Eastover Treasures

by Dawn Brotherton

  “No index,” she said. “We’ll have to try a more modern Bible. Do you mind if I take this with me? I’d like to see if I can read Mary’s notes.”

  “Of course you can take it. How do you know it’s Mary’s handwriting and not James?”

  She gave him a condescending look. “Really? Who do you think was more likely to write in the Bible? The educated mother of five who was homeschooling, or the farmer husband who spent most of his time outdoors?”

  Scott shrugged.

  “Actually, I recognize her handwriting from the diaries,” she admitted. She looked closer at the scribble. “Can I see the clue again?”

  Scott handed her the slip of paper.

  Aury looked between the paper and the book. “The handwriting doesn’t match.”

  “So?”

  “It might not mean anything, but I don’t think Mary wrote this note.”

  “No way we’d have two different treasure hunts going on at once,” Scott said.

  “I agree. But remember the note we found in the book? Sarah might have taken over where her mother left off.”

  “Does that change anything in our search?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe not. But we should check the handwriting.”

  Scott looked at his watch. “Let’s head back. I need to get some things done. You can check the Bible at my place.”

  She continued thumbing through the pages as Scott drove the utility cart. At the cottage, Scott jumped out. “I need to gather some things, then I could use some help. Are you up for it?”

  “Definitely.” Aury placed the Bible with the other papers in her car. While she waited, she looked at the later version of Scott’s family Bible. The index under treasure told her to look under money. A quick scan there didn’t reveal any obvious clues.

  “Let’s go,” Scott said.

  Aury set the book aside and joined him.

  They drove to the clearing which held the small cottages.

  “I see you got the tree off the roof,” Aury said.

  “The tree service took care of it at the same time they cleared your cars. That industry makes out after a storm.”

  “How bad is the damage?”

  “Surprisingly, not bad.” He pointed to a spot on the right side. “The wood structure wasn’t broken, but I have to replace those shingles. That’s where you come in.”

  Aury smiled. “Great. You’re using me for my brawn.”

  “You can handle it. Besides, I prefer to have someone here if I’m going to be climbing on roofs.”

  Once Scott ascended the ladder with a bundle of shingles, Aury handed him a rope attached at the other end to a bucket of roofing nails. She watched as he raised the contents.

  “Pretty fancy,” she said.

  “Laziness breeds invention, or something like that. I didn’t want to have to keep climbing up and down the ladder.”

  While he set to work, Aury walked through the cottages, making a list of repairs to be completed to prepare the rooms for rent.

  When she finished, she wandered around the clearing, taking note of any work needing to be done. There was a firepit to clean out, so she went in search of a rake.

  As she finished clearing debris away from the pit, she heard a loud crash.

  “Sorry!” Scott called from his spot on the roof. “I should have warned you. I’m done up here and didn’t feel like carrying the extra shingles down.”

  Aury put her hand over her heart. “You scared the crap out of me.”

  “Me too, honestly. I didn’t realize it would be so loud.” He lowered the bucket then descended the ladder. Grabbing a water from the utility cart, he looked over the notes Aury had taken.

  “With the road fixed and the electricity back on, I can open for business again—at least for the cottages. Housekeeping will need to clean and air them out,” Scott said.

  “That should get you some money for the other repairs.”

  Scott tossed the list into the utility cart. Resting against the vehicle, he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve been thinking about the clue. We don’t know where the treasure is, but can we figure out where the heart is?”

  Aury thought about it. “There’s another saying, home is where the heart is. Could we be talking about the house again?”

  “Not specific enough. To say she hid the treasure in the house isn’t much of a clue. Besides, if Sarah’s goal was to hide it from visitors, inside doesn’t make sense.”

  “The hearth of the detached kitchen doesn’t make sense for the same reason.”

  “This is one for your grandmother. Can you ask her what she thinks?”

  “I’m sure she’ll be happy to help.”

  Chapter 45

  July 17, 1862

  After feeding both kids and putting Emily down for a nap, Frederick searched for a way to occupy Thomas. Sending him searching for a beehive away from the river may work.

  “Where’s Sarah? She shouldn’t have missed lunch,” Thomas said.

  Frederick was struggling to keep it together. He didn’t know how or if he should tell Thomas about Sarah, but he also didn’t know how he could keep it a secret. He would have to bury her, and he wasn’t sure if he could handle that task alone. He had no idea how to reach his mother or when she might be home. She had already been gone too long.

  “Frederick, what is your problem? You’re acting strange.”

  “Thomas, I have something to tell you, but you can’t let Emily find out.”

  Thomas looked at him suspiciously. “Are you trying to get me in trouble?”

  “Let’s go out to the porch.” Frederick steered his brother to sit on the step. Once he was sure they were out of earshot, he took a deep breath to steady his nerves and began.

  “Sarah’s been hurt.”

  Thomas jumped to his feet. “Where is she? Let’s go help her.”

  Frederick pulled him down. “She can’t be helped. She was hurt very badly.”

