Splendid, More or Less

Author: Nefret24

Category: A/E, W/E , pre-Ramses

Disclaimer: Not mine, not making a dime, just wasting my time. It's all MPM.

A/N: One of those pesky things that has always bothered me about Crocodile in the Sandbank is the large jump from proposal to pregnancy. This, hopefully, fills in some blanks.

WARNING: Contains spoilers for "Crocodile on the Sandbank" as well as facts revealed in later books, most esp. "He Shall Thunder in the Sky"... Real Amelia-philes will know what I'm referring to, *cough cough cough*

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"Archaeology is a fascinating pursuit, but after all, one cannot work day and night... Peabody, my darling Peabody- what a perfectly splendid time we are going to have!"

As soon as I had prevailed upon Emerson to leave off embracing me- which I admit, was quite a good deal later- I decided that it would behoove us to announce our engagement to Evelyn and Walter. We had left them in the saloon, where they had been moonily looking into one another's eyes. One glance into that room confirmed that they had remained exactly so and...well, there was always tomorrow.

Besides, Emerson and I had a great deal to discuss.

"Er... Amelia..."

"Yes, Emerson?"

"Is there someone, er, to whom I should apply for your hand?"

It was such a formal request and so tentatively spoken, that I had to restrain myself from laughing at the originator of its utterance, who by all accounts, is not a formal nor a tentative man.

"No. My father died scarcely two years ago, and I never knew my mother. I hardly need add that my brothers are not in any way interested in my fate- well, they will most likely mourn the loss of father's fortune to marriage, but I certainly do not need their permission to do whatever I choose."

"I think I know you well enough to presume that you will stop at nothing to get your way," he replied, amusement apparent in his voice.

"Would you have it otherwise, Emerson?"

"Not for anything in the world, my dearest Peabody."

At this point, certain actions of both parties rendered speech incapable.

"Is there any of your relations who should object to your choice of wife?" I asked, breathlessly.

"Er...no, I should think not. My family cast me out years ago... Walter is all the family I have."

A decidedly uncomfortable silence fell upon us then- for I seemed to have hit a tender spot, and for almost the first time in my life, was at a loss for how to proceed with the conversation with my characteristic tact.

"Families be damned. We don't need them to ensure our happiness, eh, Peabody?" he said encouragingly, giving my shoulders a hearty squeeze.

"Indeed, we do not, my dear Emerson."

We proceeded to walk around the deck, conversation having given way to the beauty of the night and the contemplation of the happiest of futures, and eventually, he walked me to my cabin door.

There we stopped, both at a loss as to what to do next. Emerson had developed an attachment to his shoes, for he had fixed an expression of total concentration upon them, and I was only cognizant of the blood rushing through my ears at a rapid pace. We murmured our good night's to one another, and his arms took me into another embrace- this one comfortingly gentle and surprisingly short-lived. With a fleeting caress of my cheek, he turned abruptly and went down the hall to his own sleeping chamber.

As I went about my nightly ablutions, I felt as if in a haze. I, who had sworn never to be contracted in marriage, was betrothed. As I began to braid my hair for the night, I looked at my face in the glass. Indeed, I did not look any different as I had been this morning, but I was not the same person. I glanced at my bed and permitted myself a smile. Soon, I would venture there with a husband- and would it be as Evelyn had said?

I confess, I tried to sleep but with no avail. Emerson remained uppermost in my thoughts. It would not do. Wrapping my shawl around my shoulders, and lighting the candle by my bedside, I crept out of my room and proceeded down the hallway to Emerson's cabin.

I knocked as lightly as I could, not wanting to alert Walter or Evelyn. To my utmost surprise, it was opened almost immediately and a brown hand pulled me inside.

"Peabody? What the devil do you want at this time of night?"

"I-I could not sleep."

"Ah."

"I am sorry to have disturbed you..."

"No, no, I-I could not sleep either."

