Legend of the Crown and Thistle

by Janie Brians

  "I remember reading that one popular route was to cross the Atlantic and come in north of Puerto Rico heading west toward Mexico. On the return trip, ships would head east out of Veracruz, usually make a stop in Havana and then head up the Florida coast and, north of the Bahamas, they'd turn east again toward Europe."

  "Then they could've been somewhere in these islands, eh?"

  "Right. Or around Puerto Rico or Jamaica. I hope he gives us something else to go on."

  Before they realized it, it was one-thirty in the afternoon, "Why does time race by whenever I'm with Jason?" Anne wondered to herself.

  "How about lunch at the Blue Dolphin?" Jason suggested.

  "Good choice."

  They left their workroom and were heading down the hallway when Mr. Ross came from his office. He seemed a bit confused about something.

  "Have you seen Dr. Denton?" he asked them.

  "No. Not all morning." Jason answered.

  "Strange. He made an appointment for one-thirty this afternoon but hasn't been in yet today. The gentleman is here waiting."

  "Is there anything I can do to help?" Jason offered.

  "Oh no, thank you. I'll...I guess I'll take care of it." and he walked over to a man sitting in the reception area.

  "Probably just forgot," Jason said to Anne. "You know, the absent-minded professor syndrome." They laughed as they headed out to his car.

  After a tasty meal that included a large shrimp salad washed down with a popular drink in the Bahamas called "Junkanoo Smash", they returned to the museum. The receptionist smiled and waved to them as they passed her desk.

  Settling back to work, Jason started translating the next entry in the diary which was written about a week after the entry they had finished before lunch. Little did Anne realize then, that the words on the subsequent pages of that diary would propel her into intrigue and mystery, and would even endanger her life.

  September 28, 1585:

  What are we to do? We are prisoners! We have the freedom to walk the decks, but nonetheless we are prisoners on this wretched ship! Oh, my dearest mother! How you would be devastated to see our fate now! Will we ever see you again? Oh, may the Almighty have mercy on our souls! If we fail to obey these criminals, they have made it clear that they will throw us overboard to the mercy of the depths below.

  After plundering the wreck of the Lady Brittania, these heartless infidels came to shore to see what more they could steal! Linus and I had hidden in the trees but we were soon found. Finding us practically in rags, they seemed to believe us when we said we had escaped with only our lives. Still, in an effort to miss nothing of value, those greedy barbarians desecrated the graves of the three poor souls we had buried. After finding nothing more, they then forced us onto their skiff and took us to be nothing more than slaves!

  How Linus and I long to escape! We have determined between ourselves that at first sight of land, we will both jump overboard. Better to die trying to gain our freedom than to become like these godless knaves.

  Most of them speak only the Spanish tongue, but their captain knows English as well. We have pleaded with him to free us, but to no avail. The man has no heart! Only greed and evil are in his soul! So, we must escape, God willing. We will find our way back to that isle that holds our family jewels, and we will retrieve them and use them to start our new life. Mother, dear mother, then we will return to you! And if you are still imprisoned, we will spare no expense to liberate you and to see you once again on the throne you so rightfully deserve! Mary Queen of Scots will be Mary Queen of Great Britain! Ruler by Divine Right! I, Edwin swear by all that is sacred that this shall be done!

  As they finished translating, Jason and Anne looked at one another in amazement.

  "Do you realize what this is Anne?" Jason said in a voice that was almost a whisper.

  "Yes, but I can hardly believe it. This diary has been written by one of the twin sons of Mary Queen of Scots! Those sons who have always been thought to have died at birth Lizzie told me that when she was in Scotland she saw something that had also suggested that they had survived. This diary would absolutely prove it! Oh, Jason, how exciting!"

  "I had no idea! This is an amazing find!"

  "Let's not stop now!" Anne said, eager to learn more. The next entry was dated one three months later.

