CHAPTER I
Silver Triplets
It was a busy morning at the new Richmond Castle by the sea, Lady Harriet Rosdnow was shouting at her teenage children to hurry up. Sir Willam Rosdnow shook his head as he sat in his favorite armchair in the library, sipping on his morning tea and reading his copy of The Seven Cleopatras.
The library was massive, being the only room in the castle to span the entire height of the building. Willam designed it himself to have a floor to ceiling glass window on the side where the sun rises to let in as much natural sunlight as possible. High rows of shelves were filled to the brim with books alongside the remaining walls.
Out of the window, one can see the castle’s courtyard, a fountain at its center that had four sphinxes on each corner with water spewing out from their mouths into the basin. A black Rolls Royce Phantom was parked near the fountain, facing the window, it was the first ever car of its model to be made and it was Willam's prized car.
Another vehicle was parked near the castle’s main door, it was an omnibus loaded with traveling trunks on top of it. A black and gold carpet was laid on the grey tarmac going from the entrance of the omnibus to the castle’s door. Two people dressed in black and white were busy loading the vehicle with the last of the bags.
Willam slammed the book shut just in time as his wife entered the room. Her blonde wavy hair was all over her face as if she had just fallen down the steps. Her dark green dress was ruined with white patches and stains, and one of her shoes were missing. Willam could see the fury in her eyes between her messy hair.
“Who was it this time?” he asked while trying not to laugh.
“All of them!” she shouted. “They know we-”.
She stopped herself, closed her eyes and started to take a few deep breaths. She opened her eyes again and then looked at her husband with a forced smile.
“I wish they can grow up already, Will. Do you remember what we were doing by the time we were their age?”
“It was a different time, my love. The world was not the same back then,” said Willam.
He stood up and hugged his wife for a few seconds. He then held her face in his hands and smiled back at her.
“I hope this trip opens their eyes to the world, they will see a life different than their own and an experience they never knew existed. Remember our first time together in Egypt?”
Harriet laughed and buried her face in her husband’s shoulder. She looked up at him and smirked. “Yes, I do. You expect me to forget where you got me pregnant with those little monkeys?”
“They got that monkey side from you I’m afraid” said Willam.
Harriet gasped and playfully punched her husband on the shoulders.
“Now go wash up and change, I will go give the kids a talking to. Also, the pilot called a while ago and informed me that the aircraft is almost ready.”
She nodded, then kissed him on the lips and hurried out of the library.
Willam took the book from the table and stretched his body. He put it back on the shelf next to his armchair and made his way outside to the hallway where he was met with his three nonidentical teen triplets, two girls and a boy.
“You know you will all get punished for what you did to you mother,” he said calmly.
“We are sorry father, Isaac forced us to do it,” explained the two girls nervously, “he said that he will put cow poo in our pillows if we don’t do as he says. He told V to put the cream inside the bucket and told me-”
“You’re a swine Kira!” Isaac shouted.
Willam pulled Isaac firmly by his arms and pulled back his hair.
“You will apologize to Kira, and you will apologize to your mother,” he said in a slow and passive tone. “Right now.”
“But father-”
Willam stared into his son’s eye as he started to tighten his grip on his hair.
“I’m sorry, Kira.”
Willam opened his hands and release his son’s hair.
“Go upstairs to your mother, now.”
Isaac turned around and stormed up the stairs, taking two steps at a time.
“Vivian, Kira,” said Willam, looking at both his daughters and lowering himself to match their eye level. “Are you girls alright?”
“Yes, father,” said Kira. “Isaac is just being a prick.”
He put his hands on both their shoulders. He felt sad that Isaac was a bully to his own sisters, not only was he a bully at school, but at home too. Their social status gave Isaac the impression that he was above everyone, and people made him believe that he could escape trouble because of his status.
“I will make sure he doesn’t bother you again.”
“He thinks he can get away with anything just because he is a boy.”
“Ignore him Kiki,” said Vivian. “Us girls are more mature at our age anyway.”
“We are getting taller too!”
