Treasured Lies (26 page)

An idea formed in her mind. She pictured it as clearly as if it had already happened. ‘We could have a huge luncheon in the vineyard. Jimmy and Ginger can meet my family too. Oh, Archer, it'll be wonderful. I can't wait to tell Nonna, she'll love it. Thank you.' She jumped up, wrapped her arms and legs around Archer and pulled him in for a kiss.

Then she wriggled out of his arms and down. ‘I'm going to tell the others,' she called over her shoulder as she dashed for the stairs.

As expected, she found Ginger and Alessandro in the saloon. They were sitting side by side at the table. Her hand was within his and they were both watching him trail his finger along Gingers palm as if he were reading her love lines. But their contentment evaporated when their eyes darted to Rosalina.

‘What did the police say?' Alessandro's bushy eyebrows were a line of worry.

Rosalina slipped into a chair opposite them. ‘They kept asking questions about what we had on board that would cause all these attacks.'

‘You didn't tell them.'

Rosalina didn't even justify Ginger with an answer. ‘They didn't seem to care about who attacked us.'

‘This's crazy.' Ginger twirled one of her hair plaits around her palm.

‘It certainly is. That's why Archer just told me we're heading home.'

‘Home?' Alessandro questioned.

‘Yes. To Italy. To offload the treasure and see our families.'

‘
Fantastico
.' Alessandro turned to Ginger. ‘You can meet my family too,
mia bella
.'

Alessandro's pleading look was one Rosalina had seen many times. She hoped Ginger wouldn't refuse him.

‘I'd love to.' Ginger twirled her plait around more vigorously now. In a vivid fantasy, Rosalina imagined Alessandro and Ginger married and deliriously happy in love. The premonition tumbled from nowhere and she was delighted with the daydream. Alessandro was a good man who'd been unlucky in love. And Rosalina felt partly to blame, as Alessandro had wasted his yearning heart on her for too many years.

Archer walked into the room, rubbing his hands together. ‘Okay, first stop Syracuse. Happy?'

‘Very,' Rosalina said.

‘
Sì, assolutamente
.' Alessandro curled a lock of Ginger's hair behind her ear and Rosalina could tell from the intense look on his face that he was falling for Ginger. She hoped Ginger didn't break his heart like Rosalina unintentionally did.

‘Good. Jimmy's setting the course. Alex, you and I need to get cracking on sorting out what to do with the treasure.'

‘Of course.' Alessandro jumped up quickly, toppling his chair over. The noise was loud enough that Rosalina ducked for cover. When she realised it was his chair, she knew that heading home couldn't come quick enough. How long would it take to settle her nerves again? She tugged on her gold loop earring as a flush of embarrassment flooded her cheeks.

‘And, ladies, I'm starving, I don't suppose you could whip us up something to eat?' She was grateful Archer diverted the conversation to something he knew would distract her.

Rosalina contemplated what was in the pantry. ‘I think we can do better than that. This calls for a feast. Right, Ginger?'

‘I reckon.'

The men departed and Rosalina assumed they were heading to the office. As she walked towards the galley she stepped around the monkey statue and realised no-one had asked Alessandro what he'd found out about it. It was by far the most curious piece they'd discovered. Not only was it the biggest, except for the cannon, but as far as she was aware, it was the only one that displayed Egyptian hieroglyphics. How something like this could become part of a vast missing treasure from Italy was a mystery. No doubt Archer won't be able to rest until that riddle is solved. It was a bittersweet musing, because while she would love to explore the origins of the monkey statue, she was also almost at the end of her treasure hunting endurance.

But for now, cooking was the ideal therapy.

As Rosalina tugged open the pantry and then the fridge, the concept of a table full of delicious tapas meals came to mind. She pictured grilled halloumi served with her homemade caramelised onion relish, glazed chorizo with fresh cherry tomatoes she'd purchased at the market stall yesterday, blue cheese and pistachio stuffed fresh figs wrapped in prosciutto and baked to perfection, chickpea and bacon balls with a mild chilli sauce. The ideas continued to burst from her mind as she tugged ingredients off their shelf and placed them onto the bench.

She set Ginger the task of making the chickpea and bacon balls while she assembled the other ingredients into order. Within an hour, the dining table would be presented with a feast to tempt anyone.

