Unexpected Treasure

  * * *

  Rob was finishing a bowl of cereal when Lily walked into the communal kitchen the next morning. His long denim-clad legs were sprawled out under the table and his untidy thatch of dark hair gleamed burnished conker in the Autumn sunlight.

  “Ready, whenever you are.” A delicious tingle of anticipation danced along Lily’s spine as she smiled at him. Spending more time with Rob might prove to be fun.

  He clattered his spoon into the empty dish and carried it across to the sink before collecting his car keys from the worktop. “Okay.”

  She followed him out to his car. “This is really kind of you. I wouldn’t have a clue where to go to get the box opened.” Lily said as she fastened her seat belt.

  “I like antique stuff and I can’t wait to see what’s inside. It must have been in the cupboard for years. I can’t believe it’s not been found before.” Rob turned the ignition key and revved the engine of the ancient Fiat.

  Lily drew the box from her bag and placed it on her lap. “I know. I’d love to know more about who owned it. It was right back in the cupboard, almost jammed into the corner.”

  “Maybe it was hidden on purpose.” Rob suggested.

  “Maybe. Or just shoved to the back when other people crammed things into the cupboard.”

  “The guy we’re going to see repairs antique stuff. Perhaps when it’s open we’ll find some clues to who owned it.” He turned his head to smile at her. “It’s like a mystery story.”

  Her pulse jumped. “It is exciting.” She agreed. She’d always liked old things and had a small collection of vintage costume jewellery which she’d acquired from car boot sales and charity shops.

  Rob drew the car to a halt in a narrow side street in front of a small shop. The window was tiny and covered with a black fretwork grille. There was no sign above the shop front only a small handwritten notice on the door that said ‘open’.

  He jumped out and opened the passenger door for Lily. “The guy who owns this place is an old friend of my Dad’s. He really knows his stuff when it comes to antiques”

  Lily clutched the box closer to her and peered in the shop window. Trays of old silver charms and delicate pieces of antique jewellery were displayed on red velvet pads. She followed Rob inside the shop.

  “Rob, good to see you.”

  Lily looked around the dimly lit room for the source of the voice. A short man with a chubby face emerged from behind the counter to greet her companion.

  “Hi Ken, this is my friend, Lily.” Rob explained how Lily had found the locked box.

  Ken took the box and carried it to a small workstation. He switched on a high powered lamp to examine the piece more carefully. “Hmm, lovely piece of workmanship.”

  “When was it made?” Rob leaned on the counter next to Lily.

  “Well, judging by the shape of the box and the letter X I’d say it was made in 1897. The anchor mark tells me it was made in Birmingham.” Ken produced a polishing cloth and began to clean away the years of tarnishing to reveal a beautiful silver gleam.

  “Can you get it open?” Lily asked.

  “I can have a go at it for you.” Ken produced a small case and took out a long delicate tool.

  Lily held her breath as he began to probe inside the lock.

  “Gotcha!” Ken carried the box the few short yards across the shop to Lily and Rob. “Here you go.” He set it down carefully in front of them.

  The silver gleamed bright in the reflected light of Ken’s work lamp. Lily’s hand trembled as she slowly lifted the lid. Rob leaned in closer.

  “An old piece of paper and a locket.” Lily lifted the folded slip of yellowing paper out onto the counter along with a small heart-shaped gold locket.

  “It looks as if there was a flower in there once too.” Rob stirred the crumbled remains of what appeared to be dried and faded red petals with the tip of his finger.

  Gooseflesh prickled the surface of Lily’s arms as she unfolded the fragile sheet of paper.

  “What is it?” Rob’s shoulder brushed against hers as he read over her shoulder.

  “It’s a birth certificate, really old.” Lily frowned and picked up the locket. She used the tip of her nail to gently ease it open.

  “Hair.” Rob said as he looked at the contents.

  “Oh, that’s so sad, and kind of creepy. Do you think this was the baby’s hair?” Lily gazed with horrified fascination at the locket.

  “Probably.” Rob folded the certificate back up and replaced it in the box. “I bet there’s a real story there.”