The girls laughed together and hugged their father. Willam patted their heads and smiled at them. Both Kira and Vivian looked almost identical, even though their personalities were not. They were quite different from one another, Kira loved wearing bright colored clothes, she was more cheerful and playful and was usually the more excited of the siblings for picnics and adventures. Vivian was more into darker clothes and was gloomier than her sister. She preferred to cherish her time alone and read lots of books in the silence of her room. Both girls had silver blonde hair and piercing grey eyes.
Vivian was slightly taller than her sister, and she had a thinner nose, which was a way to tell them apart. They were both stunningly beautiful, and they knew it. They were chased by boys and even girls during secondary school, and everyone wanted to be their friends. However, the girls were careful on who they made friends with, as Isaac wouldn’t take their relationships with people lightly, he would bully their friends and didn’t allow boys near them.
Isaac was taller than his sisters, and like them, he also had silver blonde hair and grey eyes. He was well built for his young age. He liked to torment other students while hiding behind his family name and status. Even teachers would not want to get into arguments with him, as they preferred to have a good relationship with the Lord of Richmond in case they needed his help or support one day.
“Come on everyone, we have to get going” shouted Willam towards the stairs.
He left through the main door towards the omnibus, greeted the servants and thanked them for their help. He made sure to tell them to keep the garden watered and the grass trimmed.
“You are such a disrespectful boy,” Harriet shouted from behind him.
He turned around to see her twisting Isaac’s ear as he grinned. His face immediately became blank when his eyes met his father’s.
“I am very sorry, mother,” said Isaac with a shaken voice. “I didn’t mean to ruin your dress, I thought I could just play a little prank and we can all laugh”
“Well, your apology is not accepted!”
“Mother, I promise I will not ruin any more of your dresses again,” said Isaac.
“I will see about how you behave on the trip, then maybe I will forgive you” she said. She looked around her and made sure everyone was outside. “Is everyone ready?”
They were, and all of them got into the omnibus. The children first, followed by their mother and father. The vehicle was quite spacious and was way more comfortable than a horse carriage.
It was a sunny, hot day so having a ceiling was a blessing in this weather. The road trip was rather pleasant, the sky was clear, and the Sun’s angle shone scenically on the landscape as it passed them by.
Motorized omnibuses were not as common as horse carriages, thus it attracted attention and many onlookers. Willam glanced at Isaac to see him smiling to himself in pride, he knew that things like this made him feel superior. Willam tried multiple times to teach and discipline his son, but society had proven to be much more powerful. Everyone who knew Isaac treated him as a young Lord and gave him too much unearned respect, which gave him the illusion of power and supremacy.
The road trip took almost two hours from Richmond to Croydon, where the airstrip was located. The Rosdnows, especially Lady Rosdnow was a frequent traveler, and she had been given VIP access for the entire family when they bought their first aircraft three months ago. The aircraft was a heavily modified Vickers Victoria, it was refitted specifically to fly over long distances while carrying people and their cargo.
Willam was not a fan of flying, he thought it was still too dangerous as many aircrafts had been reported to fail and crash over the years. He preferred the old method of traveling by sea, as there was less risk involved and more experienced captains to man the ships. But this new aircraft added custom emergency measures and safety features which made him feel safer than usual.
The journey they were about to embark on involved two-stops for refueling, the aircraft would land in France, and then in Italy, before it finally arrives in a British airfield near Luxor. The journey itself would be about fifteen hours including the time spent in all the stops.
It was the first time for the kids to travel, and Harriet was stressing out the fact that they needed to sleep through most of the flight.
This was easier said than done, as it was a very noisy flight. Unlike Harriet, who slept instantly, Willam had trouble sleeping from the loud sounds of the engine. He could tell that his son and daughters were not comfortable as well. Willam spent most of the flight between trying to sleep and trying to stop Isaac from making the trip any more difficult than it needed to be.
He kept annoying his sisters and made fun of Kira for falling out of her seat during turbulence. At one point, Isaac went to the pilot and started talking with him and calling him a glorified coachman. Willam was forced to use his hands and hit his son hard on the shoulders, while his mother gave him a stern talking to about respect to those who help and aid their family in their endeavors.
