by Pride, Mia
“Ye dinnae know of this, Kat?”
“Of course not! How could I? I never rummaged through my father’s belongings! This is Spanish gold! He has been keeping all the plunder from Spanish ships for himself while his people starve!”
“Aye,” Thomas scratched his beard and scowled. “This is not just Spanish gold meant for the Irish, lass. This would be far too much. He has been collecting for years, even before the war. This is money he pirated from Spanish ships as a privateer for the queen. Only, he has kept it for himself, never reporting it to Her Majesty.”
“Oh… nay,” Katherine sat on the edge of the bed, defeat in her eyes. “All this time. I had no idea.”
“We will make this right, Kat.” He sniffed and scowled. “What is that bloody smell?” Getting down on his knees, he looked beneath the bed but saw nothing. Then his eyes locked on the large wooden wardrobe on the other side of the stately room. Its wood was polished to a dark, mahogany shine, yet it seemed something ominous lingered within. He knew the scent of death well, too well. Opening the door, he jumped back when he saw a body that had been shoved haphazardly into the wardrobe. It smelled putrid but could have only been in there for a short while, mayhap a day or two at most.
Katherine screamed and fell to her knees, covering her eyes. “Shelly!”
Thomas ran to the chest and locked it before any servants entered, then came over to Katherine. “Who is Shelly, love?” he scooped her up in his arms, his heart pounding in his chest. Richard Bingham was alive, and he was still wreaking havoc.
“She was my favorite maid! This is all my fault. She had been charged to watch me the day… the day I met ye. She had been scrubbing a stain out of the carpet, blood I believe, and I left without a second thought. My father must have come back here, murdered her for her failure to watch over me, collected his things, and left!” she wailed.
Just then, a few serving lads rushed in and Thomas directed them to the body, before leaving with his sobbing wife in his arms. He knew Juan would be arriving with the cart soon. His wee wife would balk at traveling alone in the back of the cart, but she had no choice. His heart ached. He did not want to force her to be alone for several hours while they traveled, but they had no choice.
Grabbing her satchel and the food supplies from Cook, Thomas walked down the stairs and out the door, knowing they would have to return once more to collect her jewels and his gold. That gold was his chance to appease his queen. Aye, he would make certain his grandmother received a fair cut of the coins that were meant to aid Ireland in their war against England, but the rest was plundered in the name of the Queen, and Thomas would be the one to deliver it to her. In doing so, he solidified a future for Katherine, and though staying in England may not have been exactly what he had planned for his life, it was worth it if Katherine was by his side.
* * *
Rain battered the canvas cover of the rough wooden cart Katherine had been shoved into. Juan showed up with an extra horse, shovels, lanterns, and loads of guns and ammunition, which she did not even want to know the source of. Thomas had his rapier, a knife and a gun shoved into his waist belt. She knew he was awaiting the reappearance of her father, but she was still in too much shock to really consider it. He must have still been injured, and it seemed none of the servants even knew he had come home, much less when. It could not have been more than a day or two before they arrived, and he could not be alone. If his ship had anchored at the nearest shore after he was injured, and his men had patched him up and rushed him home to gather his belongings, they still could not have arrived more than a day before Katherine and Thomas. Considering the servants had no idea, he likely snuck in during the dead of night.
Had he been there while she was there? The thought made her shiver, but she discarded it. Based on poor Shelly’s condition, it had likely been a day or more since her death. A tear tracked down her cheek. Her father was vile. She had no idea where he would be off to, but she did not believe they would encounter him on their journey to the caves. Her father would have no idea where she was, or where they meant to go. Mayhap he was on his way back to England.
When Thomas had demanded she stay in the back of the cart, protected by the canvas cover, she knew he had expected more of a fight, but she had no fight left in her. Her entire world had been torn apart in such a short time, and yet she had found love in the most exceptional man. She could never change a moment of her life if it would have taken her off the path to Thomas.
