Virginia sank down into the warm, soapy, perfumed water. She closed her eyes and sighed. The extra large tub she had purchased for herself was definitely worth the additional cost. She recalled the small tub she had bathed in while on the Aurora. She had thought that a man as tall as Drake would require a bigger tub, but being on the ship she supposed space and the amount of water a large tub would require were both considerations.
She tipped her head against the rim and let her mind wander back to the time on the ship. The times she had spent with him. A smile crept across her face, thinking how even after so short a while, the bad memories were fading and she more and more thought only of the good times. The times she spent in his arms, her fingers sliding through his thick, soft hair, stroking his hard, muscled body, feeling the tingling tremors flying through her veins under his hands.
Her own hands slid along the insides of her thighs recalling those nights on the ship and the magical way he had made her feel. A soft gasp slipped through her lips as her fingers dipped into the nest of curls between her thighs. Stroking herself as Drake had touched her, she groaned softly, finding all the sensitive spots that he had played like a fine instrument, evoking the most erotic music from her. Water slopped over the side of the tub as she lightly thrashed in the warm, soapy water, her orgasm rocking her.
As the glow of her climax faded, she wondered if there was a man that could ever make her feel like that again. Would the time she spent on his ship be the only time she would experience such ecstasy? She had been kissed by two men other than Drake and she hadn't felt anything. Was she doomed to a life of comparing every man she ever met with him? She sighed in resignation. It was useless to even speculate. She would most likely never see Drake Stratford again but knew that he would always be with her, whether she liked it or not.
It was the beginning of November and with the colder weather forcing Billy indoors he resumed his search for the door to the hidden portion of the attic.
Virginia was busy in her sewing room when she heard some very typical sailor-type language coming down the hallway. Venturing out she peeked into the attic. Billy was standing in front of the wall his hands on his hips.
"No luck yet?" she asked.
He spun around clearly embarrassed that she had heard him cursing. Turning a deep crimson he said, "No, no luck yet."
"How about to take your mind off it, you fetch a ladder from the barn and get those bags off the chandeliers in the ballroom and foyer," she suggested. "If they require any repairs we should get that done now."
He sighed heavily, glanced back at the wall once more and then made his way through the attic towards the door.
She was back in her sewing room trying to concentrate on her dress but kept thinking about the hidden door. She was wondering if the catch for it might be somewhere other than on the wall. She went down the hallway and stood in the entrance to the attic. Looking about she was wondering where to start. She turned to the door frame and thought that here was as good a place as any.
She knelt down and ran her fingers up along the edge of the frame, standing on her toes she skimmed them across the top. Halfway across she stopped and went back. What was that? she thought. There was a small piece of wood sticking up. She gently pushed on it but it didn't give. She gripped it and pulled gently. Still nothing. She pressed her fingers on it again and pushed harder. It suddenly snapped down and she heard a click to her left. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that a panel in the wall was indeed ajar. She stared in disbelief. Billy had been searching for so long and she had found it in a matter of minutes. She ran down the hidden stairs calling his name and turned into the ball room just as he was coming down the ladder from the chandelier.
"Billy," she gasped. "Come quickly, I found it!"
"Found what?" he asked running up the stairs behind her.
"The catch for the hidden door!" she shouted over her shoulder to him.
"You found it? Where?" He caught up to her in the entrance to the attic.
"Look," she said pointing to the open door in the wall.
He stood and stared in amazement. "Where did you find it?" he asked.
"It's up on top of the door frame," she said pointing up.
"Up there?" he said, amazed. "I never thought to look in another part of the room!"
"Well, go on. Don't you want to see what's in there?" she asked giving him a nudge. She didn't want to admit that she was actually a bit frightened to go in the room.
He slowly walked over to the door and pulled it open. Peering inside he looked around and then walked in. Virginia stood in the doorway and looked around. There was enough light from the attic windows so that they could see inside the small unlit room. It was extremely dusty and full of cobwebs. There were a number of chests on the floor, with keys in the locks. Billy knelt down before one and wiped the dust off with his sleeve. He turned the key and slowly lifted the lid. It was full of burlap sacks, not unlike the ones that had held the pearls. These were much bigger though. He lifted one and heard the unmistakable clink of coins. He quickly looked up at Virginia with wide eyes. Setting the bag down on the floor, he undid the drawstring and opened the bag. His eyes grew wide as he stared at the contents.
"What is it?" Virginia whispered.
He looked up at her with shining eyes. "Gold," he said. Reaching inside, he pulled out a coin and tossed it to her. She caught it and walked over to one of the windows to examine it more closely.
