The Alchemist's Key (15 page)

‘So … not getting along,’ Wade resolved finally, to avoid any unpleasantness. ‘I just don’t understand it … Hugh is a great guy and you’re a great gal, so why can’t you both just see that?’

Louisa released a heavy exhalation to confess: ‘It just seems like every time I see Hugh, I have to confront some deep dark part of myself, that I don’t want to know about.’

‘He challenges you.’ Wade considered that that was why he and Hannah worked so well together.

Louisa knew Wade desperately wanted his friends to get along, but she had to wonder if she and Hugh ever truly would. ‘Sometimes when people get off on the wrong footing, the damage is done for good.’

Wade shook his head, not wanting to believe that. ‘Please couldn’t you just —’

‘But as a favour to you …’ Louisa spoke up over Wade’s plea, ‘I shall do my very best to make peace with Mr Prescott … as soon as I work up the courage to spend five minutes alone in his company.’

‘Hearing that is the perfect end to a perfect day.’ Wade gave Louisa a friendly nudge with his shoulder, as they lent back in the seat exhausted from all the excitement. ‘We did good today, Louisa. Grandpa would be proud.’

‘He certainly would have been proud of you,’ Louisa emphasized, before a yawn escaped her lips. ‘I was,’ she mumbled, leaning her head back onto the seat and closing her eyes.

Wade had never felt more proud of himself than he did at that moment, and it wasn’t because of his big payoff today. It was everything: the manor, the business, the school, his teaching position, his beautiful and wonderfully-talented girlfriend. It was actually seeming like he was quite good at this Lord of the Manor gig. Soon he’d be a fine up-standing member of the community, and for the first time in his life the idea didn’t make Wade cringe.
God bless my forefather’s
. He smiled.

Hugh was cramming for an exam when his roommate entered to inform him that there was a hot-looking redhead in a sports car downstairs asking after him.

‘No.’
Hugh couldn’t believe that Lady Sinclair would drive all the way down here just to see him. Unless, of course, there had been some development with the house mystery at Ashby?

‘Take a look for yourself.’ His room-mate opened the window wide and they both stuck their heads out to view her and her racy vehicle below.

‘Well, I’ll be damned.’ Hugh suppressed his urge to smile. A crowd of young men had already began to surround Louisa; thus Hugh quickly withdrew back into the room.

‘If I were you, I’d get down there quick-smart,’ his room-mate advised.

‘Well, I am me, and I plan to do exactly that.’ Hugh grabbed a coat and headed out to rescue the lady from his colleagues.

‘Hugh!’ Louisa waved to him, and the crowd of men expressed their disappointment that the fellow she sought had arrived. Those of the students who recognised Hugh called him ‘an old dog’, ‘a devil’ and suchlike, as he approached to lead Louisa away.

‘I assure you gentlemen that Lady Sinclair and myself are just good friends.’ Hugh played up his innocent plea to look guilty as hell, and wallowed in the speculation as he and Louisa walked across the lawn to escape the onlookers.

‘Are we friends, Hugh?’ Louisa asked in all honesty.

Hugh was taken aback, as Louisa’s questions were usually a little more subtle. ‘I certainly hope so.’ He made light of the moment. ‘I’d hate to think I just lied to everyone back there.’

Louisa smiled; the first time she really needed Hugh to take her seriously and he finally finds his sense of humour. ‘Look, I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of your friends —’

‘Embarrass me! You just did my reputation more good than you can possibly realise.’

‘I’m here to say,’ Louisa endeavoured to stick to the point, ‘that you were right about me, and that I was so terribly wrong about you.’

‘No, I wasn’t.’ Hugh gave half a laugh to argue. ‘I had no right to judge you like that. I was just jealous, as I have been since the day you met Wade.’

Usually Louisa could manipulate her feelings to suit her purpose, but the tears that welled presently she could not suppress. ‘But surely my behavior of late has tarnished your view of me, and rightly so.’

‘No, Louisa.’ Hugh slowly shook his head. ‘And just to prove there’s no ill will,’ he lightened up a little upon noting her tears, ‘I’d truly love to take you to dinner. Just as friends,’ he clarified, in case she got the wrong impression.

