18th century vase, Meissen, Augustus Rex insignia. Smokey-white porcelain. Search records for provenance.

I tapped the pen against my left thumb, staring at my notes and then the vase. It was a pretty thing, not quite white, but with brilliant blue colors to mimic the oriental style. If this was an early Meissen, as indicated by the not-yet-perfected porcelain, it would fetch a remarkable price at an auction. It had some minor flaws, but all in all, it was in good condition.

The AR insignia at the bottom possibly meant that it had been a diplomatic gift from August II of Saxony to the Demaliers, but they could have aquired it later through purchase. Only records could answer that question.

I leafed through the notes I'd made over the course of the evening. Many of them ended with question marks, and I was beginning to feel quite out of my depth. Having access to the house records would have helped, but I wasn't sure I had the guts to approach Ashleigh Demalier just yet. At least not when I'd taken such pains to hide in what appeared to be a forgotten room of the house. I'd provoked layers of dust during my search, which indicated that I'd been the first visitor for a long time.

Surely, the others would have left for the pub without me by now.

The sunlight was fading outside the window, and soon it would be too dark to work. I'd tried the chandelier, but the light bulbs had blinked once before giving out. I had a feeling the chandelier itself was older than the armature, and that someone had done a poor job of it.

"Raven, come on, time to leave."

I started at the sound of my name, accidentally drawing a line right over my notes. Madeleine had called out from somewhere not too far away. Precariously close, in fact.

The handle rattled. "Oh, there you are. I've been looking everywhere." A pause. "Jesus, the cleaners are getting lazy. It's a right mess in here."

I craned my neck, trying to look calmer than I felt. "Sorry, I forgot the time."

"And you're sitting in the dark." She was about to flip the switch.

"No, don't touch that." I was afraid the house would go up in flames if the wiring inside the chandelier was as bad as I feared.

"Am I allowed to touch anything?" She sounded peeved. "Randy said this would happen, but I can't say I believed him. Not until now at least."

I swallowed hard. This was not the way I'd wanted my first day to end. "Most things are meant to be touched and felt, but that one is a deathtrap," I pointed toward the ceiling. It was a beautiful rococo crystal chandelier, moderately sized to match the room.

Her frown remained in place. Resorting to desperate measures, I grasped the Meissen vase, stood, walked right up to her, and shoved it into her hands. "Here."

"What?"

"If I'm correct, this vase is probably worth over £100.000."

She blinked. "You're not serious."

"I am."

"I'm holding it. Take it back."

Her bewildered expression as she pushed it back to me untangled some of the tension. I was laughing before I could stop myself. Soon, she joined in, releasing peels of laughter that somehow brightened the room despite the low light.

"Never do that again," she said, still smiling.

"Never is a long time."

She laughed again. "Come on, let's get a beer and some food. You look famished."

After my efforts to regain her good approval, I had no chance to back out. "All right, I guess it's time to eat."

"Great. We have to catch the others before they leave without us, so no time to change." She swirled out of the room, holding the door until I'd put the vase back on the dusty pedestal. It was time to deal with people rather than possessions.

* * * *

I sat with Madeleine in the back seat, silent while Randy and Ash reconnected. There was a great deal of laughter, but since I didn't know anything about the people they talked about, I never got the joke.

"You'll have to tell her at one point, you know," Randy said, amused.

Ash switched his hold on the wheel, driving lazily with one hand. "That would give them something to talk about, but I'm not sure Dory would survive the shock."

"Dory is a sweetheart," Madeleine said. "This is why the two of you shouldn't leave the house on your own. You antagonise the neighbours."

"Mads, they only want him for his money. Of course we can make fun of them."

I glanced at Ash via the rear view mirror. I very much doubted they only wanted him because of his money. The dark hair, streaked with silver, paired with a lighter set of eyes, made him a handsome specimen. I couldn't be the only one to notice.

Madeleine obviously agreed. "You're just jealous because Ash is fit and you're not."

Randy turned his head. "I'm plenty fit. Anyway, Ash is old news. He's been a bachelor for years, whereas I'm recent on the market."

"Eliza should have dumped you years ago. You never even answered her phone calls." Madeleine sounded serious, but I doubted Randy took it that way.

"Not while I'm working, no. Maybe you need a bit of my excellent work ethics, or the garden will grow wild like it did last year."

I thought Madeleine would retort, but she leaned back and crossed her arms, staying silent until Ash stopped the car at the center of a small village. The local pub was larger than I'd expected, busy enough to force some of the visitors to sit outside.

Madeleine got out of the car, entering the pub without looking back.

I was closing the car door when Ash slapped Randy's shoulder. "You know better than to tease her about the garden."

"Fuck if I care. She was the one who started it."

He sounded like a child.

"Go buy her a drink," Ash said, pushing Randy forward.

The last thing I wanted was to sit with these people if they were arguing amongst themselves. If I'd known the way back to the house, I might have taken an evening stroll.

As if he'd heard my indecision, Ash looked over his shoulder. "Are you also going to make my life difficult?"

I'd have to grow thicker skin to work with these people, it seemed. Deciding that it was better to simply stay silent, I began to walk, passing him before he could say something else.