"It's a plain coin, unstamped," she called out to him. "They must have been stolen before they had a chance to be stamped."
"Are we allowed to keep it?" Billy asked from inside the room. "It is stolen property after all."
"But if it's unstamped how can they trace it?" she asked. "Thomas said that both British and Spanish ships were targeted by the pirates. If we turned this over to the authorities they wouldn't know who to return it to," she said happily.
She returned to the entrance of the small room where Billy was still checking the contents of the chests. "How much is there?" she asked excitedly.
"Quite a bit, Ginny. There's silver too," he said, checking the last trunk. He pulled out the last few pouches and paused with them in his hands. He furrowed his brow as he rolled the small pouches in his hands.
"What is it?" she asked.
"These feel different. They're not coins," he said carrying the bags out into the lighter room.
"Well open them," she said impatiently.
He walked over to a small table and dumped out the contents. They both gasped loudly. A dozen diamonds sparkled on the table top. "Oh, Billy, diamonds. Look at them, aren't they beautiful?" she exclaimed.
"Are those real?" Billy asked
Virginia picked up one of the glittering stones and held it up to the light. "I'm not sure," she said. "But if they were being hidden in that room, I would assume so," she said with a grin. "Open the other bag."
He undid the pouch and poured out its contents as well. An assortment of sparkling stones in hues of red, blue and green tumbled out of the bag.
"Billy, I think we may be rich," she said with wonder.
"Well, Ginny, you're rich, not me," he said fingering the shining stones.
"No, Billy. We're rich. We're in this together and I intend to split everything with you. I would never have found this without your help. You're entitled to it just as much as I am." She picked up a large diamond. "I think I just recouped my original investment," she said with a laugh.
"Ginny, do you know what that means if you share this with me?"
"That you'll be a very wealthy young man?" she asked with a smile.
"Yes!" he laughed. "I can ask Elizabeth to marry me!" Gathering her into a big hug, he whispered, "Thank you Ginny. Thank you so much!"
"You're more than welcome Billy. And congratulations," she said still smiling.
"Thomas was right about privateers owning the house. He did hint that there could be treasure hidden here," he said.
The smile from Virginia's face faded and her brow furrowed.
"What is it Ginny?"
Slowly she said, "Thomas knew that the house had been previously owned by privateers and that there could be treasure hidden here. One of the first things he said to me when we met was that he had been trying to buy this place from Otis for the longest time." She turned to Billy and continued. "He explained it by saying that the soil is very good and that he was interested in expanding his operations a bit, but I can't help but wonder..."
"Was he after the treasure?" he finished for her.
"He did offer to help us go through these things," she said indicating all the crates and trunks in the main part of the attic, "which at the time, seemed such an unlikely thing for him to do." She put the diamonds back in the pouch and said, "Maybe we should just put all this back in the room for now, and until we decide just what to do with it, maybe not mention it to anyone. And in the meantime, perhaps it's time you showed me how to shoot one of those pistols you kept."
She began to gather up the gems, when a warmly hued stone caught her eye. It was a slim piece of amber. She thought it strange that it was mixed in with the other stones. As she turned the smooth piece in her hands she was reminded of Drake's eyes. They were the same color and held the same mystery. She slipped it into her pocket and put the remainder of jewels back into the pouch.
That night as she undressed the piece of amber fell from her pocket to the floor. She had forgotten she had put it there. She sat on the bed and stared at it. In the dim light of her room it did indeed remind her of his eyes. Those eyes that she had fallen into so deeply the first moment her gaze had fallen upon them. The stone caught the candle light and seemed to glow. Just as his eyes so often glowed when looking at her. She grasped it tightly in her hand and held it to her chest as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. She placed the amber under her pillow and crawled beneath the sheets. She knew she would dream of him that night and this time she welcomed them.
Drake stared deeply into her inviting green eyes, eyes that were saying yes, eyes that were begging for the pleasure that only he could give her. They were gliding about the deck of his ship, dancing to the beat of their hearts. He picked her up and carried her to his cabin, kicking the door shut behind him. Her long red hair fanned out about her face as he lay her down on the bed, and she was somehow already undressed. He leant down to kiss her and could hear his heart beating, thumping in his chest, in his ears, thumping so loudly. She was crying out, calling him Captain. But it wasn't her voice, it was too deep, a man's voice.
Drake opened his eyes and realized the thumping was coming from the door and one of his crew was calling his name. His hand reached out into the bed next to him; it was cold and empty. He had been dreaming of her again. Dreaming of that night. That last night he had spent with her. One of the many nights he almost wished had never happened, but was also so thankful they had.
