Sleeping Beauty and the Curse of the Mummy's Tomb

By James Dedman

"Teddy in San Fran Jail. Help."

Theodora Wilkes was never what polite society wanted her to be. An overimaginative youth grown into the wildest of flappers, it is more than her father and sister can handle.

On the other side of the ocean Hector Grant has emerged from the Great War a changed man. Short on joy and hope, with a family rich in title only, it appears that his short life is already at an end.

All hope may not be lost, however, for it may be that, in changing the fortune of somone more damaged than she, Teddy may have found her true calling. Perhaps true love’s kiss really could break the curse.

Of course, no one ever counted on the mummy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Dedman
• Release date: Nov 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310707469

James Dedman

James C. Dedman lives in a rural community in the Midwest, forgotten by the modern world, presiding over an empire of various barnyard critters. An avid Civil War Reenactor and Historian, he enjoys researching genealogy, visiting historical locales, and raising chickens. An author of over 20 novels, he has also directed several independent films, a documentary and even a few plays. A Woman of Consequence marks his ebook debut, with more to follow. A practicing attorney at-law in order to fund his research, in his off time he gathers material for his books by making frequent trips to the West. He is the proud father of three girls, all of whom can sit a horse and fire a gun. He must always defer to his wife of over thirty years, however, as she is the one who feeds his horse.

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Sleeping Beauty and the Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb

By James C. Dedman

Edited By Daryl Debunhurst

Cover Art By Nick Katzfey

Copyright 2014 James Dedman

Smashwords Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Disclaimer: This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to people living or dead (Except historical figures) is purely coincidental)

This book is dedicated to my wife, Betty, who contributed so much to this book’s organization and construction.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: "In the Wake of Titanic"

Chapter 2: In the Wake of King Tut

Chapter 3: A Treasure Map

Chapter 4: A Family Discussion

Chapter 5: A Tarnished Treasure

Chapter 6: The Courtship

Chapter 7: The Father of the Bride

Chapter 8: The Mother of the Scam

Chapter 9: Honeymoon in France

Chapter 10: Triumphal Return to the States

Chapter 11: The Hills

Chapter 12: The Mountains

Chapter 13: Meet the Expedition

Chapter 14: Vamping for the Camera

Chapter 15: Shots in the Dark

Chapter 16: Camp Routine

Chapter 17: Letters from Egypt

Chapter 18: The Amazing Discovery

Chapter 19: The Other Discovery

Chapter 20: The Lost Ark

Chapter 21: The Countess of Roche

Chapter 22: "The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb"

Chapter 23: A Film Classic

Chapter 24: A Funeral

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1

In the Wake of Titanic

May 1912

-A Prologue-

In the spring of 1912, everyone in the noble Grant family household of England was talking about the great sea tragedy: the sinking of the Titanic. News buzzed around the small community near the great house even before the newspapers from London carried the full story.

The Duke of Belford, Horace Grant, had been drinking his breakfast tea when he heard the news. He had choked and fumbled his teacup onto the floor, smashing it, so great was his concern for his friend and fellow noble, Marshal Foster, his grace the Duke of Debenham. Foster had long planned to go to New York on the maiden voyage of the new White Star ship Titanic.

This Marshal Foster was Grant’s very close friend, and he was frantic with worry that his friend was dead. Horace Grant needed such friendships such as the Duke of Debenham. Grant’s finances were not at all what he wanted them to be and he always had to scrape around to pay the bills, never quite having enough money. From time to time the good Duke of Debenham sent him money or quietly paid some of his bills for him. The Duke was thus very helpful was his one true friend in England. Grant had no way to repay him and nothing was ever said about it except for a very gentlemanly expression of gratitude from time to time.

Grant’s worry for his friend was not just because of his financial dependence upon Foster-- he did like him very much. But his being frantic over the news was on account of what this might mean to him financially.

Horace Grant was so upset that he did not behave in a very rational manner that day. He had just gotten one of the new telephones and he burned up its wires with phone calls to everyone else who had a telephone to find out if Marshal Foster had died on Titanic. There had been some survivors.

