your expertise as a learned scholar to help with the expedition. My sources say they have seen sittings of a bird they believe is the Phoenix around said tomb. I have already received her Majesty's approval for the journey. All I need now is a full crew to take with me."

"I see. So you say your sources believe they saw a Phoenix? Sir, you do know that unless they have seen said bird burn to ash and rise from said ashes then their claims are unfounded. There has been no proof that phoenixes are anything but myth this far. What proof could they possibly have?"

"Perhaps you are right, Miss Addington. However, if their claims are true, we may have stumbled upon a part of the ancient Egyptian civilization that up to now has been nothing but mere fantasy. Our names would go down in history forever. Don't you want that opportunity, Miss Addington? If not the fame, think of the gold I will pay you with. A young woman as yourself would be able to establish yourself without needing a husband to be recognized in society."

"That really is a tempting offer. Shall we discuss more about your expedition then. When do you plan to leave London?"

"We leave London in the next seven days."

"Hm, that's a very small window, Mr Lynn. Why the rush?"

"As I told you before, Miss Addington, I have already established the rest of my crew. All I need now is a historian. Someone with knowledge on the ancient Egyptian civilization. We must make haste before some other corporation gets wind of this. Do you know how much the black market would pay? We need to get to Memphis before somebody else does."

"What are the travel arrangements?"

"Don't you worry about that. My ship will charter the entirety of the crew to Egypt."

"Ship? With the Titanic and the Britannic's recent sinkings I find myself quite wary of ships. Isn't there any other way we could travel?"

"I'll arrange for a small aircraft for you then."

"Very well, I shall see you in seven days, Mr Lynn."