‘No! But I will need your help in choosing an appropriate evening dress. This time I have loads of money.’

‘No problem. I know just where to go. I’ll pick you up in the lobby in half an hour!’

‘Liat…?’ Mina interrupted her.

Back in his room, just opposite Mina’s, Jack had heard enough of Mina’s thoughts to last him a lifetime. He was devastated. He leapt off the bed and rushed out of the room, but as he was about to knock on Mina’s door, he hesitated, and then walked furiously back down the corridor. He never heard the end of the conversation.

‘Yes Mina?’

‘During the lunch, Oberon was exceedingly charming.’

‘And?’

‘But I can’t stop thinking about Jack.’

‘Oh, Mina!’ sighed Liat.

‘I know. I know. I can’t help it. Never mind. See you in half an hour.’

When Mina returned from her second shopping spree with Liat, she checked her emails in the hotel’s computer room. Nothing from Hassan. She still harboured a tiny hope that her resourceful student had somehow managed to evade his pursuers and was in hiding. There were a number of emails from Professor Almeini, but she could not find the courage to read them.

Her attention suddenly focused on one email — she opened it. It was from Shobai. He was thanking her for her email and wanted to discuss the content of the tablet further. He was an old man, so he could not travel much, but would be delighted to meet in London. The last lines of Shobai’s email sent a shiver down her spine. Finally, my dear girl, I entreat you not to discuss your discovery with anyone you do not trust absolutely. There is danger in playing with century-old riddles.

How prophetic his words were! She had to meet him. The poor old man would be terrified if she told him about her ordeal in Iraq. She suddenly felt thrown back into the turmoil of her last days in Mosul. She had avoided thinking about what had happened completely, but suspected she was still in shock. Were the three men assassins? According to Jack they were “professionals”, whatever that meant. She shuddered, remembering the dead eyes of the man who had questioned her. If only she knew why these men were after the tablet. Its discovery was clearly a philological breakthrough, but she could hardly imagine academics hiring assassins to get hold of a tablet for publication purposes. Mina was out of sorts after reading Shobai’s email, but she had not spent three hours with Liat searching for an evening dress for nothing. She thought of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone in the Wind saying, ‘Tomorrow is another day’. Mina took a deep breath and decided to put all her concerns on hold and have fun tonight.

Chapter 15

Mina stepped out of the lift wearing a gorgeous evening dress and very expensive high heels. When she brushed past the reception desk, the entire male staff fell over themselves to greet her, open the door and wish her a good evening. She was enjoying herself immensely, smiling at each one of them in turn. She left the hotel feeling like a princess out of a fairy tale, her shawl flowing in the wind. As she headed towards the marina, slowly because of her long dress and heels, she half-expected a genie to rise from the sand and offer her three wishes. What would those wishes be? She would love to meet Jack again. That would certainly be her first wish. As for the other two, she would need to think a little more about them. Money wasn’t a particular issue for her but the large grant she had just been awarded would go a long way for her research. She also felt much freer in her travel plans.

What a strange world, the world of business. She had checked her bank account online, and found that the Wheatley Forecast Corporation had wired her $11,000 instantly. According to the agreement she had received that afternoon, her original travel grant had been transformed into a yearly fellowship of $45,000, paid quarterly. She could also send them requests for up to $30,000 over the next two years for scientific testing of various archaeological material in the course of her research.

Mina walked a little faster to arrive on time to meet Oberon before the party began. At the pier, a young man in full uniform hailed her.

‘Miss Osman?’

‘Yes?’

‘Please step in the tender. I am to take you to the Reverie. She is anchored slightly out of the harbour tonight to offer more privacy to Mr Wheatley’s guests during the party.’