Page 57 of The Scholar's Key
“Are you certain?” Ashford asked, putting down his spoon, and Noah nodded.
“Yes, but we were uncertain of what it meant.”
“San Sebastian is on the north coast of Spain and is where our grandmother is from,” Lady Covington said. “Our grandfather travelled there and that is where they met.”
“So what do you think it means?” Percy asked, leaning forward excitedly. “Do you think that is where the treasure could be?”
“Or, more likely, the next clue,” Ashford said with a sigh, clearly growing tired of this never-ending chase that could very likely end with nothing. “Whoever planned this hunt certainly didn’t make it easy.”
“Perhaps that is the point,” Noah said, rubbing his chin, still surprised to find it bare. “Could it be that only someone determined and intelligent enough should be able to find it?”
“Perhaps,” Ashford said with a tilt of his head. “I suppose there is nothing to be done now but travel there and see what we can find.”
“Will you go, Gideon?” his sister asked, and he sighed.
“I’d like to, but I have too many pressing matters at home,” he said. “I do not think I could leave, as I have far too much to look after. I do not want to leave and risk anything occurring with Father.”
“Fair enough,” Lady Covington said.
“The two of you could go,” Ashford said, and the husband and wife exchanged a glance.
“I do not think we can,” Lady Covington said, an odd expression on her face.
“Why not?”
“Well…” she said slowly, and Percy suddenly grinned at her.
“You are with child, aren’t you?” Percy said, excitement in her voice, and Lady Covington laughed.
“We are! I can hardly believe it.”
“That is amazing,” Percy said. “Congratulations.”
They all added their well wishes, Noah’s leg brushing against Percy’s when he leaned forward. He could sense her cognizance of him, but he had been aware of her presence from the moment she had sat down, so it was nothing new to him.
After a time, the topic returned to the matter at hand.
“What should we do about chasing after this next clue?” Lady Covington asked.
“I will go to Spain,” Eric said, surprising them all.
“You will?” Noah asked with a raised brow.
“Sure,” Eric said with a shrug. “I have nothing else to do and I feel I haven’t been of much help in this venture so far. It’s been a time since we have all done anything daring together, has it not?”
“I would be ever so grateful,” Ashford said, but Eric waved a hand at him.
“I have never been to Spain, and I would certainly enjoy the opportunity,” he said with a grin, and Noah didn’t miss how Percy turned to him with a wide smile on her face. He hated how jealous he was at just that bit of attention from her. He could volunteer himself, but he had to return to London and had made promises to various families who had offered them their homes. Besides, it shouldn’t matter so much what she thought of him. Why was she turning him into such a fool?
Then there was the fact he didn’t agree this was the best decision.
“Are you certain this is the best decision?” Noah asked. “Spaniards will be suspicious of an Englishman, never mind that the French are currently unpredictable.”
“I speak Spanish,” Eric said. “I will pass myself off as a local.”
“Still,” Noah said, uncertain, “there is the travel, and—“
“Noah,” Eric said, stopping him, although not unkindly. “This is why I volunteered and not you. This excites me, not scares me.”
