The Mystery Trip

by Helen Naismith

  During the next five years, Anne wrote three historical biographies about people who played important roles in settling the region.

  Cape Ann’s art galleries brought Claire and Anne together during all seasons of the year. Rockport, one of the oldest art colonies in America, had long played host to legendary painters and sculptors whose works were masterpieces. The bust of President George Herbert Walker Bush on display in the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol was the work of award-winning sculptor Walker Hancock from the small Finnish neighborhood of nearby Lanesville. Hancock, no relation to the 41st president (or to the famous John Hancock) also created the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the west front entrance of Washington’s National Cathedral, as well as that of General of the Army Douglas McArthur at West Point.

  The genius of luminist painter Fitz Hugh Lane of Gloucester was noted early in his oils on canvas when his brushes captured the radiant effects of light and atmosphere on seascapes. His works of art were masterpieces, and were on display in the National Gallery of Art, the White House, and the Smithsonian Institution. In 1995 one of his paintings sold for $3.5 million at auction; two years later another sold for $3.8 million.

  The list of great works by these and other Cape Ann artists is remarkable, including Harrison Cady’s 15,000 drawings for Thornton Burgess’ syndicated animal stories, and the Encyclopedia Britannica’s feature on The History of Sculpture and Decorative Sculpture, contributed by world-renowned sculptor Paul Manship, also of Lanesville.

  Both Anne and Claire have paintings by several of these famous artists. Anne has a painting of herself seated in the arbor of a flower garden reading, her cat at her foot. An oil on canvas titled Anne Reading, it was painted by one of the colony’s most popular current artists.

  Anne was happy to accept Claire’s weekend invitation at the Lodge. It had been several years since she visited Ed and Claire in the mountains and she loved Stone Brook, especially during the foliage season.

  She also recalled the time she and her former husband, Charles, went to Canada during their early marriage, spending a few days en route at the Jack O’ Lantern Lodge in North Woodstock, not far from Stone Brook. At the time, the Jack was a charming rustic roadside restaurant and had what the travel brochure called “a sporty nine-hole golf course,” which they enjoyed playing. Over the past forty years, the Jack O’ Lantern Lodge had mushroomed into the beautiful award-winning Jack O’ Lantern Golf Resort. The “sporty” golf course was now a highly rated 18-hole golfer’s paradise with clubhouse, vacation condos, and an on-site golf academy. That long-ago fall vacation was one of the few happy memories Anne had of her marriage to Charles, that and their Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg.

  Now, as she spoke with Claire about spending a weekend at the Lodge in September, she offered to bring her signature chocolate raspberry trifle.

  “Wonderful,” beamed Claire. “I was hoping you’d bring it. It’s such a yummy treat. Rosemary is bringing snacks for cocktails.”

  Anne agreed to bring the dessert, then said, “I have friends in Littleton who have been asking me to visit. I’ll give them a call and try to see them before I come home.”

  The following week, Meg also confirmed for the weekend, but with a condition.

  “I really want to come,” she told Claire. “I’m blocking off Friday through Sunday, the weekend of the 26th. But it’ll have to be tentative because of the way things happen in my business.” She then repeated her circumstances, “If something comes up that I must handle, I might have to come later than the others, or leave earlier. If that’s OK with you, count me in for the 26th.”

  It was more than OK with Claire. She knew how busy Meg was as a high-powered real estate broker, whose success was based on keeping appointments. She knew the others wouldn’t mind if Meg arrived a little late or left a little early. It was her nature to make whatever time she spent with people “quality time,” whether personal or business. After several more minutes discussing the weekend activities, the phone call ended with Claire promising to work up an agenda they’d all enjoy.

  As she hung up the phone, Claire heard the garage door open and knew that Ed had returned. She met him at the kitchen door and said happily, “Well, it’s settled. All three girls can come up to the Lodge the weekend of September 26. They’ll be driving up separately. Meg’s schedule is always ‘iffy,’ so she can’t commit to drive anyone. Anne and Rosemary are both going on to visit friends in New Hampshire before returning home. Anne’s are in Littleton and Rosemary’s are in Glendale.”

