“What is it, what are you doing?” Henry asked me.
I began pulling the leather-bound wonders from the shelf, searching for the captain’s logs. “If Lottie’s father and grandfather were connected to Peter Easton, then surely there would be evidence of where he hid his treasures.”
“Treasures?”
“Yes, in my time, there are so many stories of Easton’s escapades. He raided the Atlantic for years and is believed to be one of the wealthiest pirates that ever lived.” I flipped feverishly through pages. “But one story sticks out in my mind more than others. Near the end of his reign, the Spanish sent a fleet to come to Newfoundland and arrest him. But Easton fled with three chests of treasure. He entrusted two men from his crew to hide it over near Corner Brook,” I strained to remember the exact place, “um, Shell Bird Island, I think?”
Henry felt for the chair and sat down with a cold, salt water cloth and leaned back to cover his eyes. “Go on, I’m listening.”
“Well, the story says that one of the men shot the other and buried him with the chests. Then he drowned on the way back to his captain. Leaving the exact location of the treasure a mystery, even to Peter Easton himself.”
“Well, that would drive any man insane,” Henry quipped.
“Yeah, people have searched for years on and around Shell Bird Island, but no one’s ever found it.”
“Then how do we know it’s true?” Henry asked as he reached over to soak his cloth in the cold water again.
“We don’t,” I replied with a grin. “But I know someone who might.”
***
Lottie sat across the desk from me, fiddling with the hem of her apron. I’d asked Finn to go get her for me and Henry left with him when she arrived, giving us some privacy but claiming to need fresh air.
“So, what’s this all about, then?” she asked me.
I smiled at the sight of the diamond studs in her ears. “Do you like my gift?”
She absentmindedly reached up to touch one. “Yes, thank you. You don’t have to give me anything, you know.”
“I know,” I assured her. “But I wanted to. It’s a token of my friendship and appreciation for The Queen.” I leaned back in my chair. “God, it’s the least I could do for what you’ve given me.”
“Is that what this is about?” she continued. “Did you need them back?”
“No! Goodness, no,” I told my friend. “They’re yours. Keep them.” I stole a glance at the stack of captain’s logs I’d been reading. “Lottie, you said you grew up on this ship, right?”
She looked nervous. “Yes, why?”
“I haven’t told everyone yet, but we’re going to be heading out on a really long journey.”
She leaned back and crossed her arms. “How long? Where are we going?”
“England.”
She bolted forward. “England? Jesus, Dianna, that’s two or three months at sea before we even meet landfall.”
“I know,” I replied. “And we’re going to need some serious money to fund a trip like that. Not to mention the means to survive once we’re there, and then for the journey back.”
Her big blue eyes stared at me. “So, what does this have to do with me?”
“Lottie, did your father ever mention The Treasure of Shell Bird Island?” Her look of shock was enough to tell me the answer.
“How do you–”
“I know all about it,” I said. “And I also know that it’s enough to fund a thousand trips to England.”
“That treasure is cursed,” she replied curtly.
“How so?” I amused.
I knew damn well it wasn’t. But then a part of me wondered if that was possible. That maybe a curse is the reason no one’s ever found it. Who was I to say magic and curses didn’t exist?
“You have to travel through The Devil’s Dancing Pools just to get to the mouth of the caves,” she explained. “Cave’s apparently protected by sirens. And then the treasure itself…” she shook her head and stood, turning away from me in frustration. “No, it’s not possible. We’ll all likely be killed.”
“What about the treasure?”
“It’s protected by a Watchman,” Lottie told me.
I shrugged. “What’s that?”
She ran her hands through her hair in exasperation as she paced the floor. “My grandfather was on that mission, you know?” She didn’t wait for my reply, just kept pacing. “They said he drowned trying to get back to Easton’s ship, but that was a lie. My grandfather shot and killed the poor bugger who was sent with him, then buried the body with the treasure.”
I chewed on my lips as I listened. Then I realized. “A watchman.”
Lottie nodded. “He abandoned his captain and fled back to England with the location of the treasure locked away in his mind.” She finally stopped pacing and turned to face me. “But not before he told my father.”
My eyes widened. “Your father? But he would have been just a boy.”
“Yes, I know. His memory of it was foggy, but we spent years sailing back and forth to the West Coast, searching for the cave. It wasn’t until the year he died that we finally figured it out.”
“Figured what out?”
Lottie’s eyes glossed over as they faded away in thought. “I was still just a girl, barely sixteen. We figured it out together one night after looking at maps for hours. But he refused to take me.” She came over to my desk then and rolled out one of the maps that sat atop of it, pointing to the area over near Corner Brook. “See, here is where everyone knows Shell Bird Island to be.” Her finger skimmed across the paper, coming closer to where we currently were and stopping at a minuscule dot. “But here, nestled right in this cove just off the South East Coast is Shellbed Isle. And if you mispronounce it?”
I beamed. “Shell Bird Island.”
“Exactly, and look,” she pointed to the spot just before it, a long and narrow inlet. “The Devil’s Dancing Pools.”
