Searching For Treasure (12 page)

"I've been saying all along that she was one of Oscar's ghosts
,”
Dana answered with a grin. "While you're up, toss me another beignet." Her smile dimmed a bit when she caught sight of the brooding expression on Jack's face. Whatever had been said between them on the back steps appeared to have eased Noah's mind. It seemed to have had the opposite affect on Jack, however.

"I was surprised to see that Austin came down for breakfast," Josie said, as Noah seated himself next to her. "Neither of them bothered yesterday." She looked with some surprise at all of the blank stares. "I saw him heading down the hall from this direction. Wasn't he coming from here?"

"Maybe he started to and heard we were all still in here. Those two sure aren't inclined to socialize," Henry said and shook his head. "I don't think all of their Easter eggs got colored."

It was Josie's turn for a blank stare. Noah leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Oh, I get it now," Josie said.

Rose watched as Dana studied the sugar bowl with a thoughtful air. "I've noticed you doing that before. Look at things like you know what you are looking at. Is there something special about that bowl?"

"I believe it's a Lament
e’
sheen sugar bowl."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning that it's probably worth about six-hundred dollars."

Rose stared at her, momentarily speechless. "You lie!" Dana simply shrugged. "Come on up to my room. There's something I want you to take a look at."

Rose led the way upstairs and turned down the hall to her room with Dana trailing behind her. Flicking on the light, she said, "It's there on the wall."

But it was the floor, not the wall that caught Dana's attention. "Oh my God
,”
she breathed reverently as she dropped to her knees by the bed. She stroked the faded yet still lovely rug cushioning the floor under the bed. "It's a Dubisson."

"Are you kidding me? I've heard of those. I've never seen one though. Are you sure?"

"I think so. My mum was the expert, she was nuts for antiques, but I did manage to pick up a few things from her." Dana looked at Rose wide-eyed. "Rose, Oscar can't know this is up here."

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm not sure exactly how old this rug is, but I've seen Dubisson
s’
of this era sell online for twenty-five to even seventy thousand dollars. If it was you, would you want to take a chance on one of your guests sneaking a smoke and burning a hole in seventy grand?"

"Hell, no! Okay, what about the mirror on the wall?" Rose pointed to the reason she had brought Dana to her room to begin with.

Dana looked up from her perusal of the rug. She smiled. "That's a Granera painted mirror. Pretty old, too. That alone is probably worth fifteen-hundred." She shook her head in amazement. "Oscar has mentioned a couple of times about money being tight. I keep meaning to tell him about the furnishings, but I've never found the right time."

"Well, what are we sitting on our butts for? There's no time like the present. Don't go without me. I have to make a pit stop
,”
Rose said as she headed towards the bathroom.

Dana made her way down the hall only to find Austin leaning lazily against the wall, blocking her way. He smiled at her arrogantly. "If you get tired of playing with little boys, let me know." Since Jack was neither little or, at thirty, hardly a boy, Dana didn't even deign to answer. She tried to brush past him. Austin thrust his arm out, barring her attempt. His eyes were hard but he smiled silkily. "I think you could do better."

An artic chill blew up in Dana's eyes. Coldly, she replied, "I doubt there is anyone better."

Austin leaned into her, further violating her space. "Baby, you don't know what you're missing."

Catching Austin off balance, Dana quickly shoved, pushing her way past him. He stumbled heavily against the wall. "Yes, and I intend to keep it that way."

Growling with irritation, Austin heard chuckling behind him. He swung around angrily. "Mind your own business, you old battle-axe."

"And why don't you go piss up a rope?" Rose replied sweetly. Joining Dana at the top of the stairs, who was trying and failing not to snicker, she muttered, "When it comes to women, that boy don't know his ass from a hole in the ground."

The dining room was empty when they returned save for Josie, who was still trying to wake up with a cup of coffee. "They're all outside" Josie replied to their inquiries. "Jack mentioned that it looked like it might rain and everyone went outside to look." Josie gave an elaborate 'why bother?' shrug. Dana knew what she meant. If it rained, it rained. Why bother to look?

They found Oscar and Henry outside deep into a conversation about, of all things, fishing. "Never been fly-fishing myself
,”
said Henry. "Looks like a lot of work to me. Put me in a boat with a worm and a hook, and I'm a happy camper."

"Fly-fishing isn't just about catching fish. It's about poetry, artistry and style. It's about skill and concentration melding into relaxation."

Rose rolled her eyes. Oh brother, her eyes said.

"Oscar
,”
Dana began, but broke off when they all heard a keening sound from around the castle.

"Aaahh!"

A terrified chicken burst into view from around the corner, beating its wings frantically and squawking as if the devil itself was after it. Rounding the corner behind it raced Grace, flapping her arms and screeching at the top of her lungs.

She skidded to a halt at the sight of four sets of mouths hanging open in dumbfounded surprise. "I thought
,”
Grace panted, "I thought it was another poltergeist."

"No, Grace, that was just our rooster," Oscar said.

"That was your rooster
,”
said Rose, who was about to fall down laughing. She was clutching Henry's shoulder with one hand and her side with the other. "He's probably halfway to Japan by now. I would be, too, if I saw a crazy woman chasing me, flapping her arms and wagging her tongue."

"I was not wagging my tongue!"

"Sure."

"Well, if all of you are finished having a laugh at my expense
,”
said Grace, as prim as any schoolmarm, "I think I will go wash up. I feel a little dusty."

As if happy to fulfill a lady's needs, the Sky opened up and delivered the rain it had been promising all morning. Everyone made a dash for the castle, meeting up with Brett and Austin in the front entryway, complete with luggage.

