The Old Pirate Told The Story

The old pirate was tired and very sad. She was the last of the line of Lady Kathleen's pirates. She was close to a hundred years old and had seen much and had heard many tales of her ancestors that had sailed the seas. Hundreds of years had gone by. Lady Kathleen's palace had changed so much over the years. People had taken things from the palace and replaced them with more modern things. They had something called electricity nowadays. The lights came on with a switch. There were no candles now except for looks. Lady Kathleen's palace was now a hotel. People paid money to stay there. The money was now paper, not gold pieces. Folks still paid taxes on most everything that they bought.
There were servants, but now they were paid very well and had days off and vacations of their own which had not happened in the days of Lady Bonita.
There were machines now that flew through the air. They were called airplanes and brought people to the island. They were called tourists. They paid a lot of money to be waited on and for the island food and drink.
There were some tourists walking her way. The old pirate started to walk away when she heard them call to her. She turned and watched them. They motioned to her that they wanted to talk to her.
The man called her 'Old timer' when he called to her.  "Shiver me timbers, I don't like that. What ye want?"
The man said, "Well, since you are so old we thought maybe you could tell us a little about this island. We keep seeing pictures of folks on the walls and the desks in the hotel of the same people. There is a little girl that seems to be important to the folks that run the hotel here."
"Why ye want to know," asked the pirate.

The woman said, "Well, I am a writer. I would like to tell the story if I may. Would you answer some questions for me?" The pirate replied, "You mean like you write books and such?"
The woman and man both smiled and said, "Yes, at the same time."
The pirate said, "Would ye put my picture in it?"Again the couple smiled and assured the old pirate that her picture would be in the book.
"Well, how much time do ye have?" They walked with her as she looked out at the sea. "Well, many many years ago, there was a little girl whose name was Marlee. She then told the couple the story as she had heard it handed down by her great grandmother from her great grandmother. She had said that Marlee had stayed at the island and so had Miss Lexie. They both had had wonderful educations with personal teachers called governesses. Nowadays they call it homeschooling. They had grown, married, had children and grandchildren of their own.
The old pirate looked out over the sea. She could see the tourists playing in the sea. There were ships out there, but not pirate ships anymore, but smaller boats that had tourists on them. They wanted to see the whales and sometimes they went swimming with the dolphins. The boats had engines also. They did not need sails to move them. There were small sailboats that people rode on for fun. The new people had even dug holes in the ground and filled it with water for swimming. She saw no need for that. There was a huge ocean for swimming.

 The parrots were still on the island and would watch the people walk through their home of trees. Some even became friendly with the tourists and would sit on their finger for a treat.

The couple had been walking with the old pirate and showed her a picture on their cell phone. They had taken it of one of the pictures they had seen on the desk at the hotel. "Who is this woman?" they asked. "Ah, that is Lady Bonita. She was little Marlee's grandmother. She was not happy about little Marlee coming to this island by herself, so she accompanied her and Lady Kathleen and Miss Lexie. It is said, that some of her family continues to visit this island. Miss Lexie also has family that visits to make sure that her beloved lighthouse continues to shine a light of welcome to the new big ships. So all is well on this island , but very different than in their days; the simple days.
 I hope you enjoy your stay here. She turned around and said, "Make sure you put my picture in that book!"
The old pirate then walked away.
The couple called after her and said, "But wait! Whatever happened to Lady Bonita's butler?"
The pirate had disappeared out of sight. They had only their imaginations to answer so many other questions.

Marlee Had A Bed That Looked Like a Ship

"Marlee went over to Lady Bonita and begged her to have the servants go to the attic and bring the trunk downstairs. There may be papers in there that would prove that Miss Lexie was part of the family. Lady Bonita stood fast and refused to let her granddaughter have her way."
Finally Lady Kathleen said, "Fine have it your way, but I will have a lawyer force you to show us the papers. I know who my father had for a lawyer. I'm sure he will help us. Of course, all of the Lords and Ladies will know of it and you will have to explain all of this. If I were you I would get the trunk down here and it will be settled once and for all." Grandma Lu said, "Of course, Lady Kathleen was bluffing her way through all of this. She had no clue who her father's lawyer was. If you remember they went to a lawyer. All he wanted was gold."

"Finally Lady Bonita pulled a rope beside her chair that summoned the servants. Shortly the butler knocked and entered the room. She told the butler, "Get some of the servants to help get the trunk downstairs. There are many trunks up there. Since you seem to think you know so much, you go with them and tell them which one you think has papers in it."

