“We’ll settle here for the night,” said Rick.
The others stopped their camels; Charlie went off to set up his sleeping area alone. Jonathan got off his camel and went over to Josie and helped off hers. He started to help Josie unpack her camel, both trying to get as much contact with each other as possible; they had barely been apart since they left England.
“Jonathan, you sort out the fire, quickly, it’s getting cooler. And leave that girl alone,” ordered Rick.
Jon remained with Josie; she smiled up at him.
“Yes, old chap, just give me chance to….” started Jonathan.
“Now, Jonathan!” Rick shouted.
Jonathan looked down at Josie, “I think I’d better do as he says, Rick can get a little impatient,” he whispered, “see you later.”
Josie gently kissed him on the cheek, “You go,” she said, “I need to check on Charlie anyway. Bye” She smiled then walked over to her brother.
Evy and Rick stood watching them.
“Rick, I think Jonathan’s in love. They’ve barely been apart since we left Cairo. I think he could be finally settling down, I’ve never seen him like this. Josie’s the one I think,” Evy said.
Rick watched as Jonathan started to prepare the fire, Jon’s eyes rarely leaving the place where Josie was stood with Charlie.
“If she is,” Rick began, “I can bet a certain brother of hers will have a lot to say on the matter. I don’t think he’s one stopped complaining since we left that village. If it’s not the camel, it’s the heat, or the sun, in fact, there is nothing he hasn’t complained about. It’s starting to get on my nerves, if it was Jonathan I’d just tell him to belt up but he’s not and I don’t want to overstep the mark. Plus Josie would most likely kill me.”
“Aw, poor darling. I suspect he’ll stop once we get to the dig site,” Evy told him, “Until then, try not to do something you’ll regret”
“Huh,” was all Rick said.
~*~
After dinner, Charlie fell asleep and Rick, Evy, Jonathan and Josie sat by the fire and talked.
They spoke about the dig and the friendship between Jon and Evy and Josie and Charlie’s parents. The conversation moved onto Jonathan and Josie.
“Charlie doesn’t seem all that happy about the two of you together,” Evy said. “He seems to have a problem with Jonathan.”
“It’s not Jonathan, although he is a bit unsure about the age gap, twenty years is rather a lot. He’s like this with any suitor I have. I think he sees them as a threat,” Josie explained.
“I hate to say this Josie, I know how close you are but that’s a damn selfish thing he has going there if he expects you stop seeing a man when he says,” commented Rick.
Josie sighed,
“He doesn’t expect me to stop seeing men, he…Oh, it’s hard to explain, I know to some people Charlie appears to be very awkward and quite selfish at times but he’s not, not when you get to know him, the trouble is he doesn’t let people get close to him. He’s afraid of rejection and being left alone. He’s never been popular, quite the opposite, yet he has a twin who is, plus two brothers who are also popular. People don’t notice him, women are the worst, I hear some of the comments when he walks into a room, they don’t make the connection that he is my twin. To them he is just not attractive enough, or interesting enough or he’s too shy or too nervous. They just aren’t attracted to him. He knows this so when I meet someone he panics. He thinks that when I marry he’ll be left alone, that no-one will want to marry him.”
They were silent for a while, the only sounds in the stillness of the desert was the crackling of the fire.
“I’m not making excuses for him y’know. He may be my twin but I know he can be annoying sometimes, hell, he annoys me at times,” Josie blushed at the language she used, “Sorry. Charlie’s pretty insecure at times, he’s very clever as you know but he doesn’t live up to the picture people have of us as a family. People immediately expect him to be like our father and Henry and Kenneth, handsome, charming, the life of the party, all that sort of thing.” Josie shivered and moved closer to Jonathan, who put his arm around her.
“What was it like growing up for you two?” asked Evy.
“Wonderful! We were quite often spoilt though, being the youngest. Charlie was ill a lot as well, as our father has surely told you. I suppose you would call him delicate. We were very happy though, and close. I’m the eldest, only by about 20 minutes though, so I’ve always been the bossy one”
“Being the oldest doesn’t necessarily mean being the bossiest. Evy is very good as being bossy and she’s the younger sibling,” interrupted Jonathan, grinning at his sister who glared back.
Josie laughed. “Ok, maybe I’m just naturally bossy then!” she turned serious, “Although sometimes I wish I wasn’t so bossy, I rarely give Charlie the opportunity to say ‘no’, I always push him into doing things, when sometimes he doesn’t want to do it.” She was silent for a moment, “Charlie nearly died when we were 18 and it was my fault.” She looked up and saw question on the faces of Rick and Evy. She sighed and began.
