Eastover Treasures

by Dawn Brotherton

  “Strange,” Aury noted.

  “That’s what I thought,” Gran said. “So I did some digging in the court records in Doylestown.”

  Ethan and Joyce smiled and waited patiently. They apparently already knew this part.

  “When Pearl remarried, her second husband, Daniel Cartwright, was none too happy that her seven-year-old son, Matthew Junior, inherited a piece of land he felt should be his.”

  “Daniel was my great-great-grandfather,” Ethan offered.

  “It wasn’t until Matthew Junior had a son who was getting married that it got settled. He had to fight his stepfather in court to get the deed in his name so he could give it to his son Grant when he got married.”

  “My grandfather?” Scott asked.

  “One and the same,” Gran said.

  “But how did you get caught up in this?” Scott asked Ethan.

  Gran replied for him. “I tracked Pearl’s children from her second marriage. There were a lot more leads on that side of the family, and Doylestown isn’t that big. It didn’t take long to trace the branches to Ethan’s family. When I told him about you, he was excited to pay a visit.”

  “We were due for a getaway, so we jumped at the chance. I hope you don’t mind,” Ethan said.

  Scott smiled. “Of course not. Where did you come in from?”

  “Ithaca, New York,” Joyce said.

  “Isn’t that where Cornell University is?” Aury said.

  Joyce nodded. “I teach in the computer engineering college there.”

  “And we own a vineyard on Seneca Lake,” Ethan added.

  “I’ll bet it’s beautiful.” Aury smiled.

  “You’ll have to come for a visit sometime,” Joyce offered.

  “We’ve been meaning to make it down to Virginia for ages. I’m glad we finally had an excuse,” Ethan said.

  “We’ve heard so many stories over the years that we couldn’t pass up a chance to see this place,” Joyce said.

  Ethan jumped in. “Great-grandpa Cartwright—that would be Pearl’s son—used to tell us about how his ancestors supported the Union during the Civil War, even though they lived in Virginia. There’s quite the legend about how two young boys and their little sister made their way through the Confederate lines to Pennsylvania with only a donkey cart, three slaves, and their wits.”

  “You’d think they fought off half the Confederate soldiers to hear the old folks tell it,” Joyce said.

  “Guess it’s been embellished over the years.” Ethan took Joyce’s hand.

  She smiled at him. “But to see where it all started is fascinating.”

  “I’m lost,” Scott admitted. “I’ve never heard this story.”

  “Really? I would’ve thought you heard the same tale. It’s an annual reenactment at our family reunion,” Ethan said.

  “It’s not quite that bad,” Joyce assured him. “But I could recite it in my sleep.”

  “My family tree is thin, and many died young during the wars. I’d be lonely at a family reunion.”

  “Please tell us the story,” Aury said.

  Ethan sat back into the couch and gazed into the empty fireplace, gathering his thoughts.

  “During the Civil War, Eastover was a simple farm owned by James and Mary Townsend,” he began.

  “We found Mary’s diaries,” Aury jumped in.

  “I’d love to read them,” Joyce said.

  “After the story. I’m dying to hear this legend,” Scott said.

  “Well, seems like James disappeared, along with his eldest son. No one knows what happened to them.” Ethan went on to fill in the blanks about Mary’s life as well as her five children. It tracked with what Scott and Aury had pieced together.

  When he got to the part about the three slaves meeting the children, Aury was on the edge of her seat.

  “The ruse they cooked up about the slaves being charged to take the kids north worked well. They were stopped and checked a few times, but Thomas or Emily would turn on the tears, and the soldiers let them pass, probably so they wouldn’t get stuck with whiney kids.” Ethan stretched his long legs out in front of him and considered his toes.

  “The legend says the kids’ grandparents were so happy, they gave the three men jobs in the factory. The parents never showed up though.”

  “I wonder why I never heard this story,” Scott mused again.

  “Your family tree is down Matthew Bell’s side. Senior died before his son was more than a toddler. He didn’t have a chance to pass on many stories,” Gran said.

  “But Matthew’s mother could have told him. After all, it was her family legend.”

  “Could just be timing, being in the right place at the right time,” Joyce said. “Maybe Junior wasn’t around when the grandparents were passing on the stories. His half-siblings were quite a few years behind him.”

  “Did they say anything about the treasure?” Aury asked.

  “What treasure?” Joyce said.

  “We’ve been following clues Mary left to find something hidden. It started as a game for the kids, so it could be nothing at all,” Scott said.

  “Or it could be something,” Aury insisted. “Sarah left a note for Thomas saying she was going to hide something valuable.”

  “We don’t know if he ever found it,” Scott explained.

  “What kind of clues?” Joyce asked.

  “We find a short poem or note, and it takes us to another location where we dig up another clue. We’ve found . . .” He turned to Aury. “Six, so far?”

  Aury counted them in her head. “Yes. But I think we’re close.”

  Gran watched the exchange with sheer delight. “I’m so glad you all got to meet each other. This has been such a wonderful day.”

  Aury slapped Scott playfully on the leg. “You have cousins!”

