An Unexpected Pleasure (The Mad Morelands #4)(49)
“We are very fortunate, then, to have you as our guide,” Megan replied politely. “When did you first go to South America?”
“About ten years ago,” Coffey replied, and again his gaze flickered over to Theo and back to Megan. He hesitated, and Megan wondered if Theo would say anything about his own presence on the trip.
Theo was silent, and after a moment, Coffey went on, “I went on an expedition up the Amazon. It was fascinating. And, as you can see, it became my all-consuming passion.” He gestured around the room. “Please, let me show you some of the other pieces.”
He led them into the next room, where he pointed out a long knotted string, from which a series of other knotted strings dangled. “This is known as a quipu. It is how the Incas kept records. They had no written language, you see. It’s really quite amazing how they managed such a vast empire—they ruled more than ten million people and their territory covered several modern countries. They were excellent administrators. Their road system was highly developed. They built bridges and shelters a day’s journey apart, where travelers could find lodging. They kept it all in repair. They built temples and palaces, using huge blocks of stone, which they carved and transported—all without the use of the wheel. They did not use mortar, yet the stones fit so well together that they were able to withstand earthquakes.” He stopped and smiled self-deprecatingly. “I apologize. I get carried away, I’m afraid.”
“No, don’t apologize,” Megan told him. “It’s fascinating.”
She looked around the room they had entered. There were numerous shelves containing all sorts of pottery, and once again masks hung on the walls. A glass-fronted cabinet contained a long cloak, brightly colored. Megan realized as she moved closer that it was composed entirely of feathers.
“Oh, my!” she breathed. “This is beautiful.”
“The natives of Peru are skilled craftsmen,” Coffey told her. “This is of much more recent vintage, of course, but I believe that it is similar to garments actually worn by the Inca priests. There were also tunics in which the material was flecked with gold or which were decorated with various gold pendants. They made much use of gold and silver. They called them the ‘sweat of the sun’ and the ‘tears of the moon.’ In Cuzco, the capital city, the temple walls were decorated with sheets of gold. Can you imagine how it must have glittered in the sun?” He sighed. “Unfortunately, most of their gold work was lost when the Spaniards invaded. They tore down the gold decorations and melted them down to ship back to Spain.”
He shook his head sorrowfully. “Greed and religious intolerance destroyed irreplaceable art.”
Megan murmured a sympathetic reply and strolled over to one of the open shelves of objects. There was a cup made of gold, with a whimsical handle in the form of a laughing monkey. There were brightly colored pots, bowls and vases, some with geometrical markings and others with stylized scenes of human and animal forms.
“Look at this, Theo,” she said, turning toward him. She stopped abruptly, swallowing her next words as she realized that his first name had slipped out of her mouth in a far too familiar way. A blush flooded her cheeks.
“They’re lovely, Megan,” he responded. She saw in his eyes a little twinkle of mischief, and she knew that he had noticed not only the slip of her tongue but also the embarrassment that followed it. And he was perversely enjoying both.
Megan’s eyes flashed, and she would have liked to make a heated remark in response to his annoying smile. But she reminded herself that she could not in front of this stranger. So she merely pressed her lips together firmly and turned back to the display.
“The Incas were adept at pottery, then?” she asked to get the conversation back on track. She directed her question to Coffey, keeping her shoulder firmly turned away from Theo.
“Oh, yes. They did not use a wheel but rolled long ropes of clay, then coiled them around into the shape of the pot. The smooth surface was achieved by rubbing them with some sort of flat object. They dried them by simply setting them out in the hot sun. This pot is a very popular form with the Incas. It is called aryballo.”
The vessel to which he pointed was a round, fat pot with two small handles low on the pot and a long neck. It was painted black, with orangish lines running around it and orange geometric shapes.
“Did you find many of these on your first trip to the area?” Megan asked.
Coffey smiled. “Oh, no. That was more an exploratory expedition. Most of these have come from my most recent journeys to Peru, when I sailed to the western coast and journeyed inland from Lima. I would not recommend the passage up the Amazon. Fascinating, of course, but very hard, and, of course, at the end, one is still faced with the Andes. The wildlife is magnificent, however. Many of my drawings that you see here are from that trip.”
Megan admired the display in the center of the room, where personal jewelry was laid out. There were necklaces of gold and silver, and wide gold armbands, as well as large round ornaments, which Coffey identified as ear spools. Megan examined the necklaces with the most interest, remembering Barchester’s words about Theo having possessed a pendant of some sort.
Some of the necklaces were large gold links with a heavy pendant in the middle, rather similar to Egyptian pectorals that she had seen. There were also some single ornamental disks, which she guessed could once have been attached to a chain or leather thong. Was it something like this that Barchester had seen in Theo’s hand?