Although Louisa appreciated the sentiment, she declined. ‘My whole emotional state is on tenterhooks at present. I’ll be far better company in a couple of weeks.’

Hugh understood this to be her true motive and not an attempt to avoid him for social reasons. ‘The offer is there whenever you need it.’

‘Friends then,’ Louisa stated, holding out her hand to shake Hugh’s.

‘The best of.’ Hugh bypassed the handshake to give her a hug. Louisa felt surprisingly comfortable in the embrace and was sorry when they were forced to bring it to an end — all of Hugh’s college mates had began yelling instructions on how to proceed.

‘Sorry about them,’ Hugh now regretted all the attention they’d drawn.

‘That’s alright.’ Louisa backed away, emotional but steady. ‘I should really go anyway.’

Hugh knew Louisa was still at odds, and the ruckus his colleagues were kicking up wasn’t aiding the situation. ‘I wish you’d let me take you somewhere quiet.’

‘You do, Hugh.’ She gazed at him a moment, committing his sultry expression to memory. Perhaps Wade had been right all along. This foreboding desire Hugh never failed to stir in her was indeed love — mixed with the fear of having to face the complications it might cause to her life plan, so carefully laid out for her by her parents and their peers. Louisa bit down on her
lip to keep her emotions in check until she reached her car.

‘No more diving in.’ She assured herself that she was doing the right thing by leaving, once safely concealed inside her transport. There was no room for error where Hugh was concerned. Until she was certain this was love, she must keep her distance.

They looked in every logical and illogical place they could think of in search of the elusive key. Andrew finally decided to review the history of the Ashby family that he’d found in the library. This had been penned by Lawrence Ashby, the eleventh Baron — Wade’s great-grandfather. Andrew looked up John Ashby, and began reading from there.

It was approaching the midnight hour when Grace arrived, bearing a tray of tea and light snacks.

‘What are you still doing up?’ Andrew stubbed out the joint that was smoking away in his hand.

Although Grace was used to retiring early, she’d grown accustomed to the benefits of gas lighting and had become more and more of a night owl as the months passed. ‘I thought you might be hungry.’ She set the tray down on the desk beside him.

‘Now that you mention it, I do have a bit of an appetite.’ Andrew pushed his reading aside and invited her to take a seat.

Grace was happy to join him, and poured tea for them both. She was well aware of how Andrew took his tea. In fact, she’d made it her business to be well aware of all his likes and dislikes. ‘The master told me what you’re trying to do,’ she commented.

Her words were of concern to Andrew, and he hoped that the Baron wasn’t attempting to play matchmaker. For Grace, as attractive as Andrew found her, wasn’t like the headstrong, uninhibited women of this day and age. ‘I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.’

Grace thought he was being modest, which made her understanding all the harder to voice. ‘I know that you are working on a way to ensure I can stay here in the twentieth century, and I wanted you to know that I am ever so grateful.’

Andrew breathed a sigh of relief, since Wade’s whisper in her ear worked very much to his favour. ‘I want you to stay here, Grace,’ he confessed, placing his hand upon hers. Usually she would have been quick to pull away, but in this instance she did not. ‘I want your future here to be secured, so …’

‘Yes,’ she urged.

Andrew could hardly believe that a marriage proposal had nearly slipped from his lips. ‘Well,’ he gave half a laugh in conclusion, ‘best not get ahead of ourselves.’

‘Oh.’ She sat back, seemingly disappointed by his response.

Andrew picked up on this, and had to figure that she might finally be ready to broach the subject of a relationship. ‘I’m sorry, Grace —’

‘No, don’t be,’ she was quick to interject. If Andrew didn’t feel as she hoped he did, she didn’t want to know.

‘I don’t want to seem too forward,’ he added awkwardly. ‘I don’t want to rush you —’

‘You’re not.’ She encouraged him to continue, sitting forward in her chair and taking hold of his hand again.

‘Well, it’s just that I —’ He was lost for words. How far should he go with his confession?

‘Can’t stop thinking about you,’ Grace suggested to aid him along.

‘Yes,’ he confirmed wholeheartedly.

‘More and more each day,’ she added, leaning closer, ‘until it has reached the point where I can think of little else.’

