Page 6 of If Not for the Duke

Lena hesitated, not wanting to share too much. After all, she didn’t really know Lady Bernice. She seemed nice enough, but for all Lena knew, she might be prone to gossip. However, sharing what was commonly known couldn’t hurt. “He was killed three and a half years ago when the shaft he was digging in collapsed.”

“Oh, how terrible.” Lady Bernice pressed a hand to her heart, her brown eyes filled with sympathy.

“It was. Simply awful.” Lena closed her eyes briefly as a well of grief and guilt flooded her. “It took his partner and others a few days to recover his body. My sisters and I were devastated.”

Not a day went by that Lena didn’t think of her father and her role in his death. If only her gift had aided her that day. But those details were her secret to keep.

“I can’t imagine.” The lady’s gaze settled on something in the distance, and her expression tightened. “I’m sorry to say I don’t miss my father.”

Mrs. Easton cleared her throat, sending a frown of disapproval in Lady Bernice’s direction.

“I know I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead,” Lady Bernice whispered, though there was no doubt that her aunt could still hear her. “But he wasn’t a nice person. Never happy.”

“A bit like your brother then.” Lena regretted the comment as soon as it left her lips.

“Sterling?” Lady Bernice appeared shocked by her remark. “Not at all. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know what I would’ve done. My father was impatient with my poor health when I was a child. I was nothing but a disappointment to him.”

An image formed in Lena’s mind of a young version of the duke protecting his sister from their father, his expression fierce. She didn’t like the empathy that washed through her or having another reason to admire him.

Mrs. Easton cast another look of disapproval toward her niece, but Bernice lifted one shoulder in a partial shrug, suggesting she didn’t care who knew how she felt or whether it was inappropriate to share the information.

In truth, Lena would rather Lady Bernice didn’t share such personal details. Especially when she had no intention of doing the same. It would be best to change the subject.

“I would love to hear why you’ve become interested in Oak Island,” Lena said. “How did you happen to learn about it?” The island had few inhabitants, and travelers rarely had a reason to visit.

Her and her sisters’ ties to Oak Island were lessening with each day that passed. Six months ago, they had received a letter from Mr. Johnson, their father’s long-time partner, stating he’d decided to sell the property. He’d explained that since their father’s death, along with his own wife’s several years earlier, he no longer had the heart to continue the search. Soon afterward, he’d sent their father’s journals, which they’d left behind with the hope the detailed notes would aid his search.

Lena had looked through them once or twice but reading her father’s handwriting brought grief. Perhaps in time, she’d be able to look through them more thoroughly.

Mr. Johnson had told them a company had bought the property with the intent of continuing to look for treasure. Though not unexpected, the idea of someone else digging where their father had for so long—perhaps even in the shaft he’d died in—was unsettling.

Lena was torn. She wanted someone to find the treasure to prove her father right, yet it was inconceivable to think of anyone else discovering it. Not after her father had looked so long and sacrificed so much in his attempts.

She and her sisters had often felt he placed the search above them. To be truthful, some days he had. But not always. Still, Lena had never needed protection from her father. Lady Bernice might be a duke’s daughter, but that didn’t mean her life was easier or better than anyone else’s.

To Lena’s surprise, Lady Bernice hesitated as if uncertain what she wanted to tell her. That made Lena even more curious.

“As I mentioned, I thoroughly enjoyedRambles among the Blue-noses, though I wish the author would’ve shared more about the search on Oak Island.”

Lena nodded but held her silence, waiting to see what else she might add.

“Upon my return home for the Christmas holiday, I was in the attic, sorting through the decorations, and found some letters in an old trunk.” Lady Bernice leaned forward, the glitter in her eyes speaking of her excitement.

“Oh?” Lena didn’t understand what that could have to do with Oak Island.

“The letters were written by a privateer who worked on Captain Kidd’s ship on several voyages.”

“Truly?” Lena’s full attention was captured now. Many people, including her father, believed Captain Kidd had buried a sizeable treasure in a pit on the island. However, it was said to have been rigged with a series of tunnels that flooded the pit if not excavated properly. Only those who knew how to circumvent the flood tunnels could reach the treasure.

Numerous shafts had been dug on the island before her father’s arrival. So many that the true location of the pit was no longer known. Most of the shafts her father dug had filled with seawater once they were deep enough to raise his hopes that he was nearing the treasure.

“A great aunt of ours died a spinster,” Lady Bernice continued. “Little did the family know that was because her heart belonged to a privateer.” She sighed, her expression making it clear how romantic she thought the story.

“The letters mention Oak Island?” Lena wanted her to get on with the story. If she’d discovered any details that revealed the exact location of the pit or specific instructions about how to excavate the treasure, that would be remarkable.

“Yes. They’re a delight to read.”

“What do they say?” Lena knew her tone was short, but she was beyond anxious to know what the lady had found.

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