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"Yes." Charles brought her to a work table on the other side of the room. It was scattered with books all about Derek and his finds.
"Like I said, nothing was documented from the Mayan dig. But as I scanned through these books on him, I did make a discovery which I thought was rather interesting," he gestured to the books on the left side of the table, "These are his earlier digs and these are his later digs."
Quinn settled into a chair and studied Derek's earlier photos. He looked so young and naíve, so very different from the calculating and jaded man he was now. There was honesty in his expression, a general love and excitement for his work. Quinn then moved to his later digs but that hopeful expression was gone and instead there was that hardness to him that she had come to know and expect. And he wasn't aging gracefully either. The lines around his mouth and eyes cut pretty deeply. Why had he changed so much?
"Take a look at the pendant around his neck," Charles said handing her a magnifying glass. "It isn't in any of his earlier photos but he isn't without it in the later ones."
Quinn took the magnifying glass and held it to the pendant. It looked to be made from obsidian and the etchings around the perimeter of the circle were definitely an ancient language, glyphs of some sort. Could it be Mayan? On a cursory examination, absolutely.
"We need someone familiar with Mayan artifacts to take a look at this and, as it happens, I know someone," Quinn offered then looked up at Charles and added, "Nice work."
"Thanks, but now I have to ask what do you think it means?"
Quinn realized she probably should have built it up a little but she was so excited at the possibility of making headway into Derek's nefarious moves that she just blurted it out.
"It's only a hunch," she said excitedly, "but I suspect the Mayans figured out a way to travel through time and this pendant holds the key."
Charles bewildered expression in response was priceless.
After making arrangements to have her friend study the photos of the necklace, Quinn left Charles and headed back to Whispering Winds to get proof of what she was claiming.
There weren't as many people walking around Whispering Winds as there had been during her last visit and that was probably due to the nasty weather. She parked her car, climbed out, and headed into the castle.
Even though she worked at Whispering Winds, most of her time was spent in the restoration annex so the tour guides and ticket tellers didn't recognize her. She paid her entrance fee and opted for the self-guided audio tour, as opposed to the guided tour, so slipping in and out of rooms wouldn't draw notice.
The first place she wanted to visit was the unfinished section of the castle she had visited with Thaddeus and Nickie. It was there that they had hid the loot that Derek was trying to steal from Archer. She wondered if Archer had retrieved his possessions or had he left them for her to find in the future?
The room she sought was not on the tour which meant she was going to have to sneak into the part of the castle that was closed off to visitors. There were no alarmed inner doors, since the place was still a residence, so sneaking in only required her walking under the red rope that blocked the hallway. She looked around scanning for security cameras and found none, then quickly slipped under the rope and disappeared down the hall.
It was difficult seeing since the lights were off in this part of the castle but she brought up a mental map of where she was and where she was heading. It didn't take long for her to reach the section of the castle that, when last she saw it, had been unfinished.
By the style of decorating it was clear a female was in mind when the room was designed. The rosewood furnishings were so very delicate but the color palette kept the room from being overly feminine. Quinn liked the charcoal-gray walls and off-white fabrics. Additional splashes of color came from the deep jewel-toned rugs scattered around the dark wood floors.
Her focus turned to the fireplace and the exact location of the hidden panel. She felt her heart hammer hard in her chest and after a quick check for security cameras, she reached for the panel. It didn't take nearly as long as she expected to work it free and when she looked into the concealed space, she saw the sacks sitting just as she had placed them over three hundred years earlier.
She really hadn't made it up; she had somehow gone through time! She couldn't take the treasure -- didn't want to risk getting caught with it -- so she sealed up the hiding spot paying close attention to leaving the fireplace looking exactly as she found it.
She quietly slipped from the room and made her way down the hall. She was heading for the exit but found herself detouring and taking the steps up two flights and down the hall. She gently pushed open the door and a gasp caught in her throat because her room looked exactly as it had. The bed cloths and curtains were a bit different but the walls were still papered in rose silk. The rosewood furniture was exactly the same and was even arranged just as it had been when she claimed this room as her own.
Memories she hadn't called filled Quinn's mind but she knew she couldn't get caught in a part of the castle where she shouldn't be. She started to leave but froze when she felt the touch, whisper-soft and icy cold, on her cheek. The sensation was so startling that Quinn drew in a ragged breath and worked to steady her galloping heartbeat.
Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own as she walked into the room towards the bed. Inexplicably, she stopped and looked down at the floor, half expecting something to jump out at her. And that's when she saw it. It was so small that it was undoubtedly missed by most, but scratched into one of floorboards was a small A and Q. Quinn knelt down and ran her finger over the letters, knowing it was Archer who had carved them.
She started to pull her hand back but some instinct made her press down firmly on the board which caused it to move. Quickly she removed the loose floorboard only to find a clothed-wrapped parcel hidden in the dark space beneath. She didn't hesitate to put the parcel in her purse before returning the board.
The emotions coursing through her were too numerous to ponder. Archer had left her something, and if she wasn't being too fanciful, he was there in that room with her leading her to it. Her eyes smarted with tears as her heart rolled painfully in her chest.
Slipping back into the approved area went without a hitch and before long Quinn was back in her car. She drove the hour trip back to the Cotswolds because she wanted to be home when she unveiled her treasure. Once she was locked in her house, she poured herself a glass of wine and headed up to her bedroom. She kicked off her shoes, turned on the gas fireplace and curled up in the chair opposite the fire.
Her hands shook as she unwrapped the parcel to find a journal. When she lifted the front cover, the breath stilled in her lungs at the inscription:
For my dearest Quinn
Yours, always and forever, Archer
She turned the page and lost herself in Archer's words.
June 14, 1704