  As always, Ed was agreeable and decided he’d make plans of his own that weekend.

  “I’ll see if I can get Paul and a couple of friends together for some golf at the Jack that weekend. You and I could drive up together and spend a day or so at the Lodge before the ladies come up. I’ll stay with the guys at Paul’s condo and come back for you on Sunday afternoon.”

  Arranging a weekend for the four women had been surprisingly easy. All had very active lives, but getting together had taken only two days of planning. Because of her active real estate business, only Meg might have to juggle her schedule to be with them. The plan was for Claire’s friends to arrive at Stone Brook in time for lunch on Friday and leave after lunch on Sunday. Claire and Ed would go up on Wednesday to prepare the Lodge and enjoy two days to themselves before the girls arrived. On Friday, Ed would join the guys for golf at the Jack O’ Lantern, and return for Claire on Sunday afternoon.

  Ed’s response was typical of what made their marriage solid. Both were willing to give the other space to enjoy their friends. Ed would spend a weekend of golf with three of Brookhaven’s finest, while Claire enjoyed shopping, dining, and the wonders of nature with three of her best girlfriends. And what could be a more perfect setting for their weekend of fun than the brilliance and splendor of New Hampshire’s White Mountains in the fall?

  Chapter 7

  By the year 2008, the large stone mansion on the edge of Woodbridge Notch had endured the test of time. For almost a century it was the center of gracious hospitality in a region where nature itself hosted activities every season of the year.

  Summers were spent enjoying a wide range of outdoor activities, both in the mountains and on nearby lakes. Then, as summer ripened into fall, the woodlands became ablaze with a riot of colors, drawing tourists from all over the country and many from abroad. Similarly, beginning with winter’s first snowfall, the slopes of Mt. Washington, Bretton Woods and Twin Mountain were crammed with skiers. Mt. Washington, the highest mountain in the northeastern United States, even saw snow in July and on average, every third day the summit was battered with hurricane-force winds. Was it any wonder that this beautiful wilderness peak was considered by many meteorologists to have the “worst weather on earth?”

  Within the massive stone walls of the Endicott estate at Woodbridge Notch was stored a century of happy family memories. Several weddings had taken place in front of the fieldstone fireplace in the living room, where excited children and grandchildren could hardly wait to tear open gifts beneath huge Christmas trees brought in from nearby woods. Guests were always welcome at Stone Brook, from local villagers to presidential candidates.

  This haven of comfort and security was the destination for Claire and Ed Benson on a bright sunny Wednesday morning in late September. There was not a cloud in the sky when they pulled out of their driveway in Marblehead and began the two-hour drive to their retreat in the White Mountains. They’d taken the trip many times during their forty years of marriage, and today would be no different. While they both enjoyed the mountain vistas at Stone Brook, they also enjoyed the scenic routes along the way, which took them through picturesque towns that were uniquely New England.

  As Ed turned onto Route 93 North toward New Hampshire, his wife glanced out the passenger window at the brilliant blue sky.

  “The weather is absolutely perfect today, and it’s supposed to continue all weekend,” she announced. “The foliage will be beautiful and t
he girls love the mountains this time of year.”

  When the shiny gray Lexus purred along past Windham and Londonderry, Claire remarked wistfully, “I love those lovely old towns. I remember when they were like the homestead scenes from Currier and Ives. I could almost see the folks that Norman Rockwell liked to paint behind the doors of the lovely cottages. They’re different now,” she sighed a bit nostalgically, “all grown up with sprawling neighborhoods of beautiful homes.”

