Positively Patsy Part 13

He moved to the other picture and told me that this was a picture of the Lady Olivia Reece who died in 1670. He said that it was she that paid for the sarcophagus that is in the church where Richards’s body lies. I was interested that they had him in a special place and the vicar told me that Richard was a very rich man for his day.

It seemed that Drake and his crew had ‘liberated’ over twenty tons of gold and silver from the Spanish, one of the reasons Phillip of Spain sent the Armada later on that Drake so famously vanquished. He asked me if I was particularly interested in the family and I said that it was just a strange coincidence that my ‘uncle’ Rod and the pirate Richard looked alike and even stranger that I looked like the lady of the manor. He was then very serious and asked “You are not here because of the treasure?” I told him that I had no idea that any treasure existed and, anyway, pirates buried their treasure on desert islands, didn’t they? The tea arrived and we sat down and he said “I am going to tell you something as I believe that you ought to know it. When Richard Reece was put into the sarcophagus, he was wearing the full pirate regalia with cutlass and leather belt.”

“Around his neck was a leather pouch and inside the pouch there is supposed to be a letter and a key to the wealth that he had hidden away. Only direct descendants of Richard and Olivia are allowed to take the pouch from the body. Over the years many have claimed a family connection but there are two things that define a direct descendant. The first is a distinct birthmark that none knew of and the second is that we opened the sarcophagus twenty years ago and took a tooth from the skull. We had that tooth examined and was able to extract the DNA profile from it recently which will confirm absolutely who is a direct descendant or not. We had to open the sarcophagus secretly and I saw the body and pouch, but did not touch it.” “Let me guess” I said “the birthmark is a crescent moon beside the navel”.

He spluttered on his tea and asked me how I knew. I said it is just that I had it myself and was just taking a punt. He excused himself for a minute and went to his telephone; when the other party answered he said “Yvonne, can you come around to the manse straight away and bring a DNA test kit with you?” Sitting back down he asked me about my history. I told him that my mother is the sister of Ruby, who was Rods’ wife. I told him that they had a son called Patrick who is now dead from a boating accident and that Rod was a known ladys’ man. I said that my mother had moved to Florida about three months after Patrick was born and that I was born nine months later. I said that Patrick had the birthmark as well.

All the time Joanne was sitting there nodding sagely as she was the only other one here that knew the truth. Just then the doorbell rang and the vicar let in an elegant lady. “This is Yvonne, our village doctor. Would you please allow her to see your birthmark and take a DNA test swab?” I agreed and she and I went into a side room where I showed her the birthmark and she took a picture of it. After I got dressed she took a swab and sealed it. When we returned the vicar asked the cook if she could verify the truth of my involvement and she explained my link with Greg and that I was a singer with ‘Amazon’ that had been with Greg over the last six months. Peggy told him that she had met me when I was in Vietnam to identify Patricks body and that Patrick looked a little like the picture of Richard.

The vicar said that nothing could be done now until the results of the DNA test so we took our leave and drove back to the Manor. When we told Mary and Greg of our adventures they were amazed, however, Mary said that serendipity had struck again.

We asked Mary about the stables and she told us that they were an excellent set-up that just needed cleaning and a paint job. She told us that they could house about fifteen horses and that the tack rooms and storage areas were good to support that number. Greg told us that they had walked into the wooded area around the house and could see distinct trails where horses could be ridden; they only needed to be cleared of the overhang. He said that they had rung the local riding club and someone would come to the house on Monday to talk to us.

The following week was pretty busy, on the Monday the visit from the guy from the riding club was interesting as he said that he had no idea that such a good stables was in the area. He said that we would certainly get locals and even clubs from outside the area wanting to hire the complex. He suggested a name of a qualified vet who would be able to advise on what changes or upgrades would be needed to enable us to get certification.

We also closely looked at the kitchens and counted the stoves and ranges and decided we could teach about ten cooks at a time. We went through the bedrooms with a clipboard and noted all of the repairs and upgrades that would be needed to turn the accommodation into a first class residence. On the Wednesday the vet came around and did his inspection of the stable complex and told us that it would not take much to bring it back to use. He recommended a company that he used who could clean and refurbish it and Greg told him to get them in. He also told us of a local group who would be able to rework the walking trails and we organised them as well.