"You'll be hearing from our attorney, Mr. Gaston. There's no treasure here. We consider this false advertising
,”
sputtered Brett importantly. He cast a look at Austin to make sure he would back him up. Austin simply glared at Dana in silence. "Yes, well, we're leaving."

"So what
,”
shrugged Rose heartlessly, "we'll all be leaving tomorrow morning anyway. I pity anyone who thought they were just going to waltz in here, find the treasure, if there is one, and waltz back out in a day or two. To me that's just simple-minded."

Oscar pulled himself up to his full imposing height. "If you gentlemen feel the need to try to make trouble by claiming I promised something I couldn't deliver, you'll have a difficult time proving it."

"That's right
,”
piped up Henry. "We all heard him say there were no guarantees."

Brett looked again at Austin, who still had
n’
t said a word. Clearly not liking the look on his face, Brett tried to hurry them out the door into the rain. "Yes, well, goodbye."

Oscar heaved a sigh that seemed to come from his shoe soles. "Well, I can't say that I'm sorry to see them leave. Most unpleasant gentlemen."

Henry went to close the door behind them. "Hell's bells and shotgun shells, will you look at that rain? Like pouring piss out of a boot."

"I guess that limits our activities today to the inside of the castle
,”
Rose said
.“
Which reminds me, Oscar. The sight of Grace chasing chickens put it right out of our heads. Go ahead, Dana."

"Oscar, you told me that when you bought the castle, it was being sold for taxes. But did you have the interior appraised?"

"The interior? No. Why, it's just old furniture."

Dana took him by the hand. "Not exactly. Come with me." She led him into the kitchen, the others following. She showed him the objects she had noticed that first night and what she thought they would be worth to collectors. "Even that Old Judge coffee jar
,”
she pointed it out sitting on top of the refrigerator, "has to be worth at least fifty bucks. You're just using it now to keep pennies in."

Rose nudged her. "Tell him about the rug."

"Upstairs you have what I believe to be a vintage Dubisson rug. If I'm right about the age, it could be worth twenty-five grand at the very least. Maybe more."

Oscar seemed almost to sway in shock. His mouth opened and closed twice before he could find his voice at last. "For a rug?" he asked weakly.

"For a Dubisson rug
,”
she corrected. "But don't take my word. As soon as you can, you need to have a reputable antiques appraiser take a look around."

"Good heavens
,”
murmured a stunned Oscar. "Good heavens." Dana gently led him back out of the kitchen and settled him at the dining table. "Good heavens
,”
he said again.

"Do you really think he can get that much for a rug?" Rose asked.

"That's what they've been valued at. But the truth is any antique is only worth what someone will pay for it. Just because something appraises at twenty-five thousand, if you can't find someone to buy it at twenty-five thousand, then it's not worth that," Dana said.

"That makes sense. And that can apply to a lot of stuff, cars, castles,
and art. It's not worth a plug nickel if no one will give you a plug nickel for it," Rose said.

"Uncle Oscar, what's wrong?" Josie rushed into the room, Noah following closely behind her.

"He's alright
,”
Henry chuckled. "He's just had a bit of a shock."

Getting a glimpse of flushed cheeks and sparkling
eyes; Dana had a good idea that the pair had been participating in some old-fashioned spooning. She closed her eyes and prayerfully hoped that she and Jack were not serving as bad examples.

As if thinking about him made him appear, Jack was there behind her. She jumped slightly. "Where have you been?"

"Around." Dana lifted a brow at this, but she said nothing. "What did I miss?"

"Which part, when Grace chased the chicken, when Austin made a pass, when Oscar found out he's surrounded by a fortune in collectables, when Brett and Austin left in a huff or when Noah and Josie slipped away for some teenage groping?"

Predictably, Jack zeroed in on only one part of her sentence. "Wait a minute... Austin made a pass at you?"

"Forget about it, he's gone now."

"Where was I?"

She couldn't resist. "Around."

By this time Oscar had regained his composure. "If you ladies wouldn't mind, I'd like to take a look at that rug."

Once again, Rose led the way to her bedroom. Jack hung back and pulled Dana towards him. "You know, I hear it is going to be a rainy afternoon. I might be in the mood for some teenage groping of my own."

Dana allowed herself to be distracted. She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him teasingly. "We are long past being teenagers, Jack."

"Consider it my second childhood."

"Hey, you guys
,”
called Noah. "Don't embarrass yourselves."

With a quick kiss and a murmur, Jack pushed Dana up the stairs. Her stomach did a funny flip-flop at the implied promise.

Rose pushed open the door to find Grace sitting on the floor with Mark. He was sitting cross-legged in front of her. She was holding his hand and frowning at a book in her lap. "According to the book, your life line is supposed to curve like this, so what is this line running up and down? And where the hell is your Mound of Venus? Your hands are flat."

Mark seemed embarrassed to have been caught. "Um, hi, Grace asked me to help her out. She bought this book, you see-"

Much excited about the very notion of valuable antiques, Oscar insisted that Dana should take a tour of the castle with him. Besides the things she had already seen, she pointed out a Boulle cabinet, a Sevres vase, and a 19th century saddle-seat Windsor chair. "There may be other things that I'm not seeing
,”
she warned. "You really need to contact an expert."

They ended their tour back in the dining room, where they found that in the meantime lunch had been laid out with platters of sandwiches.

"This is getting scary
,”
exclaimed Henry. "Where are you keeping her, Oscar? We were just down here and there wasn't a sign of anyone. Now we have sandwiches."