Surprise! Here we are in France. Mom and Daddy surprised us with tickets for a wedding gift. Mom raved about how nice Grampa Gustave's cottage was. I sincerely hope it's nicer on the inside.
I was relieved to find out the caretakers had done a much better job keeping up the inside.
"So what shall we do first?" I asked with a wink.
"Let's see.. I might have an idea."
With the first bit of fun taken care of, we were off to the ancient Celtic ruins.
"Wow, I wonder how these plants survive down here."
"I dare you to take that gem from that skeleton!" Lane teased.
I laughed. "Easy peasy! He doesn't scare me."
"Oh wow, look at this, sweetie. It's so cool."
"Can't you just feel the ghosts that haunt this place?" I whispered.
"Not really. Do you think there are ghosts here?"
"I know there are. I can feel them. Someday I'll invent something to make them visible, I just haven't figured out how yet."
"Hmm, okay Hon." He didn't sound convinced.
"What do you suppose happened to this guy? He looks like he's been here a while. Hey, I dare you to check out his tent!" I could tease right back.
"Oooo, Lane! I have a great idea! Let's sleep here tonight. It'll be so fun!"
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Hon?"
"Are you scared?" I teased. I knew he wasn't. He is one of the bravest people I know.
"Course not, silly. Come on in then."
"Livie, are you sure? Here?"
"Shush, you, and kiss me."
Thinking about those amazing ancient Celtic ruins gave me a fantastic idea for an invention. What if I could figure out how to get back to the time they were built?
Lane's head was buried in some old book he had found on the bookshelf.
So I decided not to bother him, and set the dials on my new machine for ancient France.
It was an amazing trip, and I met lots of strange people, but not the ones who built the tomb.
I must have been gone longer than I thought, because Lane was waiting anxiously when I returned.
"Livie, oh Livie! You scared me so bad. Where were you? And what happened to your clothes?"
I told him all about my trip, and promised I would never go time traveling again without telling him.
"I almost forgot, Livie! I found an old book written by your grandfather, one that isn't in your library in Riverview. 'The Abandoned Nectary' it's called. It's a fantastic story about Gustave's grandfather and how he lost his lands. And look what else! There was a handwritten note inside, wrapped around a key. 'The Dutiel's know more than they are willing to tell. The basement holds the key.' What do you suppose that means?"
What a mystery! I couldn't resist checking it out. After asking around, we discovered there was indeed a Dutiel family in Champs Les Sims. So we headed there with the key. Charlotte Dutiel was very helpful. She didn't know anything about the basement, except that it had been locked up tight as long as she could remember, and no one could find the key. She invited us to look around as long as we wanted.
I was ecstatic when the key easily slipped right into the keyhole. Come on, Lane, let's go explore! We can play foosball any time.
What in the world was an Egyptian sarcophagus doing in the Dutiel's basement? We checked out the whole basement thoroughly, and even found a passage to a secret garden, with an ancient tombstone, but nothing that had anything to do with the abandoned nectary, or anything else, for that matter. I was so disappointed.
The sarcophagus fascinated me, however. I wonder.....
"Come and check this out with me, Sweetie."
"Why do you suppose Livie wants me to climb in there with her? I think you know, don't you?"
Silly Lane.
"........"
My grampa Gustave's book said he had checked out the old Landgraab Estate thoroughly, and didn't find any clues regarding the abandoned nectary, but Lane and I decided we'd explore there anyway. Sure enough, there were fire traps throughout the place, but they had all been disabled long ago.
A few of the chests contained some old coins, but that was all we found. Still, it was a spooky old place, and that always got my adrenalin going.
"Hey, Lane sweetie, you know what we should do? Let's check out the upstairs!"
"Hey, stop playing with the fire and come here!"
"Geez Livie, are you sure this is a good idea? Here?"
I managed to convince him it was a great idea. The Landgraabs surely weren't using the place.
It was our last night in France, and I didn't want to leave quite yet. I had an idea to extend our vacation by just a little.
"Come on, it'll be fun to do it in the time machine!"
"Are you sure about this, Livie?"
I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the time stream with me.
All I've got to say is Wow! Best. Vacation. Ever.
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