Archive of Our Own ^beta

November 2, 1926

Dear Auntie Evelyn,

Father tells me I mustn't forget to write and thank you for the lovely time we had at your wedding. So, thank you very much for the lovely time we had at your wedding. I hope Father remembers to write, too, but he is spending a lot of time at the dig site, so he might forget. He thinks that he's close to a Very Big Discovery.

I like my new uncles very much. Uncle Rick tells funny jokes. Uncle Ardeth talked to me like I was a grown up. I tried to call him Mr. Bay, but he said I should call him "uncle," too.

Uncle Rick told me the most wonderful stories about how he met you, with mummies and soldiers and princesses and magic books! I thought he was just making it all up, but Uncle Jonathan and Uncle Ardeth both told me that it was all true!

The funny thing is that I remember the day things got very strange in Cairo -- my teachers were screaming about the water in the wash pitchers turning into blood (but they wouldn't let us see) and then there were fireballs falling from the sky. One even hit the roof of our school, but the teachers rushed to put the fire out, so no one was hurt. It was very frightening! But it all passed very quickly and everything was back to normal the next day. Uncle Ardeth said it was because the Mummy was vanquished (that was the word he used).

Please thank Uncle Rick for teaching me to shoot. It was a lot of fun, even though the gun was very heavy. He said that you would understand, but that I can't tell Father or he'll be in trouble.

Your niece,
Catherine

Evelyn looked up from the letter she was reading over breakfast. "Catherine says that she and her father had a good time when they came for the wedding."

Rick, reaching for the toast rack, hesitated ever so briefly. He exchanged a quick glance with Ardeth. "Yes? That's nice."

"She says to thank you for teaching her to shoot. She enjoyed it, apparently."

Rick winced. "Ah. Does she? She has very nice manners."

"It's important for young women to know how to defend themselves," Ardeth said imperturbably. "As you well know, Evelyn."

Evy nodded. "And I would absolutely agree with that, except for the fact that my niece is ten years old. If her father finds out, he'll have kittens."

"I did tell her not to mention it to him," Rick said through a mouthful of toast.

"Hm," Evy replied.

December 23, 1926

Dear Catherine,

I am very pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay in England and sorry that it was so short. You are welcome to visit at any time. I will send a letter to your father telling him so.

So your father has returned to his dig, has he? I hope that you are learning many new things about archaeology. If you have any questions, please do let me know; I will answer them if I can. If not, I will do my best to find answers for you. In the meantime, I am enclosing a few Egyptology books that you may find of interest, especially Sir Wallis Budge's translation of The Book of the Dead -- though be careful not to read any portions of it near your father's dig site. Just in case.

Oh, and your Uncle Rick asked me to remind you not to mention the shooting lessons to your father.

Love,
Auntie Evelyn

February 3, 1927

Dear Auntie Evelyn,

Thank you for the books. They look very interesting. I won't read them near the dig site, especially after Uncle Rick's stories about Imhotep.

Father says I may come visit after school ends for the summer, if that's all right with you and Uncle Rick. It's not fair; that's months and months and months away, but Father says I can't skip out on school.

Love,
Catherine

"He's very small," Catherine said critically, peering at her new cousin. "And is he supposed to be that wrinkly?"

Her aunt smiled. "He was only born a couple of days ago, dear. He'll get better."

"Oh. If you say so." This was the first time Catherine had seen a newborn. She poked at the baby's hand, marveling at his tiny fingers. She had known that Aunt Evy was expecting, of course, but she hadn't thought that the baby would be so tiny. "Did he come early? Is that why he's so small?"

Aunt Evy looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "He came just when he was supposed to," she said at last. "If he'd been early or late, you wouldn't have been here to see him."

"Oh," Catherine said. "When can we start teaching him hieroglyphs?"

Aunt Evy laughed. "Not for a little while, yet."