  Lily closed the locket and put it with the certificate. “I wonder if we could find them.”

  “Might be a bit of a wild goose chase that, but you could try the archives at the library.” Ken shrugged his shoulders.

  Rob thanked his friend and followed Lily back outside to the car.

  “Do you think it’s stupid to try and find out what happened to the baby?” She paused at the kerb.

  “It was a long time ago. That baby would be old now, almost one hundred. Maybe something happened, that might be why the locket and the certificate were in the box.” Rob shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand as he looked across at Lily.

  “I know, but I feel as if I have to try and find out. This must have been important to someone once. Important enough to lock away in this beautiful box.” Perhaps she was being overly sentimental. Her fingers closed around the box inside her bag. The cool metal warmed against her fingers.

  “Come on, let’s go and get some lunch. We can try the archives this afternoon if you’ve no lectures.” He unlocked the car door.

  Lily’s spirits lifted. “You don’t mind helping me?” She slid into the passenger seat.

  “I like a good mystery and it’ll be faster with two of us on the case.”

  To her surprise it wasn’t quite the answer she would have liked. She would have preferred him to be keener on spending time with her not just on solving the mystery of the box.

  The others were out when they arrived back at the house. Lily made sandwiches while Rob set up his laptop on the kitchen table.

  He took the certificate from the box to read while the laptop booted up. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got. Mother was Susannah Morgan, no listing for the father.”

  “Wouldn’t that be a really bad thing back then? If she was an unmarried mother?” Lily licked a dab of butter from her thumb and peered over Rob’s shoulder.

  “Baby boy, Edward Morgan date of birth 1st Jan 1915, this address. Mother’s occupation, lady.” Rob glanced up as Lily placed a plate of sandwiches next to his elbow. “Definitely would have been a big social no-no.”

  “Poor Susannah.” Lily took a seat opposite Rob. “Where do we start searching?”

  “Census returns will tell us who was living here and we can check births, deaths and marriages.” He took a bite of his lunch, chewed and swallowed before continuing. “It’s kind of cool.”

  Lily’s face grew warm under his smiling gaze. “I don’t suppose we’ll get anywhere with a search but these things are so personal I feel as if we should at least try.”

  “I know what you mean. It would be really nice to be able to trace someone who cared about them.”

  Eve clattered into the kitchen on her high heels as they were clearing away their plates. “Hey guys, did you manage to open the box?” She picked it up from the table and lifted the lid, her shiny purple nail polish reflected in the silver surface. “What was inside?”

  “Nothing much, a necklace and some papers.” Lily wanted to grab the box back.

  The other girl shrugged and placed the box down. “No treasure then. Oh well.”

  Lily relaxed a little. She didn’t know why she didn’t want to share the details of their find with Eve except that it didn’t feel right.

  “We thought we’d go to the archive this afternoon and see if we can find out anything about the original owner,” Rob said.

  Eve wrinkled her nose. “Sounds dr
eary. It’s a gorgeous day out there. We’re all going down to the park. Come with us.” She slid her hand along Rob’s arm. Lily’s heart gave a painful squeeze at the note of invitation in Eve’s voice.

  “No, it’s fine. We can catch up with you all later.” Rob stepped away from Eve to collect his laptop.

  “Suit yourself.” Eve glanced at Lily and gave her a knowing smile making Lily’s cheeks burn hotter than before. “Oh, well, I see. Have fun then you two.”

  Thankfully Rob appeared oblivious to Eve’s hint. “You ready, Lily?”

  “Sure.” She hurried out of the house, glad to get away.

  She knew Sara and Eve would have their heads together during the afternoon and would be waiting to quiz her on her return, and it wouldn’t be the box they wanted to ask her about. The trouble was she didn’t have any answers for them. Until Rob had offered to help her get the box open she hadn’t had much to do with him. Now, she’d begun to notice him in all kinds of ways. Unfortunately he didn’t seem to be showing any signs of interest in her.

