Page 20 of The Magical Bed & Breakfast

“Oh, yes.” Ivy clapped her hands.

Kate began feeling around the desk. She located several drawers that weren’t immediately obvious. It wasn’t until she crawled around to the back of it that she couldn’t help but let out a little, “Oh,” of anticipation. She released a long breath. “Here. A keyhole.”

Reverently, Kate slid the key into the lock at the back of the desk and turned it. Carefully, she slid out a long thin drawer containing an aged piece of parchment.

“How old is that?” The awe in Ivy’s voice reflected Kate’s emotional tumult.

“Don’t touch it.” Rory spoke, the voice of reason, making Kate snatch her hand back with a mental image of the parchment crumbling to dust like in the movies. She blinked it away. It couldn’t be thousands of years old. They weren’t in Egypt. The desk was colonial, though, so it might be a couple of hundred years old.

Rory ran a hand through his hair. “It needs an expert.”

They all looked at each other.

Kate shrugged. “Who? The Hazard Historical Society? Do any of the members have that kind of expertise?”

Ivy gave a decisive nod. “Marjorie. She’s the secretary, and she knows about old manuscripts and stuff, I think.”

“Wait,” said Kate, but Ivy already had her cell phone out and was calling. Kate dashed to her cupboards and began searching. She knew what she was looking for. She had picked up every conceivable size of plastic bag at the store the other day. She knew that she’d bought a small box of the jumbo ones because you just never know, and she was all about being prepared. She searched her cupboards, shoving items about until she found the extra-large plastic that created an airtight seal. She wanted whatever-this-was out of the air.

Carefully, while Ivy chatted on the phone, she eased the bag around the document and zipped it closed. There, that should protect the parchment until they could examine it and figure out what it was, why it was so significant, why it was locked up in an antique desk, and most of all, why it was hidden in a secret room in the basement of an old abandoned inn.

Chapter Nine

Marjorie arrived alone,dressed in garden work clothes, her hair wrapped in a black and yellow checked bandanna, orange curls peeking out here and there. Kate had fully expected all of the historical society to descend upon her. Too fidgety for that right now, it helped that Marjorie appeared to know what she was doing. Wearing gloves like the CSI experts wear on television, Marjorie slid the parchment out, laid it flat on the kitchen table, and set about authenticating it while they watched.

After peering at it through though a microscope—an antique itself worthy of Sherlock Holmes—while they all held their breath, Marjorie finally looked up and blinked big-eyed at them before she gave them a gentle smile. “You have a musical score from approximately 1776.”

“How do you know?” asked Kate, while Ivy gave a happy jump.

Marjorie graced them with a sheepish smile. “Well, for one, it’s dated.” She pointed to a spidery handwritten date. “Hard to read this handwriting, I know, but right here. See?” They all leaned forward to view the date.

Kate shivered at the thought of a manuscript from days past. She had never dreamed she would come across such a find.

“The parchment is authentic to the time period.” Marjorie continued. “A professional lab could truly authenticate it for you, however, the composer isn’t obvious. If it was someone famous, it might be valuable, but…”

Rory was staring at the musical score and humming softly.

“That’s my tune,” said Ivy.

“Your tune?” Rory shook his head. “That’sthistune.” He pointed at the manuscript and waved a finger over a section of musical notation.

“But it’s the tune I made up for the Hazard Blessing. I sing it when I’m baking.”

“The Hazard blessing is a myth,” said Rory.

“The Hazard blessing from the base of the statue?”

“Yes,” they all said in unison in answer to Kate’s question.

Ivy shrugged and sang the blessing in her high sweet voice.

Thou wholoveth,

Be blessed amongstus.

With breathbestoweth

Thy heart.

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