The whole village must have decided to meet at the pub, because I couldn't spot a single chair that wasn't occupied. A row of people stood along the counter, cheering wildly in response to something that must have happened on the screen.

"Mr. Ash," the bartender called, raising a hand in greeting. She was close to his age, although slightly more worn from a job consisting of late nights and unruly guests.

"Dory, full house tonight," Ash replied from behind me.

I must have paused at the sound, because seconds later, he bumped into me, flush against my back. I should have moved, but every fibre of my being pulsed with awareness, straining to feel that stolen connection for as long as possible. It was over in a heartbeat, ending with a warm hand to my side.

"Over by the corner, Raven." The way he said my name sent shivers down my neck, even if it was simply how he talked. It didn't mean anything, and I didn't want it o mean anything. Not really. Not ever. My life was better off without complications.

Ash was right. Madeleine had somehow managed to get us a table with enough space for the four of us.

"What would you like to drink?" Ash asked, again from behind.

When I turned, we were still close. Too close. I had to look up to see his face. "A beer." If I'd had more time to think, I'd have specified which one, but I couldn't focus--not with the proximity and the crowd around us. "Whatever you're having."

I heard him call something to Dory while I left, cheeks awfully heated.

Madeleine sighed loudly when I sat. "Sorry about the drama. Randy's just an asshole sometimes. I like him well enough, but he grates my nerves when he wants to. I'm sure Ash told him to buy me a beer, then we'll be right as rain. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried." I was, but I didn't have the heart to tell her after that apology.

We didn't have to wait long. Randy dropped two beers on the table, scooting one of them in Madeleine's direction. "If you promise not to mention my failed love life, I promise not to mention the garden," he said.

Madeleine smiled as though nothing had been amiss. "Deal."

She leaned closer to my ear. "Dory has had a crush on Ash for as long as anyone can remember, and she's not subtle about it. She is a sweetheart, though, and it breaks my heart knowing he'll never return her affections."

"That man has broken more hearts than anyone can count. You should see him in London," Randy replied.

Ash placed a beer in front of me, carefully this time. "What were you saying about London, Randy?"

"Just that you're not the constant type. We all know that. Besides, you're moving out. These people will be safe from your charms in a few months time."

I wasn't sure what to think, but it certainly cemented my decision to stay far away from Ashleigh Demalier. I could very much believe that he'd left a string of men behind him without a second thought. Men did that, I'd learned. Some of them even spat at the thought of monogamy. Each to their own, but it made my life a little less simple.

Freddie had wanted others, had fucked others, had taken it for granted that I was okay with it. He'd laughed at my silly notions of something permanent.

"Are we ordering food?" Randy continued. "I'm starving." He waved for someone before we'd had a chance to reply.

I sipped my beer while the others ordered, wondering if they even had a menu to spare at this place. Of course, most people would have been regulars, well acquainted with the offers, but I had no clue.

Ash pierced me with his intense gaze. "What are you having?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen the menu."

A flicker of something unreadable crossed his eyes. "Are you too fancy for a fish and chips?"

"No." My stomach would complain later, but I was perceptive enough to know that this was a form of test. "Fish and chips is fine."

The server was already on his way to the other side of the room when I'd caught up with everything. Shaken, I took another gulp of beer.

Madeleine didn't seem to sense my discomfort. "Raven found some type of flower pot today. Worth a fortune. You could give it to me, Ash." I would have prefered to stay out of the spotlight, but I couldn't tell her that out loud.

"What kind of flower pot," Ash said, not even looking at me.

"Do you know if your family had any connections with Augustus the II of Saxony, later king of Poland?" I asked.

"Do I know what?" Ash shook his head. "No, I have no idea. I never bothered to learn the family history. And what does that have to do with a flower pot?" His tone suggested that I was entering dangerous territory, but he'd asked, and I wanted answers.

"It's a vase, not a flower pot. I have reason to believe that it is an original Augustus Rex, crafted in Meissen, Germany. Augustus the II was a porcelain collector, and lucky enough to claim ownership over the first porcelain factory in Europe. He put his sigil on the pieces commissioned for his palace, and gave some of them as diplomatic gifts to important people around Europe."

Ash only stared, so I continued. "Very few remain in private collections. It would be quite a remarkable find if we can prove that it is not a replica." I tried to temper my voice, but it was no use. The excitement I felt fell on deaf ears, as always.

"And it's worth money?" Ash finally asked, still frowning.

The temperature in the room seemed to have dropped several degrees. "Yes. Even more if we can prove that it was a gift to your family. Even more valuable to you, I'd thought." I shouldn't have said the last part.

"More valuable to my dear relatives, perhaps." Ash swooped up his beer and drank long and hard.

His relatives didn't sound dear to him at all, but that was none of my business.

This had not been a satisfactory first day, and I had a feeling it was not going to get much better over time. I could only hope that he would leave me to do my job if I kept out of the way as much as possible.

I was used to that, after all.

A/N Raven isn't having an easy time here, is he? Poor Raven. Hopefully it will get better.

Anyway, I also wanted to say that I might be changing the title of this story to Treasure Trail. I'm warning you in time so that you won't be confused :)

xox