  The archive for the county was housed in the upper rooms of the local library, a short walk from the house. Rob strolled alongside her, his hands tucked in the front pockets of his jeans.

  “If you wanted to go to the park with Eve and the others I can do this by myself.” She wished she could have called the words back as soon as they had left her mouth. Why couldn’t she be more like Eve and Sara? They seemed to make talking to men easy. When she tried it always came out wrong.

  Rob glanced at her. “Nah, I’d rather do this, unless of course you don’t want me along?”

  “Company is nice.” Argh, why couldn’t she say something witty or interesting?

  Rob seemed to know his way to the archive section of the library and soon had her seated in front of a machine to search through the census records they had stored on microfiche.

  “They haven’t managed to get everything digitised yet,” he explained as he donned a silver coloured pair of wire-framed glasses.

  Lily couldn’t resist sneaking peeps at him as he concentrated on the screen of his own machine, methodically hunting for any birth, marriages and deaths for either baby Edward or his mother, Susannah. A couple of times he caught her out and she retired back to her screen, her face glowing.

  “I have Susannah, Edward and another older woman, maybe Susannah’s mother at the address when Edward is six. Susannah, and this Elizabeth Morgan both have lady as their occupation.”

  Rob moved his seat closer to Lily so he could read her screen. “They must have had some form of private income.”

  “At least we know now that he didn’t die as a baby. When I opened the locket I did wonder.” Lily was acutely aware of Rob’s proximity. The faint cedar scent of his body spray teased her senses as he nodded agreement with her statement.

  His eyes gleamed behind his glasses. “I thought the same thing. Well done for tracking that!” His lips brushed her cheek, sending a tingle through her skin. “Are they still there ten years later?”

  Lily returned her gaze to her screen, still flustered by the unexpected kiss. “I’ll search.”

  By the end of the afternoon they had traced Susannah and Edward to the nineteen thirties.

  “Do you think he fought in the war?” Lily asked, yawning as she stretched her arms above her head to release the tension in her spine from crouching over the screen.

  “Unless he had a reserved occupation, then yes, he would have been called up.” Rob collected his mobile from the side of the keyboard.

  Lily picked up her bag ready to walk back to the house. ”I hope he came home.”

  “We can check tomorrow if you haven’t any lectures in the afternoon.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “Sure, I want to know what happened to them.” The afternoon’s search had made her feel closer to the unknown Susannah and Edward. Rob had uncovered a death certificate for Susannah’s mother, Elizabeth from 1928 but nothing for Susannah before the Second World War.

  The earlier heat of the day had settled into a pleasant warmth as they strolled back towards the house along the suburban streets.

  “This would have been an affluent area back in Edward and Susannah’s day.” Rob observed, looking at the faded elegance of the late Victorian and early Edwardian villas fronting the pavement.

  “I wonder what they’d make of it now with so many houses divided into flats or rooms to let?” Lily mused.

  The corners of Rob’s mouth tilted upwards with amusement. “I don’t suppose they’d be very pleased.”

  She looked at the untidy frontages and ugly double-glazed windows and sighed.

  “Hey, come on; let’s call in at the pub for a drink. It’s too nice to go straight back to the house.”

  “Okay, sounds good.” The understanding in his eyes warmed her heart and she wasn’t about to object to spending a little more time alone with Rob, either. She wasn’t sure if the kiss he’d placed on her cheek at the library had been a purely exuberant social gesture or a sign that he too had noticed the attraction building between them.

  Her hopes for a quiet drink were dashed when Eve and Sara waved to them as they entered the pub.

  “Hey, bookworms, did you find out anything interesting?” Eve nudged Sara as she spoke and Lily guessed that she and Rob had been the topic of conversation.

  “It was good.” She ignored the playful note in Eve’s voice and told her friends what they had uncovered so far.

  Sara gave a little shiver. “Ugh, it’s a bit eerie, thinking of who might have lived in the house before and if anyone could have died there.”

  Rob caught the tail end of the conversation as he returned from the bar carrying drinks for himself and Lily. “Most houses that age have a history. It’s quite cool, like an Agatha Christie mystery when you’re trying to discover the past.”