I stared at the map unblinkingly. “Rapids. Of course. If you can get through the rapids, you’d come to a pool of calm water, which is probably where the mouth of the cave is.” Excitement flowed through my veins. We were going to get that treasure. But then one look at Lottie and all of that came to a halt. “But, wait. Your father. You said he went?”
“Yes, he went.” Her eyes glistened with tears again. “And he never came back.”
I stood on my side of the desk and reached a hand over to cover hers. “I’m so sorry.”
Lottie sniffled and wiped away a stray tear. “It’s fine, it was a long time ago.”
For a moment, I wanted to toss the whole idea. But I was determined. I had a mission and that treasure was the key to everything. I shifted my hand from hers and planted my fingers on Shellbed Isle. “We’re going.”
“What?” she replied in disbelief.
“We’ll make it,” I assured her. “I’ve been white water rafting dozens of times. I can maneuver us through the dancing pools.”
Lottie backed away, shaking her head in confusion. “Whitewater–” she paused and her face turned to anger. “But what about the sirens and the Watchman?”
“I have a feeling we can get past the sirens,” I told her, thinking of my own encounter and hoping it would work in my favor again. “And we’ll have three burly pirates with us. I think we can handle a single ghostly guard.” She seemed to vibrate with anger or fear, I wasn’t sure which one, as she considered my words. A few moments passed before either of spoke again.
“Why?” she finally asked. “Why are we suddenly going to England? Why all the urgency?”
I inhaled deeply. This was a moment of truth. I had to come clean about it all if I honestly valued the new friendship Lottie had given me. “Sit back down,” I told her, and she did. “I have something to tell you.”
***
Finn, Gus, Henry, Lottie, and I all stood around my desk as I told them the plan. Lottie was silent, distant, only nodding now and then to remain in on the conversation. Bu
t her eyes kept glancing in my direction, wondering, disbelieving.
“I said it, didnae I,” Finn exclaimed as he playfully punched Gus in the arm. Gus just rolled his eyes and sighed. “When we dragged her aboard the boat that day. The scraggly little thing.”
“What do you mean?’ I asked.
“First, I thought ye were Maria Cobham,” Finn began, “Then I saw yer face and thought maybe ye were her sister. And what did ye say, Gus?”
The other pirate looked annoyed with his Scottish friend. “I don’t know, something to the tune of… if Maria Cobham had a sister, she would have killed her years ago.”
My stomach flopped at the vague memory. I feared for my life that day. Now look at me. Captain of those very men. “Well, if we had grown up in the same time, I’m sure she would have,” I said grimly and then smiled, breaking the tension that suddenly built in the room. “But Maria is going to try to kill my mother. So, I’m going to find Peter Easton’s hidden treasure and then sail to England and save her. You can come, you can stay. It’s entirely up to you.” My words were for all of them, but my eyes flickered to Lottie who still hung around the back, pacing behind the men. She glanced over their shoulders and met my gaze. I wished I could read her mind.
Henry stood by my side and held my hand tight. “I go where you go, remember?”
I lit up with love for the man and I squeezed his hand back. “This time, just hold on to me, okay?”
He chuckled and leaned into my face, resting his forehead against mine. “I’ll never let you go again.”
Everyone moaned, and Finn growled some Scottish words I couldn’t understand. “Git a room, would ye?”
“Okay,” I asked around, pulling away from the lure of Henry. “Are you in?”
Finn and Gus exchanged looks and both looked at me with devilish grins. But I was surprised when Gus replied, “This is what we were made for. If you ask me, an adventure like this is exactly what we need right now,” he paused and then bowed his head slightly, still holding my gaze, “Captain.”
“Aye, I’m in.”
Lottie stepped forward, arms crossed tightly. I wanted her approval so bad. We were on her father’s ship, about to embark on her father’s last journey. She opened her mouth to speak and my heart sped up.
“Of course I’m in. I missed out on this adventure ten years ago. I’m not about to let it slip through my hands again.” She spoke the words, but I could still sense the hesitancy in her face.
Perhaps it was the fact I could travel through time, or maybe that I was a Cobham. Either way, I swore, then and there, that I would never betray her trust. I would spend the rest of my days proving that I was worthy of the friendship she offered so willingly.
“It's settled then,” I exclaimed. “Finn set a course for Shellbed Isle. Everyone else, get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us.” And one epic adventure, I added to myself.
Chapter Fifteen
Icouldn’t sleep that night, my mind racing with thoughts of treasure and my mother. And everything in between. I couldn’t shut my eyes, it only made the images brighter, faster, more vivid. The hot morning sun crept in through the windows of my quarters and slowly warmed my back as I sat at my desk, pouring over maps and the endless pile of captain’s logs.
Was I leading my friends on a suicide mission?
I’d spent the better part of the night plotting out all the different ways it could go bad. Too many to count. We all had so much to risk, and very little to gain. If we even made it to England, we could find that we were too late. That Maria had found my mom and ended her life. Or worse. What if we made it, found my mother before The Cobhams, but the woman who raised me was just as evil as my apparent sister? Did I really want to shatter the perfect image of my mother that I’d held on to all these years?
