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would know that it lacks the space necessary to host a grand ball…”
    Irked by their inane chatter, Miles stole a glance back at the stela. That unknown symbol nagged at him. Where had he seen it before? He had spent hours searching through Champollion’s Primer of the Hieroglyphic System as well as the dictionary he himself had been compiling for over a decade.
    All of a sudden, Helen’s voice intruded on his thoughts.
    â€œâ€¦ holding our ball here at Aylwin House would be so very perfect. Why, look at this magnificent ballroom! It has been sorely neglected for too many years.” She spread out her dainty, kid-gloved hands to encompass the long chamber with its hundreds of Egyptian artifacts. “Imagine, if you will, this chamber restored to its former glory, the chandeliers sparkling with hundreds of candles, the walls draped with mint-green silk, the tall vases of pink roses on pedestals, the gentlemen and ladies dancing on the newly polished floor—”
    â€œNo!” Miles’s thundering voice echoed off the arched ceiling with its painted cherubs and frolicking nymphs. “Absolutely not!”
    Helen’s eyes widened. “There is no need to shout, Miles. I assure you, I will personally see to all the arrangements myself. You won’t be inconvenienced in the least . All of these”—she cast a shuddering glance at a large statue of the falcon-headed god Horus—“these things can be moved elsewhere. To a storage room, perhaps. A team of stout footmen could accomplish the task in a day.”
    â€œI said no, ” Miles enunciated through gritted teeth. The gall of her, to think she could banish these priceless objects in order to hold one of her inane parties. “Hear me well. There will be no ball at Aylwin House. Nothing will be moved. This chamber shall remain exactly as it is.”
    â€œPlease, dear cousin, you mustn’t refuse,” she begged prettily. “Everything can be returned here afterward. The place will be restored to your satisfaction. At least give the matter some thought.”
    â€œThere is no need for reflection. My decision stands.”
    The coquetry vanished from her expression and she pushed out her lower lip in a pout. “But this house is overflowing with dusty old relics. Surely you can work in another room for a week or so. Oh, do tell him not to be such a beast, Oscar.”
    â€œDon’t be such a beast,” her husband dutifully repeated, shaking his cane at Miles. “It’s a small favor to grant to a family member. You’ve a hundred other rooms in which to play with all this rubbish.”
    That did it.
    Miles pointed to the arched doorway. “Out. Both of you. Now. ”
    â€œOh, you’re impossible!” Helen exclaimed. “It isn’t as if we’d have forced you to attend the ball. We know how you despise society. But you shouldn’t deny us the pleasure of entertaining!”
    â€œHe’s selfish, that’s what,” Oscar declared. “Aylwin House is my heritage, too. My papa cut his teeth in the nursery upstairs. He was the son of a duke!”
    â€œThe second son,” Miles clarified. “Now, you’ll depart of your own accord or I shall summon a pair of footmen to toss you both out into the street.”
    He fixed them with a dictatorial stare. They were like spoiled children. He had learned to handle them with a firm hand. Oscar had always been something of a sniveling brat while growing up, and marrying Helen the previous year had not improved his character. Where before he had merely been demanding, now he had been infected with her social-climbing disease, as well.
    The two sulked and complained for another few moments. Then Helen said in a martyred tone, “Come, my darling. We are not wanted here!”
    As they retraced their steps through the labyrinth of artifacts, Miles followed close behind. His fingers possessively brushed