‘You’re reading my mind,’ he uttered, lost in her pale blue eyes that glistened with delight.

‘I feel the same,’ she whispered, before surprising Andrew with a kiss — a long, sweet kiss, that they both became lost in for some time.

When their lips parted, the couple found themselves standing with their bodies pressed hard against each other. They could do little more than stare at one another as they panted in the wake of their sudden arousal. Her eyes never leaving his, Grace began to unbutton her shirt.

‘No, Grace.’ Andrew grabbed her hand to stop her undressing. ‘Not out of gratitude.’

‘This is not gratitude,’ she vowed as tears of desire filled her eyes. ‘This is self-preservation. I want it to be you.’

‘It will be me,’ Andrew assured.

Grace held a finger to his lips, to silence his resistance, shaking her head as she did. ‘But what if something goes wrong, and I was to find myself back in my rightful place in time. I couldn’t bear that you’d never held me, that we’d never …’ She went silent, afraid of sounding wanton, and looked to the ground in the shame of how much she felt for him.

‘I just want to do right by you,’ Andrew told her.

Summoning her courage, she again looked him in the eye. ‘This feels right to me.’

Andrew held her face in both his hands. He could not argue against her wish, as it was, indeed, his own. ‘For love then,’ he told her, and drawing her closer he kissed her again.

Long after Grace had fallen asleep, Andrew was still buzzing. Hence, he left a few flowers, picked from the garden, beside his new lover, and returned to the library to resume his research.

Andrew re-lit the large roach in the ashtray, and after a few deep drags settled down to read.

He’d covered the text on Ernest’s early life and was just getting to the part where his eldest son, Simon, the ninth Baron, had his father deemed insane.

Ernest Ashby, the eighth Baron, was declared mad in 1822, at the age of 54 years. The tower at Ashby manor became the madman’s prison for the rest of his days — some twenty years in all.

‘The tower. That’s it!’ The smoke dropped from his mouth, and Andrew was quick to save the antique desk from being scorched. He discarded what was left of the joint into the ashtray, and scampered up the timber ladder that gave access to the mezzanine and tower beyond.

At dawn’s first light Andrew was startled when the door leading from the long gallery creaked open. He stood, paused with bated breath, until Wade wandered into the tower room.

‘Jesus, you scared the life out of me!’ Andrew leant against the wall to recover from the fright. ‘I thought you were the damned cat.’

‘Sorry,’ Wade yawned. ‘But I was mulling over what you said about Ernest being locked up in this tower for twenty years and —’

‘So you figured he’d probably hidden his treasure in here somewhere.’ Andrew finished the sentence for him. ‘I had exactly the same thought.’

‘What’s with the sword?’ Wade noted the long metal object Andrew held.

‘Well …’ Andrew raised it and began butting the sandstone bricks with the metal hilt. ‘If Ernest had hidden the key in a piece a furniture, it would have been too easy to find. The brickwork is the only long-standing feature in here.’

‘Good call.’ Wade was impressed. ‘Is there another sword somewhere? I’ll give you a hand.’

‘A decent-sized coin will do, as long as it’s metal.’

As Andrew was looking around the upstairs area, Wade began checking the brickwork where the door to the outside was located, halfway down the stairwell.

He’d worked his way back halfway up the stairs, when he hit upon a brick that had a distinctly different sound to the others.

‘Hey, Andy, come here.’ Wade hit the brick again, to confirm the drumming sound. ‘I think this one’s hollow.’

‘It certainly is!’ Andy confirmed his find with excitement. ‘Wait here a minute. I’ll fetch a hammer and chisel.’

After hacking away at the mortar, the front of the brick fell away to reveal a hollow compartment. Wade reached inside and retrieved a black box and notebook hidden within.

Andrew flicked through the first few pages of the notebook. ‘It’s John Ashby’s all right.’ He showed Wade the inscription in the front.

Their eyes then turned to the black box as Wade raised the lid, and peered inside to find the missing dodecahedron. ‘Bingo.’

E
ven though they’d found the missing piece of the puzzle, Wade couldn’t test the key out. Hugh had begged him not to unite the dodecahedron with the machine until he could be present. Hugh would not be coming down to Ashby until Friday fortnight, so Wade was obliged to hold off for eleven more days.

