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She looked at him and laughed.
83
Several days later . . .
Remi read the text from Selma. “Bad news,” she said, as she and Sam sat in the garden at Payton Manor. “Selma and Lazlo have declared the journal a dead end. If there’s some secret treasure, they can’t figure it out.” She looked around the peaceful garden and sighed. “It’d be nice to know what happened to it before we leave. If only to keep anyone else from bothering the Paytons.”
“Since Oliver intends to move the car to a museum, I don’t think it’ll be an issue.” He looked at his watch. “Nearly six. We better get ready for dinner.”
Oliver had decided that a celebratory dinner was in order, now that Uncle Albert was finally released from custody, and all the financial accounts were slowly being released, and life at Payton Manor was returning to normal. Since the Dowager Cottage where Albert usually dined in the evening was far too small to accommodate everyone, they all gathered in the south dining hall of the manor house.
Uncle Albert, Remi noticed, looked the picture of health, considering where he’d been ever since his arrest. He was talking animatedly to Oliver about the roses in the garden. Remi reached over, grasped Sam’s hand under the table. “Oliver seems much happier.”
“With the weight lifted from his shoulders? It has to be a relief to have his uncle back.”
“And to know that he won’t have to sell the Ghost after all.” She smiled happily, watching everyone interact with ease, the stress of the last couple of weeks having faded. Trevor was the one that impressed her the most. For the first few days, after his return to Payton Manor, he’d been quiet, jumping at every little sound. Now, looking at him as he and Chad talked and laughed together, he seemed like any other sixteen-year-old. Chad was definitely having a positive influence on the boy, she thought. Trevor was telling Chad how his mum was always after him about being on the computer and not meeting any nice girls.
Chad laughed, then leaned toward him conspiratorially. “You think that’s bad, Trev? My mum and aunt both go at me. ‘Do you have to work on cars all day?’” he said in falsetto. “‘Comb your hair! How are you going to get a girl looking like that?’” Suddenly aware he was being watched, he looked around the table, saw Allegra, and turned a shade of red when their eyes met. Clearing his throat, he looked back at Trevor. “But you should always listen to your mum, right?”
Trevor looked down at his near-empty plate, his eyes sparkling. “Right.”
“A toast,” Oliver said, lifting his wineglass, looking at Sam and Remi. “I meant to do this at the start of dinner. A toast to the both of you, since we wouldn’t all be gathered here without your help. I don’t know how to thank you except to say, welcome to the family.”
“That,” Sam said, “might be the best thank-you ever.”
Oliver looked around the table. “And, of course, the reason we’re all gathered—to celebrate Uncle Albert’s return.”
Albert lifted his water glass. “Not sure what all the fuss is about. Nice chaps at that place, but they wouldn’t let me come home. I don’t think I want to stay there again.”
Mrs. Beckett smiled at Albert, as she cleared off his empty plate. “I expect you’ll be glad to sleep in your own bed tonight, now that this Ghost business is finally settled.”
“Settled? How?” he asked her.
“It was stolen and now it’s back.”
“The Ghost? Stolen? That car was cursed from the get-go.” His gaze landed on Sam. “Did I tell you that you look like Cousin Eunice?”
“You did,” Sam said.
Albert gave a firm nod. “She and my brother found that old car in the barn when they were about Trevor’s age. One of the Paytons hid it there during the war. Cursed. Didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
Trevor sat up with interest. “How do you know it was cursed, Uncle Albert?”
“Things started happening. Don’t remember what they were now . . .” He seemed drawn to Sam, lingering on his face. “Cousin Eunice and my brother found that sheet music after they read the journal. No stopping them after that.”
“Stopping them from what?” Sam asked.
“Searching for the stolen treasure from the train.” Albert looked at Oliver this time, his rare lucidity holding. “Your father used to pretend he was that American detective from the journal.”
“Isaac Bell?” Trevor asked.
“The same. And Cousin Eunice was always miffed because she wanted to be the detective.”
Remi turned with an amused expression toward Sam, whispering, “See? That is where you get your sense of adventure from.”
Trevor’s eyes were glued on Uncle Albert. “Did they ever find it?”
“Find what?”