  Like people who “love all things English,” Claire loved all things New England, especially the artwork of craftsmen who brought them to life. Since childhood she showed an appreciation for scenes of New England and its people. Although her college major was psychology and minor sociology, both of which helped in her philanthropic work, she also studied fine arts as an elective. When she married and had a home of her own, she collected all types of art by gifted artists, both past and present.

  It began with a wedding gift from her father: a painting by the 19th century French artist Léon Augustin Lhermitte portraying a farm family harvesting hay. She appreciated the beauty and solemnity of the rural French landscape, which reminded her of colonial America. Based on her studies, she went on to collect other fine art, including contemporary watercolors, prints and several other paintings by European artists, but she preferred the work of the great American masters.

  Both her ocean view home in Marblehead and the mountain retreat in Woodbridge Notch reflected her good taste and decorating skills. When she updated the living room at the Lodge, she bought two paintings to complement its English theme. One was a rendering of the beautiful medieval Salisbury Cathedral by John Constable, and the other of sheep grazing above a rocky cliff along the English seacoast by William Holman Hunt. In her dressing room off the bedroom above the portico, she hung an oil by Dani Lachuk, a painter from British Columbia. She felt his rendering of a reclining Victorian woman on a lounge chair paid tribute to the ageless beauty of masterpieces by the early European artists she’d studied in college.

  Although she greatly admired these fine objets d’art, as a native New Englander she was loyal in heart and soul to American artists, her favorites being the celebrated Wyeth family. At the head of the artistic dynasty was patriarch Newell Conyers, known professionally as N.C. Following in his footsteps was his son, Andrew, and grandson, Jamie. In college Claire had also studied works by Jamie’s sisters, Carolyn and Henrietta, and their husbands, Peter Hurd and John McCoy, respectively. Thus, she fully appreciated Jamie’s comment that everyone in his family painted, “with the possible exception of the dogs.”

  Claire especially loved the enduring style of Andrew Wyeth’s paintings because of his subdued tempera color and realistic renderings of rural landscapes. A large print of his famous Christina’s World was prominently displayed above the living room fireplace of her North Shore home. It depicted a young woman sprawled in a treeless meadow facing a farmhouse in the distance. Like the French landscape in her father’s wedding gift, she sensed a somberness and beauty in its simplicity. The model for the painting was Wyeth’s neighbor, Christina Olson, whose unknown childhood disease left her unable to walk.

  On this bright sunny day, seated beside her husband on the drive to the mountains, Claire turned from her thoughts of New England artists and reached into a large tan leather tote for several brochures about the White Mountains.

  “I know the girls are going to enjoy this weekend,” she told him. “There’s so much going on during the foliage season, and I’ve made reservations for some wonderful things for us to see and do.”

  Ed laughed. “Knowing you, Sweetheart, I’m sure you did.”

  Having been married to one of Boston’s “hostess with the mostest” for more than forty years, he felt that she was equal to the late, great Perle Mesta, Washington’s legendary political hostess.

  Responding to her husband’s affectionate tease, Claire smiled. “I checked the on-line foliage report yesterday. Our timing is perfect. It peaked in the Lakes Region last week, so the area around Stone Brook should be gorgeous while we’re there. It’s going to be a fabulous weekend and I couldn’t be happier.”

  Claire was happy indeed, and it showed. She smiled as she studied the brochures. She was very familiar with the seasonal attractions in the family’s beloved White Mountains, especially the North Woods and Lakes Region. Even the “low lands” of Hampton Falls, Portsmouth and Dover held the charm and flavor of New England. Claire loved to visit the villages to shop and dine at favorite inns and restaurants. Over the years, she and Ed had taken the children, grandchildren and their many friends to every nook and cranny in the Granite State during all four seasons of the year.

  Meg, Rosemary and Anne also knew and loved the upper reaches of New England. They, too, had spent many summers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont when their children were young. But with the passing years and their children now grown with families of their own, it had been a long time since the women enjoyed a foliage weekend in the mountains.