“It was the summer before we started at Oxford, we’d only just gone 18. We were at the family home in Scotland. Our land includes part of the local loch and in it there is a small rocky island. One of the locals told me that on the island there were some sort of symbol carved into the rock and naturally of course I wanted to investigate. I asked Charlie whether he wanted to come but he refused. He doesn’t like anything like that as it would have involved a lot is scrambling over rocks, he’s not very good on his feet, he had polio when we were younger so his legs are quite weak at times. But I went on and one at him to come and eventually I got him to agree to come. He still didn’t want to but I never could take ‘no’ for an answer.”
Josie paused for a moment.
“We set off for the island; the idea was to take a few pictures and a rubbing of the carving so we could have a good look at it when we got back to see if it was anything important. When we got to the island we found that there wouldn’t be as much climbing as we thought, which pleased Charlie. We set off along the rocks; I was in front and Charlie behind. Anyway not long after we had been going I heard Charlie cry out. I turned and saw him slip and fall down the rocks, cracking his head on the rocks as he went. He ended up in the water, unconscious; I went to turn back but heard a voice. It was our gamekeeper, MacLeod; he was fishing with a friend. He told me to stay where I was and then he went into the water to get Charlie, then swam to the shore with him. He wasn’t breathing and had swallowed a lot of water but, thankfully, MacLeod saved his life and made him cough up the water but he was still unconscious. Father arrived, someone had gone to get him, and MacLeod’s friend helped me back to the shore. I tried to get Charlie to wake up but he wouldn’t, he was so still and too pale, apart from the side of his head he had banged on the rocks, which was red with blood. Father carried him back, he took him to where the doctor was but made me go with Mother, he wouldn’t let me stay with Charlie. He said he wasn’t angry with me but even now I’m not sure. I wanted him to shout, tell me off, like he sometimes did when we were younger but he didn’t, he just said it wasn’t my fault, that it was an accident.
Charlie didn’t wake up until a few days later, the doctor said he had concussion. He seemed to be different when he woke up, I suppose that was the moment when the awkwardness he has started.
Nobody ever blamed me but it was my fault, I made him come. I know you think Charlie is selfish at times but he’s not a patch on me when I get going. I knew he wouldn’t want to come and I knew he would find it difficult to get across the rocks but I still made him come and he nearly died.”
“Oh Josie” Jonathan wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. “Does Charlie blame you?” he asked.
“No, I don’t think so, he never really mentioned it, I don’t think he can remember it all that well, the bang on the head must have affected his memory.”
Josie sat and looked into the fire, Jonathan’s arms still around her. Evy and Rick sat watching them.
“Josie, are you alright,” asked Evy.
“Hmm…Rick…” she started.
“Yes?”
“Go easy on Charlie. I know he’s annoying you at the moment but he will get better. Please?” she asked.
“Ok, ok,” he said, “Now I think we ought to get to bed. Coming Evy?”
“Yes, goodnight Jonathan, Josie”
“Night Evy. We’re staying here a bit,” Jonathan said.
They said they’re goodnights and Jonathan and Josie were left alone. They lay for a few minutes in silence, gazing at the stars. Jonathan reached for Josie’s hand, she moved to rest her head on his chest and he laid his arm across her back.
“I can back off a bit if you want, just until Charlie gets used to the idea,” Jonathan said, breaking the silence.
“Don’t you dare, Jonathan Carnahan. Charlie will get used to it pretty soon. He likes you, Jon, he’s just a bit wary. He thinks you are going to take me from him”
“I understand, I was like that when Evy and Rick first got together. It had been just the two of us before and then she suddenly had a new man in her life, it was like she no longer needed me, she had Rick.”
“Oh, Jon.” then “You do like Charlie don’t you?” Josie asked, slightly panicked.
“Yes. He’s a bit different from my usual crowd but I do like him” Jon replied.
“Good, I couldn’t bare it is you didn’t like him. It would be awful if my twin and the man…who…” she trailed off, suddenly nervous of where the conversation was leading. “Do you think we better get to bed?” She stood up, Jonathan with her. “We have a busy day ahead and…”
“Stay, spend the night with me,” Jonathan interrupted, looking into her eyes.
Josie looked away and then back at him. “No, Jon it’s too soon, I… I’m…”
“I didn’t mean like that, I just want to be near you” he clarified.
“I’d love to but Rick might get the wrong idea and Charlie will, well you know Charlie”
He kissed her on the lips, “Go. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She walked away, reluctant to break contact. Jon watched her go, smiled as she waved from her bed next to Charlie.
‘I think I’m in love’ he though, ‘No, scratch that Jonny, old chap, I am in love, well and truly.’ He sighed and went over to his own bed.