Still, as the wheels of the rickety cart jostled on every rut in the road, her arse hurt and she longed to stretch her legs. They had been traveling for hours and aside from a quick stop to relieve themselves, they had trudged through the rain continuously. At one point, the spattering sounds of water hitting the canvas had stopped and Katherine almost demanded to be let loose. However, the rain had begun again just as quickly, and with more force. She felt bad for Thomas and Juan who, although wearing heavy cloaks and brimmed hats, must have been soaked to the bone. She prayed she had not steered Thomas wrong with the location of the treasure. She would never forget where she had found that brooch. It had seemingly just appeared in the cave out of nowhere, gleaming in the weak sunlight filtering into the cold cavern. Not a single speck of dirt had marred its surface, as if it had been protected from the elements for centuries until suddenly being thrown in her path.
The cart came to a jostling stop and Katherine put her hands out to prevent herself from tumbling forward. A streak of lightning lit up the sky outside, or what little she could see of it through the opening in the back of the cart.
“We are here, Katherine. They are just as you said they would be.” Thomas reached a hand into the cart and she gladly took it, feeling stiff all over. He helped her to her feet and the moment she stepped outside, excitement coursed through her.
“Aye! This is it! Do ye see the many caverns all in a row atop the hill?” She raised her hand to cover her eyes, shielding herself from the rays of dusk still beaming above the hilltop.
“Aye, but there are more caverns than I imagined. Can ye remember which one ye found the brooch in?”
She thought she had remembered, but now, looking at more than a dozen caverns in a row, her heart sunk. She could not tell one from the other and surely the sun would descend completely soon. Thomas and Juan had packed lanterns, and they would need them if they wished to continue up the hill today. “Thomas… I cannae remember,” she whispered softly, embarrassment flooding her. “I am most certain we are in the correct place.”
Thomas frowned but patted her shoulder. “’Tis all right, lass. Ye led us here. We shall find it.” Juan had already lit three lanterns and handed one to her and to Thomas. Looking up at the towering height of the hill they must trudge up, coupled with the mud and loose gravel from the storm, Katherine suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of dread.
“These caverns are associated with one of your ancient gods, no?” Juan asked in his thick Spanish accent, and Thomas nodded.
“Aye, Lugh is his name. He was associated with many things, including—”
A streak of lightning flashed across the sky, disappearing behind one of the caverns. Several ravens flew up into the sky, crying their ominous song just before thunder rumbled all around them. “Thunder… and ravens,” Katherine whispered, eyes locked on the sixth cavern from the left, directly below where the birds appeared and the lightning crashed.
“He is associated with thunder and ravens,” she repeated in awe. Chills ran up her spine. Lugh wanted them to find the Treasure of Danu. She was certain. Night was descending quickly and the rain began to pour in earnest.
“We need to move on!” Thomas roared over his shoulder. He and Juan had strapped extra guns inside the already well-armed waistline of their belts. She knew Thomas was on edge, believing they could have been followed by her father, but she highly doubted her injured papa would be able to track them. Still, one never knew what creatures lurked in the night.
Thomas leadi
ng the way, Katherine followed behind him with Juan guarding the rear. Slick grass covered in droplets skimmed her ankles, but the hood of her cloak covering her head did well to stave off the chill. However, at the rate the rain fell from the sky, her cloak would be of little use very soon. Her body was tense from the cold battering her from every direction, but she willed her legs to continue up the steep hillside.
Her foot slipped in the mud and she stumbled onto her hands to brace herself, but Juan caught her from behind and helped her up before she tumbled down the hill. Lightning struck once more and illuminated the world all around, letting her know they were halfway up to the first cavern. She had made this journey once before, but it had been daylight and dry outside. Their swinging lanterns helped enough to light the path just before them, but everything else was set in dreary darkness.
