“Your father’s mother?”
“Yes.”
“She was a very talented woman,” Harriet replied.
“Yes, she was. There are a few more hanging throughout the house.”
Harriet smiled at him and lay her hand in the crook of his arm. “You’ll have to show me sometime.”
“I’d like that, but we need to get going.”
“Before my mother shows up?” she giggled.
“Yes.”
They walked outside to the carriage and Lucien helped his wife in as a footman held the door open. He then spoke to the driver before climbing in beside her. After they were both settled in, Lucien knocked on the roof of the carriage with his walking stick, and it creaked forward.
Traffic was London’s finest. Everyone seemed to be out to enjoy the fleeting good weather. They came close to the museum and that’s where the traffic seemed to get worse. Surely, not everyone was going to the museum. It was a new exhibit, and the subject matter was quite popular. Everyone wanted to see the artifacts and jewels, not to mention a mummy or two.
“Lucien, why don’t we get out and walk the rest of the way. We just need to walk across the park and the museum entrance right there.”
“Excellent idea,” he replied.
They got out of the carriage and crossed the busy street to the park and began walking towards the building which housed the museum. Once they reached the end of the park and were facing another street, the pair crossed with a small group who were obviously going to the museum.
Climbing the steps was something Harriet remembered quite well from each prior time she’d visited. There was a steady crowd, and Lucien was able to navigate them to the front door.
Inside there were signs guiding people to the Egyptian exhibit. There were also young men in place to answer questions. Everything was quite efficiently run.
“Where would you like to start?” he asked.
“I don’t think it matters, but the crowd seems to be going that way,” she said pointing to the right.
Lucien nodded and turned them that way. In glass cases were items used in the process to build and shape the various monuments. They finally came upon hieroglyphics. It was fascinating to try and figure out what they all meant. Not even the experts were one hundred percent sure what they meant.
“Would you like to sit down for a moment on one of the benches?” Lucien asked. They’d been on their feet for a while, and he didn’t want to wear her out.
“Yes, I would. There is so much to see. I had no idea how much had been brought out of Egypt.”
“From what I understand, what they’ve got on display here is only a tiny portion of what they brought. I believe the idea is to rotate the items at some point.”
“What a clever idea,” Harriet replied.
“I thought so,” Lucien said. He motioned farther down the room. “I believe the mummies are down there along with a couple of sarcophaguses with more mummies inside.”
“Do they have the mummies under glass?”
“Yes, I believe they do,” Lucien replied. “Why do you ask?”
Harriet arched a brow. “It seems to me that if a mummy is removed from its sarcophagus, after being out of the air for who knows how long, the air it now finds itself exposed to could do harm to the wrappings and the body beneath it all.”
Lucien didn’t say a word for a moment as he took in what Harriet had just told him. “You’re right. What made you think of such a thing?”
“I don’t know. It just made sense to me.”
“I’m sure they have experts on the team that went who figured that out.”
“I’m sure they do. Just an observation, that’s all.”
