Read Online Lethal Legend by Kathy Lynn Emerson - Free Book Online Page B

high-water line, they were in no danger of being cut off and drowned.
    “Look there.” Ben stopped suddenly to indicate a point of land that curved back upon itself like a sheltering arm to create the small cove.
    “What am I supposed to see?” Nothing about the rather bleak bit of beach and the low, jagged cliff above seemed unusual to her.
    “See that dark, irregular circle? That’s the entrance to the cave Graham and I played pirate in as boys.”
    The opening was all but invisible until Diana stared directly at it. Even after she located the spot, she could see no way to reach it. “Wasn’t that a dangerous place for young boys? How on earth did you get up there?”
    He directed her gaze to a large boulder at the base of the cliff. “The path begins just behind that rock and winds out towards the point and up. At high tide, of course, it is entirely submerged.”
    “Does the inside of the cave flood?”
    “We speculated that the back portion stayed dry, but we were never foolish enough to allow ourselves to be trapped inside in order to find out.” He grinned at her. “Those were good days. Carefree days. Graham’s Aunt Min kept to herself and let us do as we wished. She said we couldn’t get lost, this being an island and all, and that we’d turn up when we got hungry.”
    “In her place I’d have been afraid you’d drown, or fall off a cliff.”
    “Sheer luck we didn’t, I imagine. I’m a good swimmer, though. So is Graham.”
    Diana shivered. “I never learned how.” A very good reason, she thought, to stay out of sea caves.
    Continuing on towards the excavation, Ben assisted Diana over the uneven terrain by keeping a reassuring grip on her arm. As they drew closer, she could see that two large rowing boats had been pulled up onto the shore. Quite a number of people stood clustered around them. Graham Somener and Miss Dunbar were there, and Ennis, Carstairs, and Amity, but so were Mrs. Monroe and two men Diana did not recognize, although she thought one of them might be the guard she’d seen earlier.
    “Who are they?” she whispered to Ben.
    “The groundskeepers Graham temporarily reassigned as watchmen. The fellow with the fiery red mustache is MacDougall. The other is named Landrigan.”
    The latter was the guard from the cliff. He was younger than Diana had thought, his face clean-shaven. He kept a wary distance from his employer and further betrayed his uneasiness by repeatedly adjusting the fit of his checked cap. The second time he shifted position she saw that he still had his rifle with him.
    By the time Diana and Ben came abreast of the group, Miss Dunbar and Mr. Ennis had moved a little apart from the rest. They were speaking in low voices, but from his rigid stance and her flushed face, Diana could tell that the exchange of words was heated. As she watched, Ennis put his hand on the lady archaeologist’s upper arm. Miss Dunbar froze, her eyes locked with his and the tension between them was suddenly so palpable, and so charged with frustration, that Diana felt her own face warm.
    In the moment before Miss Dunbar pulled free and stalked off, Diana was certain Frank Ennis was about to haul his employer into his arms and kiss her. She shook off the fancy when Miss Dunbar reached Graham Somener’s side and tucked her arm through his in a familiar manner.
    “Would you care to see our camp, Mrs. Spaulding?”
    Diana jumped.
    It was Frank Ennis who had spoken. He’d come up close beside her while she’d been staring at Miss Dunbar. He offered her his arm, pointedly ignoring his employer. She pretended to take no notice of him, either.
    Diana cleared her throat. “If you have time, I would very much enjoy a tour.”
    “There’s not a great deal to see. We hadn’t been here long before we fell ill.”
    “Lead on then,” Diana invited, and she and Ben followed the archaeologist up an incline into a more sheltered area well above the high tide line.
    Even in bright sunlight, the