The Napoleonic Rose

Epilogue

"Well, I had hoped you'd find the location of the Rose, but I didn't expect it to be in the house itself." The Major commented, a curl of tobacco smoke rising into the air in front of him. We stood outside the chateaux, watching as several carpenters carefully extracted the cornerstone of the building. It was a slow process, and we'd been here since early morning. In the two days it had taken to assemble what we needed, my memories of the spirit world had dulled.Only the steaming eyes of the gray man remained sharp.

"Why do you think someone would be trying to stop us?" I asked as the cornerstone was brought down to settle on the earth, a strong pulley system aiding the feat.

"That's simple enough." The Major said with a laugh, looking across at me."There's a war on." It seemed like an acceptable answer for the time being, so I didn't press him. Viewed from above, there was a very clear discolored spot on the stone, where someone had plastered over it. The Major apprehended a crowbar from one of the carpenters,and brought it down with a few quick taps against that area. Spiderweb fractures shot out, and after the third, the material disintegrated. "Lieutenant Masters, I believe you should have the honor."

I beamed, brushing the shards of masonry away from a hardwood case'stop. A bit of wiggling freed it from the remaining plaster, and I lifted it free of the cornerstone. The clasp had long since rusted into being inoperable, but it came away with a light tug. The hinges complained loudly in turn, but by that point, none of us were interested in the box. Carefully settled onto a silk pillow, a perfect facsimile of a single red rose had been crafted from gold, silver and rubies. I couldn't repress a soft whistle.

"That is certainly an interesting little bauble."  The Major murmured,reaching across to pluck a yellowed slip of parchment from the box's top. He adjusted his glasses, and then began reading. "This rose was presented to Empress Josephine of France by her husband, in the hopes that it will be an eternal symbol of their love." He tapped the parchment against his open palm and nodded. "Excellent job,Lieutenant, particularly for a skeptic. You'll have to tell me all about your séance on the ride home. I trust there'll be no more talk of not believing in the supernatural?"

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, sir." I said, snapping the cover shut as the crew began replacing the cornerstone. "One out of body experience could just be a hallucination."

 "If you keep finding treasure every time you hallucinate, I'll accept that response, Masters."