Free Home to Walnut Ridge by Diane Moody Page A

moving to the cup and saucer on the table.
“Apparently we’re both on the same wavelength. When I got back to
the cottage, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Where they came
from‍—‍”
    “‍—‍ and who put them
there?” Tracey added. “Me too. I was just about to go online to see
what I could find out.”
    He chuckled softly. “Like minds. I did
the same thing, but I’ve misplaced my charger and my laptop’s out
of juice. I’m bad about that sort of thing. That’s why I came up to
the house. I wanted to take a better look at the pieces.” He leaned
forward, pointing at the cup. “Do you mind?”
    “ No, not at
all.”
    He lifted the cup then leaned back in
the lamplight. “So what have you found out?”
    “ Nothing, yet. I’m curious
about that crest or whatever it is. What do you make of the symbols
on it?”
    He held the face of the cup up to the
light on the table between them. “I actually had a thought about
that. I thought it looked like some kind of crest or coat of arms,
but it occurred to me it might be something else. It almost looks
as if it could be some kind of official china. I can imagine it in
a place setting at the governor’s mansion for some kind of state
dinner, can’t you?”
    “ At the Tennessee governor’s
mansion?” she quipped. “I doubt it. I’m sure those cups have some
gaudy orange and white design. Go Vols and all that.”
    He smiled. “You’re probably right. But
since you’re a Vandy grad, I doubt you’d approve. You’d expect
something gold and black.”
    “ Well, of course. Much
more elegant for the governor’s mansion, in my opinion.” She
reached for the saucer, inadvertently pulling the linen wrapping
along with it. As she did so, something fluttered to the floor. “I
wonder what that is?”
    “ I’ll get it.” Noah set
the cup on the table between them and reached for a torn piece of
paper. “Whoa. Where did this come from?” He transferred it to his
other hand, holding it in his palm. “Looks like parchment or
something.”
    Tracey set the saucer down and leaned
over for a closer look. “Has to be parchment. Can you make out what
it says?”
    He moved it closer to the light. “Hard
to read. The ink is really faded.” He looked up at her. “Do you
have a magnifying glass handy?”
    “ Dad keeps one in the
kitchen. I’ll get it.”
    “ I’ll come with you. I
think we need better light.” He followed her, blinking when Tracey
flipped on the lights over the kitchen counter. “Much better. Let’s
take a look.”
    They sat side by side on the tall bar
stools. Noah carefully laid the small note on the counter and held
the magnifying glass over it.
    “ Wow, this must be really
old,” Tracey whispered in awe, just before gasping. “Noah, look!”
Leaning closer, she pointed at the last line of the note. “That’s a
date‌—‌ April 29, 1863. Can that be right?”
    “ Whoa . . .”
    “ What do the words say?
There,” she pointed. “Is that an F or a P?
    “ I think it’s a P,” he
answered reverently. “I think it says, For
safe ‍—‍ ”
    “ For
safe-keeping?”
    “ For
safe-keeping . . . until the ‍—‍ ”
    “‍—‍ until the war is
over! That has to be the Civil
War!”
    He turned, their faces just inches
apart. “Do you realize what that means?”
    She turned at his
question, looking into his eyes. “What?” When he simply stared at
her without answering, she asked again. “Do I realize what what means?”
    A moment more then he looked back at
the small piece of parchment. “It means this note was written
around 150 years ago.”
    Still watching him, she pressed. “You
were going to say something else.”
    “ I was?”
    “ Noah?”
    He glanced briefly at her then back at
the note. “Nothing. I guess I was just overly excited or
something.”
    She wasn’t convinced.
    “ I think these must be
someone’s initials. And if I’m not mistaken, it’s CJC.”
    She leaned in closer, taking