The Alchemist's Key

by Traci Harding

  ‘Why, what did you do?’ Hugh paused to inquire.

  ‘Don’t ask.’ Wade’s digging became more furious, when suddenly his spade hit wood. ‘Hey, I think I found the library floor.’ He got down on his hands and knees to brush the earth away from the hard wood timbers. ‘See.’ He referred Hugh to the point where the pole disappeared into the flooring. ‘It keeps going. I’ll bet if we can clear enough rubble off these timbers to drag them up, we’ll be able to get into the room underneath.’

  ‘But you said that in your dream the floor collapsed?’ Hugh hated to point this out. ‘So even if there was a room, it’s probably buried.’

  ‘The floor only collapsed over near the trapdoor, where I was.’ Wade pointed further over to where the secret door would have been located. ‘The machine may still be fine.’

  ‘All right, if you say so.’ Hugh assisted him to clear a larger area around the base of the pole.

  Wade slammed his foot down hard upon the boards, half expecting them to give way, and although they didn’t, it did sound as if it was hollow underneath. ‘Where’s that chainsaw?’ Wade scrambled up the ladder to grab it, turn it on and start cutting into the timbers.

  Louisa approached the pit, and was of the mind to say goodbye, when she spotted the activity within. ‘My goodness,’ she exclaimed, as Wade switched off his power tool, and a square section of timber floor fell away into the dark recess. ‘What have you found?’

  ‘We’re not too sure,’ Hugh was quick to answer.

  ‘We are exactly sure,’ Wade corrected, switching on his flashlight and sticking his head and shoulders down into the hole.

  As Hugh went to retrieve the ladder to place it down the hole, Louisa quickly climbed down to join them.

  ‘Oh my God!’ Wade exclaimed, raising himself. ‘You’re not going to believe this.’

  ‘Probably not,’ agreed Hugh, urging him out of the way, so that he could drop the ladder into the space below.

  Wade descended first, followed by Hugh and then Louisa.

  ‘There it is,’ Wade announced upon their arrival, ‘just as I said.’

  ‘Good Lord!’ Hugh circled the huge obstruction.

  The pole descended from the roof, splitting into four sections around the corners of a metal compartment, before continuing down to join the machine.

  On one side of the compartment was a door that had a small handle that allowed you to open it when it was unlocked.

  ‘The object John Ashby gave Ernest was taken out of this,’ Wade explained to Hugh, who had climbed up the metal ladder alongside the huge machine to investigate the compartment on top.

  Predictably, it was empty. The other four such compartments, positioned at either end of an even, cross-like structure on the upper surface of the machine, were locked closed.

  ‘What’s this?’ Wade noticed a long metal door in the front of the machine. He grabbed hold of the wooden handle and turned it. Wade was surprised when the heavy metal door folded down — instead of outwards — to grant access to the belly of the huge steel construction.

  Light sparkled from within as electric currents passed over a mass of canisters that were all placed strategically in rows and joined together by a series of interconnecting brass rods.

  ‘Do you know what this is?’ Hugh was most excited by the discovery.

  ‘I have no idea, but …’ Wade took a guess, ‘some sort of a battery?’

  ‘Exactly,’ Hugh gave his friend a pat on the back for using his brain. ‘The canisters you see featured in this configuration are known as the Leyden Jar. It was invented in the mid-eighteenth century, and they made it possible to store an electrical charge for the first time. Men like Benjamin Franklin and William Watson utilized the Leyden Jar for their research into electricity.’

  ‘And they were both contemporaries of John Ashby,’ Wade assumed.

  ‘They would have been,’ Hugh granted, thrilled to see that the archaic device was still functioning. ‘Yet, this apparatus appears far more complex than anything invented at the time.’

  ‘So what do you think its function is, Hugh?’ Louisa queried, looking on from behind.

  ‘I have no idea.’ Hugh scratched his head.

  ‘I do,’ Wade concluded. ‘I just can’t prove it, yet.’

  The discovery gave Wade the perfect excuse to visit Hannah. He left Hugh and Louisa to investigate the device, and instructed Andrew to bring the car around the front. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Wade was off to Glenoak College.

