Buried Treasure by Gilli Allan - Book Tour
Buried
Treasure
Their
backgrounds could hardly be further apart, their expectations in life more
different. And there is nothing in the first meeting between the conference
planner and the university lecturer which suggests they should expect or even
want to connect again. But they have more in common than they could ever have
imagined. Both have unresolved issues from the past which have marked them;
both have an archaeological puzzle they want to solve. Their stories intertwine
and they discover together that treasure isn’t always what it seems.
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Excerpt
Buried
Treasure is told in alternate, dedicated chapters from the points of view of
Jane Smith, who left school at fifteen, and Dr Theo Tyler, a lecturer on Early
Medieval and Archaeology. Jane has been
over-seeing a conference of Urban Planners at Lancaster College. After a very sticky start, and some
miss-steps along the way, Jane and Theo have become friends. Theo even stepped
in and delivered a paper, and at the end of her conference, accompanied those
interested to a dig on a site he has been researching since the beginning of
the story. They have had supper together and now have returned to her room, so
Theo can look again at the artefact suspected of being a part of the Viking
Hoard found on her great uncle’s farm.
One thing leads to another and Theo leaves her temporarily alone.
What on
earth is she doing, Jane asks herself?
She doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Her vow of celibacy, made
almost two years ago, was always likely to be a hostage to fortune. That’s if
she is still intending to go through with this. If anything is guaranteed to
kill the moment, the man leaving in search of condoms has to be near the top!
She knows
that he is clever - too clever for her - and he’s a bit stuffy and self-righteous,
and short-tempered. And he has a convoluted way of talking. But behind the
brain-on-legs is a kind man. And although he has given little away about his
personal life, she’s convinced that he’s a man with a past - a
past that has marked him. She’s convinced too, from his comments about his
living arrangements and the rejection of his credit card earlier this evening,
that he struggles to make a living in academia.
What was
it Emma had said about him? That he was fit, that she “wouldn’t kick him out of
bed”! Until now Jane has consciously shut off any reflection on Theo’s
appearance, but the angles and planes of his face tick all the right boxes. And
those eyes.... that mouth... But no, he’s not her type. She is drawn to
powerful men, men with dark hair and blue eyes. Envisaging that combination
brings Lew Chapman to mind, and she shudders at the thought. After their first night together, even though
he’d planned it, Lew had given her money for the morning-after pill, and told
her to make sure she depilated before the next time and arranged her own
contraception. She curls onto her side, clamping her knees together in disgust
at the memory.
Making
love to her was clearly never on Theo’s agenda; he appeared as surprised as she
was by the strength of passion that had erupted between them. So the fact he’s
done the responsible thing is commendable. But when he returns. If he returns....?
He’ll
have had time to cool off, to think better of it, but Jane is at a loss to know
which scenario scares her most - the prospect of him coming back from his
mission, or of him not coming back.
Chapter
46
It is
just before eleven. Theo orders a whisky, before making for the toilet. Now, he
jogs back across Bridge Road and through the side gate to the college. The
prophylactics obtained from the machine in the gents are safely tucked into his
wallet - on impulse he’d bought a packet of Tic Tacs as
well and, after downing the drink in one gulp, had popped several into his
mouth. But his earlier certainty grows increasingly fragile as the physical
imperative subsides. Turning left towards Beaumont House, Theo rehearses what
he’s going to say, and how he is going to say it, excruciatingly aware that
however he puts it, his words might come over as tactless, or even worse,
humiliating for her.
He’s
buzzed in and ascends the stairs two at a time. The door to her rooms stands
slightly ajar onto the landing. Knocking before entering, Theo almost expects
to find her fully dressed and composed on one of the armchairs in the study
room. She will tell him she has changed her mind, unburdening him from the
responsibility to offer her a get-out. They will agree to forget it, draw a
line and move on. Even, maybe, laugh about it. But the sitting room is empty;
she must be in the bedroom. Relief tempered by anxiety surges through him.
Inconsequentially he notices the knot of material in the litter bin he passes
on his way. Her torn leggings.
Sitting
up in the bed, Jane is turned to the wall; the edge of the duvet is gripped in
her hands, and pulled up to her chin. The clothes she was wearing are folded
beside the open case on the other bed, as if in preparation for packing them.
The back of her glossy hair and the curve of her back is all that is visible to
him. She is wearing what looks like a loose, pale green T-shirt.
Forgetting
his script, he blurts, ‘Jane? Are you all right?’
Her head
twists towards him, but the half-smile she flashes in his direction does
nothing to reassure. He moves towards her and stoops to kiss the nape of her
neck. A small sigh escapes her and she rolls away onto her knees, pushing back
the duvet. Face buried in the pillow, she lifts her hips towards him, and moves
her legs apart. The night-shirt come T-shirt is thigh length, but it lifts and
he can see the pale curve of her buttocks.
‘Jane?
Jane, what are you doing? What on earth...? What do you think I want from you?’
Author Bio
– Gilli Allan began to write in childhood - a
hobby pursued throughout her teenage. Writing was only abandoned when she left
home, and real life supplanted the fiction.
After a few false
starts she worked longest and most happily as a commercial artist, and only
began writing again when she became a mother.
Living in
Gloucestershire with her husband Geoff, Gilli is still a keen artist. She draws
and paints and has now moved into book illustration.
Currently
published by Accent Press, each of her books, TORN, LIFE CLASS and FLY or FALL
has won a ‘Chill with a Book’ award.
Following in the
family tradition, her son, historian Thomas Williams, is also a writer. His
most recent work, published by William Collins, is ‘Viking Britain’.
http://twitter.com/gilliallan
(@gilliallan)
2 Comments
Thank you so much for allowing me to post an excerpt on your blog, Jasmine. I very much appreciate you taking part in the blog blitz. gx
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! :)
DeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.