His heart knew great joy when, late that night, he got a phone call from Foster himself.

I understand you are worried about me, Horace, Foster’s happy voice was recognizable crackling over the telephone wires.

Waves of relief rolled over Grant. Oh thank God you are safe, Horace, he declared, his whole body sighing with relief at the good news.

Quite an odd bit of luck there, old friend.

How so?

Well, you know Courtney? Grant had met but knew of her more than knowing her. Courtney was a chorus girl from the East End of London that his friend had been seeing for some time. Foster was a widower and something of rake now with the London ladies. Courtney had been the latest in a long life of young women of the theater.

Yes? Grant went on.

Well, Courtney had some news for me of a rather personal sort, Foster continued his explanation. I was saying goodbye to her for my American trip and decided I could wait a bit and make it a honeymoon on the next voyage to America.

A honeymoon? Grant parroted.

Yes; there is a new Duchess of Debenham, my friend. I have wed the very pretty Courtney.

Grant was shocked at the revelation. He knew the noble class circles would buzz with the shocking news of this scandalous wedding, but Horace saw the rather disgraceful event for the Duke of Debenham to be one of those instances of rare good luck. Because of the wedding to the expecting chorus girl, Marshal Foster had missed the boat and a certain death at sea when the Titanic sank, and Grant (along with his wallet) was exceedingly pleased to see him avoid a tragic death at sea. While he was not certain marrying the chorus girl was any sort of great fortune for his friend, Foster seemed rather happy in his new marriage, and, because he had missed the boat, the two dukes would see each other again. There was that to be said for the matter. Everyone else would have lots of gossip to say about the marriage and he was sure there would be more when the baby arrived, but Horace Grant did not and would not gossip with the others in his social circle about the marriage of his close friend and benefactor.

Indeed, because of the charity of Marshal Foster, Horace Grant was exceedingly grateful and he determined quietly that he would personally be sure the new duchess, even with a very dubious background, would be welcomed in at least one noble home after the wedding.

When their conversation ended, Horace Grant was at peace. He could go to bed and rest without his mind driving him mad with worry and reproach. He even got into bed next to his dear wife, Melanie. He had only just closed his eyes when a new terror gripped his insides. In his mad rush over the Titanic tragedy, he had not gotten any of the details of the sinking. More importantly, he did not know if Titanic went down on the way to New York or on the way back. Once again his insides churned with fear and concern, for booked on the trip back to Southampton from New York was a friend even more important to the financial well being of the Grant family than Foster Marshal.

Horace Grant valued his friendship with the Wilkes’ family, from southern America. Their Egyptian cotton plantations and his investments therein were the only profitable enterprises in his entire portfolio of dismal financial failure. The Wilkes family had been booked for passage on the Titanic for their annual trip to England this spring to visit the Duke of Belford, who always made them very welcome on his estate.

Horace Grant sprang from his bed and rushed to telephone once again, this time in a panic because he had no idea who to call. Of course there was no way to telephone the Wilkes in Atlanta, Georgia, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, so he called the White Star Offices, but they were closed. He called the London Times office and a janitor answered. It was this humble janitor that gave peace to Grant’s mind, telling him the boat had gone down on the way over. Once again, Grant was relieved that his friends had not been on board.

Several days later, he got a telegram from Malcolm Wilkes, the son of Brent Wilkes, patriarch of the Wilkes clan, saying they were going to be late, having to find passage on a boat that did not sink so dramatically. Malcolm Wilkes had taken over all of the business operations of his father just as Hector Grant hoped his eldest son, Compton, would someday do.

So the Wilkes Family had been delayed in their annual spring trip, arriving in May rather than April. There were three of them on this trip: Malcolm Wilkes, aged 42, and his two daughters: Penelope called Penny, aged 10, and Theodora, called Teddy, aged 12. Penny was a quiet, thoughtful child, but Teddy was a talker and sometimes a little loud. Grandfather Wilkes, who had started the business association, often came with them, but did not on this trip.