  ‘We’d best stop at the local florist on the way,’ Wade instructed. ‘Or I may not even get through the door.’

  ‘Right you are,’ Andrew comfirmed.

  Hugh removed all the dust and debris from the machine to get a better overall view. His attention then turned to the locked metal boxes, located at the end of each arm of the cross-like structure on the top of the device. ‘You wouldn’t happen to have a bobby-pin on you?’

  Louisa plucked one from the little bun at the back of her head, and handed it up to Hugh.

  ‘Thanking you.’ Hugh stretched the metal pin apart, and stuck it into one of the locks to see if he couldn’t pick it open.

  As her only company looked like being preoccupied for awhile, Louisa grabbed another torch and wandered further into the darkened room. She passed under a couple of fallen timbers, being careful not to disturb them, and spotted a chair. As she shone the torch over it, she was shocked to find some skeletal remains.

  Her screech startled Hugh, who dropped what he was doing to come to her rescue. Louisa backed right into him in a fluster, whereby she screamed again.

  ‘It’s me, Louisa,’ he assured, turning her to face him. ‘What is the matter?’

  Louisa buried her face in Hugh’s chest for a moment, relieved, then ventured to point towards the cause of her dismay. ‘There’s a goddamn corpse … in there.’

  ‘Well, that would do it,’ he granted, understanding her frightened outburst. ‘I gather they never bothered digging John Ashby out of his haven. Or perhaps it was his wish to be buried here.’ Hugh led Louisa back into the lit part of the room. ‘Are you all right?’

  Louisa nodded, and even though she was strangely affected by Hugh’s strong embrace, she slowly pulled away. ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘You’re sure?’

  Louisa nodded again, running her hands up and down her arms to dispel the chill that had beset her body.

  ‘Okay.’ Hugh left her to go back up the ladder and work on the lock.

  Louisa, having lost her urge to explore, didn’t want to leave either, just in case Hugh discovered something new. Hence she stood quietly watching him work.

  The shafts of light from above danced upon Hugh’s long dark curls, which he brushed back behind his ears now and then as they escaped and hindered his view. Hugh’s well-kept little moustache and beard made him appear to be not of this time; he seemed more akin to the romantic bygone era of the machinery with which he toyed.

  As Louisa was being awfully quiet, Hugh glanced down to see what she was doing. Her head was tilted slightly to one side as she gazed at him. As this was not your average observing kind of stance, it made Hugh a little uncomfortable. ‘What?’ he appealed, cracking a smile.

  Louisa smiled too, although her stance remained the same. ‘You really are very handsome.’

  ‘Well, thank you.’ He went back to his picking. ‘Coming from you, that is a real compliment.’

  The hard edge in his voice made Louisa wish she hadn’t said anything. ‘Where does this disdain of me come from, Hugh? Was it something I did, or did you just despise me from the second we met?’

  ‘I don’t despise you, Louisa. You just …’ Hugh paused from his chore to consider how to phrase it. ‘You just disappoint me, that’s all.’

  ‘How so?’ She folded her arms defensively.

  Hugh shook his head, and looked back to the lock. ‘It doesn’t matter.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Louisa dropped her hands to
her sides. ‘It does matter, I’d really like to know.’ She climbed the ladder to speak with him directly.

  At that this moment the lock suddenly clicked. ‘By jove, I think I’ve got it.’ Hugh raised the metal trapdoor and peered inside, his eyes opening wide in awe.

  ‘What’s in there?’ Louisa wanted to know.

  ‘Come to daddy.’ Hugh lifted the beautiful crystal cube out into the light.

  ‘Wow,’ Louisa uttered, observing how it glimmered. But what was more amazing were all the tiny little specks of light that appeared to dance around within the object. ‘What’s that inside?’

  ‘Well, I’m no expert …’ Hugh observed the cube with amazement, ‘but I’d say it might well be some of our Ghost’s Gold.’

  When Wade arrived at Glenoak, he inquired after Miss Martin’s whereabouts and was told he would find her in rehearsal studio seven.

  Hannah was alone, working on the new contemporary dance curriculum, as this department was to be her little baby.