Thunder and lightning continued to take turns rattling her world, but she had never been one to fear the elements. In a way, she felt it was a good sign from the gods that they wanted her and Thomas to use their ancient weapons and treasures to help the land they so loved.
Finally reaching the top, Katherine dodged a rather large boulder and gave silent thanks for her well-used leather boots. Thomas put a hand out to help her up the last few steps where the incline grew rather steep and she gladly accepted his aid. “Are ye all right, love? I shouldnae have allowed ye to come with me. Ye should be warm and dry in the cart,” he groused.
“Then ye do not know me at all, husband, if ye believe I would have agreed to stay.” She smirked. Even with the elements pounding away at her every sense, the thrill of adventure thrummed through her veins. “We are not far now!”
“I know. I feel it,” Thomas replied, pulling her along quickly. The ground beneath them had verily turned into sludge, threatening to suck her boot off with every step.
Katherine remembered that some of the caverns were connected, while others were not and she was fairly certain she had found the brooch in a cave connected to another. She pulled Thomas into the second one, needing a little respite from the rain, and Juan followed behind them. Holding her lantern up, she panted to catch her breath, feeling her waterlogged clothing stick to her icy skin. “They say one of the ancient High Kings was born near a well just at the base of this hill. He was abducted by wolves and raised here in the caves by them. Even then, his parents had been on a journey to discover the treasure. So many centuries of failed attempts. Why are we so certain we will be the ones to finally succeed?”
Thomas shook his head like a dog and water sprayed everywhere from his shoulder-length dark hair. “It willnae reveal itself until it is ready. With the land being threatened by war, just as it was fifteen hundred years ago, mayhap it is the gods’ way of protecting their people. It was buried once to keep it out of the hands of the enemy. Now it will be unearthed and used once more.” How he could be so certain, she did not know.
“Look. This cave connects to the one next to it!” She pointed to the wall and saw a small space to maneuver through. The dank cave had many crevasses in its dark gray rock walls, but only one was large enough to pass between. Pushing clear, she heard Juan and Thomas following closely behind, the sounds of their large booted feet echoing off the ancient walls. Where the cavern they had just left was shallow and cramped, this one was much larger and deeper, with a shadowed area leading toward the back. A quick search showed that the cave, though several feet deep, still ended abruptly with nowhere else to go. This one also did not connect to the next cave over. “We need to walk around,” Juan said. He was a quiet man and Katherine had almost forgotten he trailed her.
“Aye,” she breathed, noticing her breath coming out in white puffs and that her hand holding the lantern was frozen to the bone. These walls felt like ice, shielding her from the rain, but threatening to freeze her solid, becoming forever a part of the cavern. She shivered at the thought and followed Thomas outside.
Another strike of lightning flashed overhead and Katherine knew they were close to the sixth cave, the one the lightning and ravens had revealed to them. They walked in silence a little while longer, the pull of adventure tamping down her discomfort.
The entrance to the cave came into view and Katherine stepped forward, looking around in hopes of remembering any details. Unfortunately, it looked the same as all the other caves, with towering gray walls of stone and random boulders littering the ground. It was one of the larger caves, she remembered, and this one certainly was large, the back deep enough to be completely hidden in the shadows. Had she known a massive ancient treasure resided in the cave when she had found the brooch, mayhap she would have paid better attention.
“Is this the one?” Juan asked, holding the lantern out in front of him. His dark Spanish features looked menacing in the dim light, but she knew Juan was loyal to Thomas.
“I am unsure, Juan. It looks familiar, but I did visit many of these caverns on my first journey.” Lifting her own lantern, she stepped into the shadows of the cave, running her hand over the rough, frigid rock wall. It was slightly damp beneath her touch.
Thomas walked the perimeter, seeking any gaps in the wall or obvious fissures. “I do not see anything,” he grumbled.