‘So, Rosa, what do you think'll happen to the treasure?' Ginger didn't look up from the sizzling bacon as she spoke.

‘I don't really know. I'm sure Alessandro will contact the museum in Florence first.'

‘It's going to a museum? Do we get to keep any?' Ginger's voice escalated a notch.

Rosalina frowned. ‘No. How can we? These items are precious and deserve to be exhibited somewhere so everyone can enjoy them.'

‘Oh.' Ginger placed handfuls of chickpeas into the blender. ‘So does the museum actually buy the treasure off us?'

‘I don't think so.' Rosalina ground a dash of salt and pepper onto the halloumi. She glanced down the hallway, watching out for the men. She was pleased they were all preoccupied, not only because it would take their minds off this morning's horror, but because it allowed her to surprise them with their feast.

‘What, not even one piece?'

Rosalina laughed. ‘Ha, wouldn't that be nice. Which one would you keep?'

Ginger's face lit up with the question. ‘Oh, it would have to be that bracelet with the large emeralds on it. It's beautiful.' She turned back to the blender and the grinding noise filled the room with each press of the pulse button.

Rosalina contemplated what piece of treasure she would like to keep. But it was impossible to narrow it down. She'd want to give the pearls to Helen and the bracelet with the plaques to Nonna. No, she was pleased they would go to a museum, all the pieces deserved to be in a safe place where the whole world could appreciate them.

As Ginger set the table and placed each tapas dish upon it, Rosalina whipped up a fresh garlic aioli and pan fried lightly battered chilli prawns until they were crisp and golden. With the final dish nearly done, she sent Ginger to find the men.

They must have been hungry, as no sooner had Ginger set off to get them than they all returned to the dining area.

‘Oh, wow.' Archer walked in with his arm around his mother's waist, guiding her to a chair.

‘Look at all this food.' Having lived at a nunnery for twenty years, Helen may not have seen a tapas feast like this in a very long time, if ever.

‘Hey, Helen, did you sleep well?' Rosalina walked over and gave Helen a kiss on each cheek.

‘Not too bad, thank you,' she said. Most of the time, when Rosalina had checked in on Helen, she was sleeping so soundly she looked like she was in a coma. Occasionally though, her face would be contorted in pain as she slept through one nightmare or another. Rosalina knew how disruptive they could be. She'd witnessed Archer's almost nightly horrors for years. Finding the Calimala treasure had been the key to unlocking and breaking him free from them. She wondered what Helen would need to stop hers.

‘You ladies have been busy.' Archer tugged a chair out from the table and sat beside his mother.

‘Rosalina, as usual, this looks
magnifico.'
Alessandro's appreciation of her cooking was lovely, but she felt the suspicious glare from across the room.

‘Ginger helped too.'

Alessandro glided over to Ginger, reached for her fingers and kissed the back of her hand. ‘Wonderful. I can't wait to taste it all.' He pulled out a chair for Ginger, helped her to sit, then sat beside her and whispered something in her ear that made Ginger's neck flush pink.

‘Please start eating before it gets cold.' Rosalina nudged the prawns to the centre of the table and took her seat beside Archer.

‘I know it's not even midday yet, but I'm gonna have a beer.' Jimmy strode to the bar. ‘Anyone else joining me?'

‘I believe you owe me a rum.' Alessandro gleamed with the cheeky request.

‘You want rum? Now!' Jimmy laughed. ‘You'll be off your rocker before we eat.'

‘I'll make it for you.' Ginger jumped to Alessandro's rescue.

As Ginger passed the monkey statue, it jogged Rosalina's earlier unanswered question. ‘Hey, Alessandro, I keep forgetting to ask what you found out about the monkey statue.'

‘
Si si
, so much has happened since then.' Alessandro steepled his fingers.

‘Did you find out where it came from?' Archer reached for the plate of baked figs and handed it to Rosalina, knowing it would be one of her favourite dishes on the table.

‘Not yet,' Alessandro said. ‘But I do know where it didn't come from. It wasn't part of the Calimala treasure.'

