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ALL GEMMA KNEW for sure was that she wanted the job so et it

Well, maybe not killed anyone, but certainly broken a few ars

She stood beside Mrs Frazier and stared at the storage room full of dirty old boxes stacked neatly on neooden shelves, and knew she’d never seen anything so beautiful in her life “Original sources” screa at containers full of documents that no one had touched in hundreds of years

Mrs Frazier, tall anddown her nose at Ge But how could Ge into words? How could she describe her lifetime fascination with history? Could she tell of the adventure of discovery that these documents represented to her? Or the excitement of the hunt to find new information, new—

“Perhaps it is all a bit overwhelht switch, a sure sign that Gemma was to leave the precious boxes and their mysterious contents Reluctantly, Geuesthouse that was to be used by who roo bedrooe room they’d just seen At the front of the house was an extraordinarily beautiful and spacious office with double French doors that opened out onto acres of lawn and flowers Outside, just beyond a covered carport, was a three-car garage that was filled floor to ceiling with ed documents

Ge with the enormity of the task the job entailed When her adviser for her doctorate in history e-et her an interview for a teinia, Gemma had been pleased But then he’d explained that their university was the alh her family’s papers and write a history Geranny and Ellis Island? Too, too boring

Later that day she’d stopped by his office to give him the courtesy of a personal reply Gemma told him sorry, but now that her course as done, she needed to work on her dissertation so she could finish her PhD

“I think you should look at this” Her adviser handed her a letter printed on expensive, heavy vellurine Frazier had purchased froland several hundred boxes full of documents that dated back to the sixteenth century She was offering a job to so them and write a history from as found

Gemma looked across the desk at her adviser “Sixteenth century” and “several hundred boxes” weren’t exactly the nory “Who else has seen these papers?”

“Rats, mice,” her adviser said as he held up a fatly stuffed envelope “It’s all in here The papers have been in the attic of a house in England since the place was built back around Elizabeth the First’s tilanced at it “They were the earls of Rypton They sold the house about the tieneration later the faed to buy it back Just recently the old place was sold again, but this time the house went to a corporation that wanted the attics cleared, so they held an auction”

Gemma sat down Actually, she half collapsed onto the chair in front of the man’s desk “So this Mrs Frazier”

“Went to England and bought every piece of paper that had been stored in the house over the centuries It doesn’t say exactly how much she paid for all of it, just that it was ‘ war at the auction, but Mrs Frazier caet the impression that she’s a rather forets it”

Ge “And no one knohat’s in there?”

“No The auction house hauled everything downstairs and divided it into lots That they didn’t open anything was part of what caused the bidding frenzy For all anyone knows they could all be just household accounts and of little interest to anyone outside the faht in 1742 would probably fascinate his descendants but no one else Certainly not the PhD co of a more universal interest could be in there,” he added with a smile

Geest this information “

How long does this woh these docuether a family history?”

“She’s offering two years to start, and that includes free housing on her farand a year salary If it isn’t done in two years” He shrugged “I think the deal is that it’ll take as long as it does If I didn’t have a wife and kids I’d try for the job myself”

Gerasp the facts If this inforht be able to write her dissertation fro she found in this massive amount of data As it was, she hadn’t even coun her research She looked back at her adviser “So what’s the catch?”

“You’re up against some stiff competition”

Froood news “Who?”