April 25, 1928

Dear Aunt Evy,

Father has made his Very Big Discovery. The diggers found large stones lying flat in the ground a few weeks ago, but Father was certain there was something more beneath them, so the digging continued. Beneath the cover stones was a huge metal ring, which, when hauled upright was perhaps twice the height of a tall man. It is covered in some very pretty carvings, but also strange glyphs which no one seems to recognize.

I am enclosing sketches that Father let me make. Have you ever seen anything like it?

Love,
Catherine

Rick studied the sketches that Catherine had sent. "These are very good."

"She has an eye for detail," Evy agreed. She passed a couple of the sketches over to Ardeth, who paged through them, then shook his head.

"If there is danger in this discovery, it is not something the Medjai are familiar with. Our concern has always been the Creature. Given that her mother was a Carnahan -- and trouble follows your family, Evelyn, like a compass points north -- I don't doubt that some trouble will come of this." He looked more closely at Catherine's drawings, then smiled briefly. "Tell her to tell her father to look to the stars."

"Are you being encouraging or cryptic, Ardeth?" Evy asked suspiciously.

"Yes," Ardeth responded, the twinkle in his eyes belying his habitually stern expression. "It is Langford's discovery. Let him solve the mystery himself."

Rick looked at the sketches again. Ardeth had obviously seen something...and then he spotted it. "Very good," he said with a chuckle and an approving glance at the Medjai.

Evy frowned. "Are you gentlemen going to share?"

Rick leaned back in his chair and shared a look with Ardeth. They knew how much Evy hated to be left out, but they also knew how clever she was. "No," he said. "I don't think we are. You're smart, Evy. You'll figure it out. And Ardeth's right. It's Langford's discovery. He wouldn't thank us for interfering."

May 30, 1928

Dear Catherine,

I am writing a separate letter to your father, but in case it goes astray or he doesn't have a chance to read it, please extend my congratulations to him. What an amazing discovery! Despite your wonderfully detailed sketches, I do not recognize it, so I am afraid that I can't be of help. Your uncles only say to tell your father to look to the stars, whatever that means. Ad astra per ardua, perhaps.

I hope to be able to see it in person someday.

Also, the translations you sent me are very well done, with only one minor exception. The stork is Ahmenophus. Your Uncle Jonathan has been known to have difficulty with that particular one, as well.

Your cousin Alex started walking since my last letter. He is now running all over the house getting into things and giving Jameson and Mrs. Jameson heart attacks. They have both strongly recommended a nanny or governess. And before you ask, yes, it is still a little early to be teaching him ancient Egyptian.

Love,
Aunt Evy

Cairo, 1932

Catherine stood on tiptoe, trying to see over the heads of the crowd at the station. Her father had decided that at age fifteen, she was old enough to meet her aunt and uncle at the train station by herself. Of course, she knew it really meant he had a precious few more hours of work before he had to come home for dinner. Not that she minded; it meant that she had a chance to have free conversation with them. She wasn't stupid; she knew that, much like the shooting lessons Uncle Rick had given her when she was little, there were other things that shouldn't be mentioned around her father. Uncle Jonathan, for instance; her father always referred to Aunt Evy's younger brother as a good for nothing ne'er-do-well -- hardly fair, in Catherine's opinion. It wasn't like she and her father weren't living in a warehouse instead of a proper house because all her father's money went into his research.

She had also learned not to mention Uncle Ardeth, because whenever she did, her father got an uncomfortable pinched look on his face and muttered things under his breath about "unconventional arrangements" and "not a good role model for young children." In any case, Uncle Ardeth wasn't coming on this trip; Aunt Evy had mentioned in her last letter that he was off taking care of some Medjai business.

She heard Uncle Rick before she saw him. "Alex! Alex, get back here!"

A tow-headed child barrelled straight into her legs. "Cat! Cat!"

Laughing, she leaned down and hugged him. "Hullo, Alex!"

"Catherine!" And then Aunt Evy was there, with Uncle Rick right behind her and there were hugs all around. Uncle Rick disappeared to deal with having their luggage sent to their hotel; when he returned, he had secured the services of a taxi, which took them straight to the warehouse.