  January 11, 1586:

  Hope has fled us. We are lost at sea! Was it only a few weeks ago that Linus and I thought we would at last be free? We were so close! We had sighted land and in the excitement on the ship we had been able to slip overboard. We swam with all our might, but were still close to the ship when they saw us and overtook us. I was certain they would execute us there and then, but instead they beat us and mocked us and bound us to the mast and left us there without food and only a little water for nearly a week. When they had tired of that, they threw us in this dark room in the hull of the ship. We have been here ever since. There is barely enough light in the daytime to see to write these words. At night, it is in absolute darkness. They throw us bits of crumbs and a foul-smelling liquid to drink. We are only just surviving. Linus is in such a melancholy that he rarely even speaks to me. I fear for his sanity. The one thread of hope that I cling to is the thought of the beautiful family treasures that we still have hidden away on that tropical isle. I see in my mind the day we will walk on that same beach, and back through those woods to the tiny cave. The same tiny cave that now holds all our worldly goods safely for us until we can return for them. What a day for rejoicing that will be! I will know I have found our hiding place when I see the beautiful medallion shining on the face of the cave. To it I will run, guided by the shining symbol of our father and mother. The crown and thistle will once again lead me! Oh, may God in his heaven let it be so!

  Anne stopped writing. She reread what Jason had just translated to her.

  "A medallion shining on the face of a tiny cave...'the crown and thistle will once again lead me.' It can't be," she said under her breath.

  "Anne, what's the matter?" Jason saw the expression on her face, the excitement in her eyes.

  "I...I...oh, Jason, it just can't be! But what if it is?!"

  "What if what is what?" Jason asked, completely bewildered.

  "Wait until Lizzie hears this! She's not going to believe it!"

  “Believe what? Hello...Anne, are you still with me?"

  "I'll tell you, I promise Jason, but I've just got to talk to Lizzie first."

  "Why don't you use the phone, it's quicker." he said with a bit of exasperation in his

  voice.

  "I guess I could," she hesitated for a moment, "No, I want to see her face when I tell

  her. Sorry Jason, I've got to go. Please don't be angry. See you back at the house?" she

  asked him as she opened the door to leave. "I...well I guess so." "I'll tell you everything, I promise." and she was gone.

  The fifteen minutes it took to get back to the house seemed like hours. The traffic on Bay Street moved so slowly that Anne actually thought about parking the car and walking the rest of the way. Finally things began moving again and a few minutes later she pulled up in front of the house. Quickly, she ran up the walk and into the house. It was quiet inside.

  "Lizzie, Lizzie, where are you?!" she called out as she climbed the stairs to their bedroom. She opened the door and looked in. Lizzie was not there. Anne ran downstairs and into the kitchen. Her mom was there alone.

  "Mom, where's Lizzie?"

  "She's out on the beach. What's the hurry?"

  "Got to talk to Lizzie, be right back."

  When she got to the edge of the patio, Anne threw off her shoes and ran to where Lizzie was. Lizzie jumped in surprise as her sister plopped herself down on the sand next to her.

  "What in the world are you doing, Annie? You nearly gave me a heart-attack."

  "Well, hold onto your heart, little sister, I'm not done yet."

  “What…what’s up?”

  "You told me that when you were
at that woman's home in Scotland you saw a...a letter or something..."

  "Not a letter, a diary. Why?"

  A diary that said that it was possible that Mary's twin sons didn't die at birth like everyone was told?"

  "Yes. The woman suspected that they may have been smuggled out of the castle and taken to be with their father."

  "Their father lived where?" Anne asked, trying to keep her facts straight.

  "He had fled to Denmark when Mary was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle."

  "So you think the boys had been secreted away to him in Denmark?"

  "It seems possible. Maddy saw a ship's record that showed him on the same ship as a couple that had twin sons of the same age as his would have been. When they arrived in Denmark, he hired them to work for him. Seemed more than just coincidence to us. But why are you asking all these questions, Annie?"

  "Lizzie, it was more than coincidence. Would you like to know the names of the twin sons of Mary?" Anne baited her sister.