Jimmy sat opposite Rosalina and raised his eyebrows as he surveyed the abundant tapas selection. ‘So, professor, how do you suppose it ended up on the
Flying Seahorse?
' Rosalina would have bet her beloved coffee machine on Jimmy reaching for the chorizo sausages first. And she couldn't resist smiling when he did. She'd had him in mind when she made that dish. Jimmy was a man's man, and although she'd tried to tempt him on many occasions with all manner of other meals, his preference was always for the robust meat dishes.

Alessandro cleared his throat and Rosalina was certain he already had an answer to Jimmy's question. She diverted her attention to loading her fork with a slice of fig, topped with the warm blue cheese and pistachios and a piece of crunchy prosciutto and popped it into her mouth. The delicious combination was summer and tropical sunsets all at once. It took her back to a time when she'd made these for Archer while they cruised around the Whitsunday Islands. His reluctance to even taste them had been laughable. The way he'd carried on was as if he'd believed her possible of poisoning him. After the fuss, he eventually did try one and not only did he love it, he devoured several in a row. Now whenever she found fresh figs she'd bake this dish. Unlike Jimmy, ever since that fig epiphany, Archer was ready and willing to sample all of her dishes. There weren't too many he didn't fancy.

Alessandro fastidiously topped his plate with a selection from each tapas plate, but he was yet to taste any of them. ‘First of all, it's obvious just by looking at it that it's of Egyptian origin. Secondly, it's not a monkey, it's a baboon.'

Jimmy huffed. ‘Monkey, baboon. Same thing.'

Rosalina could see Alessandro was gearing up for a technical response to Jimmy's remark but Archer jumped in with a question. ‘What's inside it?'

Alessandro paused with a chickpea and bacon ball on his fork. ‘I didn't open it. I think it would be wise to perform that in a controlled environment.'

‘Worried about booby traps?' Jimmy stabbed a slice of grilled halloumi, deliberately avoiding the roasted cherry tomatoes Rosalina had served with it.

Alessandro cocked his head at Jimmy. ‘Yes, as a matter of fact, that's part of the reason.' He popped the nibble in his mouth and chewed only briefly before he swallowed.

‘I was joking.' Jimmy pushed the whole slice of halloumi into his mouth.

‘I'm not. The Egyptians were known for their creativeness at keeping gravediggers from their valuables. I'm more concerned with damaging what may be inside.'

‘Like what?' Ginger grinned up at Alessandro like a love-struck student.

Rosalina popped a prawn into her mouth and bit off the tail. The tempura batter was crispy, the prawn full of flavour and the touch of chilli in the aioli polished the delicacy to perfection.

‘If there was a scroll inside, made of Egyptian papyrus for example, it is conceivable, because it's been sealed inside the statue, that it's retained a pristine condition.' Alessandro ran his hand through his thick hair and it flopped back into place.

‘Oh wow, imagine that.' Ginger waved a slice of chorizo on the end of her fork. ‘Do you really think it would be okay?'

‘I hope so. Because an artefact like that would be worth millions.' Alessandro wiped his fingertips on his napkin.

‘Millions.' The word whispered off Ginger's lips.

‘Not to mention what could be written upon it,' Archer said.

‘How could a bit of writing on a scroll be worth more than that?' Jimmy's eyebrows shot up.

The halo of gold flecks in Archer's dark eyes glimmered. ‘It could lead us to the rest of the Calimala treasure.'

‘Hell yeah … now you're talking.' Jimmy raised his glass as a toast.

After the toast, they all fell silent but Rosalina was certain none of them were following the same train of thought she was on. They'd most likely be thinking about the treasure and the vast possibilities of what they may find, but she'd had enough of treasure for a while. All she wanted to do was go home and see Nonna, cook a grand feast for everyone and spend some time with her family.

‘How long until we get there?' She had many dishes to plan before they arrived home.

Archer frowned. ‘Syracuse or Livorno?'

‘Livorno.' Livorno was the closest port to her home. From there it was just over an hour's drive to her hometown of Signa.

‘We'll stop in Syracuse tonight and Positano tomorrow night, then we should be at Livorno before lunch on Sunday. How's that for a plan?' He grinned at her, knowing full well that she wanted to organise a big afternoon luncheon.

This fitted perfectly and it took all her effort to keep her excitement contained. ‘Fabulous. Thank you.'

‘You can thank me later.' He tossed her one of his cheeky grins and she felt the heat rising up her cheeks as Helen, and indeed everyone else at the table, glanced in her direction.