  Eve and Sara both wrinkled their noses and Lily guessed they didn’t agree. “It’s okay for you, you’re a history student, you’re supposed to like old stuff,” Sara said.

  Rob shrugged and took a long pull from his drink. Lily too remained silent, somehow she wasn’t in the mood for Sara and Eve’s chatter. After a few minutes Rob finished his drink and made his excuses.

  “Okay, now dish the dirt. What’s going on with you two?” Eve asked as soon as Rob had left the room.

  “Nothing. He’s helping me find out about the box and who owned it.” Lily knew her cheeks had reddened again.

  Sara and Eve exchanged glances. “You two would be really good together,” Sara said.

  “He likes you. You can tell by the way he keeps looking at you,” Eve added.

  Lily swallowed the remainder of her drink and jumped to her feet. “Rob is being kind, that’s all.”

  She avoided Sara and Eve the next day at breakfast and scurried off to her morning lectures before they could interrogate her any more. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her friends but she was hopelessly out of her depth discussing her feelings for Rob. It would be too humiliating if he only liked her as a friend, plus, she had no idea about flirting and dating. It was easy for Sara and Eve. Sara was slim and pretty with curly dark hair and a bright smile. Eve wore her flame red hair in a sharp pixie cut which, combined with her unique sense of fashion made her stand out in a crowd. Lily sighed, she was more like the dull brown house sparrow next to her friends' flamboyant brightness.

  She’d only ever had two boyfriends before, neither had been very serious. She’d never bothered much about clubbing or partying, instead she’d been focused on securing her place to study politics. Hence her inability to flirt, or even make the most of her shoulder-length fair hair and pale complexion.

  Lily forced herself to concentrate on her lectures before heading directly to the library to meet Rob for the afternoon. He was already hunched over the microfiche reader when Lily took her seat next to him.

  “Hi Lily, I’ve got something for you.” He turned his notepad so she could read what he’d written.


  “Susannah died 1950, pneumonia.” She squinted trying to decipher his handwriting.

  “Got that from the certificates.”

  “Edward married a Mavis Treadwell in 1944, Mavis living at the address with a child, Susan Morgan, born 1944.” Lily smiled. “So Susannah was a grandmother? Did Edward come back? Was there only Mavis and Susan at the address?”

  “I can’t find any trace of Edward post war. My guess is that he enlisted and didn’t make it through. Sorry, Lily.” His gaze locked with hers and her breath stilled for a moment.

  “At least we know he married and Susannah had a grandchild.” She swallowed the lump in her throat.

  “Susan would be almost seventy now.”

  “Do you think we’ll manage to find her?” Lily struggled to frame the question. Rob’s gaze was still fastened on hers.

  “I don’t know. We’ll just have to keep looking.”

  For a moment she thought he was about to kiss her on her lips and wondered if it would be against library rules. A dull red stain marked his cheekbones and he turned back to his screen. She logged on to her own machine and they carried on working in silence.

  Later that evening Sara tapped on the door of her room.

  “Hi Lily.”

  She looked up from where she’d been organising her music files as her friend slipped into the room.

  “I, um, thought I’d stop by and see how things were going with your box search?” Sara fiddled with the edge of the door.

  “It’s good. We found Edward’s granddaughter’s record. Now we have to see if she married and what happened to the house, if it was still in her hands when it was sold and if she’s still alive.” Lily knew Sara wasn’t really interested in the box or its contents.

  “And you and Rob?”

  Lily sighed, she’d guessed this was the real reason Sara had knocked on her door.

  “We didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable yesterday, Lils. He is really keen on you,” Sara continued.

  “We’re friends,” Lily said.

  Sara edged further into the room and perched on the end of Lily’s bed. “Seriously though, he does like you but his last relationship didn’t end very well and Callum says he’s a bit wary.”

  Lily looked at Sara. “Don’t tell me you discussed me with Callum?”

  “No! Callum asked me about you. I think Rob had asked him if he thought you liked him. So, do you like him? Rob, I mean?”