On Friday we had a call from the vicar who told us that the DNA test result was in and wondered if we could meet him in the church that afternoon. We went to the church and there was quite a small crowd there. The vicar announced that all the tests had proved positive and that I was a direct descendant of Richard and Olivia Reece. The others there were a few workmen who were there to remove the lid of the sarcophagus and there were two guys from English Heritage to oversee the operation as well as recording the body before anything is taken.

The lid of the sarcophagus was swivelled so that we could see the head and shoulders of the skeleton, clad in rotting shirt and tunic. The leather braces and belt were intact, as was the genuine cutlass in a scabbard at his side. Looking in the bottom of the sarcophagus we could see a pair of magnificent leather boots. The English Heritage guys took lots of pictures and then I was allowed to unbuckle the pouch and slide the strap out from under the bones, trying not to upset them. Once I had the pouch they resealed the sarcophagus and everyone shook hands. One of the English Heritage guys asked if he could be present when I opened the pouch so we invited him back to the house. When we got to the house we all sat around the dining table and I carefully undid the strap holding the pouch closed.

Inside there was an envelope and a leather bag that felt like there was jewellery in it. The English Heritage chap, Kevin Johansson, photographed both items before we opened them. The bag did, indeed, contain a necklace with a strangely made emerald pendant which was held at the large end and had tapered facets to the small end. The envelope, which Kevin told us was velum, contained a note written in early English. Kevin examined it and told us that it actually said

“To find where the booty is buried,
Look for the pattern that’s serried.
You must withstand the heat,
And then the trove you will meet.”

Part 14

“Wow!’ I said “All I could see looked like gobbledygook.” Kevin said that it was the flourishes on the old writing that made it look odd, as well as all the esses looking like effs. “So where does that leave us” asked Greg. “We need to find some serried patterns. What are they, anyway?” Kevin told us that serried was a term for being in close formation, a bit like an air display or even a type of flower bed. “So we look in the garden for four hundred year old flowers or even a row of trees?” asked Mary. “No” said Kevin “we can be certain that the pattern that is referred to will be still existing, unless it was destroyed when the house was rebuilt. I had a look at the history and there was no secret room or buried treasure found then. So, it either is somewhere else altogether or it’s still here.” We had a look around the older part of the house, knocking panels with our knuckles but found nothing so we decided to sleep on it. We showed Kevin up to his room and presented him with a pair of PJ’s and some toiletry. We all then had dinner and retired early to think about the riddle.

Next morning we were in the kitchen having breakfast and discussing the treasure trove. Peggy said that maybe we should look at the riddle in reverse. Withstanding the heat could refer to a fire, or fireplace. Looking across the room I examined the old fire hearth which was decorated with tiles in a chevron pattern. Of course it was no longer used and the place was filled with the old spit and a rack of pots and pans. I walked over to it and looked at the tiles, wondering about them being serried. Then I saw that near the base of the hearth, on each side, there was a large tile with a row of three smaller tiles underneath with the chevrons all pointing the same way. “Kevin” I called “In the old days of sailing ships, how did they sail in formation?” “Always in a line astern” he said “It allowed each one unfettered access to fire at an enemy without hitting their own.”

I said “Come and have a look at this, then.” He came over and I pointed out the three small tiles all pointing towards the back of the fireplace. “Interesting” he said “can you take all of these pots and pans away while I go and get my kit?” We got stuck in and cleared the fireplace of the pots and pans and the stand as well as the cross piece of the spit. When he came back with a bag he rummaged around and came out with a small hammer similar to the ones they use to test your knee reflex. He crouched down and tapped the ones on the left, including the tiles above and below. They all gave of a dull note. Then he moved to the right hand side and they all gave off a dull note except one small one in the middle of the three. “Good pick-up” he said and got down and pressed the tile. “It will be a bit stiff” he said “it has not been moved for four hundred years.” He got a can of lubricating spray and carefully sprayed around the edge of the tile. After a couple of minutes he tried again and the tile pushed in and there was a click. At first we could not tell where the click came from but Joanne, who was standing on the side of us, said “There is a large tile a couple above that one which now seems to be slightly proud.”

