Thaddeus scowled. "How will ye go about worming it out o' her, then, lad?"
"I shall offer to purchase the information," Jared said.
"Purchase it." Magnus looked shocked. "Ye think ye can buy a legendary secret like that with mere money?"
"It has been my experience that one can purchase almost anything," Jared said. "A straightforward, businesslike approach works wonders in virtually every conceivable situation."
"Lad, lad, what are we going to do with you?" Thaddeus moaned.
"You are going to let me handle this my way," Jared said. "Now then, let us understand each other. I will pursue the diary. In the meantime, I want your word that you will remember our agreement."
"What agreement?" Magnus asked blankly.
Jared's jaw tightened. "While I'm engaged in this undertaking you are not to interfere in any way in Flamecrest business matters."
"Bloody hell, son, Thaddeus and I were running the family business before you were even born."
"Yes, sir, I know. The two of you ran it straight into the ground."
Magnus's mustache jumped in outrage. "Not our fault we had a bit of a bad spell there. Business was poor during those years."
Jared wisely decided not to pursue the point. They all knew that the earl's lack of business sense coupled with the equally poor abilities of his brother, Thaddeus, had combined to destroy what little was left of the Flamecrest family fortune.
It was Jared who had taken over at the age of nineteen, barely in time to salvage the one decrepit ship that the family had still owned. He had pawned his mother's necklace to raise the money he had needed. No one in the family had ever really forgiven him for his shocking want of sentiment, including his mother. She had actually mentioned the matter for the last time on her deathbed two years ago. Jared had been too grief-stricken to remind her that she had enjoyed the fruits of the new Flamecrest fortune to the hilt, as had everyone else in the clan.
Jared had rebuilt the Flamecrest empire from that one ship. He sincerely hoped he would not have to repeat the feat when he returned from this crazed venture.
"Hard to believe that at long last the missing Flamecrest fortune is nearly within our grasp." Thaddeus squeezed his hand into a triumphant fist.
"We already possess a fortune," Jared pointed out. "We do not need the stolen treasure Captain Jack and his partner Edward Yorke buried on that damn island nearly a hundred years ago."
"It was not stolen treasure," Magnus thundered.
"If you will recall, sir, Great-grandfather was a pirate while he lived in the West Indies." Jared's brow rose. "It's highly unlikely that he and Yorke came by that treasure in an honest fashion."
"Captain Jack was not a pirate," Thaddeus said fiercely. "He was a loyal Englishman who sailed under a commission. That treasure was lawful spoils taken off a Spanish vessel, by God."
"It would be interesting to hear the Spaniards' version of the story," Jared remarked.
"Bah." Magnus glowered at him. "They're to blame for this situation. If the blasted Spaniards hadn't given chase, Captain Jack and Yorke wouldn't have been obliged to bury the booty on that damned island and we wouldn't be standin' here tonight workin' out a way to get it back."
"Yes, sir," Tared said wearily. He had heard this many times before. It never failed to bore him.
"The only real pirate around was Edward Yorke," Magnus continued. "That lying, cheating, murderous knave who betrayed your great-grandfather to the Spanish. It was only by the grace of God that Captain Jack managed to escape the trap."
"It all happened nearly a hundred years ago. We do not know for certain that Yorke betrayed Captain Jack," Jared said quietly. "In any event, it really does not matter much now."
"Of course it matters," Magnus snapped. "You follow in a proud tradition, my boy. It's your duty to find that missing treasure. It belongs to us and we have every right to claim it."
"After all," Thaddeus said gravely, "you are the new Guardian, lad."
"Bloody hell," Jared said under his breath. "That is a lot of nonsense and you know it."
"T'ain't nonsense," Thaddeus insisted. "You won the right to the title years ago, the night you used Captain Jack's own dagger to save your cousins from that smuggler. Have ye forgotten?"
"I'm hardly likely to forget the incident, as it cost me an eye, sir," Jared muttered. He did not, however, want to get into an argument over yet another idiotic family legend. He had his hands full dealing with the old tale of buried treasure.
"No gettin' around the fact that you're the new Guardian," Magnus said with a sage expression. "You blooded the dagger. Furthermore, you're the spittin' image of Captain Jack, himself, as a young man."
"Enough." Jared removed his watch from his pocket and held it close to the lantern so that he could read the face. "It's late and I must rise early tomorrow."
"You and that bloody watch of yours," Thaddeus grumbled. "I'll wager you've got your appointment journal with ye, too."
"Of course," Jared assured him coolly. "You know I depend upon it."
His watch and his appointment journal were the two things he valued most in his daily life, Jared thought. For years they had provided him with a means of establishing order and routine in a world often made chaotic and unstable by his wild, unpredictable family.
"I cannot believe it." Magnus shook his head in sorrow. "Here ye be about to sail off in search of the secret to a grand treasure and you're consulting your watch and checkin' your appointment journal like a dull man o' business."
"I am a dull man of business, sir," Jared said.
"It's enough to make a father weep," Magnus growled.
"Try to show some of the Flamecrest fire, lad," Thaddeus urged.
"We're on the brink of recovering our lost heritage, son." Magnus gripped the edge of the quay wall and gazed out at the night-darkened sea, the very image of a man who can see beyond the horizon. "I can feel it in me bones. After all these years the Flamecrest treasure is almost within our grasp. And you have the great honor of recovering it for the family."
"I assure you, sir," Jared said politely, "my excitement at the prospect knows no bounds."
Chapter 1
"I have another book which you might also find very interesting, Mr. Draycott." Olympia Wingfield balanced one slippered foot on the library ladder, wedged her other toe onto the edge of a shelf, and reached out to pluck a volume from the top of the bookcase. "This one also contains some fascinating information on the legend of the Island of Gold. And I think there is still another one you should examine."
"Have a care, I beg you, Miss Wingfield." Reginald Draycott gripped the sides of the ladder to steady it. He gazed up at Olympia as she leaned out to fetch another book from a high shelf. "You will surely fall if you do not watch yourself."
"Nonsense. I promise you I am quite accustomed to this sort of thing. Now, then, I used this particular work when I wrote my last paper for the quarterly journal of the Society for Travel and Exploration. It's extremely useful because it contains notes on the unusual customs of the inhabitants of certain South Seas islands."
"Kind of you to loan it to me, Miss Wingfield, but I am really growing very concerned about your position on this ladder."
"Do not fret, sir." Olympia glanced down at Draycott with a reassuring smile and saw that he had an extremely odd expression on his face. His pale weak eyes had a glazed look and his mouth was hanging open.
"Are you feeling ill, Mr. Draycott?"
"No, no, not at all, my dear." Draycott licked his lips and continued to stare.
"You're quite certain? You look as though you might be nauseous. I shall be glad to fetch these books at another time."