As all the new computer equipment was to be delivered and installed at Glenoak Collage over the next couple of weeks, Wade had plenty to keep him amused. Most of his time was spent in testing and programming of equipment in the new graphics department classroom. Wade liked working here at Glenoak, for he could use the computers without fear of being interrupted by any ghostly intruders.

‘Wow!’

Wade looked up to find Hannah in the doorway, staring in awe at the massive electronics set-up.

‘Now that’s impressive.’ She took a stroll behind the first long bench at the front of the classroom. This housed a whole row of computer terminals that were all running the same animation sequence.

‘You like?’ Wade queried from behind his desk and terminal at the front of the classroom.

‘Very much.’ She paused in the centre of the row of computers to aim her grin of admiration at Wade.

‘It’s a training program I’ve been working on. I can assume control of all the computers in the room to run the students through applications and then, at my instruction, the terminals can be switched over to the students for individual use.’

Each of the computer screens began to run different programs, and as all the diverse images flashed before her eyes, Hannah’s smile broadened. ‘You’re going to be good at this.’ She was happy for him, for she herself loved to teach almost as much as she loved to perform. It seemed that deep down Wade and she had a lot in common after all.

‘Yeah, I think so, too,’ Wade said, responding to her broad grin. He lounged back in the chair,
rather tickled with himself. ‘This way, I have total control. I can stop the students exploring while I’m trying to demonstrate.’

‘Yes, you’re very clever, and talented,’ she flattered him, feeling that he had good reason to be pleased with himself.

‘As are you,’ Wade concurred, holding out his hand to Hannah and beckoning her to his lap.

‘Are you nearly finished here for the night?’ She straddled his legs to take a seat and kissed him passionately.

‘Since you put it that way.’ He put the computer to sleep and kissed her again.

As the situation started to get steamy, Hannah abruptly pulled away from Wade. ‘Can we eat, I’m starving,’ she pleaded, wearing that pout that always won her her own way. ‘I could take us to dinner,’ she suggested with enthusiasm.

‘I’ve got an even better idea,’ Wade grinned mischievously. ‘Why don’t we head back to my place, and I’ll have Talbot deliver us dinner in bed … breakfast, too, if it pleases my lady.’ He caressed her neck and cleavage with his lips, the idea making him feel all amorous again.

Although the suggestion was a romantic one, it bothered Hannah. ‘I don’t think Talbot quite knows what to do with himself when he finds me
in your bed. He’s a bit old fashioned, I fear. I don’t think he approves.’

‘Well, he’d better get used to it,’ Wade commented with glee, not looking up from his amusement.

‘I wonder if he knows that Andrew and Grace are sleeping together?’ Hannah wondered out loud.

‘They are?’ Wade’s head shot up.

Hannah nodded with a laugh, surprised that Wade had no idea what went on under his own roof. ‘For weeks.’

‘Grace told you?’ Wade assumed, with some reserve.

Again Hannah nodded.

‘But she seems so prim and proper.’

‘Ah,’ Hannah raised both brows, ‘it’s us nice girls that you have to watch out for … we know how to bag our man.’

‘You certainly do.’ Wade smiled submissively, and gave her a hug. ‘Now, what about my place? You’ve got the day off tomorrow, and I can modem into the college computer system to work on this from home. What do you say?’ His brow folded into a plea and, as Hannah couldn’t resist that puppy-dog face, she was finally persuaded.

Wade could never sleep after sex. Hannah went out like a light, but his mind was set racing.

He closed the doors to the bedroom quietly and proceeded to his studio, where he intended to do some more work on the college system. On his way through the drawing room, however, Wade spied John Ashby’s diary on the small reading table beside his favorite chair. He hadn’t really had the chance to have a serious look at the work, and thus he was swayed from his course to do a little reading.

Surprisingly enough, John Ashby’s diary made interesting reading at first. There was a section in the back where Ernest, the grandson who’d gone mad, had contributed some notes during his imprisonment in the tower. Here Wade learned that it had been Ernest Ashby who’d commissioned the mosaic to be set into the floor in the dining room, and not John as previously assumed. The funny thing was, Wade found Ernest’s notes hauntingly coherent, and began to wonder if perhaps Ernest’s insanity had just been a charade to prevent anyone finding the treasure that he had vowed to his grandfather to hide.