  Claire’s plans for the weekend had fallen into place nicely. She and Ed would get to the Lodge a little before noon Wednesday and stock the refrigerator, freshen up the bedrooms, and air out the entire house. They had been up in early August with Drew and his family and left everything ready for the next visit, whenever that might be. Now Claire would just have to air out the rooms with the help of today’s soft autumn breezes.

  Early that week Claire made a final call to all three friends to confirm plans. In answer to their questions about what clothes to bring, Claire suggested something dressy for dinner Friday night and a sweater or jacket for lunch on Mt. Washington on Saturday.

  She also reminded them that there was no cell phone service at the Lodge, but that cells worked down close to the village, and that there was a land line at the house.

  As Meg expected, she had a closing on Friday morning and would arrive after lunch.

  “I hope that’s alright,” she told Claire, “and I’ll still bring some goodies. I’ll have my cell so I’ll call along the way to let you know when to expect me. I have the Lodge number.”

  During their conversations, Claire had offered a final suggestion to all three.

  “Since we’ll be at the Lodge Sunday morning, we could attend service at the little Congregational church down the road from us. Or,” she added, “we could have our own private worship service at home.”

  When they agreed on the latter, she suggested that the ladies select a passage from the Bible, either from the Old or New Testament that had special meaning to them and be prepared to read it aloud and discuss its significance. The suggestion was typical of Claire, whose religious faith was as strong as that of her forebears. She knew that, although her friends were of different denominations, they, too, had strong religious conviction.

  Claire planned the weekend carefully to take advantage of their time together. She’d have lunch on Friday at the Lodge with Rosemary and Anne, since Meg had a morning closing and wouldn’t arrive until sometime that afternoon. She decided on soup and salad served with tea, and she’d be sure to use the pretty tea cozy Anne had given her at Christmas. For dessert they’d have Anne’s trifle. The afternoon would be spent discussing their Red Hat outing before leaving at 4:30 to catch the scenic dinner train, which she planned as a surprise. An early dinner on the popular excursion train would allow them to be home before dark and enjoy a pleasant evening together before turning in.

  Saturday would be a full day of shopping and sight-seeing with both lunch and dinner out. After an early breakfast, they’d check out some of the festival events in the village before taking the cog railway up Mt. Washington. There they’d have lunch and return to do some shopping in the afternoon. If there was time, they’d drive over to Moultonborough to look at the Castle in the Cloud near Squam Lake, where On Golden Pond was filmed.

  Since Friday night dinner would be a dressy affair, they’d have a casual dinner at the Jack O’ Lantern on Saturday night. Although
Ed and his friends were staying at the Jack, Claire didn’t plan to join them for dinner. This was to be her weekend with the girls and Ed’s with the guys. She agreed with Khalil Gibran’s Prophet, that letting winds blow between and around lovers made for better relationships.

  In planning the weekend, Claire was careful to arrange things she knew the ladies would enjoy. In addition to the gourmet dinner on the excursion train and the cog rail ride up to Mt. Washington, they’d take a scenic drive to enjoy the foliage if time allowed. Autumn in New Hampshire was pleasure unto itself. She’d take them along the Kancamagus Scenic Byway with its breath-taking views of the mountains, and take pictures at the Flume Gorge at Franconia Notch with its pretty waterfalls and rustic covered bridges.

  Yes, Saturday would be a full day, she thought, because there was much to see and do during leaf season in the White Mountains, and she knew the girls would want to see as many attractions as they could squeeze in. Besides, she knew they were in good health and would be willing to do whatever she suggested. As she told Ed, it would be a wonderful weekend and she looked forward to it.

  Chapter 8

  It was just before noon on Wednesday when the Bay State couple reached the familiar New Hampshire roadside sign reading, “Woodbridge Notch, Incorporated 1794.”

  “I always get the warm fuzzies when we get to this point, knowing we’re almost home,” said Claire, her heart full of happy memories of times spent at the family retreat. “Now I have mixed feelings because of the incident last April.”