Tess smiled. “Yes, that sounds like fun.”
Georgie called to Faith and Amy. “Girls’ night tonight?”
Amy gave her the thumbs up and Faith nodded.
“Can I come?” Lara asked.
The hopeful expression on her face made Georgie cringe. “Not tonight, La La, but I’ll organise a day you can come to soon.”
Darcy placed a hand on Lara’s shoulder. “Besides, you might be too busy sorting through treasure.”
Lara brightened and nodded. “OK.”
Georgie remembered all too well feeling left out because she was too young, and watching her brothers go off and have all the fun. Perhaps she could arrange a pamper day for them, and there was still Faith’s hens’ night to organise. She’d have to ensure Lara could attend an aspect of it.
“So where do we dig?” Ed asked.
Brandon was setting up the metal detector. “Why don’t I do a sweep with this first, and you can search for clues around the old well?”
The old well was about two and a half metres wide and had a stone wall about waist height. Long ago, someone had placed a metal grid over the top so no one fell in and hurt themselves. It rarely contained water these days.
Brandon swept the area, starting closest to the well and moving out in circles.
“This is so exciting.” Lara clutched her hands together. “I can’t wait to tell Mischa about it.”
“No, pumpkin,” Darcy said. “You can’t tell anyone about this. The last thing we need is word getting back to Stonefish.”
Lara bit her lip, her eyes wide. “Please! She’d think it’s epic.”
“No.” He gave Lara a stern look so like their father’s that Georgie’s heart twinged.
“Not even Dot and Nhiari?”
Darcy glanced at Matt and then Brandon. Brandon shook his head. “Not even them.”
The police didn’t need to get involved.
While Brandon swept the area, Georgie examined the stones, searching for a similar structure to the one that had hidden the journal in the wall. The others spread out, looking for clues. Every time the metal detector shrieked, Lara rushed over, but inevitably it was an old piece of wire, or scrap metal.
Georgie traced her fingers over the rough rocks, looking for a loose one. She didn’t notice the bush tomato shrub right next to her, not until she’d walked into the sticky web which stretched between it and the well.
Fear gripped her and she shrieked, leaping back and slapping away the webs, her heart pounding, her breath coming in pants.
Was a spider on her? She moaned as she imagined it poised to bite.
She shuddered and continued swiping at her skin. Darcy grabbed her and she pushed him away, not wanting him to get bitten as well.
“Hey, Freckles, it’s all right.” Matt stood in front of her, his mouth moving, but his words wouldn’t process.
“Sp-spider,” she managed to gasp as she stepped away from him.
“You’re OK.” He clasped her hands, stopping her from brushing off the web. “It’s just a Golden Orb web and thegarrawarlais still there. Look.” He turned her so she faced the web, and sure enough, the spider still sat in what remained of it.
Georgie sucked in a breath.
“Let me check you.” Matt brushed a few stray strands from her arms as he scanned her for spiders. Georgie trembled. “It’s OK,” he murmured, his hands gently caressing her skin.
As the fear receded it was replaced by a warmth at Matt’s touch. She wanted to lean into him, wanted him to touch her everywhere.
