Matty and Bill sat in silence, staring at each other, excitement building.
Nanny Dove laughed slightly.
"Ise tinks youse freaked dem out a bit dere Poppy."
Issac stared down at Nanny Dove.
"When did you lose the ability to speak properly, Matilda?"
"Been a long time since youse been 'ere Poppy. Tings 'ave changed."
"Obviously. But I didn't think future generations would develop a new language."
"Wese calls it Newfinese."
Issac shook his head and turned his attention back to Matty and Bill.
"So, you two are part of the new generation of Tuckamore Bay?"
Matty nodded as she stood.
"We are."
"Thankfully you have managed to carry on the King's English."
He looked at Nanny Dove.
"Unlike others."
Nanny Dove grunted.
"So, what year be this?"
"Twenty twenty," Matty informed him.
Issac Dove looked confused.
"Two thousand and twenty, ah ...."
Matty thought for a second.
"What do I call you?"
"Well, you could cal me great-great-great-great-great Grandfather or, like Matilda, just call me Poppy Dove."
Matty smiled.
"Poppy Dove would be great."
"So," Issac sighed, "it has been a long time since I walked this earth."
"It has Sir. I guess so much has changed that it must seem foreign to you," Bill suggested.
Issac nodded.
"That it has, son. That it has. Mostly it is just so much nosier than I remember it. I guess that is why us older spirits prefer to stay where we are. Its a lot less confusing. And a lot quieter."
He took a deep breath and took a pipe from his pocket, putting it in his mouth.
"I do miss a good smoke though."
"Well, Matty and I could smoke. You might get a smell of it."
"Youse don't be smokin' in my 'ouse," Nanny Dove snapped, immediately.
Bill lit a cigarette.
"Its my house, remember, Nanny Dove."
Nanny Dove looked up at Issac.
"Sees what dese young fellers are like now. No respect fer us elders."
"Is this, indeed, his house?" Issac asked.
"Kind of. But Ise were 'ere first."
Issac laughed.
"Seems the stubborn women of Tuckamore Bay still exist. My Lydia was a strong woman as well."
Bill glanced at Matty, laughing.
"You have that right, Sir. Matty is another in that long line."
Issac nodded.
"So. Why have you summoned me here?"
Matty explained the situation with Simon Hirst.
"So we were just wondering if there is something about the Bay that we don't know about?"
Issac though for a moment and then nodded.
"Could be he is looking for the gold of the Emily Rose."
"Emily Rose?" Matty wondered.
"Who is she?"
"It is not a she, Matty. It is an it. The Emily Rose was a ship the British merchant fleet.
The ship that brought me and mine to the New Found Land."
Nanny Dove looked up at Issac.
"Ise tot its were a prisoner ship dat brought youse and da others to 'ere?"
Issac laughed slightly.
"Ah. I guess the story has changed through the years."
"So its not be true dat youse were kicked out of da country?"
Issac thought for a moment.
"I guess that all is depending on how you look at the story, Matilda."
"Well da story dat wese all grew up wit was dat youse and da others were petty thieves that was given da option of stayin' in da dungeons or 'elpin' populate da new world."
Issac shook his head.
"Matilda, my dear. You really have to work on your speaking. I can barely understand what you are saying."
Nanny Dove laughed.
"Bit late nows, Poppy."
She stopped rocking and motioned for him to come closer. When he did, she whispered, "Ise can'ts be changing' now. Ise dead."
She started laughing and rocking again.
"Put dat in youse pipe and smokes it."
Issac just shook his head.
"Back in my day, a man would beat his wife for being so ..."
He searched for the right words.
"Pain in the ass," Bill suggested.
Issac laughed.
"Colourful, but makes a point."
He looked at Nanny Dove.
"Matilda, my dear. You are a pain in my ass."
"So Ise been told," she laughed.
"Many, many, many times."
"So what about this Emily Rose, Poppy Dove? There really seems to be a story there."
"There is, young Matty. A story that has never been told and is only known by a few. At least the truth be only known by a few."
Bill joined in.
"But, my question would be, how would Simon Hirst know anything about the Emily Rose or a tale of gold?"
Issac took the pipe from his mouth and thought for a moment.
"Hirst you say?"
Bill nodded.
"Yea, Simon Hirst."
"Now that I think about it, there was a Magistrate from my county name of Campbell. He was a Scotsman, I think.
Real pain in my ass as well.
He was an important part of my story actually."
"But what would he have to do with Simon Hirst?" Matty wondered.
"If my memory serves me well, he was married to a woman name of ...
what was that wenche's name?"
He scratched the side of his head with his pipe.
"What diff'rence does 'er name be 'avin'," Nanny Dove barked.
"Youse bes worse den an old lady tryin' to tell a story."
"You hush up Matilda and show some respect to your elders."
Nanny Dove laughed.
"Wes bes about da same age dere old man."
"And just how do you figure that? I was born in 1750 and I died in 1826."
"Den dat makes youse seventy-six year old. Same be me."
She grunted.
"So don't be huffin' and puffin' yer chest out dere old man. Youse no more me elder den dat old seagull over dere."
Jarge squawked and covered his head, with his wings.
Issac looked at Matty and Bill.
"You have a seagull in your house?
"Are you fattening it up for a feast or something?"
Jarge squawked louder, jumped out of his bed and ran for the door.
Bill got up and opened the door. Jarge ran outside and took to wing.
"Jarge is a pet, actually," Bill explained, as he closed the front door again.
"A seagull as a pet? Now that is somewhat interesting."
Bill sat back down, on the couch.
"Long story. I'll tell you sometime."
"Anyway," Matty sighed, wanting to get back on topic.
"What about this Campbell guy?"
"Winnie was her name."
"Whose name?"
"The magistrate Campbell was married to a woman named Winnie.
Winnie Hirst."
Matty stood up.
"I wonder if she could be a descendant of Simon Hirst."
"Could be," Issac suggested.
"Most all families came from Britain and Scotland and Ireland. So chances are that somewhere back in his ancestors could be this Winnie Hirst."
"Were there any Hirst families on the Emily Rose?" Bill wondered.
Issac shook his head.
"No. There were no Hirst menfolk on the Rose, but the magistrate Campbell would surely have found out about the Emily Rose at some point."
"So this voyage from England, Mr. Dove.
Was this a registered voyage?"
"Please, young man, call me Issac.
And if by registered, you are asking if it was a trip that was approved by the magistrate or any other officials, then the answer is no.
The Emily rose left England on April 1, 1798, bound for Boston."
"Boston?" Matty barked.
Issac nodded.
"Yes. Boston."
"Boston is a long way from here," Bill offered, knowing full well what Issac was talking about.
"There has to be a story there somewhere."
"Indeed there is," Issac offered.
"And if you want to hear the story, I would suggest that you get comfortable."
Bill got up from the couch and walked to the bar. As he poured drinks for Matty and himself, he wondered if he should inform Issac of his meeting with Silas Williams.
Or perhaps Issac already knew.
Did spirits communicate with each other?
Bill walked back to the couch and passed Matty her drink.
Perhaps for now, he would keep silent about what he knew. There was a slight fear inside of him that Silas may not have been completely honest with him. Why he felt that way, he didn't know and as he sat next to Matty, on the couch, he hoped that the two stories did run in the same direction or he would have to be running out of Tuckamore Bay ...
again.