“Aye, well the treasure has been buried for fifteen hundred years, Thomas. I do not suppose we would see anything on the surface. Mayhap you and Juan should start digging while I continue to search near the back of the cave.” Katherine’s stomach knotted up painfully. Had she put them through all this trouble only to lead them to a dead end? Nay, she knew she found that brooch in these caves, and she was not wrong about the lightning and ravens. It was all too coincidental to put aside. She must keep the faith.
After an hour of digging in several areas of the cold, damp cave floor, Juan and Thomas were breaking a sweat and grumbling under their breath. Katherine’s search of the cave had come up empty and she was beginning to lose hope. It was pitch black outside and heavy clouds rained angrily upon the world. Perhaps Lugh had been warning them away, not beckoning them onward.
A loud clang, like metal on metal, reverberated off the cave walls louder than the thunder rolling outside. “I hit something!” Thomas shouted. She and Juan ran over, both holding up their nearly burned out lanterns to help look into the shallow hole Thomas had dug. Several similar holes marred the cave floor, but this was the first to yield any excitement.
“Keep digging!” Katherine squealed, praying they would find something and get the bloody hell out of these freezing caves. Her skin was numb from her soaked-through clothing but she never complained. Thomas would have left her behind in a heartbeat, but she had wanted to come. Juan picked up his shovel and contributed to Thomas’s effort. Within a short time, the top of a very obvious medium-sized iron chest was visible, intricate Celtic engravings covering its surface, though now caked in dirt.
“These are, eh… Celtic, no?” Juan asked. He bent over and used his hand to dust off the surface of the chest.
“Aye. I dinnae ken what they mean, but they are Celtic.”
Squatting to see better, Katherine squinted into the dimly lit hole to better see the designs. She blew the dirt away to make it more visible, then gasped at what she saw. Her heart beat in overtime. “Aye! This is it! It has to be!”
“How can ye ken, love?” Thomas murmured, looking at her with a furrowed brow.
“These three symbols, all in a row.” Katherine pointed to one, then the other two. “They are the ancient symbols for the elements water, fire, and earth.”
“My lady,” Juan’s deep, silky Spanish voice said from beside her. “What do these, how do you say, elements, have to do with the Treasure of Danu?”
“Though the spear, sword, and cauldron were created by the gods, it was the ancient Sisters of Danu who controlled water, fire, and earth. Those are your ancestors, Thomas.”
Juan looked at her with mouth agape. “You know much of the ancient people, for an English-born lady,” Juan said as he ran a hand through his beard.
“I may have been born English, my Spanish friend, but I am an Irish lass through and through. I love this land, its people, its history… and I have studied it for years.”
Thomas, satisfied with her explanation, grabbed her face in his large dirty hands and pulled her to him, giving her a loud kiss on the lips before pulling away. “Right. Let us get this blasted treasure out of the ground!” His eyes twinkled and Katherine smiled. She knew this moment meant the most to Thomas, who has been dreaming of these caves and treasure all his life. She was honored to be here with him as he unearthed it.
Several moments later, the entire top half of the chest was visible, and Thomas and Juan struggled with all their might to dislodge it from the solid, packed earth it had slumbered in for over a millennium. With a little more digging and lots of pulling and grunting, the chest came free from the ground, its weight pulling Juan and Thomas back down with it when it crashed to the cave floor.
Wiping a hand across his face, Thomas left an enduring dirt streak over his forehead. Katherine waited in agony and Thomas prepared to open it for the first time.
“Are ye ready?” he asked, clear anticipation in his voice.
“Curse it, Thomas! Open the bloody chest!” Katherine said playfully, bouncing up and down with anticipation.
He smirked at her, then looked at Juan, who solemnly nodded. Thomas worked carefully at the old rusted iron hook that had served as a lock for centuries. “It’s rusted shut,” he said, standing up and pulling his rapier from his belt. A few hard whacks and the iron hook fell away, onto the ground. He gave it a hard tug, but it did not open. “Devil’s bollocks,” he murmured, running a hand around the rim, seeking any other barriers.