Treasured Secrets (21 page)

***

Jimmy and Archer were busy plotting an appropriate course to the surrounding Greek islands when Rosalina slipped into the computer room. Her initial plan was to research upcoming islands but, as if her fingers were possessed, the words Archer Mahoney appeared in the Google search prompt. The guilt over spying on him ate at her, but she explained it away by insisting she was only trying to help him. Although she'd looked him up before, her previous search was focused on his business. She'd wanted to know all about it before she'd started working for him. But now, with the knowledge of his childhood, she intended on going much further back.

Several sites populated the screen, mostly advertising
Evangeline
and the unique charter service Archer provided. It took nearly an hour to find a reference to Archer's father's death, but the newspaper article was surprisingly brief. She found herself constantly checking the door as she read, hopeful that no one would walk into the room.

‘Famed treasure hunter killed by shark.'
The small heading, several pages into a copy of the
Makedonia Newspaper
was in Greek, however, like many Europeans, she understood most languages of her surrounding countries. Her résumé listed five languages, but she'd fail if she ever had to prove it.

She fought alternating waves of guilt over what she was doing and horror at what she was reading. The paper detailed how Wade Mahoney's body was only partially recovered and, as if it was unimportant, it only briefly mentioned that Wade had an eleven-year-old son. Rosalina couldn't understand why the paper didn't highlight that they were diving together when the shark attacked. After all, aren't reporters all for sensationalising the story? This was surely an event that warranted much more detail. It was almost as if the reporter was forced to hold back the facts.

The following day's paper was a rehash of the same story, however it also included the details of Archer's hospitalisation and his likelihood of recovering from serious decompression sickness. Neither article mentioned which Greek island they were diving near when the shark attacked. Rosalina continued scanning for a further half hour or so, but she only found one more article. This one, also brief, was about Archer's mother. It too appeared as a kind of sidebar to the shark attack. Although it did mention that Archer, now an orphan, remained in a stable condition in hospital.

With each of the dozen or so websites she shut down, she clenched her fist beside the keyboard harder. By the time the desktop background photo of the tropical Australian waters appeared back on the screen, her nails had left deep grooves in her skin. She closed her eyes to picture a frail young boy being told of his mother's death, only weeks after he'd seen his father killed. She couldn't even begin to comprehend Archer's tragic childhood, especially when her own childhood had been complete bliss in comparison. But this only made her more determined to make sure this treasure hunt gave Archer the strength to forgive himself. Maybe then he could start healing and hopefully, along the way, he could learn the splendour of love.

***

Six islands were within an hour's cruise from Athens and as they motored towards the closest island, Rosalina settled at the dining table with a fresh coffee. It wasn't long before the others joined her. But a heavy mood fell upon the group. She believed it stemmed from Archer, who was mostly quiet, as if internalising their prospects. He crossed his arms over his chest and fixed his face in a nasty scowl.

‘It's going to be impossible to do any secret diving with all these bloody people around.' Archer jabbed a finger in the direction of the waters off the starboard side. The amount of boats surrounding them was ridiculous, downright dangerous even. He was right about one thing — doing anything in secret would be miraculous.

Every once in a while, Archer would stand up and go to the bridge and gaze out at the passing waters. Rosalina wondered if he was looking for signs, or anything that would help him remember that day all those years ago.

After about thirty minutes, Alessandro jumped up and left the room. He returned moments later, dragging the whiteboard from the computer room. Rosalina was relieved someone finally had a plan. Alessandro reached for a marker and looked every bit the professor he was. ‘So,' he said, pointing with the pen. ‘What do we know about the treasure?'

Archer threw his arms out in frustration. ‘It's lost in the ocean somewhere in the friggin' Greek Islands.'

Rosalina decided to deflect Archer's negativity and go with Alessandro's plan. ‘It was stolen by an Italian priest from the Church of St Apostoli in 1348.'

‘People entrusted the church with their valuables before trying to escape the plague.' Alessandro jotted down his own comment.