Edward replied, "Right away, Madam."
He returned shortly with the trunk. It was dusty and a bit moldy. It was old and very heavy. Edward's white gloves were dirty. That seemed to bother Lady Bonita more than anything. "Open that thing if you can manage it then go change your clothes, Edward. You are a disgrace. You are excused."
"Miss Lexie looked at Lady Kathleen and shook her head. She had never come across a woman that was so mean. But she immediately stood up and went to the trunk."
 Lady Bonita said, "Stop! I will look in this trunk. You have no business getting in there." Lady Kathleen said, "Actually she does, and so do I. This is family business and we will all go through the papers together. Now."
True to form, Lady Bonita took charge of the search. She took handfuls of papers out of the trunk and looked through them all very carefully. She was not alone, however, Lady Kathleen took several layers of papers also. Miss Lexie had to watch because she had not had any education or schooling whatsoever. It was a sad thing to watch, but it couldn't be helped.
"There! Here it is! Lady Kathleen had papers in her outreached hand. There was another brother. His name was Caldwell. He married Lexie's mother after the other brothers were gone. That is why we never knew of him. Miss Lexie is another cousin, Lady Bonita. She is family. It has been recorded in the church files as well as our Uncle's papers with a wax seal of his."
Lady Bonita was very quiet. She didn't know how to handle this situation. Nothing had ever upset her quiet household before. She had always thought she knew her family. She had paintings on the wall of her ancestors. How would she handle this?

Marlee handled it for them all. "I have a bigger family than ever. How much fun we will have. You have to come to the palace across the sea, Grandmama. There are so many bedrooms and so many friends there. I have my very own bed that looks just like a ship too.  I want my whole family together. Please say that you will come, please. I want to live on the island with my Cap'n."
There were tears in Lady Bonita's eyes as she said, "Let us have our dinner and quietly discuss this matter.  I am much too old to be traveling by ship for weeks. I am quite comfortable right here in my home."
Then the conversation erupted into a noisy argument.
Edward, the butler appeared in the dining room, looked at Lady Kathleen and announced that the hansom driver was ready to take Marlee and Miss Lexie and Lady Kathleen to the docks. They should meet him at the front steps of the manor. Well Lady Bonita would not have it. She stood up at the table and told her butler to tell that hansom driver to go back to the city alone. If anyone was going anywhere they would go in style in her carriage. There would be room for everyone. There would be packing to do and trunks to fill and the servants would need to get busy around here if they were all going on a voyage to the island.
"So you see what Lady Kathleen had whispered in the hansom driver's ear had worked. She is a smart lady royal pirate. She knew that Lady Bonita did in fact love Marlee and wouldn't want to be separated from her and also wanted Marlee to be happy. And that is the end of the story! What do you  think?"
Arianna leaned back and said, "Well, I have a lot of questions. Whatever happened to them? Did they make it to the island safely? Where did they live? Did Miss Lexie get to go to school?"
Grandma Lu chuckled and said, "Yes, Arianna, you do have lots of questions. I do know a little more. There once was a very very old pirate"......

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The next story will be the conclusion of this series. It will take place hundreds of years later on the island that had once belonged to Lady Kathleen.

Why Did The Butler Wink At Lady Kathleen?

Grandma Lu said that there was a lot of talking and being mean to each other on the way down the road to Lady Bonita's house. Finally, Marlee said, "I'm going to cry if you can't be nice to each other. I just can't stand it. I love Lady Kathleen. She is the Cap'n and you all had better be nice to each other." The older ladies looked at each other and didn't say a word as they walked back to the house.
The housekeeper and butler met them at the door and whisked them into the drawing room. In those days it was very formal. No television or toys. Just slippery chairs and at least two paintings on the wall of old people. For light there was a chandelier that held hundreds of candles. They seldom lit most of them because this room wasn't used very often. Lady Bonita used it today because she wanted to flaunt her wealth and make them feel uncomfortable. She wanted them gone for good so she said, "Alright then, be at it. Tell me what you think is so important for me to hear."
Lexie had learned to be strong from her time with Lady Kathleen. She started to talk and Lady Bonita cut her off and said, "I was not talking to you, I was talking to this woman who says she is my cousin." Lexie sat up straight in her chair and said, "From my time with Lady Kathleen I have learned some manners. She would have offered strangers something to eat and drink. You have offered us nothing but threats and no kindness at all. I wish I could prove to you that I was indeed a Taylor like my mum told me I was."
Lady Bonita huffed and puffed, and said, "What are you trying to say to me you nit wit? You cannot be a Taylor. There are very few Taylors in England. From what I understand I am the last of the line. I do have a cousin Kathleen, but she certainly would never be a pirate. Her father inherited a ship line from my grandfather and my father inherited land. She has a palace in the islands. As far as I know there were only the two brothers. If there had been another brother, I am sure I would have been told."
Edward, the butler had knocked softly and entered to the mean voice of Lady Bonita. "Enter."  He was there to offer some biscuits (cookies) and something to drink. In those days ladies drank claret a kind of wine or a lighter drink called sherry and also  strong drinks called whiskey or gin. Children drank milk. Ale was also served by the gallon to male visitors.
Grandma Lu smiled and said, "Well, Lady Kathleen grinned when she saw the whiskey decanter on the tray that Edward had brought in. "Where you be getting the strong drink, Lady Bonita? Looks very familiar to me. I will tell you why. Me boys from the ship stole that whiskey from a French trade ship. You, dear Lady got that whiskey from me! I am also willing to say you have a cellar full of barrels of me whiskey. You don't want to pay taxes on that whiskey so you have it brought to you illegally at night."
Lady Bonita gasped, "Well, I never!" and spluttered and gasped for air. This was all just too much for her.
The butler being very amused by this whole thing covered his mouth with his gloved hand and cleared his throat. Just that little mannerism was seldom allowed by the servants. He looked at Lady Bonita and said, "My lady, if I may add something." She just gave him a cold stare and said, "If you  must."

