Parrish sighed. ‘Who am I to be left out? I thought I saw something, too. Big jackal-headed god thing. I tell you I am never going back to Ancient Egypt.’

‘You said you were never going back to the 20th century, either,’ reminded Jane. ‘That’s two for two, so far. You’re certainly cutting down your options.’

Luke shrugged. ‘Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to be here that long.’

‘Long enough to take a shower, I hope,’ said Jane.

‘Lockland, before you start making snarky remarks, take a look at yourself in a mirror.’

She ignored him. ‘Matthew, is Ellis badly hurt?’

‘I don’t know. Why do you ask?’

‘If he’s off for any length of time, then we might have to become part of Grint’s team.’

There was silence as they thought about that. Jane envisaged a lifetime spent crawling through enclosed spaces.

Parrish yawned. ‘Oh, shit. I’m going back to bed.’

Back in her room, Jane examined herself in the mirror. There was no doubt about it, she wasn’t looking good. Her uniform was torn, dusty and bloody. Her hands and arms were covered in scrapes and small cuts. Her knees and elbows were both swollen and skinned. The medics had told her to shower and keep them clean. There was no need for special treatment.

She still looked a mess the next morning – in fact, as is frequently the case, she looked slightly worse – but as she was to discover, these were badges of honour. Word had somehow got around – she wondered whether Parrish had had a hand in that – that she’d stayed in the tomb – all alone – right until the moment she was ordered out by Grint. There was a certain amount of grudging admiration. One or two people admitted they wouldn’t have fancied it very much. Others stopped her in the corridor to congratulate her. She was encouraged to recount her experiences. What was it like in the tomb? Remembering how terrified she had been made her feel a fraud, so she deliberately downplayed the experience, making a joke of being alone with the Curse of the Pharaohs. This was apparently the right way to go. She was several times complimented on a job well done.

It was very hard not to feel a glow of satisfaction. Luke had been right. If she hadn’t stuck it out, then they would have despised her. But not anything like as much as she would have despised herself.

‘Well,’ said Commander Hay, gazing down at the bedridden Major Ellis. ‘No need to ask how that one went.’

Ellis struggled to sit up. ‘It’s not serious, ma’am. Just a day or so to ensure there’s no infection.’

‘That’s not what the doctor says. You’re going to be out of the game for a while.’