  ‘Hannah.’ Wade ventured to disturb her from her activity.

  ‘What are you doing here? Go away. I have nothing to say to you.’ She continued her routine.

  ‘I found the third level of John Ashby’s temple … and the remains of the machine he was building.’

  Although the announcement was enough to make her pause, Hannah decided to hold to her anger. ‘That is of no interest to me.’

  ‘I thought as much,’ Wade confessed. ‘But before I start messing about with the unknown, I just wanted to say sorry and give you these.’ He produced the large bunch of flowers from behind his back. ‘You don’t have to accept them, of course, but just in case I get caught in some other time zone, I just wanted to say my piece.’

  The pathetic look on his face made it difficult for Hannah to maintain her annoyance. What’s more, she was concerned. ‘Then don’t toy with the damn thing.’

  ‘I didn’t think it would bother you, at least you’d be rid of me.’

  ‘But,’ she became quite flustered, ‘you have commitments to the college. What about your teaching position? Is it worth risking everything?’

  ‘The way I see it,’ Wade moved a few steps closer, ‘I’m risking everything if I don’t look into it.’

  ‘But the occurrences have stopped.’

  ‘At present,’ Wade granted, ‘but who can say how long that will last.’

  Hannah stared back at him, not too sure of how to pursue the argument. She didn’t really wish to be rid of him, and wanted to apologise for the things she said to him the night before, but the words wouldn’t come.

  ‘Please.’ Wade broke the silence. ‘Just accept these and I’ll leave you in peace.’

  Although hesitant for a moment, Hannah took the bunch of flowers in hand. Wade smiled, turned and abruptly made for the door.

  ‘Did you invite Louisa to your room last night?’

  The question halted Wade, and he wiped the smile from his face before he turned back to answer. ‘You were right beside me all night, Hannah. Do you recall me making her such a proposition?’

  ‘You could have arranged it before I arrived.’

  ‘Aw, come on,’ he appealed, noticing Hannah had that cute little pout of hers happening — and it was driving him nuts. ‘I was doting on you all night! The only reason I didn’t invite you up to my room was because of this damn boyfriend of yours.’ He swung around to face the opposite direction to control his frustration.

  ‘There is no boyfriend.’

  Wade turned back to Hannah with a look of annoyed disbelief on his face.

  ‘I just invented him, to keep you in check.’ She smiled winningly, and admired the bouquet she held.

  Wade decided to let the matter slide to avoid another argument. ‘So what is going to keep me in check now?’

  Hannah shrugged. ‘I’ll just have to rely on your integrity as a gentleman, I guess.’

  Wade gave half a laugh at this. ‘I really don’t think that is going to save you.’ He walked back to where she stood.

  ‘Maybe,’ she placed both arms about his neck, ‘I don’t really want to be saved.’

  As their lips met, a round of applause sounded from the observation level. Wade and Hannah looked up to find an all-female audience gathered there, the Contessa amongst them.

  ‘We really need to get these rooms sound-proofed,’ Wade commented quietly to Hannah, his face reddening with embarrassment.

  ‘Come with me.’ Hannah took his hand to lead him to the door. ‘My quarters are more private,’ she whispered.

  Wade raised both brows as he followed her, very much liking the sound of that.

  11

  The Key

  Andrew arrived back at Ashby alone. He located Hugh and Louisa in Wade’s studio, and informed them that the Baron would not be returning until the next day. Andrew noticed the four crystal objects positioned alongside one another on the desk. There was a cube, an octahedron, a tetrahedron and an icosahedron.

  ‘But no dodecahedron,’ Andrew noted aloud, recalling John Ashby chasing his grandson, Ernest, to retrieve such an item.

  ‘There is a setting for one in the machine, however,’ Hugh advised. ‘The central compartment seems to have given host to such an object once.’

  ‘Then that must have been the object Wade saw John give young Ernest before the temple collapsed,’ Louisa concluded.

  ‘The key!’ Andrew uttered. ‘I just thought it the ramblings of a madman at the time. But I’ll bet that’s what Ernest, the loon, was taking about … he really did have the key.’

  ‘Sorry?’ Hugh wasn’t following.