Catherine opened the door and led them in. She and her father actually lived in the network of catwalks and offices that ringed the building's upper level. The lower level was given over to research stations and parking for her father's automobile.

And the Ring, of course. It stood in lonely splendor in the middle of the floor with a boxy structure holding it upright and in place.

Uncle Rick whistled upon catching sight of it. "Well, there's something you don't see every day."

"I want to see," Alex complained. Uncle Rick lowered the child to the floor. He immediately ran over and started to try to scale the Ring's supporting structure.

"Alex," Aunt Evy scolded. "Get down from there."

"No, he's fine," Catherine said quickly. "He can't hurt it."

"I'm a little more concerned with him hurting himself, dear," Aunt Evy replied mildly.

"Why don't you girls go catch up," Uncle Rick suggested. "I'll keep an eye on Alex until he tires himself out."

Catherine flashed a smile at her uncle and led her aunt up to the living area for a quick tour. She and her father had both claimed offices to use as bedrooms. There was already a kitchen and washroom; apparently whatever company had last owned the warehouse, they had taken good care of their workers. Part of the catwalk had been designated as a sitting room; a few decorative screens sectioned it off from the rest of the open area, and it had been filled with shabby but comfortable furniture, much of it procured by Catherine herself from second-hand markets -- and even the occasional rubbish heap -- since there was so little household money. She had made good use of hangings and curtains to make the space homey.

It might not be the manor house that Aunt Evy and Uncle Rick lived in, but Catherine thought it had a sort of charm, and she was proud of her housekeeping efforts. She was well aware that it wasn't a proper house -- she could see that for herself -- but she also knew that neither her aunt nor her uncle would ever remark on whether or not it was an appropriate place for her and her father to live.

She left her aunt briefly to make tea, then returned with the pot and cups on a slightly battered silver tray which she set on an equally battered coffee table.

"I recognize that," Aunt Evy said. "It was a wedding gift to your parents. As was the tea set, I believe."

"Yes." Catherine poured the tea and handed her aunt a cup. "Father doesn't really have all that much left of Mother's things, but these are useful."

"So, my dear," Aunt Evy said when they were settled. "Tell me all about it."

"Oh, there's not that much to say," Catherine demurred. "Only...." She hesitated, and then suddenly she was speaking, words pouring out of her like the tea out of the pot. She told her aunt everything she had never told anyone else, about the dig, about her father, about how there was never any money because he could never get backers, about how they lived in a warehouse not because they wanted to be close to the Ring, but because they couldn't afford any other place, about how she couldn't even go to school anymore because there was no more money for tuition.

"I'm so sorry, Catherine," Aunt Evy said when the words finally dried up. "I'll speak to your father."

"No!" Catherine protested. "You mustn't! He'll be angry." She fiddled with her necklace, a locket of her mother's that she was wearing in place of the ancient medallion she usually wore. "And it doesn't matter about school, anyway; I already know mathematics and languages. I learned Greek and Latin and ancient Egyptian. Mr. Dietrich has been teaching me German and Mr. Gruber teaches me French. Father needs my help here. I do all the accounts and I've been cataloguing all of the artifacts from the dig. Everything here is properly catalogued and classified and at least sketched, if not photographed."

Aunt Evy sipped her tea, while watching Catherine over the rim of her cup. At last, she set the cup down on the saucer with a little click. "All right, Catherine. I won't say anything to your father. But I am going to help. From now on, I'm going to send you twenty pounds a month which is for you, not your father, and definitely not the dig. Let him find his own financial backing; that's not your concern. You use the money to buy food and clothes and whatever else you need. In addition, I will pay your tuition so you can go back to school. In return, I expect you to make good grades, come visit me in the summers, and have a little bit of fun. How does that sound?"

Catherine flew around the coffee table to her aunt's side and enveloped her in a hug. "That sounds wonderful, Aunt Evy! Thank you!"