  “You have a lot of cousins,” Ethan said. “I have three sisters, three sets of aunts and uncles—and they all have kids—and my grandma was one of four.”

  “Do they all live in Pennsylvania?” Gran asked.

  “Mostly Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York.”

  “Wow! I can’t imagine a family reunion with that many people,” Scott said.

  “That’s only one branch. I’ll have to sketch it out for you.”

  “That would be great. Between Aury and Liza, I have learned more about my past than I ever thought possible.”

  “So what are you going to do with the treasure?” Joyce asked.

  Scott shrugged. “If one even exists, it would be great to have enough money to keep this camp running like my parents would have liked.”

  “Liza told us your parents died young. I’m sorry to hear that,” Ethan offered.

  “Thanks. And we recently got hit with a hurricane that took out the motel. It’s taking me a while to get back on my feet.”

  “The commute isn’t helping either,” Aury said.

  Ethan and Joyce looked at Scott.

  “I live in northern Virginia. I’m fixing up this place on the weekends,” he explained.

  “That’s rough. I don’t suppose you could take over Eastover full time?” Joyce said.

  “I’m running the numbers and considering it.”

  “I understand where you’re coming from,” Ethan said. “It was a scary leap to buy the vineyard and give up my day job. But I tell you what, I love the outdoors and the people who walk through my door. They come from everywhere, and they all have a different story.”

  Aury smiled at Scott. “That’s what I’ve been telling him.”

  Chapter 57

  That was a good visit,” Aury commented after Gran, Ethan, and Joyce had departed.

  Scott looked at his watch. “But we are way behind schedule. I need to switch over the cottages. I have two more families coming in tonight.”

  “I’ll help. Then we can go to the church.”

  “I have to stop by the campsites and make sure everything looks good there as well.”

  “I can’t believe you
have campers already!” Aury said as she and Scott piled into the utility cart.

  “It was a great idea. I started getting hits almost as soon as I put it on the website. I also listed it with some of the tourist sites and now I’m booked out through early October.”

  “And I see the temporary bridge was replaced.”

  “Yep. I needed to prioritize that so the contractors could move their equipment back here to start tearing down the motel.”

  After they finished cleaning and changing out the linens in the two rentable cottages, they stopped by Scott’s cottage for water.

  “What did you want to show me?” Aury asked.

  Scott opened a folder he had sitting on the table and pulled out three photographs printed on full sheets of paper. “These are the white stones we found. I had a friend from the office run them through a program he had to make the markings more distinct.”

  Aury picked up the pages, studying them closely. “He did a great job. I can’t believe how much detail he found.”

  “Two of them were definitely carved with dates. The third one doesn’t have any markings he could detect.”

  “November 2, 1847, through November 21, 1847. How sad.” She flipped to the next one. “Emma Grace April 12, 1854, through December 23, 1856. It’s bad enough to lose a child, but to lose one right before Christmas had to be tough on the whole family.”

  She stared at the next photo, holding it close, then farther away from her eyes. “You’re right. I don’t see anything on this.”

  Scott said, “There’s one more page because he tried to sharpen the detail from both sides.”

  Aury repeated the process but gave up and shook her head. “Why bother marking a grave without a carving?”

  “Could be they didn’t have a chance to complete the carving before having to leave,” Scott suggested.

  “Or that could be where the treasure is buried!”

  “Did you bring your metal detector?”

  “It’s in the trunk of my car.”

  They wasted no time retrieving the metal detector and bumping their way down the uneven path to the old church. The sun had reached its zenith and was working its way back down the sky.

  Scott grabbed a shovel and clippers while Aury gathered her metal detector and headset. After clearing the vines away from the white, unmarked stone, Scott stepped aside to give Aury access. She flipped a switch and began a sweeping motion across the ground.

  As he waited, Scott wandered around the side of the church. “Aury!” After no response, he called again. “Hey, Aury!”

  Aury looked up. Seeing Scott staring at her, she removed the headset. “What’s up?”

  “Come check this out.”

  She followed him around the building to where he had hacked away at a swath of kudzu close to the ground.

  Peeking through the dark green, Aury saw several small, white stones, very similar to what they had found out front.

  She shook her head in frustration. “Do you think they’re more grave markers?”

  “Could be. Or they may have collected them for another reason and used a few to mark the graves because they were handy.”

  “Why couldn’t this be simple?”

  “Were you picking up anything?” Scott asked, indicating the metal detector.

  “A little but I’m not sure.”

  “How do we know we won’t be adding to your bottle cap collection?”

  “We don’t. This isn’t a high-end model where you can set for different metals. It’s a simple yes or no.”

  “Why don’t you try it over the marked graves and see if there’s a difference?” he suggested.

  “Good idea.”

  They returned to the front of the building, and Aury began sweeping across a larger area. Finally she took off the headset and handed the equipment to Scott.

  “It sounds the same to me,” she said.

  Scott repeated her process and confirmed there was no significant jump in the signal.

  “I don’t want to dig up a coffin,” Aury said.

  “Neither do I.”

  “How deep do you think coffins are buried?”

  “Isn’t the saying ‘six feet under’?” Scott glanced at the sky. It was getting dark although it wasn’t even four o’clock yet.

