Authors: Heaven
Bobbi Smith (12 page)
“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I’m not sure going without your father is a good idea. Perhaps it would be better to wait for him.”
“There’s no need,” she insisted, struggling to hide her desperation. “I have the book, and I’m certainly as well-versed in the crown’s history as my father.”
“I have no doubt that you’re very accomplished in your studies. I’m more concerned with the propriety of the situation. You would be a single, young woman traveling with two men who are not related to you. It might not serve you well to undertake such an adventure.”
“Father Bradford, I hardly think my reputation will suffer from being in your company, and, as far as the other man traveling with us goes, you can act as my chaperone. Lawrence did say you were completely trustworthy and the best, most honorable man he’d ever known. Was he wrong?” she challenged. She felt her chance to save her father was slipping away, and she had to do something to convince him to take her along.
“No, no, of course not. I was just thinking of the awkwardness of the arrangements and of the risk to your reputation. We have no idea where Lawrence’s clues might lead us, and it might prove difficult.” Winn tried to sound pleasant, but he thought he’d never met a more exasperating female. Then again, he’d never dealt with a woman in his present ‘occupation’ before either. He reminded himself that he could not think of Alex as a beautiful, desirable woman, that he was going to have to deal with her completely on an intellectual level. Having never denied himself anything, he wondered if his uncle was watching him now from above and getting a laugh out of his dilemma. He didn’t doubt it, knowing his uncle’s sense of humor and how he’d always been after Winn to change his ways.
“You may be right, but I’m not afraid of hardship, especially not when the prize is so valuable. We must think of the crown.”
Alex waited for him to say something. When he didn’t speak right away and his expression remained strained, she reached out and put her hand on his arm to reassure him.
“This means a lot to me, and to my father. I promise I won’t get in your way or cause you any trouble. I just want to find the crown as quickly as possible.” She lifted her gaze to his, wanting him to see in her eyes the earnestness of her plea. There was no deception in her words this time.
The touch of her hand on his arm added fuel to the heat that was already burning within Winn, and as her gaze met his, he felt as if time were standing still. Without conscious thought, he covered her hand with his. It felt small, delicate and soft. “I understand, and I’m sure Matt feels the same way you do.”
“Then you have no objection if I go?” She positively glowed with excitement as she drew away from him.
“No. It’s all right.” Winn had a hundred objections, but he was so entranced by her smile that he voiced none of them.
“We should leave right away. There’s no need to delay any longer.”
He thought of Philip and Robert again, remembering Lawrence’s strong warning against the pair. The sooner they left Boston, the better it would be for everyone concerned. “The other man making the trip is Matthew McKittrick. Lawrence gave him the other book. He’ll be searching for the crown with us.”
“I’ve never met him. Would you like to bring Mr. McKittrick to my house tonight so that we can discuss exactly what we’re going to do?”
“That would be good.”
“Shall we say 7:00
P.M.
?”
P.M.
?”
“We’ll be there.”
They gathered at the Parker house that evening, and Winn quickly made the introductions.
“Alexandra Parker, this is Matt McKittrick. Matt, this is Miss Parker.”
“Please, both of you call me Alex,” she told them with a smile as she extended her hand to Matt. “There’s no reason for us to be so formal.”
Matt smiled as he took her hand in a warm grip. “And I’m Matt. What should we call you, Father? We’re going to be in pretty close company for the next month or so.”
Something in Matt’s familiar tone as he spoke to Alex irritated Winn. “Winston’s my first name, but my friends call me Winn,” he answered a little tersely, wondering how soon Matt was going to let go of Alex’s hand. He was relieved when he finally did.
Alex looked at Winn as she moved away from Matt. “Winn . . . what an unusual name.” As she said it, she thought how very well it suited him. He was a strong, intelligent man, and she doubted he lost very often.
“It’s a family name.” He tried not to think about how wonderful his name sounded when she said it. He forced his attention to the reason for their being here. “Shall we take a look at the books? If we’re leaving tomorrow, we’d better find out where we’re going.”
“This is my book—#1,” Alex handed it to him.
Winn opened it and began to read out loud. “ ‘Travel west to where wide rivers flow, two joining to become as one.’ ”
“Since we have no idea where Lawrence hid the crown, it could apply to just about any city west of Boston,” Alex broke in.
“ ‘So two hearts should join together—one in name and purpose—till all is done.
Seek first the man from France to lead, don’t be afraid to follow your dreams.
Be not fooled by appearances. Sometimes, all is not what it seems.
Let not your desire rule your soul, instead be ruled by the faith
That a good act done with a gentle heart is a treasure that will open heaven’s gate.’ ”
He finished reading and glanced up at the other two. “What do you think?”
“Let’s take look at a map,” Matt said as he unrolled the one he’d brought along with him on Alex’s dining-room table.
“First, we’re looking for rivers, then for anything French,” Alex remarked, poring over the map, shoulder-to-shoulder with Matt and Winn.
“There’s the Ohio, the Mississippi, the Missouri, and God knows how many others,” Matt remarked, tracing the course of each waterway.
“What about ‘the good man from France’?” Alex wondered aloud as her gaze traced the length of the Mississippi. Then she saw it. “It’s St. Louis! Look, the Missouri River joins the Mississippi just north of the city. That has to be it!”