Her aunt pulled back a little, but kept her hands on Catherine's shoulders. "And one last thing," she said, meeting Catherine's eyes. "This is our secret. You won't tell your father about this."

Catherine nodded reluctantly. She wasn't used to keeping secrets from her father. On the other hand, she was also aware that he wouldn't even notice if there was more household money, or even if she went back to school. He was too preoccupied with his dig, always hoping to find something that would explain the Ring.

"Good," Aunt Evy said. "It's settled, then. We'll get you set up with a bank account first thing tomorrow."

January 5, 1935

Dear Catherine,

Uncle Rick and I will be returning to Egypt next week so we are in a flurry of packing here. I have been invited to participate in a dig that has been going on for a long while. I am very much looking forward to it. The site involves a pyramid which has been relatively well-studied, but which I believe may have secret chambers not yet discovered. I have been having some odd dreams about it, I can't really say why; it's likely no more than anticipation.

It should be exciting, anyway. We're bringing Alex along, so if we can manage it, we'll stop by to see you and your father.

Speaking of excitement, I can hear Alex yelling something, so I had better go see what trouble he is getting himself into now.

Love,
Aunt Evy

May 15, 1935

Dear Aunt Evy,

I will be graduating at the end of next month. I hope you and Uncle Rick (and Uncle Ardeth, if he's not busy) can come to the graduation ceremony. Since I wasn't quite sure where to send Uncle Jonathan's invitation, I sent it to your house. Hopefully Mr. Jameson will see that he gets it. (Do butlers forward mail?)

How is your dig going? Have you found any secret chambers yet? Are you still having the strange dreams? I hope not; they sounded disturbing.

Is Alex enjoying his first dig? I imagine it would be very exciting for him; I remember running around on Father's dig sites when I was only a little older than Alex. If he is not enjoying himself, however, he could come see Father and me for a little while -- though he would probably find it boring, especially when I am at school.

I am sending this letter to your hotel; I hope that you see it in time to come for graduation.

Love,
Catherine

The Western Union Telegraph Company

Received at Cairo, Egypt

July 3, 1935

So sorry missed graduation. Remember childhood stories about Imhotep? Happened again. Everyone safe. Will tell all when you arrive for annual visit. See you soon.

Aunt Evy.

July 4, 1935

Dear Aunt Evy,

I received your telegram as I was packing. You can't leave me in suspense like that! Though to be fair, I will probably reach England before this letter.

Love,
Catherine

May 19, 1939

Dear Aunt Evy,

This letter should arrive only a few days before I do; I wanted to let you know that Father and I will be leaving Egypt soon.

The Ring is on its way to America aboard a ship called the Achilles. Father is following it, but I am coming to see you and Uncle Rick. I plan to stay for a few weeks, if you don't mind.

It was very odd seeing workmen -- all soldiers -- building a huge packing crate around the ring and then hauling it away. It has been a part of my everyday life for the last decade, and now I have no idea whether I will ever see it again. I feel almost as if I have lost a friend.

The oddest thing has happened. One morning, Father went downstairs to find a dead Nazi in the warehouse, right in front of the Ring. He had a huge burn in the center of his chest and was lying as if he had been facing the Ring and then flung backwards away from it -- or so I am told, as Father wouldn't let me see the body. We found electrical cables running from a truck to the Ring as if the dead man had been trying to charge it like a battery.

It is all so strange and no one quite knows what to make of it. The presence of the dead Nazi coupled with rumors coming out of Berlin would seem to indicate that somehow Hitler has heard of our Ring and taken an interest in it. Father thinks Mr. Dietrich, who had gone to Germany to try to find more funding, may have spoken to the wrong person. In any case, he seems to have disappeared; he hasn't answered any of Father's correspondence for quite some time, and the telephone number he gave us has been disconnected. So Father has struck a deal with the United States Army to take custody of the Ring. Father will get to continue his study of it, and will get funding and even a paycheck out of the deal. The cables and the truck apparently suggest a new course of investigation, but I am not quite sure what that is.