  Thomas stared at him and water formed in his eyes. That’s all it took for the tears to overtake Frederick. Through sniffles, Frederick told Thomas about finding Sarah by the river.

  “Are you sure she’s dead?” Thomas asked. “We need to go check again. You shouldn’t have left her alone.”

  “I’m sure.” Frederick rested his head in his hands. “We need to do something with her. We can’t leave her there. She needs to be buried.”

  Thomas stood and took his brother’s hand. “Let’s get this done before Emily wakes up.”

  Frederick smiled weakly at Thomas, thankful he was acting so bravely. “Let’s get the shovels.”

  The boys carried their shovels down the path toward the water. The closer they got, the slower they walked. Neither were in a hurry to see their sister’s lifeless body.

  Chapter 46

  Present Day

  That quote is from Matthew,” Gran said when Aury read her the clue. She picked up a well-worn Bible from the coffee table near where she sat in the morning to read. Flipping the pages, she skimmed quickly.

  It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and the women had finished their lunch after church. Now they were relaxing and drinking iced tea at Gran’s house.

  “Here it is. Matthew six, verse twenty-one. But if you start at first twenty, it says, ‘But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’”

  “Okay, don’t laugh at me, but I think I read that in a Harry Potter book,” Aury said.

  Gran gave her a strange look.

  “It was written on Dumbledore’s sister’s tombstone.”

  “Well, I doubt a clue from the eighteen-hundreds was referencing the writings of J. K. Rowling,” Gran said.

  Smiling, Aury was pleased her grandmother was keeping up with popular titles. Suddenly Aury sat straight in her chair.

  “What is it?” Gran asked.

  “What if the idea i
s the same though?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Dumbledore’s heart was with his sister. She was his treasure.”

  “Didn’t you say some of Mary’s children didn’t live?”

  “Two died young,” Aury confirmed.

  “Is there a graveyard on the property?” Gran said.

  “Not that I’ve seen, but I’ll ask Scott.”

  “That poor boy. He has his hands full.” Gran picked up her knitting needles, her hands moving in precise movements as she worked the yarn. “I don’t know how he’s going to get Eastover back in working order while living in northern Virginia.”

  “He has Alan to help.”

  “He needs to hire a few more people. His parents didn’t do him any favors letting it get so run down.”

  “They had other things on their mind.”

  * * * * *

  “I guess there could be people buried anywhere, as we saw with the skeleton by the river,” Scott said when Aury asked him during their phone conversation later that night. “I’ve never seen a graveyard on the property. I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking.”

  “Graveyards are often by churches. There were some old photo albums in the manor house. One picture had a building like a church or a chapel. Is there a church there?”

  “No. You’ve seen all the buildings that are left.”

  “What about the haunted woods?” Aury asked.

  “What about them?”

  “Why were they haunted?”

  “My grandparents never told us.”

  “Graveyards are often said to be haunted.”

  “This is when I need to remind you ghosts aren’t real.” Scott chuckled.

  “I know that! But the stories came from somewhere. Do you remember where the haunted woods were?”

  “Of course, but I’m not going there after dark.”

  “Ha, ha,” Aury said. “I’ll protect you, you big scaredy cat.”

  Chapter 47

  Sept 12, 1862

  Frederick tried his best to smile and be patient like his big sister, but he was struggling to come up with food for dinner.

  He reached into the cupboard for the last jar of pickles. They had flour but he had no idea how to make bread. He searched another shelf and found a bag of dried apples. That wasn’t going to be enough.

  “Thomas, I need you to go check the oyster traps,” Frederick said.

  Thomas’s eyes grew wide in alarm.

  “You don’t need to go by the springhouse. Check farther downstream. Be quick. There’s a storm coming. Bring the shells to the house, and I’ll show you how to open them.”

  At that, Thomas grew excited. This was a chore typically reserved for the oldest children. He grabbed a bucket and rushed off.

  Emily tottered in from the dining room looking for Sarah. It had been over a month since the boys buried their sister, but Emily didn’t understand that Sarah wasn’t coming back.

  The thought of her alone in the cold, wet ground brought tears to his eyes. He pushed the thought aside and reached down to pick up his baby sister.

  “Let’s go see what’s in the garden.”

  Frederick split his time between picking whatever looked close to ripe while trying to keep Emily from eating things she shouldn’t. There was very little left in the garden now, and he wasn’t sure when the next vegetables would be ready.

  “Run!”

  Frederick jumped at the sound of his brother’s voice.

  Thomas’s little legs pumped furiously while the pail smacked against his knees. “Run!” he yelled again.

  Frederick grabbed Emily and followed Thomas into the house.

  “What’s going on?” Frederick asked.

  “They saw me. I didn’t mean to let them. I was digging, and then they were there. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

  Frederick placed his hand on his brother’s head. “Calm down, right now!” When Thomas stopped jumping around, Frederick went on. “Who saw you?”

  “Three men. I don’t know who they are. They’re coming. I saw them by the river.”

