Page 104 of Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
‘And you found the coins there in the field?’
Robin shakes his head. ‘No, I found them just by the field on the other side of the footpath. Mum got a phone call, and while she was speaking I saw a lot of birds on the ground. When I went over to them they flew away, but there was something shiny on the ground where they’d been. It was sort of buried, so I pulled the leaves and earth away, and there were some shiny coins.’
‘How many?’ I ask excitedly.
‘Two that looked a bit like yours, and two that were shinier, like gold.’
I stare at Robin for a moment.
‘Did I do something wrong?’ he asks anxiously.
‘No, no, not at all. What did you do with them? Did you tell your mum?’
‘No, she was too busy talking, then we had to rush back because Mum had to go into work, so I put them in my pocket and when I got home I put them in my special box, where I keep my special things.’
‘So they’re still there now?’
Robin nods.
‘And you think they look like this one?’ I ask, pointing to the coin.
Robin nods again. ‘Yes, they have a head on them that looks like this one, but mine are much shinier. That’s why I wasn’tas excited as you to find a coin; because I already have some of my own.’
‘And you’re sure you didn’t find yours on the field with the machines?’ I ask again, realising what this could mean if he had.
‘No, just next to it. When is my mum coming back?’
‘Very soon. In fact,’ I hear a knock at the door, ‘this might be her now.’
As I walk through to answer the door, my mind is racing.
Could Robin’s coins actually be Roman too, like mine? If there were Roman coins near to the housing development – what else might there be? And if there was anything else buried in the ground nearby, might it be enough to stop the building work from going ahead?
Thirty-three
‘This could be an amazing find,’ Lonan says as we wait for Linnet and Robin to come back with his coins. ‘If these coins are Roman and they’re gold – goodness knows what other things might be buried close by.’
When Linnet and Lonan had returned to collect Robin, I’d asked them to come in for a moment while I had a quiet word with Robin. Robin had clearly kept his find a secret from his mother, and I didn’t want him to think I’d betrayed his confidence by telling Linnet about them without his permission.
After I’d assured him he wasn’t in any trouble, he’d seemed quite happy for me to tell the others, and Linnet and Robin had immediately headed back to their house to retrieve the coins.
‘I know, that’s what I thought,’ I tell Lonan as we wait in the sitting room. ‘If there’s other things buried there it might be enough to stop the building work going ahead.’
Lonan considers this. ‘Yes, you could be right. The builders would likely have to cease their work while it was excavated by experts. Hmm . . . ’ He pauses.
‘What’s up?’ I ask.
‘It’s odd because all new developments like this usually have to have the land looked at by experts before any work can proceed. The land next to where Robin says he found his coins should have been examined already. If it was, I’m surprised they didn’t discover anything then.’
‘Knowing Colin Cuckoo, he probably didn’t bother.’
‘He’ll be in a lot of trouble if he didn’t. There are huge fines for that sort of thing. I’ve actually been researching the possibility that there might have been a Roman settlement around here.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, this whole area was heavily populated by Romans both BC and AD. The largest settlements came AD when the Romans started to build all their infamous roads. We are, of course, very near the original Ermine Street here, some of which is now the A10 and A1.’
‘I don’t know the name Ermine Street, should I?’