And I? I, at long last, am going to get to go to university -- which I will discuss in more detail with you when I see you.

Love,
Catherine

July 15, 1939

Dear Aunt Evy,

I have arrived safely in New York and am settling in. With the money from the Army, Father is able to rent a nice house on a quiet, tree-lined street. He can even afford a housekeeper. Quite a step up from living in a warehouse with second-hand furniture and broken windows.

I wish I could have stayed longer, but you and Uncle Rick were probably correct; with war looming, it was either go right then or stay quite a bit longer than originally planned.

I have begun sending out university applications; I will let you know the results.

Father will be home soon, and he expects to have proper dinners together. He has become remarkably tight-lipped about the Ring, which is very annoying, considering that I grew up with it literally in my home. I suspect it is partly the Army. He has Army officers over from time to time and they stop speaking if either I or the housekeeper are in the room. It might also have something to do with whatever happened in Cairo before we left; perhaps he fears there will be more Nazis. If so, he hasn't mentioned that, either.

Love,
Catherine.

September 4, 1939

Dear Catherine,

I am glad to know that you have arrived safely in New York. I wish to apologize yet again for sending you away so soon after you arrived, but it seems that it was a good decision as England is now at war with Germany.

I am sorry your father is annoying you. Perhaps the new situation has reminded him that he should be protecting you from the dangers of the world, rather than leaving you to fend for yourself as he did while you were in Cairo. It's not the best of situations, I know, but you will have your own life once you start university. And I expect to hear all about it!

Despite the declaration of war, your uncle and I have several future speaking engagements lined up, and will be traveling quite a lot. Letter writing may be sporadic for quite some time, so if you don't hear from us, don't worry -- we'll write as soon as we return home. Concentrate on your studies, but do try to have a little fun.

Love,
Aunt Evy

January 13, 1945

Dear Aunt Evy,

I have been seeing someone. He's a colleague of Father's, working on the Ring. He's a little older than I am and very sweet. We have become very close and are beginning to talk about a possible future together. Unlike Father, Ernest actually talks to me, so I have learned a little about what is going on. I probably shouldn't be writing this, but apparently they now think the Ring is some sort of weapon which they are hoping to use against the Nazis. Ernest tells me that there is also some speculation that it might be some kind of science fictional gateway, though he won't say why. It seems utterly outlandish, but I've been looking at the notes on the cover stones that I made as a girl and I think the translation may be wrong. But I have other things to worry about -- like my senior thesis -- so I won't be translating it myself. At least not right now.

I am looking forward to introducing you to Ernest, but that is obviously going to have to wait. I hope this war ends soon.

Love,
Catherine

June 18, 1945

Dear Evelyn,

I know that we have not corresponded in some time, but I know that you have always been there for Catherine -- not just her aunt, but her confidante, Mother Confessor, and friend. I would like to send her to see you now that the war is over in Europe. I'm sure she has told you that she was seeing someone. There was an accident here and her young man was killed. Please let me know if she can come stay with you for a while.

Sincerely yours,
Paul Langford

The Western Union Telegraph Company

Received at New York, New York

July 23, 1945

Send her ASAP. We'll be waiting.

Evelyn

The chauffeur opened the car door and Catherine stepped out onto the graveled drive. She looked up at the stately, beloved manor house and felt some of the heavy, grinding weight of her grief fall away. It was still there -- even if she managed to tuck the grief of Ernest's loss away deep in her heart, she would always carry it -- but the realization that she had family who would do their best to help lighten the burden did, surprisingly, do just that.

The front door opened. Aunt Evy stood there, Uncle Rick at her shoulder. Behind them, she could see the butler, Jameson, fretting over the breach in protocol, but her aunt and uncle didn't care and neither did she.

Catherine flew into Aunt Evy's sheltering embrace, glad to be among people who understood her once more. She might not stay here forever -- probably wouldn't, in fact -- but for now, she felt as though she had come home.