A knock sounded at the door. “Come in,” Adeline called out.
Mrs. Hargrave, the housekeeper, entered. “Lady Adeline, your father requests your presence in his study.” The woman wrung her hands. “Immediately.”
Adeline shared a surprised glance with her friends. Their eyebrows rose high. Her father never invited her into his study. He never paid attention to her at all. What could this possibly be about?
She turned back to Mrs. Hargrave. “I will be along shortly. Could you gather the effects for Lady Hartwick and Lady Violet, please?”
“Yes, miss.” The housekeeper left, closing the door behind her.
“I’m sorry, ladies. It’s never wise to ignore my father’s summons,” Adeline said.
“No trouble, dear.” Lucy stood, looking worried. “Are you sure you don’t want us to stay in case it’s something dreadful?”
“Do you think he will go back on his word about allowing you time to find a husband?” Violet asked.
Adeline shrugged. “I haven’t the foggiest idea. But I will be all right. I’ll send a note if it’s bad news. I promise.”
After saying goodbye to her friends, Adeline walked to the back of the house, where her father’s study had a view of the back garden. Outside the door, she sucked in a deep breath to calm the terrible nerves in her stomach. Had her father changed his mind?
Then her father’s voice rang out through the closed door. “He is a fool if he thinks he can bilk me out of my profits. I know he was the one to tell the authorities.”
“Father, I can’t believe you risked so much on this venture. What were you thinking?”
“It was foolproof, he said. Anyway, my man managed to get this off before the authorities raided the boat. I consider this my cut.”
“What if they find out?” George replied.
“How would they? We will sell it all discreetly.”
“If this stuff is worth anything at all.”
What in the world? Adeline glanced left and right, fearing someone would see her eavesdropping outside her father’s door. She quickly knocked on the door.
When it swung open, her brother stood at the threshold. “Good, they found you. Come in; we need your sharp mind.”
Adeline exhaled in relief. George wouldn’t be so cheerful if her father had changed his mind. George always looked out for her; he was the one person Adeline could count on. She knew her mother loved her, but Lady Rawlings’s severe melancholy carried her away for long periods where she couldn’t get out of bed or focus on even the most minor tasks of self-care, let alone focus on her daughter. When she was younger, Adeline had spent a lot of time alone, studying her books. But when George had come home from school, he always paid her attention and included her in his adventures.
George grasped her hand and pulled her into the room. Her father stood in the middle of the carpet in front of a large wooden crate. The top had been pried off, and straw stuffing spilled out from the crate. Mrs. Hargrave would have a fit at the mess all over the carpets.
“What’s going on in here?” Adeline asked.
George and their father exchanged a look before George turned to her. “A while back, father invested in a venture in Greece. An expedition of sorts. The ship has been many months delayed, but this week, it finally arrived in London.” He waved his hand over the crates. “This is our portion of the treasures found on this, um, expedition.”
“The trouble is we were expecting the treasure to be more in the way of coin. But this is what came,” her father said.
Adeline moved to peek into the crate. Inside, nestled in the straw, were what looked to be vases of varying sizes. She lifted one and gasped at its beauty. Made from porcelain-glazed terracotta, the vase depicted ancient Greek ladies lounging in a lush garden. Vines full of flowers wound around the neck and base of the vase.
“Your brother says you have extensive knowledge of ancient Greece. Can you identify if any of these items are valuable?” her father asked.
Adeline’s mouth dropped open. Her father required her help with something? She nodded. “Yes, I think so. I have several books that can also help me identify how old the items are.”
“Good. Let’s get started.” He began to dig through the straw.
George leaned into the crate as well and pulled out a smaller vase; no, perhaps it was a wine jug? He passed it to Adeline, and she crossed to set it on her father’s desk. Then her father handed her a small statue, perhaps twelve inches high, of the goddess Artemis. Adeline immediately recognized her by the bow and arrow she grasped. The story of Artemis and her lover Orion was Adeline’s favorite tale of love and loss. Two more painted vases came from the crate. All the pieces were clearly ancient. Adeline turned from examining the painted scenes when she heard her brother gasp.
“Now we are getting somewhere.”
George held up a gold cross. It gleamed in the sunlight. A large grin split their father’s face. “Look at that. It must be solid gold.”