Wade also found the page in the diary that he’d seen in his dream, featuring the layout of the symbols in the mosaic. The scribble beside each figure, which he had failed to comprehend at that time, outlined the relationship between the symbols and the elements that Hugh had already decoded.

There was also a large section dedicated to John Ashby’s experimental research into the attainment of the so-called ‘Ghost’s Gold’.

As I am unable to find a suitable power source to fuel my machinery, I shall embark on a course of experiments with a metal with which I have had no previous experience. It is my intent to rediscover the fabled Mercury of Philosophers, the white substance described by St Germain as the primary essence of all life.

John went on to describe various experiments pertaining to the separation and distillation of the unnamed metal’s elements. Most of his dabbling had been unsuccessful, and had resulted in explosions due to the very flammable and volatile solutions with which he toyed. After a seemingly endless string of mishaps and observations that went way over Wade’s head, John finally wrote of a breakthrough.

Thus, having found my two principles, Mercury and Sulphur, I mixed them in exact quantities with the dead, black body of metal in a sealed crystal structure. This I heated at an exact temperature, whereby the black colour of the metal diminished. Colour after colour came and went, until the mixture turned to a white and shiny powder. These sparkling particles floated about inside the crystal
housing, defying gravity whilst emitting their own light, just as I had hoped. However, this amazing substance has proven impossible to remove from the sealed housing for further investigation, as, once it is exposed to air, the strange powder is immediately squandered.

In view of this information, Wade thought it fortunate that he’d refused Hugh’s request to have the sparkling powder analyzed. He had to grin as he read on, knowing Hugh would be annoyed to discover that Wade’s hunch had been correct.

Still, I have found my energy source, as this exotic white powder gold has proven to be the powerful electrical conductor that I have been searching for.

‘I am so sorry to disturb you at this hour, Sir,’ Talbot interrupted Wade’s reading.

‘That’s all right.’ Wade closed his eyes and squeezed the top of his nose tightly. ‘It was starting to bore me anyway.’ As he’d managed to release the pressure build-up in his forehead from reading in bad light, Wade opened his eyes to note the time and Talbot’s distressed state. ‘What are you doing up and about at this hour, Talbot. You look troubled?’ Wade wondered if perhaps the old butler had caught Andrew and Grace out.

‘I’m afraid I must beg your leave, Sir,’ the butler explained. ‘A rather embarrassing situation has arisen, that requires my immediate attention.’

‘Well, of course you may go.’ Wade stood, placing the diary aside. ‘Is it anything I should know about?’

‘No, no,’ Talbot insisted. ‘I’m afraid my son has got himself in a spot of bother —’

‘Andy?’ Now Wade was really worried, perhaps he’d got Grace pregnant? ‘What’s happened? Can I help in some way?’

‘It’s nothing that should concern you, my Lord.’ Talbot was reluctant to be out with it, though he suspected the Baron could have something to do with his son’s predicament.

‘Talbot!’ Wade insisted, ‘Andrew is my friend. If he’s in trouble, I want to know.’

‘What’s happened?’ Hannah emerged from the bedroom, tying on her wrap-around. ‘I thought I just heard you say Andrew is in trouble?’ She too feared that the young lovers had been found out.

Talbot was now twice as reluctant make the situation known. Still, as he was eager to get moving and there seemed no way he was going to be excused before he confessed, he just came right out with it. ‘It would seem that Andrew has been arrested for the possession of an illegal substance.’

‘Pot?’ Wade clarified in horror, knowing that Andrew was probably scoring on his behalf, as he always did.

‘So I am told, Sir.’

‘But that was for me.’ Wade had no qualms about confessing. ‘I’m coming down to the station with you … we’ll clear this matter up.’

‘No, my Lord, I couldn’t possibly allow you to become entangled in this affair. Better that Andrew is charged, than the lord of the manor.’

‘How can you say that, Talbot? Andrew is your son!’

‘If Andrew is charged for such an offence, it will be forgotten in a week. If the Baron Ashby is charged, it shall never be forgotten, and could have disastrous consequences for the whole household.’

