Page 10 of The Duke's Treasure
“Evidence that supports your claims. Bring it to me and then perhaps we can make a deal.”
“But I have nothing.”
“Then it’s your loss.” She lifted her shoulders before turning around and continuing on her walk. “You can see yourself out now, Your Grace. Unless you want the scary Abello to do it for you.”
He couldn’t help but grin as he turned and left, her laughter following along behind him.
CHAPTER 4
Edward knew where to begin to try to find the proof Mariana needed – he just wasn’t sure if he would get anywhere with it.
Sitting in his small room at the inn, he pulled out the paper that had started him on this course. An old friend, one he had met years ago on one of his very first treasure hunts, had sent him news that there was a treasure to be located. He had told Arthur it was from a man high in the navy, for he knew his brother would be more apt to believe in the quest that way, but the truth was slightly altered.
He cast a suspicious look around the room before shaking his head at himself. He was in a private chamber – there was no one about who would be able to see what he was reading. The room was one far from fit for a duke, but he had chosen it on purpose so as to not draw attention to himself, although it seemed he had failed in that regard, judging by his conversation in the tavern.
He smoothed out the creased paper, reading it over once more, knowing the painstaking labor it would have taken the man to write each word, having learned his letters not long before.
Edward,
A treasure has been lost. The San Juan sunk after pirates attacked and made off with a fortune in doubloons. They returned it to Spain to Don Palencia.
Rodrigo
It had been sent from this very town. He imagined that his old friend Rodrigo had tried to find the treasure himself first and written to him only when he came up short. Edward wondered how hard it would be to find the man, but after a few minutes of contemplation, he smiled. He knew exactly where to go.
Edward paused on the steps,wondering if he would be allowed in. He supposed if he kept his mouth shut, no one would guess he was English. He stepped through the doors, finding that the building was mostly empty, but for a man at the front. Edward quickly made the sign of the cross, hoping he was doing it right, before continuing down the aisle between the pews, intent on speaking with the man who seemed to be the priest – until a figure bent over on a kneeler caught his eye.
“Rodrigo?” he called out in a whisper, and the man’s head snapped up, his eyes meeting Edward’s – and then a grin, one matching Edward’s own, lit his face.
“Edward!” he said, quietly but joyfully, standing before making his way out of the pew toward Edward, not hesitating to wrap his arms around him when he reached him. “It has been too long. How many years now?”
“Five, at least.”
“Sí, sí.What brings you here?”
Edward fixed him with a look.
“I believe you know very well what brings me here.”
The man nodded, before gesturing beyond the doorway of the church. “Perhaps we should go elsewhere to talk.”
“A fine idea,” Edward said, following him out of the building and into the sunlight, making the sign of the cross as he exited. Rodrigo laughed at him as he did the same although with much more conviction, before they emerged through the doors and made their way down the street toward the inn’s tavern.
Rodrigo appeared at ease, and Edward was actually quite happy to see him.
“You received my letter, then?” Rodrigo said, sinking back into the shadows in the corner table they had selected, well away from anyone who might overhear them, accidentally or on purpose.
“I did,” Edward said. “You know how to capture a man’s attention.”
Rodrigo chuckled. “You could never pass up a good hunt, now, could you?”
“I could not,” Edward said. “Now, tell me what else you know and why you were not able to locate the treasure yourself.”
Rodrigo’s eyebrows shot up as he appeared insulted. “Why would you think I tried myself first?”
A half-grin tugged Edward’s lips to one side. “I know you. You would never have asked me to join you if you could have done it alone – no matter how good of friends we are.”
“Very well, very well,” Rodrigo said with a chuckle, waving a hand in the air. “You are correct. I couldn’t find the treasure.”