  “If a young girl were to bury a treasure, she probably wouldn’t dig that far. A couple feet at the most, I would think. Especially depending on how big the container was.” Aury picked up the shovel from where Scott had put it aside. She resolutely plunged it into the soil near the unmarked stone. A rumble of thunder accompanied her movement.

  While she dug, Scott investigated the front of the church building. Chopping away some weeds, he located the front door, it’s once-beautiful wood now a mix of black and green spores from mold and ivy. Tearing away enough of the kudzu to reach the handle and clear a barely-man-sized opening, Scott was excited to see what was inside.

  “I found something!” Aury called.

  Scott joined her, dropping to his knees to pull out dirt with his hands.

  The first drop of rain hit Aury’s face. “Uh-oh.” She fell to her knees also and began to dig beside Scott.

  As water fell from the sky, the freshly dug ground turned to mud, sliding back to fill the hole as quickly as they could scoop it out.

  “We can’t give up now,” Aury said. “We’re too close.”

  Lightning lit the sky. Scott doubled his efforts. He slipped his fingers under a wooden box the size of a breadbox. “See if you can clear away the other end.”

  Aury dug furiously, leaning over the hole to block the onslaught of rain. “Got it.”

  “Now pull—hard!”

  Together they struggled with the case until the suction of the mud released and the box popped free of the hole. Aury landed on her backside, laughing. Scott grabbed the box and made a dash for the church door.

  Aury followed him. He handed over the box to her. “Hold this. I’m going to see if I can open this door.”

  He stepped on top of the ivy at the bottom of the door to increase the opening size. With his hand on the latch, he pressed down at the same time as pushing on the door with his shoulder. After a few progressively harder strikes, the door gave way, propelling him through the door, tripping as his foot caught in the ivy.

  Aury was through the door in a flash, jumping nimbly over Scott. She set the box down and rushed to shut the door behind them, blocking out the gale force winds that had kicked up with the storm.

  As she pulled the damp hair out of her eyes, she looked around the dark space. The only light entering was from the two windows she and Scott had uncovered when they visited before. With the storm outside, even that light was too weak to do them much good.

  Scott sneezed.

  “Bless you,” she said.

  He stood and took stock. “This place is a mess.” He tried to wipe his hands on his pants but only succeeded in making more mud.

  A sudden whooshing noise caused Aury to duck as something flew past her head and landed in the rafters.

  “Well, that’s one more problem to deal with,” Scott muttered.

  Aury laughed at herself. “But at least we’re out of the rain.”

  “It came on so suddenly. I have a feeling it will blow through.”

  “What’s in the box?” Aury asked.

  Scott picked it up and took it to a table closer to the windows at the back of the church. When he set it down, it kicked up another flurry of dust. It was Aury’s turn to sneeze multiple times.

  “Bless you!” Scott said with a laugh.

  Leaning in close, he examined the latch holding the box closed.

  “Wait. I have a light.” Aury pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight.

  Even through the mud, they could see a beautifully sculpted wooden box. Aury ran her fingers across the carved images on the lid.

  Scott studied the latch. Standing, he said, “Let me borrow your phone a minute.”

 
; He took the light and shone it around the open room until he found what he was looking for. He picked up a thin stick and worked to clear away the mud from the mechanism.

  Finally they were rewarded with a click as the clasp came free.

  “Ready for this?” Scott asked.

  “Do you think it’s the treasure or another clue?”

  “It better be the treasure after all this.”

  He lifted the lid, and Aury shone the light inside. The glint off golden metal was bright and shiny.

  Chapter 58

  Is that what I think it is?” Aury said.

  Scott picked up two of the gold coins, turning them back and forth in the light. Replacing them, he pulled out a heavy package wrapped in cloth. Holding it in the palm of his hand, he unwrapped a sparkling necklace made of sapphires and diamonds.

  “Oh, my!” Aury said.

  Scott handed it to her and reached in for another bag. He loosened the drawstrings and tipped two pairs of earrings into his hand.

  Aury was overwhelmed by the beauty of the jewelry as Scott pulled yet another bag from the chest.

  More stones glittered in the flashlight, having been protected from dust by the cloth they were encased in. This necklace wouldn’t have been worn on a farm during any time period. The teardrop red jewel was surrounded by chips of blue sparkles.

  “I can’t believe it’s really a treasure,” she said. She picked up a locket, elegantly engraved with roses hanging on a thin gold chain. She held the phone under her chin as she used her thumbnails to pry open the two-inch pendant. Inside, a very happy couple was pictured in their wedding finery. The man stood tall with one hand resting on the shoulder of his seated bride. Aury closed the locket, saying a silent prayer for the couple.

  Coins clicked together as Scott counted them out. “Twenty. I wonder what they’re worth?”

  When they finished searching the box, they had found the locket, three other necklaces, four pairs of earrings, twenty gold coins, and a stack of papers. Scott decided to wait until they got to his cottage to sort through them.

  They put everything neatly back into the box and closed the lid. Only then did they notice the pounding rain had stopped. The wind still blew in the trees, occasionally throwing a shower of raindrops from the nearby leaves.