Page 102 of To Treasure an Heiress
“Oh, heaven help us.” Vandermeer planted his walking stick in the ground and let out a mighty sigh. “You’re too late, Lady Millie—Lady Abigail. Dorrien-Smith—”
“Oh, Donald.” Millicent sent Vandermeer a too-sweet smile and was probably planning how to deliver a ladylike kick to his shin for deliberately confusing which of them used a nickname and which didn’t. “Who gives a fig about Dorrien-Smith and his permissions? This is the duchy of Cornwall. It’s the duke who holds all salvage rights in and around the isles. Which means every single thing brought from the ground or the water here ishis.”
Sheridan blinked at his sister—was this supposed to be good news?—and then angled a look down and back at Beth.
She was wincing. “Right. I forgot about that. We tend to operate on the ‘what they don’t know’ rule....”
Abbie must have heard her. She chuckled and presented her telegram to Lord Scofield. “Well, he knows now, dearest. They both do. And I’m afraid my Duke of Cornwall trumps your Lord Proprietor, my lord.”
Vandermeer pursed his lips. “The Duke of Cornwall.”
Millicent batted her eyes at him. “Also known as the Prince of Wales, Donald darling. And dear Georgedidowe us a bit of a favor.”
Beth leaned close, her fingers digging into his arm. “Your sisters know Prince George?”
He grinned. “Of course they do. They know everyone.”
Scofield was reading the telegram, his face getting redder by the second. “This is ridiculous. We already secured the permission from—”
“And the prince just countermanded it. But don’t worry, dear.” Millicent patted Vandermeer’s arm. “We’re not takingallof Gugh away from you. Only this portion here where my brother is digging. You all still have every right to excavate where Mr. Scofield began working.”
“Which was really quite generous of George, considering that Nigel began his work without any permission whatsoever,” Abbie put in.
“Whereas we had things in motion with the prince well before Theo’s spade ever touched Gugh’s soil.” Millicent winked at him.
And Telford had questioned his instincts in bringing them here. Sheridan grinned back.
Nigel was sputtering. “Oh, so you leave us the worthless—”
“Worthless?” Sheridan didn’t mean to interrupt, really. He just couldn’t help it. He waved a hand at the site up the hill. “You found an undiscovered Druid cairn! Frankly, I’m quite put out that it’s been left to you. You have no appreciation for it at all. My only comfort is that with the board of trustees involved, it will be treated with the respect it deserves.”
“Druids.” Vandermeer muttered the word as if it were the most boring two syllables in the world.
Nigel was snarling again, but his father restrained him. And crumpled the telegram in a fist. “I intend to appeal this. This is history you’re treating so cavalierly, and no doubt you intend to make off with it all and put it in your private collection. Don’t forget, my lord, thatI’mthe one you offered to pay for anything I found. I don’t recall you mentioning Prince George and his salvage rightsthen, and you can be sure—”
“Listen to you, my lord.” Abbie laughed, though there was nothing amused about it. “Acting as if the prince hasn’t been fully aware of our brother’s hunt all this time and doesn’t trust him fully. Ofcoursethe majority of our discoveries will be turned over to the Crown, and no doubt much of it will eventually make it into the hallowed halls of the British Museum. It isbecauseof the history of this site—”
“And Theo’s proven respect for it.” Millicent wrapped her arm around Vandermeer’s, which made the American clench his jaw. No doubt as he bit back some rude retort.
“Just so.” Abbie nodded. “He’s contributed so much to the study of the Druids, you know, which has earned the prince’s highest esteem. He agreed from the outset that Theo could keep a small token or two from whatever he discovered here.”
“A mere finder’s fee.”
He had, had he? Sheridan reached for the hand Beth let slide down his arm. He could only imagine the thoughts that would be rampaging throughherhead—all the time, all the effort she’d put into this. All stripped away because of a bunch of technicalities and legalities and connections she couldn’t have aspired to. “Beth?” he breathed, a bare whisper. He wove their fingers together. Would it look, to her, like his sisters were stealing her prize?
Beth shook her head, her words a whisper back. “They knew all along. Obviously. They were just using me. Probably meant to then swoop in with the permissions and take it all. Perhaps even threatenme with legal action.” She sighed, her fingers tight around his. “How stupid I was to overlook this.”
“An oversight.” One he was just as guilty of.
Beth’s lips turned up, though. She nodded to his sisters. “But they just beat them at their own game.”
That was indeed what his sisters had done. What they could always be counted on for doing. He gave Beth’s fingers a squeeze.
And besides, if it was the adventure she’d wanted from all this, they’d had it, and would continue having it. And if it was the promise of funds that would allow a Season or two in London—well, he’d give her all the Seasons she pleased. In London or Paris or New York or wherever else she fancied.
Young Scofield pulled free of his father. “This isn’t over, Sheridan.”
Millicent stepped away from Vandermeer, her chin coming up. “We did fear you’d take that stance, sir. Hence why a security team is on its way even now to safeguardourfinds. And, in the meantime, our lovely band of local friends will help us transport what our brother has already found to somewhere safe.”
