“You know if I remove it, there could be negative repercussions.” He met her gaze. “The wall could tumble down, and we could get trapped here.” He paused for a breath. “Forever.”
Vanessa released a shaky laugh. “No, Fielding and Esme know where we are, and they’ll rescue us should something go horribly wrong.”
Vanessa couldn’t see his face clearly enough from this distance, but she could imagine his devilish grin and beautiful green eyes. Then she sucked in a breath and waited.
He put the chisel into the mortar line, then slammed his hammer against it. The noise reverberated across the chamber, echoing again and again. Little by little, he worked the mortar away until he was able to shift the stone. He inched it to the left, then the right, rocking it against the floor in an attempt to free it. A crack started in the mortar to his right and climbed up the wall, creaking as it went. Graeme stopped moving.
Vanessa stood still and watched, afraid to even exhale lest she risk blowing the wall down. She felt her eyes widen as she waited to see if the wall would crumble. But the cracking stopped, and everything fell silent again.
Graeme went back to his work until finally he was able to wiggle the stone free. He stood, holding the sandstone brick in his hands. Quickly he traversed the wood plank.
The stone was nearly identical to the one she’d seen many times in Westminster, including the divots on the backside.
“This is it,” he whispered.
“You’re certain,” she said.
“This, see.” He pointed to a small engraving that was nearly worn off. “That is the sign of King David, something that is decidedly missing from the stone in Westminster. And these”—he turned it again to show her the bottom side; there three divots were carved in a line—“are for the other stones. This is the true Stone of Destiny.”
Graeme and Vanessa made their way to the small boat they’d taken across the loch. He set the Stone of Destiny down and assisted her into the vessel before joining her. The first fingers of sunlight were caressing the edge of the horizon.
Graeme pushed off the edge, then dipped the oars in the black water and rowed. He observed Vanessa—her eyes wide as she watched the dark water move beneath the boat. Her hand reached over the edge, and her fingertips lightly grazed the water.
“Be careful or the beastie will nip your fingers,” he teased.
She jerked her hand back into her lap, never taking her eyes off the water.
His chuckle filled the quiet dawn, drawing her eyes to his face.
She smiled widely at him. “You have an infectious laugh,” she said. “No matter what, it always makes me smile.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” Graeme said. He allowed his gaze to roam over her. Her bent knees created a tent with her dress that pooled around her feet.
“We found it,” she said. “You finally found the Stone of Destiny. How many years have you been searching for it?”
He exhaled slowly. “Ten, maybe eleven years. Perhaps longer. I became fascinated with the legend when I was a boy, and when I would visit my mother and Old Mazie, they would speak of the story. Then I’d go back to London and go to Westminster to see the one housed there.” He shook his head. “I don’t know; it became a bit of an obsession, I suppose.”
They reached the shoreline, and Graeme pulled the boat onto the rocks. “Be careful where you step,” he reminded her. “The rocks are slippery.”
She gripped his hand while she exited the boat, and they walked the rest of the way to the cottage. Quietly, they entered, and he stopped outside her room. The Stone of Destiny fit snugly under his arm.
“Where are you taking that?” Vanessa asked with a grin.
“Well, you know what they say. If you sleep on it, you’ll dream of your future.” Graeme bent and kissed her gently before walking to his own bedchamber.
Graeme sat up abruptly. He’d shifted the covers off his legs and now could feel the chill, since the fire had probably long since faded away. He hadn’t bothered to stoke it when they’d returned. He’d been full of excited energy, then had abruptly fallen asleep, but not before maneuvering the stone beneath his pillow.
He’d been teasing Vanessa about it and hadn’t even intended to do it. But once he’d been enclosed in his room, he’d been unable to resist. It was a foolish thing, a childish fantasy to have, but who would be able to resist sleeping upon the Stone of Destiny in an attempt to glimpse your own future?
Of course, all he’d dreamt of were bones, a big pile of bones. Interesting notion. He supposed becoming a pile of bones was in everyone’s future. But he would have hoped for something a little more telling.
He lay back down, bracing his hands under his head. He stared at the dark ceiling above. Bones. But there had been something else there, too, hadn’t there? Something lying amidst the bones. He closed his eyes to try and recapture the image, but the vision seemed cloudy now, blurred by heavy sleep.
Perhaps if he fell back asleep, he’d be able to remember what it was. But then he heard a noise at his door, and all his senses came to attention. Someone was in his room.
CHAPTER 18
Vanessa quietly moved through the darkness of Graeme’s bedchamber. She crept across the rug and made her way to the large bed in the center of the room. She knew that her husband was a fairly heavy sleeper, so she should be able to uncover the stone. She only intended to borrow it for the night. While she found the superstition foolish, she could not help her curiosity.