We both stood in the middle of his room, which was very small, and were giving much attention to the floor.

"This is ridiculous!" I exclaimed, frustrated. "I think we ought to be truthful with ourselves, Emerson."

He looked up and gave me a penetrating stare, which almost sent me reeling backwards.

"Er, yes, of course."

"We shall not be able to rest tonight otherwise."

"Indeed," he replied in a strangled voice.

"I cannot claim to have experience in such matters but I- well, we..." I stammered.

Then taking a step forward, he caught me in a rib cracking embrace. "Peabody, my darling Peabody... are you certain this is what you want?"

"Yes, my dear Emerson. I am sure... oh Emerson!"

And it is here that I must resort to my first typographic euphemism...

***

Much later, as I rested with my head on Emerson's shoulder, I sighed contentedly. "Evelyn was right."

"Hmmm?" Emerson, inquired, kissing my hair.

"It is perfectly splendid!"

"Splendid, eh? Before this night is over, Peabody, it will be downright blissful!"

"Oh my dearest Emerson!"

***

Evelyn and Walter could not be happier for us. Early that morning, I had crept back into my own room and when we all convened for breakfast, I broke the news. Evelyn began to cry and would not leave off embracing me. Walter merely smiled knowingly and shook his brother's hand. It was, all in all, thoroughly sentimental and touching to those of sensibility, causing Emerson to roar for his tea- which he had not had the chance to consume yet- in his usual raucous manner. Yet I do believe he enjoyed every minute of it, no matter how strenuously he protested at a later time that he did not.

"Oh Amelia, I knew, I knew that we should be sisters!" Evelyn exclaimed, beaming.

"It shall be a welcome change. I can say that the experience so far has greatly surpassed my relationships with all of my brothers," I replied, smiling back and sipping my tea contentedly.

"You must wear crimson at your wedding," Evelyn continued enthusiastically.

Emerson grunted while Walter stifled a chuckle, pretending to cough into his napkin.

"Not engaged a day and already planning the wedding!" Walter commented good-naturedly. "What have we gotten ourselves into, Radcliffe?"

"Nothing that we can't handle," he replied curtly, draining half his cup.

I raised a skeptical brow which I know he witnessed, even behind the relative obscurity of the raised tea-cup, and thought I beheld a slight quivering of the lips that I found was indicative of Emerson's slightly off-color sense of humor. I, however, refused to take the bait, so to speak, for concerns for more practical matters were uppermost in my thoughts.

"Yes, well, plan as we may, and as much as I was hoping to continue my holiday here, we must get to Cairo with the greatest haste and notify the proper authorities about our two criminals."

Evelyn's countenance sobered and she nodded her head with solemn agreement. "She is right, I'm afraid."

"She's always right," Walter smiled warmly at me.

Emerson harumphed loudly. I ignored him. "I will approach Sir William about the matter- it should be handled with relative haste, I should think. He will be able to release your boxes to you, Evelyn," I said as I refilled Emerson's cup, "and I'm sure that in its contents you'll find that your inheritance is considerable enough for the grandest of weddings."

Evelyn blushed and shot a sideways glance and Walter, who had taken her hand in his and patted it affectionately.

"The excavation," Emerson mumbled glumly.

Walter, if I may use an American expression, "wiped the grin off his face" and shot a shocked look at his brother. "Oh, Radcliffe, I'm so sorry- in all the rush I seem to have neglected my responsibility..."

"Walter, don't talk like an idiot," Emerson interrupted his brother gruffly.

"Work has come to a standstill," I agreed, biting my lower lip. As much as I desired to be wed with all due haste- even more so after the events of the previous night- I could not deprive my Emerson of his dig. Besides I didn't particularly fancy returning home just yet. "I confess I was rather curious to see if there was more to the site- I suppose it could be too much to ask if there was a third pavement...I suppose your permit to work there is limited?"

