Page 42 of Tour Wars
What?When had TJ come up with this gem?
“Did you get permission?” Emilia asked.
“Not exactly.” He grinned. “But since the project’s on hiatus for three more days, no one will be working there. Dr. Roberti is still in Switzerland, the excavation site is empty, and the labs are locked up tight. But as luck would have it, I absconded with one of the keys.” He pulled it out of his pocket and brandished it with an air of superiority.
“Isn’t sneaking into the site against the rules?”
“You always follow the rules, Em?”
Leave it to TJ to keep goading her, even after they’d both admitted they were friends. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. She didn’t want him to coddle her just because she’d shown him her vulnerable side.
“No, but I don’t have a death wish, either,” she said. “If we get busted, it’s on you.”
He turned to the group. “Show of hands—who wants a sneak peek? I can’t let you take any photos, but you’ll get to visit a place that’s only open to professional archaeologists.”
When everyone raised their hands, Emilia gave TJ a reluctant nod. Now that he’d gotten their expectations up, she didn’t want to let them down. At least Luca wasn’t around to rat them out to his uncle.
“All right, but no photos or videos,” she said. “TJ and I would like to keep our jobs.”
“If you’ll all follow me, then we’ll get going.” He gestured for them to stand up.
As he led them away from the theater, he kept up a steady stream of chatter. They headed back onto the Via Stabiana—one of the main roads running north-south through Pompeii—until they’d almost reached the city walls.
The excavation area was clearly marked, with metal barriers and signs forbidding public access. To Emilia’s relief, no security guards were patrolling the area. After she moved the barriers, TJ directed the group inside the remains of the ancient dwelling known as the House of Venus. The house’s outer walls were still intact; inside, it was divided into eight rooms surrounding a central atrium. The areas under excavation included the kitchen, the garden, one of the bedrooms, and the triclinium, or formal dining room.
Once they reached the triclinium, TJ stopped and motioned for the group to come closer. “This house was built around 20 BC in what we call the Third Pompeian Style. For the past three months, it’s been the primary focus of the Via Stabiana Project. Based on the size and the style of the architecture, we suspect the owners belonged to the upper middle class. Dr. Roberti named it the House of Venus because the wall paintings we uncovered in the triclinium depict scenes featuring the Roman goddess Venus.”
“Are we free to walk through all of it?” Sylvie asked.
Feeling like the parent of the group, Emilia spoke up quickly. “Yes, but please be careful. Don’t get too close to the edge of the trenches or trip over any of the ropes.” Not wanting to dampen their enthusiasm, she gave them a bright smile. “If you have any questions, please ask. TJ and I love talking about this stuff.”
Even if she hadn’t been on board with his idea at first, she liked sharing this part of herself with the guests. This project was proof that she and TJ weren’t just playing at being archaeologists; they were both actively involved in their profession.
“Did you two come to Pompeii as a team?” Davis asked.
He still seemed convinced they were a couple, even after she’d denied it twice. “Nope. We already knew each other because we dug at Troy last summer, but we applied to work here separately.”
Alice perked up. “You worked at Troy? I loveThe Iliad. What a masterful epic.”
“It was a great experience,” TJ said. “If you ever get to Turkey, you should visit the site. There’s a giant model of the Trojan horse at the visitors’ center that you can climb inside, in case you want to pretend you’re a Greek warrior planning to attack Troy.”
Damn you, TJ.Emilia couldn’t even look at him. Every time he brought up that fucking horse, her mind flooded with racy images. A dark night. A furtive tryst. The two of them lying naked inside the belly of the wooden horse, trying to keep quiet while in the throes of passion.
Whew.Definitely not what she should be focusing on right now.
TJ smirked at her, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. She’d have to return the favor. Maybe she’d send him some images of the horse when he was least expecting it.
“Have the two of you worked together at any other sites?” Alice asked.
Emilia responded quickly, grateful for the change in subject. “No, but we’ve dug in a lot of the same countries. We have different specialties, though. I’m an archaeobotanist, which means I study ancient seeds, pollens, and carbonized plant remains to learn what people ate and the type of crops they grew.”
“As for me, I’m a lithics specialist,” TJ said. “I study stone tools, as well as artifacts made of bronze, copper, and iron. I know a ton about metallurgy, and I even learned how to make my own arrowheads out of obsidian using a technique known as flint-knapping.”
“Humblebrag,” Emilia muttered under her breath.
He shot her a mock glare. “It’s a lot more interesting than studying seeds. Right now, my group has been analyzing the household items we’ve found to learn more about daily life and determine which items might have been imported from other regions.”
When Sylvie and her friends went to check out the wall paintings, Emilia joined them. “Aren’t these gorgeous? They still need a lot of restoration, but they’re going to be beautiful.”