The young Wilkes daughters were model children, having been raised by an English governess in their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Though two years apart in age, they were the same height and size, and that often made new acquaintances think they were twins. They usually dressed in identical frocks when they went about, adding to the twins’ illusion. Both girls had long, dark hair brushed back and usually worn loose down their backs, but Teddy’s hair was slightly darker than Penny’s. They both had very happy smiles and unusually bright eyes, and they were generally well-mannered for Americans. Their handsome widower father was justly proud of them both.

Of the two, as the older daughter and leader of the pair, Teddy was the more outgoing. She would decide which identical frock to wear and her sister Penny seldom disputed the decision. Penny was quieter and usually let Teddy do the talking when they were in public. Both were avid readers of many books-- and not the usual children’s fare either.

But in one way they were very different. Teddy loved to read fairy tales and stories about magic. From the first moment little Teddy had arrived at the great Grant estate this year, she was again talking about her Fairy tales and stories. She loved to read fairy stories and mythology. She had a couple of Grimm books that looked much worn from her carrying them around and reading from them. Teddy loved to visit the Grant estate every year and had found locations everywhere on the grounds that she thought matched all the places in her stories. Having done this, Teddy further asserted that all of the magical events in her books had taken place on the grounds of vast Grant estate.

Teddy was quite certain that a rustic cottage in the woods on the grounds had once been Snow White’s home with the dwarves, while a manor house nearby was clearly Cinderella’s house before the dance with the prince. Another shabby cottage deep in the woods was the place where Red Riding Hood had avoided the wolf, and she was sure the large pond was the one where the Lady of the Lake emerged to give Arthur his magical sword. But of all the places on the vast Grant lands, there was one of very special interest to Teddy.

She was especially enchanted with the old castle fortress whose ruins were still on the grounds. There had been a historic battle and siege all about this castle once, but that was not what interested Teddy. Now in great disrepair, the castle ruins had been made over into a garden about two hundred years ago when the Grant ancestors still had some money. It had, during the Middle Ages when it was still of military use, been quite a formidable castle with a moat. Hector Grant knew the history of his old ruined castle and tried to tell the real story to Teddy once, but Teddy was not interested at all. She did not care when it had ceased being a castle and had been turned into a garden.

As a garden it was quite unique. There was still a depression where the moat had been and sometimes there was even water in it. The walls were covered with vines. Inside the castle there were flowerbeds where the building had once stood. A permanent wooden bridge now spanned the moat to allow passage into the walls and the garden. The top of the keep was gone, but the stone stairs were still in use to where an awning had been placed and large stone bench set atop it to allow a comfortable view of the gardens and grounds all about it.

When Teddy saw it, she did not see a garden at all. Teddy had seen it on the last trip and was convinced it was Sleeping Beauty’s castle because of the many vines that covered the crumbling walls and battlements. She was not content this trip until they took her all over it once again. She again explored every bit of the old ruin with an amazed look on her pretty young face. Hector Grant did not even try to tell her what had really happened here this time. Instead he let Teddy describe all of the events of the Sleeping Beauty story and her speculations about where everyone had stood and what they had done.

Yes, I am quite certain this is Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, Teddy declared, just as she had one year ago. The entire Grant family was walking with Malcolm Wilkes and his two daughters across the wooden bridge where a drawbridge once stood and up the stairs up into what had once been the tower, which still overlooked everything. They all followed in Teddy’s wake to survey everything on the estate from this vantage point. Yes! she insisted again. I know this was the place, she assured them with a warm smile, "where Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger and was awakened by the handsome prince with true love’s kiss!"

Whenever they took a walk that spring she always wanted to go to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Her sister Penny wanted none of what she called Teddy’s nonsense and was growing weary of her sister’s pronouncements. Penny was a sensible girl who had clearly outgrown the fairy stories that still fueled Teddy’s vivid imagination. Penny thought her sister’s whimsy was irritating and annoying to everyone, including their generous hosts.

You are not going to wear that on our walk? Penny objected to her sister’s light green gauzy dress. That was your Princess Ozma costume last Halloween! Penny cried. It is not appropriate! I cannot imagine why father let you bring it on our trip-- didn’t you learn your lesson in ballet class?

