I Fell In Love With A Pharaoh

Chapter 5

Hebe hated wearing gloves. She disliked how they made her hands sweat and she couldn't stand the smell the gloves left on her hands once she removed them. It took several washings for Hebe to get the stench of the latex off her hands. Even though Hebe hated wearing gloves, it was a necessary evil for her kind of work. Hebe cringed every time she saw someone touching something of historical value without gloves on. Didn't people know that the oils from their skin could severely damage priceless artifacts?

Hebe was rearranging the Egyptian collection accordingly to the research she'd done. There were some items, the mummified hand and foot included, that were going to be grouped into an unknown category. Hebe would try her best to date those artifacts and at the moment that pile was quite large.

Dante had been in earlier to watch Hebe work. He always asked multiple questions as she worked. Sometimes it irked Hebe and other times she was grateful for the companionship. Hebe preferred to work alone which was why she never had anyone assist her in her work. Dante had offered, but Hebe had refused.

Hebe wiped a bead of sweat off of her forehead as she leaned against one of the pillars in the Egyptian room that was made to look like a papyrus plant. It was a scaled down reconstruction of a column from the temple at Karnak. Hebe fanned herself with her hand trying to get some air flow moving. It was so very hot in the Egyptian room. It was so hot that Hebe had tied her shirt into a knot underneath her breasts leaving her stomach bare. Hebe had also braided her hair and had it pinned up in a bun.

The Egyptian room was kept at the perfect temperature for conservation so Hebe had no idea why it was so hot. It reminded Hebe of being in Egypt, but that was impossible since Egypt lay many miles to the south of where Dante's mansion was located at on mainland Greece.

A frown suddenly crossed Hebe's face as something fragrant wafted under her nose. She stood up straight and sniffed the air. It was very aromatic and reminded Hebe of some incense she had bought from a vendor on the streets of Cairo many years ago during her youth. Hebe moved about the room sniffing the air. The whole room smelled of the mysterious fragrance, but it was exceptionally strong by the cases that held the mummified hand and foot.

Hebe stopped in front of the cases and sniffed. The scent was overwhelming and it made Hebe sneeze. Hebe rubbed at her nose with the back of her gloved hand as she glared down at the cases. Hebe jumped and moved away from the cases when a wisp of incense smoke drifted by her. The wisp disappeared before Hebe's eyes. Hebe turned trying to determine where the incense was coming from.

A slight disturbance in the air drew Hebe's gaze over to the column she had been leaning against earlier. Her spine stiffened as she spied the same man she had seen previously. Only this time he was dressed in a simple loincloth. His hands moved in a circular motion almost as if he was fanning the incense over himself.

Hebe watched him ritualistically bathe in the incense. Her gaze studied the man and Hebe couldn't help but notice that he was a fine specimen of what a man should look like. Her mouth suddenly watered and Hebe had to clear her throat.

The man turned suddenly at the sound. His gaze focused on Hebe and they widened in surprise. As he turned to fully face Hebe, he disappeared.

Hebe shook her head for as soon as the man disappeared so did the incense. "I must be losing my damned mind."