After the plane finally reached its final destination, the family was met by a cheerful gentleman that was rather short and chubby. He was wearing a desert tan shirt and shorts, and a hat with white cloth hanging from the back.
He greeted Harriet and her family and snapped his fingers to some people to transport the luggage from the aircraft into a horse carriage. Willam was the happiest of all that the flight was finally over, and he was the first to get on the passenger carriage and sat next to the coachman.
Although it was very hot, he enjoyed the breath of foreign lands. He looked upon his family as they made their way onto the back sofa. When everyone was in their place, they started moving.
“How are you feeling Will?” asked Harriet as she put her hands on her husband’s shoulders from behind him. “I know you do not like flying, but this was the fastest way to get here.”
“It was fine,” he replied. “My ears need to adjust to the peaceful quiet after that loud engine.”
She held her husband’s hands and looked up at the sky. “Isn’t it amazing? The Sun.”
“Yes, we will have plenty of it here. Enjoy kids!”
He could hear his children looking around in amazement and pointing at stuff they are seeing for the first time; they were too focused and excited to hear him, so he turned back to his wife.
“Are you sure this is the right place, my dear?”
“Yes, absolutely certain of it!” she said. “Thanks to Mr. Mornson.”
“We definitely are certain,” said Mr. Mornson with a wide smile on his face. “I even made sure by excavating a little bit in the area mentioned in Dr. Davinson’s diary and found what looked like a tomb entrance. I promised Lady Rosdnow not to proceed until she was here to witness it.”
“Thank you, George,” she said. “We shall start early in the day tomorrow.”
“As you wish, my Lady,” he replied with a head bow. “I will get my men ready by tonight so we can start at sun rise.”
“Don’t start without us,” she said with a laughing tone while looking at her husband.
The carriage crossed a bridge above the River Nile. Luxor had such a charm in it. Willam was always fascinated by this Egyptian city more than any other. He loved the calm nature, the nice smell of the air, the vegetation, and the farms. The Nile also looked cleaner and more beautiful here than in Cairo. He was looking forward to tomorrow’s expedition, it meant a great deal to his wife and thus meant a greater deal to him.
He knew that they will be staying at a camp near the excavation site, he had to record everything in his exploration journal for his university lectures. His wife held his hand during the ride and tightened her grip the closer they got to the tomb site.
The camp was smaller than Willam had expected, he could see two large tents and two big tents and a smaller one. He was informed by Mr. Mornson during the ride that one of the large tents held all the expedition equipment and the planning table, while the other one is where all his men rest. One of the big tents was for Mr. Mornson, while the other was for himself and his wife. The smaller tent was big enough for the young triplets to sleep in comfortably.
He immediately recognized that Isaac did not like that idea at all, but he had no choice in the matter anyway. He wanted to make this trip memorable for his son, hoping that he learns that not everything is handed to him on a golden plate, and that not everyone is out to serve him on his every needs.
The family reached the site, it was filled with people in white robes and head dresses. A man came up to them, he was wearing a long brow, translucent veil that covered him from head to toe.
“Salamo Alaikom,” the man said in Arabic.
“Alaikom Salam,” replied Willam and Harriet together.
They started talking about the site in Arabic. The Rosdnows were well versed in Arabic and spoke it fluently. Harriet made sure to teach her kids Arabic at home, where she brought an Egyptian lady, whose sole job was to teach the Rosdnows Arabic and especially the Egyptian dialect.
A dozen men were hard at work, busy digging and removing sand from what looked like a large stone emerging from the ground.
The family had dinner later that day with Mr. Mornson, it was a traditional Egyptian dish called Koshari, which Willam called ‘The Ultimate Killer’. It was made from a pasta base, topped with rice, topped with lentils, topped with fried onions, and finally topped with very spicy tomato sauce. The meal, he thought, was so heavy that it was originally intended to kill the person eating it.
However, such dinner was necessary for a deep sleep. That sleep was needed for the very long day ahead of them, the day that his wife will finally have completed one of her life's goals, by finding her father’s lost tomb.