38. Thirty-Eight
This was it. Daniel patted the Belgian horse’s beige neck and tied him to the wizened oak with the leather lead rope. The two-foot-by-two-foot strongbox hadn’t proven taxing for the heavy-hoofed animal, and after a bit of wresting and wriggling, he and Camilla had plunked the heavy chest to the ground.
By the time they’d rented the horse and freed their prize, the day had grown late. Even with the sun dipping beneath the trees, the Mississippi heat remained relentless.
Camilla wiped an arm across her sweating brow and then knelt in the secluded corner of the property by the iron-wrapped box, peering at the latch. “I expected a hefty lock.”
“There isn’t one?” He knelt beside her and smeared the mud from the latch. “There’s a keyhole here.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Of course there would be.” She groaned. “And I bet the key is hidden somewhere else, with a bunch of silly clues to follow.”
Perhaps. But then again…
He ran his fingers over the box. Only about a foot deep, it had been exceptionally heavy for its size. That could only mean one thing.
Daniel pushed the latch, if for no other reason than to be sure. The button protested the grit but gave way. The latch sprung free.
They stared at one another. Had it really been so easy?
Knees pressed into the damp earth, he grasped the top corners of the banded box and lifted. The hinges resisted his effort but soon screeched open.
Camilla gasped.
Inside, golden coins caught the day’s fading light.
She clenched his arm. “Are you seeing this?”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, emotion congealing in his throat. They’d found it. The lost family treasure. Right here in their own yard all along. On top of the coins, a yellowed envelope displayed the name “Mary” in flowing penmanship.
Camilla plucked the letter from the pile, wiped her hands down her trousers, and then released the seal on the back. “It’s a letter to her daughter.” She squinted and then held it out to him. “Read it, please?”
Daniel angled the paper to the light and read aloud.
“‘My dearest Mary, here I leave to you my legacy. May this letter find you prosperous and well. Likely I am no longer with you and have given you the location of your inheritance in secret either in my private diary after my passing—if such were unexpected—or in my instructions prior to my death. I used what I needed to, mind. I don’t know how much of what remained you found in my storeroom, but I aimed to be careful to use only a portion. That which belonged to me, gifted as my dowry by my father.’”
“So that was what was in those little boxes in the hidden room.” Camilla puffed her cheeks. “Dorothy kept her gold in them and must have used it throughout her life.”
“But only what she believed belonged to her from her dowry.” Daniel swatted a mosquito. “Did Mary never find that either? Maybe my grandfather discovered the room and the gold.”
“Which explains where Papa got one of those coins.”
He scratched his chin. “And what likely convinced my father the treasure was real.”
Daniel returned to reading the letter.
“‘Hopefully, you have come of age, and this blood money will be cleaned in your hands. I’m sure you must have a lot of questions. I am not perfect, and we all have our sins to atone for. As recompense for my own, I never touched the greed that consumed me, choosing instead to live out my days without it in penance.
“‘I deserve the broken heart doled out as punishment for my infidelity. And Captain Belton deserved the crate of river stones he shipped to New Orleans the night he thought to abandon me and carry off my gold.
“‘I still don’t know if he deserved to die by fire and find no rest at the bottom of the Mississippi. Perhaps there simply is no mercy for some sins.’”
Camilla sucked in a quick breath. “So that’s what it meant in the story you told me. About how she swindled him in return.”
Daniel nodded. “Everyone thought the gold went down on the Carolina, but she’d sent him off with a crate of rocks instead.”
“Goodness.” Camilla stared at the glittering coins matching the one he’d found on her boat. Then she shook away whatever thought plagued her. “Keep reading.”
He focused on the yellowed page. “But my penance isn’t yours to share. There are five hundred gold coins here. Not useless paper money.”
He let out a low whistle. “No wonder this thing weighs so much.”
Camilla plucked one of the coins from the box and rolled it around in her fingers.
There had to be a fortune in there. He refocused on the letter.
“‘I pray you can start a new life for yourself, living independent of anyone else. You are the mistress of your destiny. May what burdened me be freedom for you. With all the love of my heart, Mother.’”
Daniel folded the letter and tucked it back inside the envelope. “I suppose that solves the mystery. Dorothy kept most of the treasure to hand down to her daughter after her death so she didn’t have to face the consequences of explaining where it came from and the sins of her affair to her child. But Mary hadn’t believed her and attributed the claims to her mother’s high fever. So, no one ever found the treasure.”
Camilla flipped the coin back into the box. “How much do you suppose this is worth?”
He pulled her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Oh, I’d say it’ll buy a wedding dress. And a cake. And perhaps a few decorations for the house.”
She snuggled into him. “And pay to open a new law practice.”
“And purchase a shiny new ferry boat. Top of the line.”
She looked up at him, eyes shining. “A whole new life for all of us. Mabel won’t have to worry.”
Always thinking of others. He pecked her cheek, then ran his thumb over the ring on her left hand. “A new life for all of us.”
The cicadas picked up their evening song, and they held each other. All along, God hadn’t been punishing him. He’d seen his troubling circumstances as consequences for his lackluster faith. When in truth, those very trials had urged him to remember the peace found in relying on the Creator through his struggles.
He nuzzled Camilla’s hair. “I’m thankful for you, my soon-to-be bride.”
She squeezed him in return. “As I am for you. God is good.”
“That he is.” Weight settled in his stomach. He’d start off their life together by confiding his inner battles with his partner. “I’ve realized I’ve been angry with God because I saw all the troubles with my law practice and my family as some kind of punishment. And since I hadn’t done anything wrong to result in the loss of my business, I assumed God had decided to shun me for my lukewarm faith.”
Camilla twisted to look up at him, compassion in her eyes. But she gave him a moment to collect the rest of his thoughts.
He pressed on. “Terrible things have happened. Our fathers’ deaths. My family’s involvement in criminal activities—the extent of which is still to be determined.”
A warm breeze skittered over her hair, sending a lock to tickle his nose. Camilla brushed it away. “That’s probably what the line in your grandfather’s journal meant. He didn’t want your father discovering what died with the gold because it was likely people.” A shiver ran through her. “God only knows how many people were tossed down the dreadful sinkhole.”
He gathered her close. The back of his eyes burned for the horrors Father must have suffered. Only the comfort of knowing his father had a robust faith and would now reside in heaven kept the worst of the grief at bay.
“Through all those awful things,” he said against the warmth of her temple, “I also found you. We can start a life together, and God even provided for our needs. I’m ashamed I ever doubted.”
Camilla kissed him, soft and sweet. “The nature of the human struggle, I’m afraid. What a wonder it is that, no matter how many times we wander astray, our heavenly Father is always waiting with open arms for us to return.”
As he held her close, the scent of lavender laced through her tresses enveloped his senses, electrifying every nerve.
“Right you are,” he murmured, voice growing husky.
Their gazes locked, and the reflection of a promising future glimmered in her eyes. A shared dream of a life filled with endless adventures and unconditional love. Leaning forward, Daniel found her sweet lips, and electricity surged when she snuggled into him.
His love intertwined with hers, binding them together with the promises of tomorrow. As he deepened the kiss, his heart pulsed with love for this incredible woman who had stolen it with her fierce beauty and generous soul.
And he could hardly wait for their next adventure.