Lockland could hear the teams moving off into the night. Suddenly, all was silence. There was only her and Luke and the sound of the wind sighing its way through the valley. And her thumping heart.

They made their way very cautiously down the sand-covered steps. Piles of limestone chippings lay everywhere and despite their best efforts, they couldn’t help dislodging them. The sound of hundreds of tiny stones clattering down the steps was very loud in the still night air.

Jane stared at the door ahead of them. ‘Now they know we’re coming.’

‘The robbers are long gone,’ said Luke. ‘The tomb’s empty. Trust me.’

At the bottom of the steps, a rock and plaster barrier loomed ahead of them. A black hole had been hacked through the top left-hand corner.

Jane stared in dismay. Luke had been right. She would never have been able to access the tomb by herself. Without him she could have done nothing more than scrabble uselessly until exhausted, and then wait for Grint’s return and her shameful confession.

Luke cupped his hands. ‘Put your foot here. I’ll boost you up and you can pull yourself through. Carefully. Don’t fall through the hole and damage the tomb. It’s a world-famous site. Or will be.’

She nodded, swallowed, placed her foot as instructed and reached up.

‘Ready?’

She really, really didn’t want to do this. ‘Yes.’

He heaved her up. She scrabbled at the sides of the hole and pulled herself through slowly, as Luke had advised.

There was no nasty drop on the other side. In an attempt to prevent tomb robbing, the narrow passage beyond had been packed tightly with more limestone chippings. As a deterrent they hadn’t been tremendously effective, because a small way through had been cleared between the wall and the low roof, along which a person could, with care, scrabble her way to the far end. Very painfully.

Jane stared, appalled, at the tiny, green-tinged, downward-sloping passageway. Ahead of her she could see another solid door with another corresponding hole at the top. All hopes the illegals hadn’t made it into the actual tomb and she could return to the safety of the valley floor disappeared into the night.

‘All right?’ said Luke, behind her.

‘You’re still here?’

‘Yeah – I’ll stay until you get through. Once you’re in the tomb, I’ll push off back up the steps and keep guard.’

‘You should be there now. Suppose they – the tomb robbers – come back. You’re not even armed.’

‘Then I’ll glare at them as they come down the steps. I’m not leaving until you’re through this tunnel.’

‘Thank you,’ she said, suddenly warming to him.

‘So get on with it.’

The warm feeling faded. ‘OK.’ She snapped a lightstick.