  “Sara!” Lily had no idea what to say. She didn’t want her other friends gossiping about her or Rob.

  Her friend gave a contrite pout. “Sorry. I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

  Lily laughed. “Yes, you are. Please, I know you and Eve mean well but just leave things alone.”

  Sara got to her feet. “Okay.” She gave a Lily a hug. “Poke me if I forget though, won’t you?”

  Lily grinned. “Sure.”

  The next week she only saw Rob briefly in the kitchen and for an hour or two at the library as the new semester got underway. She had wondered if he was avoiding her but from how busy her own timetable was, she guessed his must be much the same.

  She had returned to the house for lunch on her free half day when Rob entered the kitchen.

  “Hi Lily.” His face flushed as he greeted her. “I’ve got something you might like to see.” He dropped his bag on the kitchen table and delved inside before tugging out his notepad.

  Lily dried her hands on a towel and walked over to the table. “You found something?”

  “Susan’s daughter’s address.” He waved the paper at her.

  “Seriously?” Lily stared at him. “Wow, that’s amazing.”

  His smile lit up his face and Lily beamed back at him.

  “What do you think? Should we contact her?”

  “Yes, of course. The box and the things in it belong to her family.” A part of her was sad that she wouldn’t have the box or its contents for much longer but she wanted them to go to the people who really owned them. She couldn’t help feeling sad at the thought of not having any excuse to spend more time alone with Rob. She would miss their sessions at the library.

  “She’s really local. Just five streets away.” Rob showed her his notepad.

  “Wow.” Lily’s hand shook as she took the book to read his notes. “You have a phone number too?”

  “Directory.” Rob dug in his pocket for his mobile.

  “Ring her.” She chewed nervously on her lower lip as Rob made the call. She paced about in front of the sink whilst Rob spoke to the person on the other end of the call.

  “Well?” She asked as soon as he’d lowered the phone from his ear. “What did she say?”

  “She was stunned that we’d found her and that we had something that belonged to her grandfather. She sounded really excited and asked if we would call round there tonight.”

  Lily clasped her hands together to stop herself from trembling. “I can’t believe you did it and really found Susannah and Edward’s family.”

  Rob took her hands in his, his touch cool and reassuring. “We did it, Lily. You found the important pieces; I just got the last little bit.”

  She gazed up at him, her heart thumping against the wall of her chest. He lowered his head and his lips brushed against her mouth. His hands released hers and she automatically reached to hold him. The muscles of his back bunched beneath her touch. His arms encircled her, drawing her nearer as his mouth claimed hers in a deep and tender kiss.

  He released her and murmured into her ear. “The best part about this has been spending time with you, Lily.”

  Her gaze met his. “I didn’t think you were interested in me,” she confessed.

  He tenderly stroked a stray lock of her hair, moving it back from her heated cheek. “I’ve liked you for ages but you never seemed to notice me. You were always busy and I guess I was just the guy who tagged along with the crowd.”

  Lily’s lips curved into a smile. “I always thought you never noticed me.”

  “It looks like we should be thanking Edward and Susannah. Without their box we might never have got together.” Rob kissed her again.

  “Eve was wrong when she said the box didn’t hold any treasure,” Lily said.

  Rob smiled, dimples forming in his cheeks as he looked at her. “She was definitely wrong. I found the best treasure right here.”

 

  I hope you enjoyed reading Unexpected Treasure. Here are a few samples of some of Nell Dixon’s other books which you might enjoy. Happy Reading!

 

  The Cinderella Substitute is the first of Nell Dixon’s popular Mayer family series. Now published by Astraea Press and also available as an audio book from Audiolark.

  In the two years since the tragic car crash that killed his fiancée, Nathanial (Nate) Mayer has successfully avoided another relationship. His family and especially his twin sister Nathalie are worried. Jennifer (Jenni) Blake is Nate’s personal assistant. Hired after the accident, she has her own problems to deal with, including the deaths of her adoptive parents and the debts incurred by their nursing care. But those difficulties pale into insignificance when Jenni finally traces her birth mother…