Emerson began to growl softly and I sensed this was a subject of some discontent. Walter anticipated his brother's imminent outburst and explained hastily, "M. Maspero does have a tendency to favor certain colleagues of ours..."

"And keep the best sites for himself, the ignorant--" Emerson began to make an inappropriate remark before Evelyn's somewhat shocked countenance forced him to stifle it by shoving a sweet roll into his mouth.

"Er, I think we get your point, Emerson," I replied.

Emerson growled and stomped his foot like a petulant child who was prevented from making a loud temper tantrum. He was about to continue anyway however, but I continued in a loud voice, "Owing to these circumstances, I believe it is of even greater importance that we get to Cairo with all due haste. Combined with Michael's health..."

"You have done wonders for him Amelia!" Evelyn protested.

"It is kind of you to say so, Evelyn," I murmured graciously as I shot a glare at Emerson who was mumbling something under his breath about the "Sitt Hakim" that was distinctly sarcastic. "He does have a strong constitution and he has regained much of his strength in the past few days. Though I still believe that he ought to consult a doctor once we make it to port."

"That's very sensible, Mis- er... Amelia," Walter said, nodding with Evelyn.

"Hopefully we will run into no more setbacks. Those beastly Americans in that dirty dahabeeyah took more time to disengage than I think Hassan wants to admit. We should arrive in town in two days time, do you think?"

"If the wind keeps up," Walter said, drawing his brows together. They quickly cleared and gazed back at Evelyn, regaining their cheerful gleam. "I'm sure it will. Nothing can go wrong now."

"Well, we must remain optimistic," I said briskly. "Work on the excavations can be stalled for another week- I confess I am not acquainted with the procedures involved with bringing our prisoners to justice, would it take longer that that?"

"I will not be mixed up in your legal affairs! My work, Peabody! I don't see why we couldn't just leave them in the tomb and be done with it!" Emerson shouted angrily.

"If you recall, Emerson, that was my suggestion, but it was not well received at the time."

"Oh stop it, both of you!" Evelyn chided us. "Lucas may be dishonest- he may even be a murderer! but he is my cousin and at the very least he deserves a trial."

"He deserves..." began Walter in a growl suspiciously akin to his brother's.

"Now who's losing their temper?" Emerson chuckled, sitting back in his chair and fishing around for his pipe.

"Well, we cannot make the boat go any faster than it is. We can deal with everything else later and I for one, am not going to sit here and worry the day away. The sun is shining and I believe I'll take a stroll around the deck. Anyone care to join me?" I asked, rising and folding my napkin.

Evelyn and Walter shot each other a glance. It was clear that a stroll would be pleasing to both of them- even more so if I were not there. And Emerson, having found his pipe, was puffing away with furrowed brows, most likely brooding over his excavations. Met with a lack of response, I said simply, "Do what you will," and left the dining room.

* * *

I met Evelyn on the upper deck for luncheon and was pleasantly surprised to find her alone- all of her time of late being preoccupied with dear Walter. She informed me that spurred by his brother's earlier comments, he felt obligated to spend some time translating some of the reliefs and papyri they had uncovered at the site and was deep in his work in the boat's makeshift library. Emerson's precise whereabouts were unknown to her but if I was any judge (and I believe I am) it was most likely that he was below haranguing the crew with dirty jokes.

"Oh Amelia, it must be wicked to be so happy!" she confided, beaming.

I chuckled, gazing out over the clear blue water and feeling quite satisfied and wickedly happy myself. "Most of the time I would say that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Somehow, though, I think we must have found a loophole, for I confess- I am dreadfully content with life at the moment."

"And you look it too. Really" she continued over my humble protestations, "I believe the climate becomes you quite well. Better than I, at any rate." She wrinkled her nose with dissatisfaction. "I think I finally got sunburned," she said, delicately touching the bridge of her nose.

I couldn't help it- I laughed. "Oh dear. Don't worry- it can't possibly be as bad as mine."

"What shall they make of us at Shepheard's when we return?" she chuckled worriedly, still gingerly touching her nose.

