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The cliffs were even more breathtaking than Aurora had imagined.
Traveling from Morland by carriage, she and Julian spent the night in Plymouth, then left by ketch at dawn, heading north from where the river Tamar rushed into the sea, and passing the majestic expanse of limestone cliffs until they reached its northernmost peak.
"I'm grateful James chose a crevice and not a summit in which to hide the strongbox," Aurora commented, gazing up at the towering cliffs. "Those are a bit too intimidating a challenge, even for me."
"They're dangerous as hell," Julian concurred, glancing down at Geoffrey's diagram. "We're also fortunate he chose this first peak rather than the ones beyond as his hiding place. Not only will that preclude our doing much climbing, it will also lessen the time it takes to recover the strongbox. Just beyond this point, the Tamar narrows from a swell to a stream. That's where we reverse our direction and head south. Geoffrey's diagram was explicitly drawn facing south—most likely to hide the crevice from view of those traveling north by sea. But as it is—" Julian gestured toward the green canopy appearing ahead. "—we're almost there."
Minutes later, Julian skillfully veered the ketch about, steering past the wooded area which, although devoid of blossoms during the winter months, were lush with evergreens filtered with sunshine. The stream curved closer to the cliffs, which rose up from the water like a crashing wave.
"There's the crevice on Geoffrey's drawing," Aurora exclaimed, gathering up her skirts and rushing to the ship's bow.
Julian followed her gaze, staring at the rift in limestone that corresponded with Geoffrey's heavy pencil mark on the diagram. "It is indeed." Swiftly he lowered the sail, easing the ketch closer, then tying it to the trunk of an old oak tree that jutted out from the base of the cliff. "Let's go." He gathered up his tools and leapt off the ship, turning to assist Aurora only to find that she'd already scrambled onto land and was making her way up the steep incline.
He chuckled, following her lead and arriving at the crevice just behind his wife.
"Julian—hurry!" Aurora was virtually jumping up and down.
"Sorry to detain you, soleil," he teased. "I stopped to gather our tools. I thought they might prove useful. Or did you intend to claw your way through layers of stone?"
Aurora flashed him a rueful smile. "I'm sorry. However, I did tell you that patience was not one of my virtues."
"So you did." Grinning, Julian squatted, feeling about the area with his hand, reaching deeper until he encountered a loose section of stone. Purposefully he tugged at it, twisting and flinging aside small pieces of rock until he'd worked the larger section of stone free.
With a harsh sound of triumph, he lifted it away.
"Is it there?" Aurora demanded, kneeling beside him.
Julian frowned. "I don't know. I'll have to pound and chisel a bit. My hand won't fit in the crevice."
"Mine will. Let me explore the hollow, see if I can feel the strongbox. At least that will determine whether we should continue tearing this section of rocks apart or turn our attentions to an adjoining spot." Aurora leaned forward, sliding her palm into the designated area, working her hand deeper until her fingers struck a hard, smooth object. "Julian," she said excitedly. "I think I found it."
"Good." Julian's tone was even. "'Tis time to employ a cardinal rule of adventurers. Nothing is yours until you're certain that what you've found is indeed what you seek. And even then it's not yours. Not until you're holding it in your hands and you've eliminated any potential obstacles that might stand in your way. Now, stay as you are. I'm going to work a few more of the surrounding stones free. Once I have, I want you to move your hand about, feel along the surface of the box. Do you recall any of the details on Geoffrey's strongbox?"
"Yes. There was gilded trim all the way around. And knobs—two smaller, two larger, one of which hid the keyhole."
"Excellent." Julian was already digging, working the stones around Aurora's wrist away one by one. "Let your fingers be your eyes. Search for the very details you just described to me."
"All right." Aurora shifted impatiently, willing away the stones Julian was slowly urging free.
"Patience, soleil," Julian murmured, reading her mind. "Haste often breeds disaster." A grunt as he hauled aside a huge section of rock. "How's that?"
"Better." Aurora's palm flattened atop the hard surface, moving about as she explored their find. "It's the strongbox," she proclaimed. "I'm sure of it. I can feel the gilding, the knobs, even all four sides adjacent to the top. We've found it, Julian."
"Then it's time to seize our prize." With single-minded intensity, Julian tugged Aurora's hand free, peering into the crevice and nodding purposefully. "From what I can make out, it looks intact. Let's maneuver it up."
For a half hour they chipped and pounded at stones. At last their efforts were rewarded.
Tossing the tools aside, Julian bent forward over the newly formed chasm, lifting the chest from its rocky bed. With a harsh grating sound, the chest eased free.
"Oh, Julian, it really is James's strongbox." Aurora wiped a dirty sleeve across her forehead, oblivious to the fact that her face was now muddied, her gown and mantle ruined beyond repair. "Let's open it."
"Not yet. Not until we're in the ketch, safely on our way."
Something about Julian's tone made her look about. "Do you think we were followed?" she asked, scrutinizing the vast acres of woods, the tiny village beyond. "And if so, by whom? Your man Stone? That scoundrel Macall? Or one of the thieves that's been prowling about Pembourne in search of the black diamond?"
"The latter is unlikely," Julian replied, sitting back on his haunches. "Those thieves have lost interest since I retracted all the ludicrous accusations my father spouted."