He looked at the tile and again sprayed around the edge before trying to move it. After a couple of minutes he got a little tyre lever and pushed the end into the slight gap and, when he gave a twist, the tile swung away from its companions to reveal a hole in the middle of the backing stone. When I looked at it and saw the shape I went up to my room and retrieved the necklace from the tomb. Coming back I pushed the facetted point into the hole until it stopped. Kevin said that it should be pushed so I pushed harder and there was another click and a gap appeared down one side of the back of the fireplace. He pushed the tiled back and it swung inwards to reveal a small landing with steps leading off to the right.

“Right” he said “this is something else again. We don’t know what is down there and there could be booby traps so I, for one, am not rushing down. What we need here is a full archaeology team to explore from here in. It has sat for four hundred years so another couple of hours will not harm.”

We were all let down but did as he asked and finished our breakfast while he called up a team. I went up to my room and changed into older jeans and boots just in case. Around ten the rest of his team arrived. Firstly they took photos of the mechanisms and the lock, with and without the jewel. Then they set up some floodlights on small stands and pushed one into the space, pointing down the stairs. Next to the light was a small camera. When it was all turned on we stood behind the camera operator and looked at the screen. The stairs went down almost out of sight. They then switched on a small rover with tracks and drove it into the gap, turned it ninety degrees and slowly took it down the stairs. We now had three screens running with a picture to the front, one above and one switching between two cameras on the sides. Each one had small LED lights so we could see good detail.

At the bottom of the stairs they made it turn a full circle and we could see that a room existed that ran under the kitchen floor. They then moved it into the room and switched on a larger light which showed a large room with boxes, chests and various items covered in dust and cobwebs. Everyone gave a cheer and there was much high fiving. Kevin said that this was where we stop again as the British Museum needed to be contacted as well as the trove registered with the government. It did not classify as ‘found’ as it was in a private house but still needed to be properly inspected, something that could take days to do. “No rushing down and throwing diamonds at each other” he said. Greg said that he would increase the security detail immediately and would restrict all access.

Peggy said that we could house the team and she organised the staff to prepare several bedrooms. Kevin made some more calls and said that there would be three people coming from London straight away so Peggy had more rooms prepared. While we were waiting they drove the rover around without touching anything and we realised that the room was bigger than the kitchen, which was itself pretty big. There was no indication of booby traps but you may have had to be bigger to trigger them. Greg sent the cook with Peggy to get more supplies in order to feed everyone. “No talking about this in the village” he ordered “although you can pop into the manse and tell the vicar that something has been found.”

We stayed close to the house over the next week while a team were sent into the room wearing hazmat gear. They moved through the room, photographing everything and setting GPS co-ordinates before anything was moved. Much video was shot. Then they started to bring things out. There was a lot of period gear, swords, knives, leather belts and boots and even some plumed hats. The British Museum people had set up an inspection room in one of the downstairs storerooms and were in seventh heaven. Then out came boxes of silver artefacts and jewellery, boxes of similar items in gold and then boxes of necklaces, bracelets and brooches in precious stones.

Everything was weighed, photographed and catalogued. They got really excited when they turned up a chest containing items from Richard Reese’s days with Drake, including various navigational instruments and even a log of one of the voyages. This box also contained a number of letters which one of the historians thought could have been written by Drake himself. Then there was a box with nothing but golden coins of the period that looked mint. At the back of the room, the last boxes contained Spanish military uniforms and armour which got everyone going. When they had cleared the room we were allowed to go down and have a look ourselves. It was well lit by then so we could see every detail. As I was looking I noticed a stone on the wall which had the mark of my birthmark on it so I gave it a good push and a section of the wall swung open. I called up the stairs “Kevin. I think you should come down and have a look at this.”

Marianne G 2020