  "What are you saying, Annie?"

  "That the twin sons of Mary Stuart and Lord Bothwell were named Edwin and Linus, that they spent some part of their early life in Denmark, just as you had suspected, and then in order to escape Mary's enemies who were seeking to kill them, they boarded a passenger ship for the New World!"

  Lizzie was stunned at first. "Where...where have you found all this information?"

  "The diary that Jason is translating! It was written by Edwin himself!"

  "A diary?!"

  "Yes! and written entirely in Danish!"

  "Why write it in Danish, why not English?" Lizzie mused aloud. "Yes, it does make sense. They were being pursued by the British, he probably thought it would be safer to write it in a foreign language and if they grew up in Denmark, they would have been as fluent in that language as in English."

  "According to his diary they were also fluent in French because he wrote that, while they were on the Lady Brittania they pretended to be two French gentlemen. Guess they were taking every precaution not to be identified as either Danish or British. It was probably dangerous enough just because they were obviously twins. But Lizzie, that's not even the best part!"

  Lizzie looked at her sister and said anxiously, "There's more?"

  "Edwin wrote that, just as they were getting close to their destination they got caught in a storm, probably a hurricane. The ship ran aground on a shallow reef a couple of miles off shore. It was bad. No one survived and made it to shore except Linus and Edwin and three crew members. The crew members were so badly injured that they died a few days later and the boys had to bury them. A few days after that, a ship appears on the horizon. As it gets close they realize it's a pirate ship. The pirates get in as close to the ship-wreck as possible and then proceed to loot it. Meanwhile, Edwin has managed to salvage some family jewels, as he calls them. He hides them just in case the pirates decide to come ashore, which they do. To make a long story short, the pirates take the boys and basically put them into forced labor on the ship."

  "Oh, those poor boys!"

  "But Lizzie, later on Edwin writes how the only thing that keeps him sane is the thought that someday he will return to the island where he's hidden the jewels in a small cave. And then he says, and I've memorized this part, 'I will know it when I see the beautiful medallion shining on the face of that tiny cave. I will go to it, guided by the shining symbol of our mother and father. The CROWN AND THISTLE will once again lead me...'" Anne finished and stayed silent, waiting for it to sink in, for Lizzie to see the connection as she had done.

  Lizzie looked at her sister with eyes opened wide. "You think... it could be our medallion?... the one we found?. ..our cave?. ..and that the jewels could still be there?!"

  "It's been three-hundred years," was all Anne replied.

  "Yeah. He, Edwin may have finally gone back for them."

  "I know, he could of done, but the diary might tell us that. And how did it wind up in Fort Charlotte anyway? We've still got about half of it left to translate. There's just got to be more in that diary that could help us!"

  "I can't believe it, Annie. All those years of growing up hearing those stories about lost treasures and we could have one right under our noses! That brass medallion sitting in our living-room could actually be the key to a three-hundred year old treasure!"

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  JANUARY 26, 1586:

  At last they have given us more leniency. After nearly two months imprisoned in that horrible, dark room, we are allowed to walk the deck again. It is heavenly to breathe in the salt air and feel the warming touch of the sun. Now, only when we are near land do they lock us away. Otherwise, when our work is done we are permitted time to ourselves on deck.

  Linus seems to be recovering his wits. He speaks to me now and when we talk amongst ourselves we endeavor to fan the fires of our hope. We will never waver in our dream to escape this wretchedness. Although most of these criminals treat us with scorn and laugh at us, there is one man among them who has shown us a glimmer of decency. He is endeavoring to teach us his language. We have learned much from him. He is called Carlos. He has named me Eduardo and Linus he has given the name Lino. The others cast derision upon us calling us 'los gemelos reales.' the royal twins, because their vicious captain has divulged our words to him when we pleaded to be liberated. He either does not believe us or is keeping us for some future time when he may attempt to use the information for his own benefit. To his men he speaks of us as deluded boys who will say anything for our freedom. He is a monster!