"They talked behind our backs before, I'm sure. It will be no different now, sunburn or no. Both engaged, hauling in criminals... gossip is inevitable."

"When you put it like that," Evelyn agreed, removing her hand from her face and squaring her shoulders. I could see that she was already steeling herself for what I was sure would be a curious reception of her social peers. I shrugged my shoulders; such things never mattered to me before and I wasn't about to start caring about what feeble-minded individuals thought of me now (though I'm sure that I have done my fair share of shocking the conservative Briton).

"Oh do let's stop being so dreary! What about those dresses?" I asked and we spent the rest of lunch chattering about things of lesser importance.

* * *

We dined in the salon again that night, though this time not bothering with the hassle of dressing (Emerson had made it clear to all earlier in the day that under no circumstances would he wear a proper collar before we reached Cairo). We told the men what we had previously discussed, Walter nodding with a grin on his face and Emerson glaring and harumphing.

"I daresay both of our weddings shall be grand! You too have both done very well for yourselves, marrying rich spinsters!" Evelyn joked merrily.

"Hardly a spinster, darling," Walter said affectionately.

"Hardly rich," I added. "Well, not as rich as some."

"Amelia, you are as much of an heiress as I, never mind some pounds and pence."

"Yes, Evelyn informed us that you received your fortune from your father's death," Walter agreed, shooting a glance across the table at Emerson.

"Indeed I did. And had it not been for my excellent solicitor, I don't think I should have kept the inheritance at all for my brothers were all too anxious to take what they assumed was their due," I explained quickly, pouring tea for myself.

"I'm sure they didn't mean it-" Evelyn began generously.

"I'm sure that they did. James, my eldest brother, even proclaimed undue influence. I'm sure that nothing would have appeased him other than full inheritance himself. As it is, he's going to be livid for sure when I return home," I said pointedly, looking at Emerson who had become quite rigid in his chair.

The others comprehended the situation quickly.

"Oh Amelia- he wouldn't... contest the marriage.... would he?" Evelyn asked tentatively.

"Does it matter? He cannot stop me from living my own life," I replied warmly, sipping my tea.

"Well said, Amelia," Walter agreed heartily. "I do believe that nothing would stop you from having your way."

Emerson harumphed but still said nothing.

"Perhaps another solicitor could help. There is one fellow I know in London who is very capable with inheritance disputes," Walter continued. "Though I am not quite certain if he would be available- I had heard through a friend that he might be celebrating his own vows rather shortly as well."

Emerson muttered something about an "matrimonial epidemic."

I ignored him. "Well, I am quite confident in my solicitor's ability- he has dealt successfully with James before..." I replied, though not wishing to appear ungrateful, "though I suppose it couldn't hurt to consult someone else. Several heads are better than one."

Walter's eyes lit up and taking a napkin, wrote down his name, passing it across the table. "Mr. Paul Fletcher of the firm Morris, Fletcher and Urquart."

I choked on my tea.

"Amelia, what is it?" asked Evelyn, concerned.

I raised a napkin to lips in an effort to control my writhing lips and coughed.

"He should be available by the time you reach England, I should think," continued Walter nervously. "That is, if he's not involved in his nuptials."

"He's not engaged," I croaked.

"What? Do you know him?" Evelyn asked and I replied with a nod of the head, still not trusting my voice. "Why, Amelia, you know everyone and everything! Come now, how do you know that this Mr. Fletcher isn't engaged? You've been away a month, at least!"

"So have they," I replied, making motions to the two gentlemen. "Oh Evelyn, don't look like that. I don't have genie intelligence" here Emerson snorted derisively "just a very good idea of whom the lady in question was and her answer."

"Whom?"

"Me," I replied, finishing the rest of my tea in one hasty swallow. "Mr. Fletcher is my solicitor. Excuse me," I said, rising and left the room with distinctly red cheeks.

TBC....

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