Page 41 of Fair Weather Enemies
She must have remained frozen far too long, for she jumped when Aunt Hester gripped her hand. “Jane, dear? Are you well?”
“Yes, Auntie. I am well. I was simply considering the next phase of the puzzle.”
Adam chuckled. “I see. What is your plan, then?”
She shot him a fierce but mostly theatrical glare. “Produce your letter, Ashford. Then we shall see.”
“Very well.” He retrieved his letter as she did the same. She unfolded the paper and began reading.
“From tower to ruins now set a due course.”
“To witness the kingdom bereft of a horse.” He flashed a lopsided grin. “Yet another odd pair of lines. A tower? More ruins?”
A thought struck her. “Perhaps not so odd.” She pointed to the ancient bell tower gracing the front of the church. Its looming presence seemed more at home on a fortress wall than a house of God. He followed her finger.
“A tower. How convenient.”
He surged into motion and walked toward the tower. She hurried to catch up while Aunt Hester and Barlow followed. Adam was staring upward at the monolith of stone when she joined him. As she watched, his gaze slid down its length before he pivoted. He pointed down the adjacent road.
“There lies the only thoroughfare leading directly away from the tower. Perhaps we should follow it.”
Jane shook her head. “Perhaps we should ask for directions to any local ruins.”
“Directions are for the timid and for women.”
“Just as mindless wandering is for the imbecilic and for men.”
He ignored her retort and retrieved Beelzebub. Much to the horse’s dismay, Adam strode resolutely toward the road. The beast seemed no match for his present intensity. Once again, she hurried to catch him. “Why the sudden urgency, Mr. Ashford?”
He glanced at her in consideration. “I’m not certain, but perhaps it is this. I have been skeptical of the letters thus far. However, when we found the giant’s grave, something changed. Suddenly, I have faith.”
“Faith in the letters?”
He smiled warmly. “Yes. Faith in the letters. Faith in our mission. And faith in us.”
Her breath caught with his last proclamation. She cleared her throat. “By ‘faith in us,’ do you mean faith in our ability to find the way to the treasure?”
His smile grew inscrutable. “Yes, Jane. Faith in our ability to find the way.”
He jerked his eyes away and increased his pace, leaving her to wonder at his unspoken meaning. She fell in behind him, her mind spinning over the riddle of the letters and the puzzle of her growing regard for Adam. So muddled were her thoughts that she nearly plowed into him when he stopped.
“Look there,” he said. She lifted her eyes from the dust of the road to find a field opening before her, just beyond a row of storefronts. Occupying the center of the field were the remains of a once-impressive castle. Her breath caught.
“From tower to ruins! Those ruins?”
“Very likely, I think.”
Jane tossed a look over her shoulder to find Aunt Hester and Barlow following at some distance, clearly in little hurry. They seemed only to have eyes for each other, as if oblivious to the unveiling of the next riddle. She shook away creeping jealousy and trotted in a most unladylike manner to walk alongside Adam. The ruin loomed, two lengthy intersecting walls that gave evidence of the castle’s former glory. The other two walls were only fleeting hints of days gone by, outlined by stubs of stone. As they approached the ruin, her eyes caught a flash of movement. A small face peeked from behind a pile of stones that marked the foundation of a disappeared wall. As Adam tied the horse to a bush, Jane veered away from him to approach the small figure.
“Do you live here?” she asked.
A young girl with dark curls and a dirt-streaked face stood from the stones. She crossed her arms and shook her head.
“No, miss. Nobody lives here. Everyone knows that.”
Jane laughed. “And now I do as well.”
“Are you invaders? Do you come to attack the castle?”
