Page 105 of Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
‘Ermine Street was the name of a major Roman road that ran from London to Lincoln and then York. If they are indeed Roman, our coins wouldn’t be the first Roman remains to be found in this area. I really do think we might be on to something here.’
‘I hope so, Lonan,’ I say, thinking again of Callum’s face when he’d seen the building site. ‘I really do.’
Linnet and Robin return with Robin’s coins, and after we’ve examined them Lonan proclaims he is very confident they not only might be Roman, they might be gold, too.
‘We have to report this find at once,’ he says gravely. ‘I had a quick look on my phone while you were making our tea, Ava, and we have fourteen days to report it to the local coroner, otherwise we might face criminal charges.’
‘What!’ Robin cries. ‘Mummy, I won’t go to jail, will I?’
‘No of course not, Robin.’ Linnet gives Lonan a stern look.
‘Sorry, Robin,’ Lonan says softly. ‘No, you won’t go to jail if we tell them about your coins now. Also, you might get a reward if we tell the right people quickly.’
‘A reward?’ Linnet asks. ‘Like what?’
‘As the finder, Robin would be entitled to half the value of the coins should they be sold. The other half would go to the land owner. If we don’t tell anyone and it’s later discovered we had these coins, the whole value could go to the Crown.’
‘Then we must tell someone at once,’ Linnet says keenly. ‘We don’t want to get into trouble, and my Robin might get a little reward.’
‘It won’t be a little reward if these coins are found to be Roman gold. It will be an almighty big one. These things sell for thousands – tens of thousands sometimes.’
Linnet goes quite pale.
‘But surely we can’t do anything until Monday, can we?’ I ask.
‘No,’ Lonan replies. ‘The office will be closed over the weekend and it’s only a few days since Robin found the coins, so we have plenty of time.’
‘So, if we wanted to, there’s nothing stopping us heading up to the field and having another look around?’ I suggest carefully. ‘Seeing if we can find anything else before we declare it?’
I was worried that the coins had been found just off the field where the houses were being built, so it might not be enough to stop the work.
‘No, I guess not. Where did you find your coin again, Ava?’
‘On her bird table,’ Robin says before I have a chance toreply. ‘Her birds brought it to her like all her other Roman things.’
Lonan looks confused. ‘You’ve found other artefacts?’
‘Not exactly . . . ’
‘I’ll tell, shall I?’ Robin says excitedly, and he begins to explain about the little collection on the mantelpiece.
‘How wonderful,’ Linnet says when he’s finished. ‘It seems your little birds knew all about this long before we did. They were trying to give you messages, while you were feeding them food.’
Lonan looks a little less convinced.
‘Maybe they don’t want the nasty men to build the houses either,’ Robin says, pouting.
‘They’re not nasty men, Robin,’ I tell him. ‘They’re just doing their job. It’s the greedy developers I blame,’ I say to Linnet and Lonan. ‘Like that Colin Cuckoo.’
Robin giggles. ‘His name is Cuckoo!’ He thinks hard. ‘Cuckoos steal other birds’ homes and lay their eggs in their nests,’ he says. ‘We learnt that at school.’
‘Yes, I think you’re right,’ I tell him.
‘Maybe the birds think he’s stealing their homes by chopping down trees to build his houses?’
We all smile at Robin – sometimes only a child can see life as it really is.
‘Perhaps they do, Robin,’ I say reassuringly. ‘But do you know what? We’re going to do our very best to help the birds by stopping him. Just you wait and see.’