‘We have a diary that lists pages and pages of what was in the treasure.' Rosalina thought of the seven-hundred-year-old diary that was now sealed in a plastic zip-lock bag in Archer's safe. It would become very useful,
if
they ever found the treasure.

Jimmy cocked his head. ‘Sounds like a lot.'

‘You should see, Jimmy. I've never seen anything like it.' Archer was finally relaxing. ‘Pages and pages of details…descriptions of the pieces, who they belonged to, how much they were worth back in the thirteenth century. It's gotta be priceless now.'

Jimmy's eyes sparkled as he tapped his finger on the table. ‘So the treasure must've been huge and bloody heavy.'

Ginger raised her hand and Archer shot her a you've-got-to-be-kidding look.

‘Yes, Ginger?' Alessandro tipped his pen towards her, taking his professor role way too far.

‘Could we narrow down the type of boat he used?' Ginger blinked up at him like a star pupil. ‘Couldn't have been too many choices back then.'

‘We can look at known shipping routes from that century, too,' Rosalina said.

Alessandro listed their comments as bullet points on the white board.

‘I suggest we begin with inhabited islands. That narrows the field down from about six thousand islands to two hundred or so,' Alessandro said, then frowned and shook his head. ‘But some islands that were inhabited back then are no longer resided upon.'

Jimmy leaned back on his chair. ‘It'll take months to scour that many islands.'

‘I can narrow our search again by researching the oldest churches in these islands. I'll be back in a minute.' Alessandro rubbed his hands together, winked at Rosalina and then left the room.

‘I'll see if I can help.' Ginger scurried away after Alessandro.

‘Where'd you dig him up?' Jimmy thumbed in Alessandro's direction.

‘We were college buddies,' Rosalina said.

‘Right.' Jimmy didn't sound convinced. He stood up. ‘I'm going up top, get some fresh air.'

Suddenly Rosalina was alone with Archer. Archer had an aura she couldn't ignore and if she closed her eyes she could still sense his presence. But he downplayed his charisma, even shied away from attention, preferring instead to remain distant in the shadows. Now, knowing his childhood, she could blame this trait on his orphanage life. Never trusting, always defending.

She placed her hand over his and he raised his intense, smouldering eyes to her.

He blinked at her, as if he hadn't realised they were alone. ‘Thank you for coming.' Archer turned his hand over and she relished the warmth of his palm.

‘I'm glad I'm here.' They remained in comfortable silence for a long time, happy to watch smaller boats cruise past.

Alessandro strode into the room and Rosalina snatched her hand from Archer's in a move she instantly regretted, because Alessandro saw it and Archer stiffened. Alessandro's already dark eyes grew even darker, then he gave a slight nod. ‘I may have established the ideal island to start with.'

‘Excellent. Which one?' Archer said.

‘Andros Island. It's approximately two hours away.'

‘Why Andros?'

‘A couple of reasons, actually. The island's been occupied since at least the second century. It's home to a very impressive monastery and has a well-documented maritime history.' Ginger arrived at the table and Alessandro, ever the gentleman, pulled a chair out for her before he sat at the table beside her. He placed a sheet of paper with lines of his neat handwriting down the page. ‘It has an award-winning Maritime museum,' he continued. ‘And for the
piece de resistance
, I found an article about a thirteenth-century ruler who sought a dedicated priest to build a church to help bring security and financial and demographic strength to the island.'

‘Oh Alessandro, you're brilliant!' Rosalina said.

‘He is, isn't he?' Ginger grinned like a schoolgirl with a new love interest and Rosalina resisted a giggle. ‘I'm going to get some lunch on the go.' And with that, Ginger flicked her braid over her shoulder, turned and strode off with hips in full swing.

Rosalina watched a tide of red flushing Alessandro's cheeks. He dragged his eyes from Ginger, and when he saw her looking at him he swallowed loudly. ‘We could start at the Maritime Museum. It's next to the large statue called the Unknown Sailor.'

‘Sounds like the perfect place to start.' Archer stood up and strode towards the door. ‘I'll let Jimmy and the crew know where we're heading.'