In the stark silence of the room, I heard Henry stir. “Well, now that’s a glorious sight worth waiting for.”
I turned in my chair to find him laying on his side, facing me, eyes open. All my worries melted away and I jumped to my feet before sliding into bed with the pirate.
“You can see,” I pointed out and held his beautiful face in my hands. His wounds were healing fast and the man I remembered began to rise to the surface again.
He crushed his lips to mine with a hunger I’d never get used to. Never wanted to. When he pulled away, my body protested.
“Yes, finally,” he replied and brushed the hair from my face admiringly. “And you’re just as beautiful as ever.” He smiled but I knew he sensed my unease as his brow furrowed. “Were you awake all night?”
I let my body fall against him, basking in the warmth and protection it offered. “Yes, I couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t stop worrying.”
“About what?”
I shrugged. “Everything?”
Henry pulled me even closer. “You have nothing to worry about, Dianna.”
His tender kisses began at my ear and slowly trailed down my jaw, neck, and then stopped at my shoulder where the still pink wound resided. A jagged reminder of what took me away from him. He sighed.
“I’d felt it. But, God, it pains me to see it.” Goosebumps scoured across my skin as his lips brushed the tiny bumps left behind by the stitches.
My body moved against his, like two waves dancing in sync. Henry’s able fingers poked under the loose collar of my nightgown and tugged it down, revealing my naked breasts. His approving moan, low, raspy, and guttural shook my core as his blonde head dipped to take one in his mouth.
Finally, he shifted his body to hover over mine and peered down at me with a devilish smirk. “I’ve regained my strength.” He spoke the words in unison with his grinding hips, rolling into me.
Delightful moans escaped my body and I wrapped my legs around his waist to pull him closer. “Good, now make me forget all my worries, Captain Barrett.”
He leaned in, pressing his warm mouth to my ear, his lips moving against my skin as he whispered, “Aye, aye, my queen.”
***
After a sleepless morning in bed with Henry, I dragged my tired and sore body down to the mess deck for some food. The crew had already eaten and were well into their day. My cheeks flushed as I passed them on the way, their playful smirks alerting me to the fact that my quarters may not be as sound proof as I’d thought.
I found Lottie in the kitchen, cleaning up and preparing for lunch. I grabbed a fresh bun and strolled over to the sink where she was bent over a heap of dirty dishes.
“Morning,” I greeted.
She stopped and smiled. “Morning? More like afternoon. Are you still finding yourself tired? That baby is takin’ a lot out of you.”
I lobbed off a bite. “It’s not the baby stealing all my strength,” I joked, surprised when I actually made her laugh. “Here, let me do these.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I need to do something. Feel useful.”
“Dianna, you’re going to be leading us across the Atlantic,” she reminded me. “I hardly think you’re useless.” But she removed her hands from the soapy water and stepped aside.
I finished my bun and then went to work on the dirty dishes. “Yes, but–” I paused and shrugged. “You know what I mean.”
Lottie nodded and busied herself with peeling potatoes at my side. “Yeah, I do. Feels good to do things with your hands.”
We chatted for a while, small talk about recipes and me answering Lottie’s questions about where I came from as we cleaned the kitchen and prepared the food together. It did feel good to accomplish things with my hands. I missed working at the restaurant.
“Hey, do you mind if I prepare supper tonight?” I asked.
She looked slightly offended. “Are you not happy with the food I’m cooking?”
“Oh, no!” I quickly amended. “Your food is amazing. The crew loves it. I just… cooking back home, I really miss it.” I smiled with an idea. A memory, really. “And I have this special recipe that the boys love. A pasta dish. I bet you’d
love it, too. Actually, you can help me, if you want. Learn it.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Okay, sure.”
“I mean, or you could take some time for yourself,” I poked at the idea. “You know, go hang out with the boys. Maybe spend some time with Gus. I’m sure he’d love your company.” She didn’t answer, just flushed red and turned away from me so I changed the subject. “Just do something fun, for yourself. I haven’t seen you do that since I met you.”
“Fun?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, like a hobby? Don’t you have something you’re good at besides cooking and cleaning?”
She was lost in thought, maybe a memory, but her lips curled up at the corners as she moved the heavy pot of potatoes to the stove. “Yeah, I have a hobby,” she finally replied. “I’ll show it to you someday.”
I laughed. “You’re a woman of mystery, Charlotte Roberts.”
“You’re one to talk,” she quipped. “A time traveller from the Cobham bloodline? I believe you’re far more mysterious than I, don’t you think?”
I moved closer to her. “Does that scare you?”
“What? You being related to Maria Cobham?”
“Yeah, I mean, any of it.”
She stopped and stared at me, chewing the skin of her lip much like I do when deep in thought. “No,” she finally replied. “I trust you. That’s what friends do, isn’t it? Trust one another?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, it is.”
Just then, the kitchen dimmed with a heavy shadow and I turned to find the large porthole void of the sunlight that had shone through it just moments earlier.
“What the–” I stepped closer, peering out. My eyes bulged. “There’s a ship right next to us!”
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