Searching For Treasure - By L.C. Davenport Page 0,43

"Isn't that cool?"

Grace was just as delighted. "That was wonderful! Do it again."

"Wait a minute. He already had that one figured out." Josie was not yet ready to give up her doubts. "One of us needs to pick names."

"All right,”said Henry. "I'll do one. Connect Hugh Grant to Cary Grant."

"That one's easy. Hugh Grant was in 'Mickey Blue Eyes' with James Caan who was in 'El Dorado' with Robert Mitchum who was in 'The Grass is Greener' with Cary Grant."

Josie grumbled, "I've never even heard of those movies. You're trying to trick me."

"It's not a trick,”Dana insisted. "It's just the way his brain is wired. The names kind of connect themselves across his mind like a map. Sometimes, though, they don't come so easily and he has to study and stew for awhile." She kissed his chin. "Then he gets cranky."

Jack shrugged. "It's a mental exercise. Some people do crossword puzzles."

A companionable silence descended on the group. Jack took the opportunity to surreptitiously explore the area under Dana's left ear with his tongue.

Josie broke the silence first. "Hey, I know. Tell us one of your ghost stories, Uncle Oscar." Dana and Rose traded looks.

"Yeah, Uncle Oscar,”Noah agreed. "Tell us a good one." In a few words Noah had quietly announced that Oscar had become an unofficial part of the family.

Oscar was clearly deeply touched by the gesture and for a moment seemed unable to speak. He cleared his throat noisily. "Yes, well, all right. It isn't about Raven Keep Castle, but I have a story I think you ladies will like."

"Is it about tragic young lovers?" Grace asked.

"No, but it is about a woman of fire and spirit, much like the women I have been privileged to spend time with this weekend. How should I begin?" Oscar paused to collect his thoughts and then began. "It is a about a passionate, tempestuous and unconventional woman of Spanish descent who married the owner of a grand plantation named Chretienne Point. When her husband died of yellow fever, Felicite Chretienne, a most capable woman, had no qualms whatsoever about taking over the management of the plantation, in which she proved to be quite adept.

The pirate Jean Lafitte was a friend and frequent guest in her home. However, when Lafitte died, so too died the protection he had provided his homeowner friends from his band of pirate cutthroats. One night, they broke into Chretienne Point to rob and steal. They saw Felicite standing at the head of her grand staircase. The first pirate climbed the stairs to meet her. She calmly drew a pistol and shot him between the eyes, blowing his head off!"

Grace gasped. "Good heavens!"

"The pirates, cowardly lot that they were, fled in fear from a single woman with a single gun, as their pirate compatriot tumbled down the staircase, spraying blood as he fell." Oscar's voice dropped almost to a whisper. "Some say she still guards her home from that marauding pirate. On some nights, you can hear a pistol shot and the sound of a body falling down the stairs. The bloodstains from the murdered man still remain on the staircase, unable to be washed away. And on the nights when you hear the shot, the blood becomes fresh once again."

Each of his listeners shivered in delight at a good story well told. By this time it was getting late and everyone was ready to turn in. Oscar placed his hand on Dana's arm as she walked past. "I just wanted to say, Noah is, well, you've raised a special young man."

Dana smiled and touched him on the cheek. "He doesn't bring home strays, Oscar. Only the best for his family."

Oscar sniffed. "Damn allergies. Well, goodnight, Dana."

At the top of the stairs Dana turned towards her room and felt Jack's hand tugging in the other direction. She looked at him. "Where do you think you're going?"

Jack struggled to keep a straight face. "To my room."

"Like hell you are."

Jack released his grin. His token resistance spent, he allowed himself to be led meekly through her door.

*****

"You mean you actually saw him?" It was some time later and they were both sitting cross-legged on the bed playing a rather sexy version of thumb wrestling. "Just Cedric?"

"I'd like to say big as life, but somehow that doesn't seem appropriate."

"I wonder what the story is behind what you saw."

"Oscar said there was no story."

"No wonder he always looked so cryptic whenever Just Cedric's name came up."

Tired of the game, Jack stretched out on