The Reef

shocked and excited when you show them the amulet.”
    “We show them,” Matthew corrected.
    “No, it’s yours. I can’t explain rationally how I feel about this, Matthew,” she continued over his protest. “Itseems I’m starting to accept that this whole business isn’t meant to be rational. I felt the pull of that necklace, a kind of lust of ownership. When I was holding it earlier, I could actually see, vividly see,” she added, turning to look at him, “just what it could bring me. The money, the outrageous fortune, the fame and respect. The power. It shakes me to realize that under all the fine lofty motives of education and knowledge, I want those things.”
    “So, you’re human.”
    “No, it was very strong, that desire to keep it, to use it to gain my own ends.”
    “What stopped you? What made you decide to turn it over to VanDyke?”
    “I love you,” she said simply. “I’d have done anything to protect you.” She smiled a little. “Sound familiar?”
    “Sounds to me like it’s time we started trusting each other. The fact remains you found the amulet.”
    “Maybe I was meant to, so that I could give it to you.”
    “Meant to?” He took her chin in his hand. “This from a scientist.”
    “A scientist who knows her Shakespeare. ‘There are more things in heaven and earth.’ ” Keeping her eyes on his, she suppressed a shudder. “It’s in your hands now, Matthew. And for you to decide.”
    “None of this—if you loved me you’d . . . ?”
    “I know you love me. A woman can go her whole life and never hear the kind of things you’ve just said to me. That’s why you’re going to marry me.”
    His hand dropped away from her face. A knee-jerk reaction that made her lips curve wryly. “I am?”
    “Damn right you are. It shouldn’t be too difficult to arrange the necessary paperwork on Nevis. I’m sure we’d both prefer to keep it simple. We can have a small ceremony right here on the boat.”
    His stomach jittered, then settled smooth. “You’ve got it all worked out.”
    “Working things out is my life, Lassiter.” Smug, she linked her arms around his neck. “I’ve got you, from where I’m standing, exactly where I want you. You’re not getting away again.”
    “I’d probably be wasting my time arguing.”
    “Totally,” she agreed, almost purring when he slipped his arms around her. “Might as well give up now.”
    “Sweetheart, I hoisted the white flag the minute you knocked me out of that hammock onto my butt.” The smile faded from his eyes. “You’re my luck, Tate,” he murmured. “There’s nothing I can’t do if you’re with me.”
    She settled into his arms, closed her eyes. And tried not to think about the weight of the curse in his pocket.
     
    The teams gathered on the deck of the Mermaid in the thinning light of dusk. The weeks of treasure-hunting had been prosperous. On the generous foredeck, bits and pieces of the latest haul were separated from debris. There were sextants, octants, tableware, a simple gold locket containing a lock of hair.
    Tate did her best to keep her mind off the amulet Matthew still held and answered questions on the two porcelain statues her father was examining.
    “They’re Ching dynasty,” she said. “They’re called Immortals, depicting saintly human figures from Chinese theology. In all there are eight, and these two are wonderfully undamaged. We may find the other six, if indeed there was a complete set. They’re not listed in the manifest.”
    “Valuable?” LaRue tossed out.
    “Very. In my opinion, it’s time we started thinking about transferring the more valuable and the more fragile items to a safer place.” Deliberately, she kept her eyes averted from Matthew’s. “And that we call in at least one other archeologist. I need corroboration, and more extensive facilities in order to complete a proper study. And we have to begin work on preserving the Isabella herself.”
    “The minute we make any move like that, VanDyke would be on us,” Buck objected.
    “Not if we take the precaution of notifying the proper institutions. The Committee for Nautical Archeology in England, its counterpart in the States. If anything, keeping this to ourselves is more dangerous than going public.Once we’re on record, it would be impossible for VanDyke or anyone like him to sabotage our operation.”
    “You don’t know pirates,” Buck said grimly. “And government’s the biggest pirate of