RebeccaAmelia Peabody is a spinster, but one who wants to travel. She employs a companion to accompany her on a winter tour of Egypt, but after arriving in Rome, the companion becomes ill and must travel back home. Quite by accident, she comes across Ms. Evelyn Barton-Forbes and after nursing her back to health, hires her on as her companion. But this young lady has quite the story to tell, and when she is done, Amelia brushes off her past as though it were nothing, and continues with her plans for travel. As they journey to Egypt, and set about making their plans for sailing down the Nile, the young woman has a quiet affect on the spinster. She gets talked into purchasing some outfits that she would never have dared consider before, and the nature of the young lady pleases her.
While they are visiting the museum, they meet two brothers, Radcliffe and Walter Emerson who are working on a dig in the Armarna area. While their first meeting is not what one would desire, Walter and Evelyn seem to have made quite the connection. Later that evening, they are visited at the hotel they are staying at by the brothers, and Radcliffe apologizes for his behavior earlier in the day. Later that night while the ladies are sleeping, Amelia is alerted to someone in their room, but by the time she escapes the netting around her bed, the person has fled.
The night before they are preparing to embark on their journey, Amelia and Evelyn are visited by the new Lord Ellesmere, Evelyn’s cousin, who proposes marriage to her! Evelyn however, has lost her heart to Walter, and puts her cousin off, but he is not swayed. He promises to follow them wherever they go on their journey over the winter months. His appearance however, makes Amelia suspect that something is afoot…
This week we are reading Chapters 1-3
Questions:
- Amelia seems quite different than anyone else we have read about so far. What do you think of her character?
- Evelyn has had two men come back into her life, both wanting to marry her. Should this have sparked a red flag for the young woman, and Amelia?
- If you were to visit Egypt, what would you want to see?