‘Talbot’s right,’ Hannah intervened. ‘If the patrons of the school find out you smoke that stuff, you’ll lose your teaching position for sure.’

Wade paused for a moment to mull over the sad predicament. ‘I can’t allow Andrew to be lumbered with a criminal record on my account,’ he resolved. ‘And besides, I promised Talbot that I’d keep him out of harm’s way.’

‘My dear Baron. I shall be far more perturbed if this incident is allowed to blemish the good name
of the Ashby family. If I can at all prevent that, I will.’

‘Please Wade,’ Hannah added an additional plea, ‘don’t throw everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve away like this. Andrew wouldn’t want that, and some of the dope was probably his anyway.’

‘That’s hardly the point.’ Wade looked from his lover to his humble servant. ‘I admire your loyalty to my family, Talbot. But surely, allowing an innocent bystander to take the blame for my crime is an even greater disgrace to my forefathers.’

‘With all due respect, Sir,’ Talbot raised his voice in an agitated manner, ‘I beg you to consider the massive repercussions. For once in your life, put the greater good first.’

Although Wade was shocked by Talbot’s outburst, and heartbroken by the look on Hannah’s face, his mind was made up. ‘I’m truly sorry, folks,’ was all Wade said, as he left the room and made for his car.

The Baron was led to the cell where Andrew had been locked up for the night, along with his dealer and a couple of other clients.

‘Baron!’ Andy jumped to his feet upon spotting Wade, obviously shocked to see him. ‘What the hell are you doing here? I told father to come.’

Andrew had long held a fear of his father finding out about his habit, so the fact that Andrew had called Talbot instead of him, made no sense to Wade. ‘You should have called me first. Your father need not have known.’

‘I didn’t want you getting involved in this,’ Andrew stressed.

‘I was already involved,’ Wade insisted. ‘And I intend to confess.’

Andrew reached through the bars and gripped hold of Wade’s jumper. ‘Like hell you will.’

Wade pulled himself free. ‘I’m not going to let you take the rap for me.’

‘Have you lost your mind,’ Andrew demanded in a harsh whisper, so that the policeman by the door wouldn’t overhear. ‘There’s no point in us both being charged.’

‘They won’t charge you if I tell them you were acting under my instruction.’

The policeman’s ears picked up. ‘What’s that you say?’

‘This man is innocent,’ Wade announced.

‘No, I’m not!’ Andrew intervened, ‘Ignore him, he doesn’t know what he’s saying. Need I remind you,’ he uttered to the Baron, ‘that possession is nine-tenths of the law.’

‘Let this man go.’ Wade became more adamant,
raising his voice. ‘I’m the one you’re after. Andrew was acquiring the pot for me.’

‘Is that so, my Lord?’ As the policeman strolled over to where Wade stood and took hold of his arm, an amused smile crossed his face. ‘The press are going to have a field day with this one.’

There wasn’t much excitement down here in Ashbury, and the young constable rather fancied getting his picture in the papers.

‘No,’ Andy pleaded, ‘no press.’

‘Yeah, right,’ the policeman scoffed. ‘Let’s have a little chat then, shall we, Your Excellency?’ He led Wade back into the offices.

‘I’ll have you out in no time.’ Wade looked back to Andy to assure him.

‘You’re a damn fool!’ Andy shouted after him, before lowering his head and banging it hard against the bars. ‘Shit!’

By the time the policeman had finished recording the Baron’s confession, and Wade had posted bail for both Andy and himself, it was the wee hours of the morning. Their day in court had been set for early the following week.

As they wandered down the steps onto the street, Wade held out the keys. ‘Do you want to drive?’

Andy just served the Baron a filthy look, and snatched the car keys off him.

‘What are you so pissed about? The constable said that you probably won’t end up with a record.’ Wade shook his head, considering his young friend to be rather ungrateful.

‘But you will,’ Andrew snapped back.

‘So,’ Wade shrugged. ‘That’s the way the cookie crumbles.’

Andrew rolled his eyes. ‘Look, I don’t need you to bail me out of trouble all the time, especially when it
is
my fault.’

‘Well, sorry chum, I was under the impression we were friends … that’s what friends do.’