There was nothing dry or pale about Connor Shields.

Stimulating, on the other hand…yeah, she could say that. Tall and rugged, a killer smile. Nope, nothing dry or pale there…

Careful, girl, she told herself as she got up and went to the back door to make sure it was locked. He’s probably not going to be around for that much longer, and even if he was, do you really think you’re his type?

She tried to close the windows, but except for one, once opened, it was as if they were resisting being returned to the position they’d been stuck in for God only knew how many years. Daria gave up and gathered her notes, her bag, and the phone from the table and turned off the kitchen light. She checked the front door, turned off the lamp in the parlor window, and headed up the steps.

In Iliana’s bedroom, she paused and glanced in the mirror that stood on the dressing table near the window. Nothing flashy about that face, she told herself. She ran a hand through her hair, which had grown out since the last time she’d cut it. Good enough for the field, but maybe now a real cut from someone who knew what they were doing might be in order. Maybe even some makeup.

Forget it. She turned away from the mirror and went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. What was she thinking? Neither a new hairstyle nor a new face would make her anything other than what she was, and right now she was…well, field-weary, her mother would say. Tired from trekking over hills and mountains, with dark circles under her eyes and skin dry from too much desert sun.

“Yeah, I’m a real glamour girl,” she said softly as she stripped off her clothes and headed for the shower. “Chances are there’s a woman in his life anyway, so don’t set yourself up for a fall.”

All the same, she thought as she began to shampoo her hair, she could use a cut with a little style. After all, if she stayed at Howe for a while, there’d be meetings with the bankers and the trustees and members of the archaeology department, and eventually the media, if they really got this project off the ground. She would need to look a little more polished-all right, a lot more polished-and less like she’d just crawled out of a tent.

She made a mental note to ask Louise if she could recommend a salon.

“H ow’d you make out at the bank?” Connor asked when Daria opened the door to McGowan House around one the next afternoon.

“We caused quite the commotion.” She grinned. “Louise’s banker took one look at the pieces we’d brought with us and immediately called in the branch manager and several others. Long story short, they’re preparing a vault and will have an armored truck pick up the crates as soon as humanly possible. In the meantime, they’ve hired armed guards, the first of whom should arrive by three.”

“Pretty much as I thought. They’re not going to take any chances. I figured they’d want the entire collection safely under lock and key.”

“Right. Their lock and key. Which is as it should be. If they’re going to loan such a huge amount of money to the school, they’re going to want to protect their collateral. They’ve already locked up the artifacts we took with us. We left them in one of the vaults.” Daria walked toward the kitchen and Connor followed. “There’s a meeting scheduled at the bank’s main branch in Wilmington on Wednesday, to show the finance guys some of the collection.”

“So the loan looks like a go?”

“They’re giving Howe a modest line of credit to start out, but I’m sure that getting money for the building repairs isn’t going to be a problem.” She was still grinning from ear to ear. “There was so much excitement in that room when we started unwrapping the pieces we’d brought with us. I’ve been handling antiquities for so many years, I’d forgotten how it feels to see something like that for the first time.”

“I take it they were blown away.”

“Totally. And I have to admit I got just the tiniest kick out of the drama, you know? Building the suspense by telling them about my great-grandfather’s quest; reading to them from his journal; slowly unwrapping each piece…”

“Sounds like an archaeological striptease.”

Daria laughed. “And every bit as provocative, I assure you.”

“I never would have suspected it of you, but it sounds as if you got the job done.”

“There was an audible, collective gasp when I unwrapped the goblet and let them pass it around the table.”

“You should have your own TV show, like that guy on the Discovery Channel.”

She looked at him blankly.

“Guess you don’t watch a lot of TV,” he said.

“Not so much. By the way, Louise has already spoken with her insurance agent. They’re lining up an appraiser for the artifacts and one of their property people is coming to look at the building ASAP. Maybe as early as tomorrow.”

“So all she needs now is a number and an okay from the bank.” Connor took a seat at the kitchen table.

“Cutting to the chase, yes. Of course, the bank is going to want to have everything authenticated. Fortunately, there is someone at the Philadelphia Museum of Art who is qualified, and they’re going to try to get her down here quickly. Hopefully, she and the insurance appraiser can work together. It’s very hard to put a dollar value on some of these artifacts, and I’m hoping the art historian from the museum can help the appraiser understand that.”

“You know, even if you decide not to take the job, you’ve already done the university a great service.”

“Are you kidding? If they get the funding, no way I’m walking away from this.” Daria leaned against the kitchen counter. “There will never be another opportunity like it. Besides, I feel this is something I’m supposed to do.”

“Because Alistair was your great-grandfather?”

“If I said I didn’t feel that connection, I’d be lying. I’ve read all his journals. I feel as if I know him. I understand how and why his imagination was captured by the poets who’d written about the City Ruled by the Queen of the Night-that’s how Shandihar was known in antiquity. I understand, because I was drawn to the field by similar stories, stories told by my own father. And I understand how his curiosity grew into obsession, and how he felt when he stood on that mound of rocks and sand and knew that the object of his quest lay beneath his feet. I felt as if I was there with him. When he described how it felt to touch the past with his own hands, I knew the feeling intimately.”

“Because you’ve felt all those things, too.”

“A thousand times.” She jammed her hands into the pockets of her shorts. “I’ve brushed away dirt from the face of a hundred idols, and uncovered the bones of kings and priests, farmers and potters. When you live in that world-the world where the past surrounds you-you experience life in a different way. You see what’s important, what lasts and what falls away.” She paused, as if gathering her thoughts. “You see the evolution of society through countless eyes, and you see the patterns of society that emerge over the centuries, the advancements, how one society builds upon the discoveries of a previous one. How knowledge is shared, how religions spread. You develop a deep respect for those who lived in ancient times, believe me, when you’ve uncovered their homes and seen how they lived, who they loved. You hold the cups they drank from, the combs they used to dress their hair, a statue of the deity they worshipped, and you feel them.”

“I imagine being the daughter of both an anthropologist and an archaeologist, you would be as mindful of the individuals as you are of the civilizations you’ve studied.”

“You remembered that, about my parents?” She smiled, pleased that he’d recalled their conversation over dinner the night they met.

“I remember everything you said,” he told her. “I remember you were going to give me some information about your brother-Jack, right?-and I was going to see if some friends of mine could get a lead on him.”