Legend of the Crown and Thistle

by Janie Brians

  "Uh...well...I don't really work for him."

  Jason looked at her in surprise, "I thought you said..."

  "I never actually said I worked for him. You just assumed that and I allowed you to."

  "But...but that's why I invited you to come along."

  "The only reason?" she asked him pointedly.

  He smiled and said, "Touché. So you don't work for him. You don't even know him?"

  "Oh yes, I know him. Very well, in fact. He's...well, he's uncle Malcolm to me."

  "Oh, he's your uncle."

  "Not really, but he's been a friend of the family since we first moved to Freeport. My sister Lizzie does work for him now as his assistant. She practically runs the Historical Society and Museum over there. Malcolm's gone quite a bit these days."

  "Must be a very busy man, I imagine. In certain circles he's known around the world."

  "Yes, I guess so. But to us he's just lovable old uncle Malcolm. Sorry I misled you," she apologized.

  "Forget it."

  "So, tell me, how's it going with the diary?"

  "Pretty well. I got through about a quarter of it today. It's rather interesting. The writer, Edwin, and his brother were evidently at some point in their lives on their way to the Americas, or the New World, as he puts it. He speaks of their mother being in some kind of prison or other and their father having been killed while trying to help her escape. He and his brother must've been in on the attempt because he says that when it failed and their father was killed, he and Linus returned to Denmark."

  "Returned to Denmark? That's interesting. Where were they? Where did all this happen?"

  "He hasn't mentioned that yet. But he goes on to say that when they were back in Denmark, they weren't there for more than a month when a stranger walks up to them on the street and shoves an envelope at them and then immediately disappears into the crowd again. They're surprised by this, but even more so when they realize that the envelope contains a letter from their mother, who is still in prison. Edwin hasn't given her name yet and I'm curious to find out who she is. It's my bet she was some kind of political figure in Denmark. Anyway, she writes her sons telling them that she has got word that her enemies are looking for them. She warns them to leave the country quickly. So Edwin writes that he and Linus decide to take with them whatever valuables they can carry and get on a ship bound for America. Evidently, in addition to Danish, they also spoke English and French quite fluently and for some reason, which he doesn't explain yet, they only spoke French whenever they were in public. So, they board a passenger and cargo ship heading west and pretend to be Frenchmen during the entire voyage. He writes of his grief over his father's death and how he and Linus cherish hopes that one day their mother will be freed and will send for them. That's as far as I've gotten."

  "Wow! Sounds fascinating and so mysterious! I'd love to read it after you've finished translating it." Anne looked at him hopefully.

  "Actually, you could still be a real help to me."

  "How?"

  "Well, if you'd write as I'm translating it would save me a lot of time."

  "Really?! Why, I'd love to!" she said excitedly. She wondered briefly which was the greatest draw, the diary or being with Jason the whole day?

  "Great. It'd probably cut my time in half. That would give us more time for...lunch and dinner," he smiled.

  "What time should I meet you there?"

  "Ten o'clock."

  "I'll be there ten o'clock sharp, as opposed to ten o'clock island time, which could mean anytime between ten and noon," she joked.

  "Terrific."

  They spent the rest of the evening talking about things they had done as children. Anne learned that he had been born in Toronto, Canada. His parents were of Ukrainian and French extraction. She told him about some of her and her sister's exploits as kids. She even was able to tell him about Kate's death, which she rarely spoke of to anyone. Later after dinner, they walked down the hill and strolled along Bay Street and then over to the harbour. Placed at intervals along the harbour walk, were pretty wrought-iron benches painted in a forest-green color. Several of them were already being used by other couples. Down toward the end of the walk, however, there was one bench still unoccupied. They went to it and sat down. From there they could see to the open ocean. The stars were obscured because of all the lights on the ships docked nearby, but it was still a beautiful and peaceful place to sit and enjoy the evening together. At one point she was telling Jason about the time Lizzie found their gold bar. He was listening attentively and when a breeze blew some of her hair across her face, he reached over and gently pulled it away from her eyes. For a second she forgot what she'd been saying and he smiled. They sat there for quite a while talking and joking and teasing with one another. She'd never felt this comfortable with any other man.