“What’s the fastest way there?” Winn asked.
“The train. Depending on connections, we should be able to make the trip in a little over a week,” Matt answered.
“I’ll get the tickets first thing in the morning.”
They shared a satisfied look as they contemplated the journey they were about to begin.
“It’s hard to believe we’re really going to find the crown.” Matt’s eyes were shining with eagerness.
“I know. Father and I have been looking for it for years, and now . . .” Alex was instantly sorry she’d brought up her father. She hadn’t wanted to think about his being in jail and the danger he faced or about the Anthony brothers and their horrible blackmail. She felt a sting of guilt as she wondered if Father Winn and Matt would ever forgive her for what she would ultimately have to do.
Winn mistook the touch of sadness in her words as regret that her father wasn’t traveling with them. “If you’d rather wait for your father to accompany us, we can,” Winn offered one last time.
“No. I don’t want to wait. There’s no telling how soon he’ll be back, and we’ve delayed far too long already. Let’s find the crown.”
“All right, Father Winn. Since you’re in charge of this expedition, what do you plan to do with the crown when we find it? Did Lawrence leave any instructions about what he wanted done?” They couldn’t cut it up in three equal pieces, and Matt certainly didn’t want to sell it.
“Of everyone he knew, Lawrence trusted the three of us the most. I’m sure he believed that we’d make the right decision when the time came.”
“I want the crown preserved, somewhere safe. Preferably a museum of some repute that will give it the honor it’s due,” Matt said. “It’s been lost for so long. Its glory needs to be seen by the public.”
“What about you, Alex?” Winn asked.
“I think the crown is one of the most beautiful treasures ever created by man, and I think it should be cherished as such. There are so many stories of tragedy surrounding it. I just hope that after we find it, there will be no more sorrow attached to it. Only joy and happiness.”
“Father? What’s your interest in the crown? Why are you here?”
“I’m here because Lawrence had great faith in me. He believed I would do what was right. When the time comes, I hope I will.” Winn didn’t doubt that he’d do the right thing about the treasure. The promise of money wasn’t what had drawn him on this trek—keep—ing the crown from the Anthonys was. His biggest concern right now was resisting the temptation Alex would be during the long days and nights of intimate travel ahead. There was no telling where this search would lead them, and he hoped he had enough fortitude to play his role with honor. He was doing this for his uncle. He would not shame him.
“We’ll honor Lawrence’s memory when we discover the crown. I’m sure he’d be pleased to know that he chose well when he picked us to follow his clues,” Matt said.
“Yes, we can honor him with the crown . . .” Alex replied a little distractedly, harboring her terrible secret, haunted by the knowledge that she was going to betray Father Winn and Matt. She knew the crown was cursed, and she wondered, now, if she’d somehow been already touched by its evil.
“I’ll contact both of you in the morning just as soon as I find out about the train schedules,” Winn told them as they prepared to call it a night.
“I’ll be waiting to hear from you,” Alex said as she walked them to the door.
They said their good nights, and Winn and Matt left the house. She watched until they were out of sight, then turned back inside, and closed the door.
Alone at last, Alex fixed herself a cup of hot tea and sat in the parlor to drink it. Her mood swung between elation and despair as the thought of Philip and Robert and their threat. Philip had said they’d be in touch with her, but if she was leaving with Winn and Matt tomorrow for St. Louis, she wondered how she could get word to them of their destination.
Alex didn’t have long to wonder. After finishing her tea, she went upstairs to bed. As she let herself into her bedroom, a low, hushed man’s voice came to her out of the darkness, frightening her nearly out of her wits.
“So, you met with Bradford tonight, did you?”
“What are you doing here?!” she gasped, her hand going to her throat as she fought down the terror.
“I told you we’d be watching you.”
“I should scream for help!”
“You want to see your father alive again, don’t you?” Philip stepped forward out of the shadows. He was smiling and confident as he crossed the room toward her. Ever since he and Robert had dared to break into Bradford’s house, he’d become more and more bold in his thinking and planning. He was in complete control of the situation, and of her, and he reveled in the power.
“You . . . You’re vile . . .” she seethed, wishing she were a man, wishing she had the power to wipe the smug expression from his face. She hated this man and his brother, and some day she would see that they got what was coming to them. For now, though, she was forced to do as he bid. The reality of it left her frustrated and furious.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re beautiful when you’re angry?” Philip taunted. He lifted one hand to caress her cheek.
Alex wasn’t about to suffer his filthy hands upon her, and she slapped his hands away. “Don’t touch me! Don’t ever touch me!”
Philip chuckled. “I wouldn’t dream of ruining our perfect working relationship, my dear. But should you ever change your mind, I’ll be more than willing to oblige.”
“It’ll never happen.”
“We’ll see,” he murmured with a smile. “Now, what are your plans? It’s important you let me know what you’re doing. I wouldn’t want us to become separated. Why, something might just happen to your precious father in prison if we didn’t know where you were, and we wouldn’t want that to happen, would we?”
“You don’t have to worry, Philip,” she said tightly. “I have every intention of saving my father from you.”
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