  Frederick looked out the window toward the river. “Were they in uniform?”

  “I don’t think so. They had on big hats. Their skin was like Auntie Dee’s.”

  “They were colored? Are you sure? Was there a white man with them?”

  “No, just three dark ones. What are we going to do?”

  Frederick looked around nervously. “Hide.”

  Chapter 48

  Present Day

  I’m thinking about giving my two weeks’ notice,” Scott said.

  Aury stopped walking, caught by surprise. “What? I thought you liked your job.”

  “I do, but I like this more. I have had so much fun working outside and making decisions for myself.” He took her arm to get her moving again. “The scrub you did on my accounting books was an eye-opener. I wish my father had someone like you to watch over things. I think he just lost track of things when Mom got sick.”

  Aury’s audit had pointed out a few cost-saving measures for the business, as well as determining the prices Scott was charging for rentals was far below market value.

  As they walked under the shade of the trees toward the clearing, Aury struggled with questions.

  “Not to be a stick in the mud, and you can tell me it’s none of my business, but won’t you be taking a huge pay cut?”

  “The insurance came through; that will help with most of the repairs, especially because I’m doing a lot of the work myself. The lease is up on my apartment soon, and that will save a pretty penny every month. Northern Virginia is ridiculously expensive. I can live in the cottage for now.”

  “Maybe you can apply for the property to be put on the National Historic Record,” Aury suggested.

  “How will that help me?”

  “You may be eligible for state or federal tax credits. If you qualify for both, you could save a lot on fixing things up.”

  “Super idea. I’ll look into it.” Scott had a huge smile.

  “You do look happy,” Aury said.

  “I am. Lately I feel like I’ve been torn between two worlds. Maybe I need to take the leap.”

  “And when we find the treasure, you’ll be rich.”

  “There is that,” he agreed. “But until then, I’ll keep a close eye on my books and eat like a college student.”

  They arrived at the clearing and were met by Alan.

  “So good to see you again,” Aury said to him.

  “I hear you’ve been helping out a lot around here. Thanks for keeping Scott motivated.”

  “How did your property fare? Did you have any problems?”

  “No. My place was fine. I had to help my mother, though. No one hurt. Just a lot to tidy up.” Alan gestured toward the cottages. “The cleaners came by, and these are ready to go.”

  “Good thing. Two of them are rented for next weekend already,” Scott said.

  “That’s wonderful news!” Aury said.

  “Things are picking up.”

  “I went by the dining hall earlier. I’m glad you threw away the food, but I needed to scrub everything out,” Alan said. “I assume the renters this weekend won’t need any food prepared.”

  “No, they’ll take care of themselves. Until I can rent the manor house, I don’t think we’ll have any large groups.”

  “What about campers?” Aury asked.

  Both men looked at her.

  “You have the space. Why don’t you open up some spots for tent camping? You may get some scout troops interested. Or church groups.”

  “That’s an interesting idea. We can look at the area behind the dining hall. It’s fairly flat with shade, and the campers can use the restrooms in the halls.” Scott was excited.

  “Do you have to provide a place for a shower?” she asked.

  “I think we can rig an outdoor shower. We can run a hose from the dining hall and set up some wooden stalls for privacy,” Alan
said.

  Aury shivered. “Are you kidding? That’ll be way too cold this time of the year. Is there any room inside?”

  Without another word, they started walking toward the dining hall to check the options.

  “What are you going to do about the motel?” Alan asked.

  A long sigh escaped Scott’s lips. “There’s no saving it. The fire department cleared me to go inside to see what I can salvage, but they want me to wear a hard hat.”

  “We should do it before the next rain if we want to save anything,” Alan suggested.

  “Aury, would you like to go with us and see if there’s anything left belonging to your friends?”

  “Sure. I came ready to work.”

  “I thought you’d say that.” Smiling, he placed a hard hat on her head.

  * * * * *

  Hours later, they had cleared out everything of value. Scott and Alan decided it wasn’t worth trying to recover the appliances in the small kitchen. They would buy new when the time came. Same with the washers and dryers.

  The bedding from the rooms where the roof wasn’t damaged was packed into the back of Alan’s truck so he could take it to town and have it cleaned. The rest they left for the dumpster.

  The quilting supplies had been mostly cleared away before the ladies reclaimed their cars. What was left wasn’t worth saving. Aury took notes on what she threw out to make it easier for the ladies to file insurance claims if they wanted to.

  Alan waved goodbye as he left Aury and Scott drinking from their water bottles in front of the broken-down motel.

  “I forgot to tell you; Dr. Vinson called me yesterday and asked if we can come by,” Scott said. “She’s dating the skeleton to the 1860s. Said it fits with what they found with the bones, as well as the Minié ball and photograph found with them.”

  “Makes sense. I still wonder why she was buried there.”

  “We’ll never know.”

  The cicadas and frogs sounded in the silence as Aury and Scott got lost in their own musings.

  Aury started when a thought hit her. “Is that where the haunted woods are? By the river? Maybe she was haunting them.”