  "This one's different," she thought to herself.

  She wanted to learn all she could about him. He told her that the publishing firm he worked for at times would publish books or magazines that explained or displayed historical documents to be used by historical societies. He had always had an interest in languages, so he'd learned several starting with French and Ukrainian, the languages of his parents. In grade-school he'd studied Spanish and in high-school he'd taken German. By the time he'd finished high-school, he was fluent in all four of those languages. It was during college that he'd studied Danish and later he'd added Russian to his verbal skills. Anne couldn't help being impressed. Foreign languages had always been so difficult for her. She'd nearly failed her French class in high-school. She hadn't done much better with the Spanish language later in college. English had always been her forte, along with history, and both had held her in good stead for her work at the newspaper and then later at the library.

  "So how long did you work at the Herald?" Jason asked her.

  "About two years. But I missed the islands, Freeport especially, so I found what I consider a terrific job there and gave up the Herald and moved back home."

  "What kind of work do you do now?"

  "I work for the only library on the island."

  "A library? Of course, that makes perfect sense. Lots of books filled with history, eh? And all in English, I presume?" he teased.

  She laughed, "Yep. If only I had the time to really dig into them all but, contrary to some people's opinions, (she couldn't help thinking of 'the jerk' at that moment) I don't have."

  "Well, I can certainly identify with your love of books."

  The breeze was picking up and seemed to be getting a little cooler. Anne shivered and Jason offered her his jacket. They could see clouds beginning to gather not far off-shore.

  "Looks like it's going to try to rain soon. Maybe we should head back. May I walk you home. Anne?" he asked so politely.

  "Yes, please." She tried not to let her voice betray how much she really didn't want he evening to end so soon.

  They headed back to Bay Street and then down toward the beach. When they reached Montague Beach Anne said, "I'm down at a place on the far end of the beach."

  "So am I," Jason said.

  "Oh. . .well. . .good. " They continued on together.

  "How do you like your hotel? Is it comfortable?" she asked him.

  "It's great. Actually, it's not a hotel. It's a Bed ­ ‘n’ Breakfast."

  "Really? Well there aren't many of those on this end of the street. You must be staying at the Sea Fan Inn. "

  "No, it's called Montague Cottage." Anne topped in mid-step and faced him.

  "Please don't tell me you're staying there with your parents."

  "Well, yes I am as a matter of fact. We've been here for a few days now. I decided to bring them so we could make it a family vacation as well. They needed a break too so when I got this job I invited them to come along. You look stunned Anne... what's the latter?"

  "The Montague Cottage B'n'B belongs to my parents, Ed and Darlene. I believe you've met them both already." She remembered her parents joking earlier an
d supposedly teasing her about Jason's name. Of course, they'd been having a good time of it. She couldn't help smiling herself when she thought about it. She looked into Jason's eyes and saw the light dawning there too.

  "You mean you're that librarian?"

  She simply said, "And you're 'the jerk1."

  "The what?"

  By then she couldn't keep from laughing. The more she thought about it, the harder le laughed. Her parents, especially her mom... oh how they must've loved it.

  Finally, she was able to control herself.

  "What a pair we make," she laughed. "Your parents conspiring with my folks. All of them trying to set us up. Both of us thinking we had the other pegged and that we wouldn't give the time of day to each other."

  "What do you mean? How could you dislike me when you hadn't even met me yet?"

  "Jason, I accidentally overheard the conversation you had with your parents about a certain mousy librarian who, I quote, 'probably wears coke-bottle glasses and always has her nose stuck in a book'. Remember? You simply were not interested in meeting her. You wanted to find your own girlfriend."

  "You heard that?"

