She turned and ducked into the nearest car, not quite sure if the foreign emotion heightening her senses was profound relief, or disappointment.
* * *
Still unsettled, Haley took the longer, better-lit route through Harvard Yard back to the Fogg. Despite herself, she'd jogged the whole way from the station, then banged harder than she'd meant to on the locked door.
“Easy, cowgirl.” Sarah's baffled irritation was visible through the glass panes of the front entrance. She unbolted it and let Haley in.
“Seriously, Haley. Ten minutes tops.” was her only greeting. Sarah quickly slid the bolt back into place. “It's not cool for me to be letting you in after hours. They'd have my hide.”
Only a few scattered lights illuminated the interior. If she didn't already know the place like the back of her hand, Haley thought she'd be creeped out by the long shadows that crawled along the walls.
“Well, go ahead.” Sarah nodded to the stairs. “I left it unlocked for you.”
Eager to see the weapon once more, she took the steps two at a time. The door sealed shut behind her and it was like entering a vault. Because preventing dust and moisture was paramount, the storage room featured its own filtration system, and not much sound penetrated the windowless walls. For all Haley knew, she could be in a submarine on the bottom of the ocean, that was how disconnected she felt from the rest of the world when lost in thought in the archives.
Tossing her bag to the floor, she quickly retrieved the combination dagger/gun from its cabinet and sat at the table. She reverently unfolded the rectangle of lint-free cloth, and looked immediately at the hilt to study the inscription.
“For JG, with love from Ma ”-
Sending up an apology to whichever museum gods might be looking on in horror, Haley buffed the inscription, this time using the thicker cloth it had been stored in.
Haley worked quickly. If Sarah caught her doing more than just eyeing the piece, it was her hide that would be had.
-g-
She glanced at the clock. Seven minutes before Sarah cameknocking. But she had to know. She shook the ache from her hand, and rubbed with renewed vigor.
-da.
Haley gasped. Magda. “For JG, with love from Magda.”
It could only be one couple. Not much was known about the woman, but James Graham was one of the most famous military heroes in Scottish history.
No. That was way too easy. James Graham had died on the gallows before this weapon was even made. Period.
But could she argue reasonable doubt? It might make for an interesting paper.
There were any number of women in the world named Magda. Though it wasn't a very Scottish name, there had tohave been others. The weapon surely just belonged to some random nobleman.
She turned it in her hands. Stroked the filigree. It wasn't just that it was a rare and gorgeous piece. It felt… important somehow.
What if?
People did survive hangings. She loved the old Scottish tales of people who'd somehow survived the gallows only to awaken confused and more than a little sore. Could Graham have somehow survived his own death, like “half-hangit Maggie Dickson”, who bolted upright from her cart, or James Spalding, who clawed out from his own shallow grave?
Apocryphal stories and historical truths were blended and swapped all the time. Especially in old Scotland.
No. there was something in her gut that told her. She didn't know how or why, she just knew. It had to be James Graham's weapon.
Overwhelmed by emotion and the knowledge of what she held, sudden tears pricked her eyes. To think that she held in her hands something that Graham might have touched, held, used so many centuries ago.
A thrill shivered up her spine.
The implications were huge. There were very few artifacts available from Graham's life, aside from his sword on display at the Montrose Museum in Scotland. His name was apparently inscribed on that blade as well, though she'd never been lucky enough to hold it in her hands.
The discovery of another artifact was tremendous. That it was such a rare and relatively pristine example of a combination weapon was icing on the cake. Personally identifying its provenance would bring Haley notoriety across a number of fields: European history, Celtic studies, military studies, museum studies…
Grinning, Haley sat a little straighter. She'd be at the top of her department for some time.