  Jason looked at Anne as they finished those last few sentences. She knew what he was thinking. She went to the large volumes and, picking up the one kept by Isaac Whitley, she began scanning down the long lists of names. It had been his records that spoke of ‘los gemelos reales.1 They must have been imprisoned during his tenure as warden at Fort Charlotte. He was the first to have the position after the British settled New Providence in 1600.

  "Yes! Here it is, Jason!" Anne exclaimed, "'Eduardo and Lino- no last names-entered January 3, 1600- crime/piracy . Taken from the Spanish pirate ship-"Balcazzar"-sentenced to life imprisonment." Underneath that he writes more about them: Twin brothers. They speak English very well for Spaniards. Their story is quite fantastic. They claim to be the sons of Mary Stuart. I've informed them of her execution three years ago. They are appropriately sad. They play their parts well. Their ship-mates have nick­names them the ‘royal twins.’ Never a day goes by when they do not petition me to liberate them in the name of the holy British empire. They say they are twenty-two years of age and their real names are Edwin and Linus of the house of Stuart. I enjoy talking with them. They amuse me.'" Anne finished reading.

  "Nobody believed them!" Jason said incredulously.

  "They must've been kept on that ship for over four years!" Anne added, "Why did they never escape ship?"

  "They tried once, remember? Maybe they were just too afraid after the ordeal they'd been put through after that first attempt."

  "Then just when it seems it can't get any worse for them, the ship they've been prisoners on is captured and they're imprisoned in Fort Charlotte for life because they're mistaken for pirates!"

  "And through all that time no one believes their story. They have only the diary they've kept with them as proof of some kind, but even that is written in a foreign tongue, so they'd have had to translate it themselves. Nobody, not even this Whitley fellow believes them. Incredible!"

  "Or else," Anne said, thinking aloud, "If someone among the British did hear about their claims and it got back to enemies of their mother, who would have wanted them dead, they may just have made sure that those boys could never be set free. It would've been just as effective as killing them would've been. I just don't understand though, despite the possible dangers, why they didn't at least try again to escape." The phone rang just then and Jason answered it.

  "Hello...yes, Miss Bradley...the who?...Dr. Denton?...well, of course, we'll be right out." He
hung up the phone and looked at Anne in shock.

  "What is it, Jason?"

  "Dr. Denton was found this morning in his apartment...dead. He'd been poisoned."

  "What!"

  "The police are in the waiting room. They're questioning everybody who knew him. I said we'd be right out."

  "Yes...yes, of course."

  She couldn't believe it. Dr. Denton murdered? What could have happened? Had it been a robbery that he'd walked in on? Not likely since they said he was poisoned. Murder in the islands. What was happening here?

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  LIZZIE DIALED THE number. As she waited for the long-distance call to go through, she thought about all that had happened in the last two weeks. It was amazing. She'd visited Scotland and had met Liam, fallen in love with him only to realize he was a thief. Feeling completely depressed, she'd left Scotland and Liam and returned to her family. The very next day after her return, she and Annie stumble upon an incredibly exciting mystery found in a small diary that seemingly is directing them to the very cave they'd found as children.

  "There are always unexpected bends in the road of life," her mother was always saying. Some were painful but others could be thrilling. What would she and Annie discover when they went back to Freeport? Some intuition told her it would be something that would change their lives.

  She was now calling Maddy Thomas in Scotland. She'd been thinking about that whole episode constantly and she wanted to know the latest developments on the investigation there.

  "Balintore Estate, Mary speaking."

  Lizzie recognized the voice of Maddy's housekeeper, "Hi Mary, this is Lizzie Jones. I'm calling from Nassau, Bahamas. Is Mrs. Thomas in?"

  "Ah, Ms. Jones. Yes she is home. I'm sure she'll be glad to hear from you. Just a moment, please."

  Within seconds Lizzie heard Maddy's voice, "Hello, Lizzie girl! It's so glad I am to hear your voice , child."

  "How are you doing, Maddy?"