The Treasure Hunters Read Online Free

defensively.
    “Where did you get that?” Ruby
whispered in awe.
    “My father hid it right before he
and my mother went on their trip last year,” Merridie said. “Petty
cash, to invest when they got back. I didn’t think about it until after
Robert left me.”
    Eden lifted her hand to Merridie’s
face and gently swept back the wisps of dark hair from her forehead. Merridie
looked at her and froze, seeing the misty tears welling up in Eden’s gaze.
    “But they never returned,” she said
softly.
    Merridie shrugged. “I’m getting
quite good at desertion, but I suppose dying is a better excuse than betrayal.”
    “Not all the time,” Eden told her.
    There was a momentary silence as Merridie
looked away and discreetly wiped her eyes.
    “Thank you, Merri ,”
Ruby said.
    “Don’t thank me. I was going to
save the money for myself.”
    Out of the three of them, Merridie
had always acted the bravest. She liked to pretend she was tough and hard-hearted,
and Ruby understood. Merridie had lost her twin brother at the age of ten. She’d
lost her parents at the age of eighteen. Now she’d lost Robert and her fortune
in the same day. She’d let Merridie have her illusion of stoic toughness.
    ****
    One week later, Ruby and Merridie
stood at the rear of the ocean liner, RMS Adriatic. It
was a grand ship, dubbed one of the Big Four by the White Star Line, but they
were no longer first-class passengers.
    Gone were their gowns of silks and
velvets, and instead they wore simple cotton dresses. At least they were clean
and the clothes kept them warm. New York had faded away long ago, and before
them lay only the vastness of water. Ruby knew a
wistful look still graced her face––no matter how many pep talks she’d given herself,
she just couldn’t stop her heart from aching for leaving their home behind.
    “Are you all right?” Merridie
asked.
    “In one week we’ll be touching
English soil. We’ll be starting over. I feel as if we’ve given up.”
    Merridie grabbed Ruby’s hand and squeezed.
“I don’t like this Ruby, this, defeated Ruby. What happened to the chin-up girl?”
    “I have my weak moments.”
    “Well, we’ve come this far––no use
crying over the past, as I always say. Things will work out.”
    Ruby didn’t reply, nor did she look
at Merridie. Yes, she had to find the positive again. They were all together
and they had a plan. It could be a lot worse.
     

 
    Chapter Four
     
    The London docks were crowded and
dirty. The smell of rotten fish permeated the air, mixed with a strong odor of
sewage and mildew. Nausea rose sharply in her throat but she swallowed it down.
Now would not be the time to upchuck, although no one would notice the contents
mixed with the rest of the slime floating on top of the water. It was late in
the afternoon and a fog threatened to roll in. Only the feeble attempt of the
sun’s rays kept it marginally at bay, but Ruby knew as soon as the sun
completely sank, the docks would be shrouded in mist.
    As they made their way through the
swarm of people, Ruby saw a man holding a sign with her name on it. She steered
the other two towards him.
    “Hello, I’m Ruby Talcott.”
    The driver looked her over before holding
his hand out for her bag. She gave it to him and he turned to leave .
“Wait. I have two people with me.”
    The driver glanced at Merridie and
Eden. A moment passed before he accepted their luggage as well, then turned to quickly walk away. The three hurried after
him to a large Rolls Royce where he secured the bags to the roof. He opened the
back door and they got in, not saying a word. They were too busy staring out
the windows to study their new home. Ruby had been to England before, but the
other two hadn’t.
    Her cousins lived near Kensington,
one of the more prestigious areas of the city, and she wondered how Merridie
and Eden would be perceived. Still, she never would have left them behind. The
car drew up in front of her cousin’s large