Once Archer left, Rosalina didn't know where to look. She dreaded facing Alessandro and felt decidedly uncomfortable with the situation she'd put him in. He was a good man and he'd always been open and honest about his love for her. But it was time to tell him what he most likely already knew.

‘I'd better go — ‘he began.

Rosalina interrupted. ‘Come and sit with me. We need to talk.' She reached for his hand and led him to the sofa. When they sat, he kept an arm's length from her and his shoulders sagged, as if heavy with sorrow.

She tugged on her gold hoop earring as she stewed over how to say the obvious. ‘I'm sorry to drag you along on this trip.'

His eyes met hers. ‘Are you kidding? I'm having the most fun since…well, ever.'

Rosalina's stomach instantly settled and she let out a huge sigh. ‘I'm glad it's not all a waste of your time. Alessandro, you're an amazing man but —'

‘You don't need to say it.' He touched her knee. ‘You've never looked at me the same way you look at Archer. We never had those sparks. I know when I'm defeated, or not even a contender. Rosalina, I want you to be with Archer. He's obviously the man of your dreams.'

‘Oh, Alessandro, you're wonderful. I know you'll find the perfect woman. But I was never going to be that. You and I, we —'

He squeezed her knee. ‘I know. But it was
magnifica
while it lasted.'

She nodded. ‘Yes, it was
magnifica
. And I hope we always have time for each other.'

‘My love will always be there for you. He had better not break your heart again or I'll find nasty ways to hurt him. I'm thinking along the lines of a big, black rat.'

She cupped her mouth in shock. ‘Alessandro, that's not like you.'

‘I mean it.'

She slid towards him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He curled her hair back over her shoulder and snuggled in.

‘I'm going to miss you,' he said.

‘I know. But we have —'

A huff at the door made Rosalina look up and her breath caught in her throat. Archer, arms folded across his chest, glared at her from the doorway. Without a word, he turned and left.

Rosalina jumped out of Alessandro's embrace and stood up. ‘I'm sorry, but I have to go after him.'

‘What are you waiting for?'

She bent to kiss him on the forehead and then ran after Archer. She found him further along the passageway. ‘Archer, wait! It's not what you think.'

‘It's exactly what I think.'

‘Don't be a jerk.'

‘I'm a jerk? You're the one who's jerking Alex and I around.'

‘If you'd stop and listen for a minute —'

‘I saw you two together.'

She grabbed his arm and he spun towards her.

‘I just told Alessandro he wasn't the man for me.'

‘What?'

‘He already knew. He said I never look at him like I look at you.'

‘Oh. He's —'

‘He's a good man. He also said if you ever break my heart again, he'd find that torture rat.'

‘Ha. He's got a weird sense of humour.'

‘He was serious.'

Archer's shoulders finally relaxed. ‘I'm sorry, Rosalina. But seeing you in his arms…made me crazy.'

Rosalina liked the sound of that. ‘That's good.'

Archer hugged her to his chest and she listened to his beating heart. It felt good. No, it was better than that. It felt right.

After a while, he let her go and stepped back. ‘Ginger's made us lunch. They'll all be waiting for us.'

‘Excellent.' She made a show of rolling her eyes. ‘I can't wait to see what we're having.'

He cupped her cheek. ‘Be nice. Or else you'll have to do all the cooking.'

‘Exactly!'

He reached for her hand and they strolled to the galley together. Jimmy and Alessandro were already seated and Ginger was at the head of the table, spoon in hand, ready to dish up whatever was in the steaming pot before her.

Jimmy was grinning like a proud parent and Rosalina couldn't decide if he was nervous or excited about their first meal together. Archer led Rosalina to a seat, released his grasp, and reached over the table to shake hands with Alessandro. Ever the gentleman, Alessandro accepted his handshake. Rosalina felt months of burning tension melt away.

Archer filled their crystal glasses with wine and then raised his. ‘Here's to good hunting.'

‘To treasure hunting,' Jimmy said and then swigged his wine down in one gulp.