  "I had just come off the beach. I couldn't see you because I was behind those sea-grape bushes and you were whispering at the time, so I didn't even recognize your voice today, either. But when I heard your... uh... opinion that night of what you thought librarians must be like, well... I decided there and then that you were the last man I'd ever want to meet." She grinned up at him. He began to chuckle too.

  "Thank goodness for large sea-grape bushes, " he said as he took her hand in both of his and kissed it.

  As they walked up to the front door of her parents' place laughing at themselves, the door opened and as Anne had suspected, her folks were there smiling mischievously. Jason's folks weren't far behind. Anne went up to her dad and punched his shoulder playfully.

  "You're both rats!" she said and joined in the laughter.

  "Now is that any way to treat your dear old dad?!" Ed teased back as Darlene gave her daughter a look of all-knowing wisdom.

  Next morning Anne woke up ready for the day's activities. Lizzie was sleeping in, so Anne got dressed as quietly as she could. Whenever all the quest rooms were being used the girls shared a room. With the three Perraults and another newlywed couple, whom they rarely saw, all the guest rooms were in use that week. Anne went down to the kitchen and found her mom already at work preparing breakfast.

  "Morning," Anne said as she kissed her mother's cheek.

  "Morning, honey. Sleep well?"

  "Sure did. So what's for breakfast today?"

  "It's a southern breakfast menu today. Eggs, grits, toast, and bacon."

  "Hon, do we have some Canadian bacon? Maybe Annie would prefer that," Ed grinned playfully as he walked into the kitchen.

  "Good morning to you too, dad," she said, ignoring his teasing and kissing him on the cheek.

  Anne helped her mom set the tables in the dining room. Jason came down and invited her to have breakfast with him. His parents were sleeping in and wouldn't be down for a while longer. Anne went into the kitchen and told her mom of Jason's invitation.

  "Good.. You just sit in there and enjoy your breakfast. I'll take care of everything," she winked.

  The food tasted especially delicious that morning, Anne thought. Since the newlywed couple hadn't appeared yet, Jason and Anne had the whole dining-room to themselves.

  "M-m-m!" Jason said, "Everything tastes terrific, this morning" Darlene came into the dining-room carrying a pot of coffee to re-fill their cups. Jason looked up at her with a smile and complimented her cooking, "Mrs. Jones everything is delicious!"

  "Thanks Jason, I'm glad you're enjoying it." she gave him a smile, refilled his cup, and disappeared into the kitchen.

  "She's a doll." Jason said after she left.

  "Yeah, she's pretty special." Anne agreed.

  "And the stories your father has to tell. He's a pretty interesting guy in his own right. He's done so many things in his life. From some of the stories he told us the other night, he's had some pretty hair-raising experiences during his days as a pilot. I told him that if he ever writes a book I'd like first dibs at getting it publishing." Anne laughed, "I'll bet he loved that idea."

  "He's quite a character. And he has a very fascinating daughter too," his blue eyes smiled back at her.

  At ten o'clock Jason and Anne were entering the darkened room where sat the thick volumes of prison history along with the small diary containing a bookmark where Jason had stopped the day before. Dr. Denton had an appointment that morning and hadn't arrived at the museum yet. Mr. Ross was poring over the volumes when the two young people walked in.

  "Good morning Jason... and...ah Ms. Jones, welcome."

  "Good morning, Bill. Anne is going to be helping me today. She's going to write as I dictate the translation. It should save a lot of time." Jason explained.

  "Very well. I'll leave you to it, then. I have some work to get to in my office." And he left them.

  First, Jason suggested that Anne read what he'd translated so far to bring herself up-to date with the story. She started with the first entry dated July 2, 1585:

  I begin this journal as we are sailing across the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean toward our new life in the New World. What awaits us there I wonder? Linus and I already miss our beautiful land of Denmark. Oh, the tragedies that have occurred to bring us to this destiny!

