The Black Diamond (Black Diamond 2)

"Very well." She leaned forward. "As you know, we spoke with Mr. Barnes. He told us nothing we didn't already know."

"Didn't he?"

Julian perched on the arm of the settee. "You're saying there was more to Barnes's purpose than leading us to Macall and Guillford?"

"I'm saying life's coincidences aren't coincidences at all, but fate."

"Like the sudden and essential appearance of a lighthouse that is a twin to this one?" Aurora inserted.

Mr. Scollard inclined his snow-white head. "No such lighthouse appears on any chart."

"I saw it, Mr. Scollard," she murmured, remembering that dark moment of despair when her friend's presence had sustained her. "I looked out toward Land's End and saw that miraculous beam just before Julian sprang down and attacked Lord Guillford. I wouldn't have survived my ordeal otherwise."

"Odd," Mr. Scollard replied. "Where you stood was Lizard Point, the southernmost tip of Lizard Peninsula. Land's End is miles from there. Then again, you were at one of Cornwall's highest peaks. That would explain your spying something so far away. But distinguishing the building's details, now that is an accomplishment."

"But not a coincidence," Aurora qualified, employing Mr. Scollard's philosophy. "That lighthouse appeared for a reason—to save my life. And distant or not, it seemed incredibly near. Why, I could see Land's End as clearly as if…"

"Rory." Julian's head whipped around, his eyes blazing with discovery. "Think about what you just said, and think about what Barnes told us."

Aurora frowned. "You've lost me."

"You said you could see Land's End, that it was incredibly near. Now consider my great-grandf

ather's last words, the ones Barnes said he uttered in feverish delirium."

Realization struck. "He said that the end was near, the end was in sight, that he'd see James before he got there." Her eyes widened. "You think he meant Land's End?"

"Based upon Mr. Scollard's theory that life's coincidences are in reality fate—yes, I think he meant Land's End."

"Then by following that theory through, Geoffrey's saying he'd see James before he got there means the jewel is hidden somewhere relatively near Land's End." Aurora leapt to her feet and began pacing about. "That could be a dozen places—Penzance, Mousehole, Newlyn…"

"Might I remind you that there are still quite a few clues and apparent coincidences left unexplored?" Mr. Scollard suggested offhandedly.

"The clues." Julian snatched up the bag they'd brought from Cornwall, extracting both strongboxes—each bearing its key and contents—together with the sketch of Morland and the falcon text.

"Yes, the clues are all here, yet they're useless without the coincidences," Mr. Scollard proclaimed with but a cursory glance at the items Julian had displayed. "Each is integrally tied to the other."

"The coincidences. Fine." Julian prowled about, hands clasped behind his back. "A lighthouse that doesn't exist, examined clearly from a distant spot."

"Distant, yes, but seen nonetheless," Scollard clarified. "Seen at a moment of greatest despair, transforming it to a moment of greatest triumph. Seen by means of a miracle of nature—the same miracle that permitted you to rescue Rory from her fate."

Julian had stopped pacing and was pondering Mr. Scollard's words. "That miracle of nature was a peak in the black cliffs."

"Indeed. One of the shire's highest, I would imagine. Cornwall boasts many such peaks. Not all must be quite so towering or difficult to mount. It all depends on what is being sought and who is doing the seeking." One white brow arched. "Then again, I'm sure you know that. You are, after all, the Merlin—are you not? Or, at least, one type thereof."

"You're speaking in riddles." Julian eyed him speculatively.

"As did Rory's great-grandfather."

"The falcon book." Aurora nearly tripped over Julian in her haste to grab it. "You're alluding to the inscription in the book." She opened the front cover, pointing to the section she sought. "'As it is with the merlin and the kestrel, chart your path, then soar to the highest peak and the key to all life's treasures will be yours'." She stared from the book to Mr. Scollard. "Wherever the black diamond is, we can spy its location from a peak close to Land's End." Again, she lowered her head, rereading the words as Julian stalked up beside her. "'Chart your path'," she murmured. "I wonder if 'chart' refers to Geoffrey's sketch." She swept the diagram from the table. "Could it be there's more here than we've already used?"

"Possibly." Julian inspected his great-grandfather's sketch, then gazed pointedly back at the book. 'You are far greater than you appear'—" he read aloud, scanning the first lines of the inscription. "'A rock of strength, a giant among men'. If there is a connection between these words and the map, I'd guess that connection to be the word 'giant'—which leads us back to the legend that inspired Geoffrey's design. Is that what James is alluding to here? Is your great-grandfather sending us back to the Tamar River? If so, it negates everything we just determined."

"True. The Tamar is nowhere near Land's End," Aurora conceded. "Still, you're right about the blatant reference to a giant. It seems too glaring to be a coincidence…" She caught herself using that word again, and her gaze flew to Mr. Scollard's. "Which it's not, is it? It's significant."

"As there are many types of merlins, there are many breeds of giants. Some are legendary, others tangible."

"A tangible giant?" Aurora frowned, totally at sea.