Well, now it can be Sleeping Beauty’s gown, Teddy informed her, twirling it around her and spinning in a circle that made the dress swirl.

Remind me, how did it work out for you the last time you wore it? Penny said snidely, trying to shame her. You are going to embarrass us, aren’t you ‘Miss Green Dress?’

Do you feel like ‘Grace’ today? Teddy shot back, a comment which evidently struck home, because Penny looked at least a little abashed.

If I feel like ‘Grace’ today, will you not wear the dress and not make a scene outside in front of the Grants? Penny pleaded with her.

Shut up or I will slap you, Teddy warned her. Penny was not frightened by her sister’s threat. Teddy was always threatening to slap her, but never had.

Teddy put her dark blue cloak over the gown. Now she looked just like Penny as they met their father and the Grants to walk over the grounds to enjoy springtime coming to the estate. Both young ladies had matching blue cloaks and looked picturesque with their long hair brushed out under their burgundy caps. Teddy was very happy and Penny looked miserable on the walk, for Penny knew that Teddy would surely do something to embarrass them all presently.

All of the Grants were on the walk that day: the Duke and the Duchess along with all four sons. Compton, the eldest, was walking with Malcolm Wilkes as instructed by his father. Percy and Sterling were dogging their steps. The youngest son, Hector, 16 in the coming summer, was walking with the American girls. It was up to Hector to usually walk with the girls and keep them amused.

As usual, Teddy moved the party of Wilkes and Grants’ over to the old castle. As usual, she went across the wooden bridge and inside, then up the stairs with everyone slowly following her.

At the top she declared, Today, I will be Sleeping Beauty. Someone must awaken me! With that she dashed up the final steps, removed her cap and cloak, then laid the cloak on the stone bench. After one final spin, Teddy then lay on the stone bench, folded her hands on her stomach and closed her eyes in her green princess Ozma dress. She lay there for some time as the others in the group slowly followed her to the top.

I am waiting, she reminded them without opening her eyes.

For what? Penny asked in an irritated fashion, rolling her eyes. Penny went over to the battlement at looked away. She knew Teddy would embarrass her now. A long silence followed.

At last Horace Grant, the good Duke, told his youngest son, Hector to kiss Teddy. The other three sons were there as well but considered themselves too old and too serious at 18, 22, and 25 to kiss a silly American child. Hector rolled his eyes up in his head to demonstrate his total irritation, but complied with his father’s request. He stalked over to the recumbent child, leaned over her, and kissed her lightly on the lips. Clearly he understood how everything must be done to humor their rich American benefactors.

In fact it was his first kiss and hers too, but neither of them knew that at the time and not until much later. But Teddy was rather pretty for twelve. Hector lingered over the kiss just a moment before moving away and pretending to be disinterested and entirely embarrassed. But Hector had enjoyed kissing her despite her age. Teddy pretended to awake like Sleeping Beauty, very happy with the gesture. Penny rolled her eyes again and her father smiled indulgently. When she saw this, Penny glared at her father but to no avail; he never did nothing to stop Teddy.

It would be fair to say that keeping the Wilkes family happy was always the prime goal in life of the Duke of Belford. They were now his main source of income and their good will often kept his financial woes at bay.

The association was a long one going back many years with Brent Wilkes, Malcolm’s father. The elder Wilkes had come to Egypt to invest his money in cotton plantations just before the American Civil War. The Duke’s father had become his partner and that was the one investment that paid off for the Grant family year after year as all the others went to dust. Brent Wilkes had married an English girl and taken her back to America, soon producing Malcolm, his only child and heir. Now he was in charge of all the Wilkes’ investments, including the Egyptian cotton.

So, if young Teddy Wilkes wanted to be the Princess Sleeping Beauty, the Duke of Belford was happy to make it happen. The Wilkes money kept his estates moving and solvent and ensured his lifestyle could go on as it had for his lifetime.

The only one really annoyed with Teddy was Penny, a quiet child, who never made any special requests of her hosts. She was by far the most sensible of the pair, clearly embarrassed and annoyed by her sister’s antics. When they left the castle, Penny purposefully walked ahead of Teddy and not by her side as they