  Our own dear father, lost for all time. He shall never die in our hearts or in the heart of our beloved mother. How often father would tell us of her courage and her great love for us. How his eyes would shine as he spoke of her. It is no great wonderment that liberating her from that terrible prison was his constant thought. These past nineteen years of mother's unjust imprisonment have been riddled with attempts by father and others to free her. And now... is all lost? Our own dear father killed in the last attempt and Babington our good friend along with him. They can no longer fight for our mother but I will not accept that it is over. Linus and I will return someday soon... I swear it!

  We leave our most cherished mother only at her own insistence. After father and Babington were slain, Linus and I returned to Denmark. In our minds was the determination to continue the attempts to rescue our mother. However, we had been in Denmark for only a month when a man, a stranger to us, suddenly broke from the crowded market-street and stood before us. Without a word, he forced a small envelope into my hand and was suddenly gone, disappeared into the crowd before we could say a word to him. Linus and I were taken aback. We returned to our home quickly and, upon opening the envelope were surprised to see that it contained a letter from our mother. She wrote:

  My sons, I write this letter hurriedly and pray God it will reach your hands. There are many here who wish me dead as you well know. Though I have done all in my power to allay and discredit them, rumors of your existence are flourishing and I fear that soon you may be hunted down in Denmark. Please my boys, take great care and do exactly as I say Leave your home quickly. Take whatever valuables you can carry with you and book passage as two Frenchmen for the New World. You are not safe, either in Denmark or any country of Europe. They would be able to find you, I am sure. I cannot sleep for fearing for you my dearest boys. Once on the ship, speak only French and perhaps none will suspect your true identities. I pray God's speed for you my own loves.

  So now we are Marc and Jean Molin of Paris, France. Only when we are alone, do we speak in Danish to one another and never do we speak in English. We are sailing on the Lady Brittania. The captain tells us that we will arrive in approximately three weeks more, providing the weather holds as well as it has up till now. We have carried what we could, just as mother instructed. I pray constantly for her release. She will send for us, I am sure, as soon as she is able. How I do miss her!

  "Incredible!" Anne said to Jason when she'd finished reading. "Yes. Now, let's try to find out more about these fellows and their mother.
Ready for some dictation?" he asked, as she sat with pen and notebook ready. "Sure am, fire away."

  September 21, 1585:

  We are alive! I thank God for that! Since last I wrote we have endured the fury of the sea and have survived. It pains my heart to know that we are the only survivors. A tempest blew the Lady Brittania off course just after we had sighted land. The captain and his crew tried valiantly to ride out the great storm but soon we had run aground. As the raging waters threw it down, the great vessel was broken apart on the shallow reef below. We could still see land and so Linus and I collected some of our family valuables and wrapped them in a coverlet, tying it to my waist. We were followed by three crew members.

  As we helped them to shore we saw plainly their horrible injuries and realized that they were unlikely to survive for very long. One of the men died three days ago, and today Linus and I have had to bury the other two men. They rest now, no longer wracked by the pain of their injuries.

  Linus and I are completely alone

  September 22, 1585:

  A ship! We have just seen a ship on the horizon! We are all excitement and hopefulness! We will pray that they see the wreck of the Lady Brittania. Her mast still stands high on the reef.

  It is now nearly sundown. The ship continues to come this way. In our excitement and desperation to be rescued, neither Linus nor I considered the possibility of it being a pirate ship. We took off the rags that were our shirts and waved then into the air to attract attention. We already had a fire blazing on the beach. Too late, we realized that we were summoning a pirate-ship. It has dropped anchor a ways from the wreck and we can see two small boat-loads of men heading to plunder the Lady Brittania. I am afraid they will come for us next. I have hidden our valuables in the woods in a place I alone will be able to identify.

  "I wonder where they ran aground." Anne said as she finished the last sentence Jason had translated to her.

  "Don't know. Maybe he'll give us a clue later on."