Treasures Lost, Treasures Found

professor,” he murmured. His eyes were dark, intense as they passed over her face. “It’s one of the sexiest things about you.” With this he was over the side.
    He knew. Kate gave a quiet unsteady sigh as she started down the ladder. He knew she was afraid, and that had been his way of giving her support. She looked up once and saw Marsh. He lifted his hand in salute. Throat dry, nerves jumping, Kate let the sea take her.
    She felt a moment’s panic, a complete disorientation the moment she was submerged. It ran through her head that down here, she was helpless. The deeper she went, the more vulnerable she became. Choking for air, she kicked back toward the surface and the light.
    Then Ky had her hands, holding her to him, holding her under. His grip was firm, stilling the first panic. Feeling the wild race of her pulse, he held on during her first resistance.
    Then he touched her cheek, waiting until she’d calmed enough to look at him. In his eyes she saw strength and challenge. Pride alone forced her to fight her way beyond the fear and meet him, equal to equal.
    When she’d regulated her breathing, accepting that her air came through the tanks on her back, he kissed the back of her hand. Kate felt the tension give. She wouldn’t be helpless, she reminded herself. She’d be careful.
    With a nod, she pointed down, indicating she was ready to dive. Keeping hands linked, they started toward the bottom.
    The whirlpool action created by the wash of the prop had already blasted away some of the sediment. At first glance Ky could see that if the wreck was buried under more than a few feet, they’d need something stronger than his home-made apparatus and single prop engine. But for now, it would do. Patience, which came to him only with deliberate effort, was more important at this stage than speed. With the wreck, he thought, and—he glanced over at the woman beside him—with a great deal more. He had to take care not to hurry.
    It was still working, blowing away some of the over-burden at a rate Ky figured would equal an inch per minute. He and Kate alone couldn’t deal with any more speed. He watched the swirl of water and sediment while she swam a few feet away to catalog one of the cannons on film. When she came closer, he grinned as she placed the camera in front of her face again. She was relaxed, her initial fear forgotten. He could see it simply in the wayshe moved. Then she let the camera fall so they could begin the search again.
    Kate saw something solid wash away from the hole being created by the whirl of water. Grabbing it up, she found herself holding a candlestick. In her excitement, she turned it over and over in her hand.
    Silver? she wondered with a rush of adrenaline. Had they found their first real treasure? It was black with oxidation, so it was impossible to be certain what it was made of. Still, it thrilled her. After days and days of only waiting, she was again pursuing the dream.
    When she looked up, Ky was already gathering the uncovered items and laying them in the mesh basket. There were more candleholders, more tableware, but not the plain unglazed pottery they’d found before. Kate’s pulse began to drum with excitement while she meticulously snapped pictures. They’d be able to find a hallmark, she was certain of it. Then they’d know if they had indeed found a British ship. Ordinary seamen didn’t use silver, or even pewter table service. They’d uncovered more than the galley now. And they were just beginning.
    When Ky found the first piece of porcelain he signaled to her. True, the vase—if that’s what it once had been—had suffered under the water pressure and the years. It was broken so that only half of the shell remained, but so did the manufacturer’s mark.
    When Kate read it, she gripped Ky’s arm. Whieldon. English. The master potter who’d trained the likes of Wedgwood. Kate cupped the broken fragment in herhands as though it were alive. When she lifted her eyes to Ky’s they were filled with triumph.
    Fretting against her inability to speak, Kate pointed to the mark again. Ky merely nodded and indicated the basket. Though she was loath to part with it, Kate found herself even more eager to discover more. She settled the porcelain in the mesh. When she swam back, Ky’s hands were filled with other pieces. Some were hardly more than shards, others were identifiable as pieces left from bowls or lids.
    No, it didn’t prove it was a merchant ship,