“Until he saw you and Edgar,” he amended soberly. “The gold and things are intact, but some of the pots were destroyed. The men collected the shards.”
“Edgar was throwing things about.” She frowned as she remembered. “Poor Edgar. He honestly went a bit mad at the prospect of finding something belonging to Arthur. And he’s gone. I do remember that, sadly.”
“Gone, aye, but it was very quick. A blow to the head when the stones collapsed in the wall recess. You could have gone, too, love, and thank God you came back to us.” He brought her hand to his lips to kiss it again.
“How ironic that he never saw the treasure.” Christina sighed. “Until that day I never thought him capable of evil deeds. I just thought him arrogant. You did try to warn me.”
“I never trusted him.”
“It was not gold he wanted, but the fame of discovering proof of King Arthur in Scotland—and in history. So much of that is legend, like the legend surrounding your ancestor, Aedan mac Brudei, and his Liadan.”
“And now you will have credit for the discovery, as it should be.”
“My uncle as well, my dear,” she said, and he nodded in quick agreement.
“I had a letter from the National Museum—they are very sad about Edgar’s accident, and they want to send academics here as soon as possible. I made it clear in my reply that you should be in charge of things here. This could well be the find of the century.”
She tilted her head. “We found treasure, but we do not know if it belonged to King Arthur. There is some evidence, but time will tell if it is enough.”
“There is the old tradition that he hid gold in this area, and now the Dundrennan legend seems connected to the military roster and possibly to Arthur.”
“Uncle Walter will be a great help in sorting it through. And he will be thrilled that his theories may be proved. It will rejuvenate him. I can hardly wait for you to meet him.”
“If he is strong enough, we could bring him here to stay at Dundrennan as long as he likes.”
“Oh, Aedan, thank you. I will have a good deal of work to do on Cairn Drishan. Uncle Walter will find the strength for thisjourney, I’m sure. I can hardly wait to go up to Cairn Drishan to begin working. Perhaps I can start tomorrow.”
Laughing, he held up a hand. “Not just yet, lass. I’d carry you up that hill myself before I’d let you walk up there. You’ve had a serious knock to the head.”
“I’m fine. Really, I feel wonderful.”
“Do you?” he murmured, leaning close to kiss her cheek and nuzzle the silken cream of her throat. “You feel rather wonderful to me,” he murmured.
With a soft laugh, she looped her arms around his neck. Aedan held her, cherished her in the moment. She felt thin and fragile under his hands. He drew back.
“Tell me something, so I will not seem ignorant around these museum people when they arrive. Could this chamber be a tomb?”
“That, or simply a treasure room. I must study its features. Souterrains could have multiple chambers. There might be a warren of underground rooms and passages inside that hill. We will need to excavate it carefully. It will take a long time. I’m sorry.”
“For what? This is an astonishing discovery.”
“Your wee road will suffer.”
“I am taking my wee road around the other side of the hill and along another route. It will serve well to convey your academics to the site, and even tourists someday, if we decide to allow it.” He scowled. “Though I hope the museum will be willing to compromise over the property, considering the treasure trove.” He no longer felt the deep dread of losing his home, now that Edgar was gone. The treasure might save Dundrennan, but time would tell if it would bring more attention than he wanted for his remote and beloved estate.
“I cannot wait to see what the small chamber holds,” she said.
“Ah, I almost forgot. I brought something to show you, though I had to choose from silver bowls, enameled brooches, golden buckles and torcs, bronze helmets, and so on.”
“Stop!” she said, laughing. “I cannot bear it! Can we go tomorrow? Would you really carry me all the way up the hill?”
“I will not. But look at this. It will keep you occupied until you are ready to go up there.” He fetched a wrapped package from a table and came back to sit beside her.
Christina unwrapped the brown paper to reveal a box of hammered silver set with small brass panels. “It looks like a reliquary box meant to hold a religious object or something very precious.” She gently lifted the latch. Inside was a small book with a cover in worked metal set with jewels. “I have no gloves. I should not touch it.”
“It will not suffer from your touch. Go on. I think it may be something important.”
Gingerly, she lifted the volume to open it latch, revealing vellum pages. She studied it in silence for a little while. “It is beautiful. An assortment of things here, some prayers, fables, a calendar. And another muster roll tucked at the back, or something similar.”
