Shoulders back, chin-up, he exaggerated thepuffed-up arrogance of an academic, and waved a hand over hisinvention. “Channeling water down a bamboo tube from the river tothe house will solve the many hours of backbreaking hauling. Ourplants can be watered and washing can be done at the house withminimal effort.”
She picked up the frayed hems of her shiftand curtseyed her approval. “I am in the august company of ascientific genius.”
He leaned into her and for one frighteningmoment she thought he was going to kiss her again. She skirted awayand said, “Nicholas I’ve something important to tell you. I havemade a discovery. I believe Captain Sharp’s treasure is here. Shepresented him with the note tucked in the spine. Nicholas sat onthe stump.
She read the phrase aloud over his shoulder.“Note how Captain Sharp capitalizes the first initials of Lovely,Only, Valuable and Enthralling. He even goes so far and to run hispen over the letters twice to give accent. In case the diary fellinto Lady Jane’s hands, he wanted to make her aware.”
Nicholas nodded. “Definitely code. The T iscapitalized in treasure to draw the eye. Well done, Alexandraexcept what does the emphasis on the other letters mean?”
“LOVE.I believe the set of initialsrepresents a code for something else. We must convert the lettersand discover Captain Sharp’s intended meaning. L could stand foranything as well as O, V, and E. Think Nicholas, what on thisisland would be characteristic to serve as symbols?”
Nicholas shrugged. “L might stand for LondonTower.”
She smacked an insect on her thigh andslanted him a knowing look. “We are not in England. We must thinkof the secret meaning and how it relates to our presentenvironment. Lookout or lake come to mind except there is nolake.”
She tapped her finger on her lip. “You arenot helping much. You can step in with an idea anytime youwant.”
Nicholas ran his fingers through his darkhair. “Captain Sharp did mention lagoon in his writings. “O” couldbe for oranges but more likely ocean which won’t help us muchbecause we are surrounded by the ocean and that is a big area tonarrow down.”
Alexandra walked around him. “V meanswhat?”
“I can’t think of a thing. ‘E’ could standfor escarpment. We have explored that part at the island’ssummit.”
“Brilliant logic, Nicholas.”
He stood and walked to the house.
Alexandra hurried after him. “Where are yougoing?”
“I’m going to fill the gourds with water. Ifwe are to hunt treasure, we will need hydration.”
ChapterThirteen
Nicholas readjusted the gourds slung overhis shoulder. “We are on a fool’s errand, governed by the ravingsof a man gone mad in his isolation.”
Alexandra leaned on a gumbo limbo to catchher breath. “I think you are frustrated. Let’s go to the summitagain. Maybe we can glean an idea standing on the escarpment.”
“No. It is a stupid idea. I’m not going totry one more insane notion doomed from the start.” He reached inhis sack, pulled out a piece of smoked pork and ripped it with histeeth.
“Clearly, I have overstepped my bounds,” shesaid, unapologetic and undaunted by his anger.
“For days, we have traversed the islandlooking for treasure, coming up with nothing.Clearly, youhave been wrong about a treasure.”
She brought up her chin. “Being right allthe time must be a burden.”
“You have dragged me to the north, south,west and east on this island with no results.” He turned her towardthe cottage. “I want rum.”
She stopped dead in her tracks. “I refuse tolisten to your cantankerous outbursts. We will keep looking.”
He propelled her onto the path again.
“And I refuse to be bullied, LordRutland.”
How he hated her sarcastic inflection whenshe resorted to calling him,Lord Rutland.
As the smoked pork took the edge off hisappetite, he felt himself afflicted with hunger of another sort.The curves of her lovelyderriererendered nicely by thefall of her shift, presented a delectable picture. Ever since hekissed her, he had been unable to deal with the sweetness of herlips and the tightening in his loins. He was ready to upend treesand toss them into the ocean.
A cold edge cracked in his voice.“Alexandra, I’m sick to death of your common platitudes. You livedwith coarse, unrefined commoners all your life and you have becomeone.”