  ‘During that first experience I had of a time-slip, Wade and I ran into Ernest Ashby, the eighth Baron, who kept telling us he had the key.’

  ‘Oh yes …’ Hugh vaguely recollected Wade mentioning the episode.

  Andrew’s mind was ticking away now, and he began to pace. ‘But Ernest must have meant he had the key to his grandfather’s machine, that only he knew about.’

  ‘So where is this key now?’ Louisa posed.

  ‘According to Wade, it’s hidden somewhere with John Ashby’s diary,’ answered Hugh.

  ‘But where?’ Louisa queried.

  ‘That’s a very good question,’ Andrew granted, with no idea of where they would even start to search.

  That evening Hugh and Louisa dined in the downstairs drawing room. They discussed the strange crystal objects until finally they ran out of speculation and the conversation died.

  ‘You didn’t answer my question earlier … about why it is you dislike me so much.’ Louisa had to bring the subject up again.

  Hugh gave a heavy sigh, not really wanting to discuss it. They’d been quite pleasant to one another all afternoon and he didn’t want to spoil it now. ‘I could ask the same of you, Louisa. After all, it was you who ignored me in the beginning, not the other way around. Could it be because I am a mere student, with no title and no lands?’

  ‘No, of course not,’ Louisa defended.

  ‘Really? Because you certainly seemed more disposed towards me when you were mistaken in thinking that I was the new Baron Ashby.’

  ‘Well, it was an honest mistake. You certainly looked more the part than Wade did.’

  ‘So what you’re saying is that, at a glance, I appeared more your type.’

  Louisa smiled at his assumption. ‘Are you jealous, Mr Prescott?’

  ‘More curious,’ Hugh maintained.

  Louisa slouched back in her chair and took up her drink. ‘You think I’m just after the Baron’s money … and in the beginning that was probably true. But I am genuinely fond of him these days.’

  ‘Fond of him,’ Hugh emphasised. ‘That doesn’t seem to warrant a scorching affair.’

  ‘What difference does it make now?’ Louisa referred to the Baron’s absence.

  ‘Well, I’m sure a woman of your beauty and position doesn’t lack for male suitors.’

  ‘True. But the upper class gentry are all s
o boring!’ Louisa rolled her eyes to accentuate the fact. ‘Wade is different. He’s a real person, who has real feelings that he’s not afraid to show.’

  ‘I’m a real person.’ Hugh moved around one seat, so that he was seated beside Louisa, and taking up her hand he gently kissed her fingers. ‘And I’m not afraid to show how I feel.’

  Louisa couldn’t keep the smile from her lips. ‘Is this some sort of test, Hugh?’

  He turned her hand over and kissed her palm. ‘Why would you think that?’

  ‘Well, you’ve already made it rather plain that you think I’m easy. So if I submit, I’m a whore, and if I don’t, then I’m a social snob.’

  Hugh let go of her hand, feeling somewhat insulted. ‘I see. It’s okay for you to throw yourself at Wade, who is plainly not interested, yet to sleep with me would make you a whore?’

  Louisa was stunned by the swing in Hugh’s mood. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t think you were serious.’

  ‘And why not?’ Hugh stood. ‘Because I couldn’t possibly aspire to a relationship with a woman of your social standing?’

  ‘Hugh, you’re getting me all wrong.’

  ‘I don’t think so. And you know what, I feel sorry for you, Louisa, because you are what is commonly known as a control freak.’

  ‘That’s not true!’

  ‘Really? Think about it. As long as you are calling the shots in a relationship, it’s okay, but as soon as anyone else tries to take control, or get close, you can’t handle it!’

  ‘Is that what you think?’

  ‘That’s what I know. And I’ll tell you something else for nothing. As long as you insist on following your intellectual idea of the perfect mate, you’re going to miss out on any chance you may have to experience real love and emotion. Money may get you hot, Louisa, but it will never make you truly happy.’

  Tears began to well in Louisa’s eyes. ‘Just because I won’t let you have your way with me, suddenly I’m an emotional misfit?’

  ‘I don’t think there’s anything sudden about it. How many other truly genuine suitors have you passed over because of their bank balance, or their chosen line of work? Huh?’