My great grandfather was your father's butler. This position has been handed down for generations in my family. I do believe there was another brother. He married a woman that your grandfather did not approve of because she was Irish. It was believed that he had disowned him and has not been heard of since. There is a trunk in the attic that may have some papers inside. If you wish I could bring it down for you to go through."
Lady Bonita said, "Rubbish, absolutely not. I'll not have my home disrupted. Out!" Edward winked at Lady Kathleen and said, "Very good, madam" and quietly left the room.
"Well, that was all the fuel that Lady Kathleen needed to start a good fire. She and Miss Lexie both stood up and said, "You will have the servants bring that trunk down here or we will go up there ourselves. This mystery will be solved today, right now!"

The Hansom Accident

There was screaming, yelling, and barking to be heard for miles around. The hansom had indeed tipped when it went in the ditch, but had not flipped completely over. Stashia was growling and barking and standing in front of Marlee. The ladies had stopped screaming and yelling and were about the business of getting out of the hansom without breaking their bones. Remember they had on those humongous gowns. The driver had fallen off the top of the hansom and was grumbling something fierce.
"There is Marlee! I knew that was her. Hurry quick, Lady Kathleen, let's get her away from that big wrinkled dog. He is going to eat the little lass up!"
By the time that the two ladies had gotten closer to Marlee, Stashia was going to town with her growling and barking. She wasn't about to let anyone close to her little friend.
About that time there was a terrible commotion coming down the road. There was Lady Bonita, the butler, and the maids. the cooks and the stablemen all running down the road. They had been looking all over for Marlee. When they were searching in the garden they heard the terrible noise coming from down the road. Now they were making a terrible fuss because they were yelling at Stashia and the hansom driver and the two ladies that were pulling themselves up out of the ditch. Grandma Lu said, "The whole thing was just a noisy mess!" The children laughed and Arianna said, Grandma Lu, what happened, did anyone get hurt?"
Grandma Lu chuckled and said, "Well that Lady Bonita wasn't anyone to mess around with. She said, "You get yourselves away from my granddaughter! I will call the constable and have you put away forever. Get away, I tell you! How dare you try to take her away from me again!"
Well, Lady Kathleen had had just about enough of this caterwauling. She said, "If you were my pirates on my ship I would have you walking the plank and into the brink for you! Enough! I am Lady Kathleen Taylor, your cousin, I'll have you know. This is my ward, Miss Lexie. We are here to find Marlee whom I was going to adopt and to find birthright papers for Miss Lexie. Now if you would act like a lady as your title suggests, you would invite us in to your so called house and offer us something to eat and drink. I am hot, dirty, bruised and very angry! I am sure that Miss Lexie is as well. Now, do I have to give your servants orders or are you capable of doing it yourself? We have business to attend to."
Marlee was crying and sobbing. She kept crying, "Cap'n Cap'n, take me home, please please, take me home!"
Lady Kathleen told Marlee to hang on for awhile while she and her grandmother had a visit. However, things weren't quite as easy for Lady Kathleen as they were on board ship. Her pirates obeyed her easily, but Lady Bonita, would not budge. She told them to be on their way and that was final.
Lady Kathleen had one more idea. She handed Lady Bonita one of her calling cards to prove to her that she was indeed her cousin, Kathleen.
At long last she told them that she would give them a few minutes to tell her their story and then they would be out.
Well, Lady Kathleen had other ideas. She had no intention of going anywhere. She went back to the hansom driver and asked him to take the carriage and the horse to the stables. She would make sure he was paid very well. She whispered something in his ear, he gave a small smile and she and Lexie were on their way into the huge mansion that Lady Bonita called home.

The Lawyer And The Dressmaker

That afternoon, Lexie and Lady Kathleen found their way to the building by the bakery. They saw a paper in the hallway that said that the lawyer's office was up three flights of stairs. "This lawyer better be a good 'un for all the work it be fer climbin' these steps. I jest hope he knows his business and can find your father's papers somewhere in the city."

When they finally got to the third floor they knocked on the door. They heard a man say, "Enter." There was the man from the coffee house, just as he said. The office was dirty and the window was small. He didn't wear a wig as was the custom in those days. He sat with his legs crossed and didn't stand to greet them. He pointed to two rickety chairs and motioned for them to sit down. "Now then, he said, what can I do for you? I know that you are not men. I have been watching you at the coffee house. Your idea of disguise has not fooled any of the men that meet there either. They are curious of course, as to just what you are trying to hide. Right at this minute
they are in the betting room betting against the odds that I will help you. I will help you of course, but it will cost you a lot of gold. I want half right now and the rest when I find out what you want to know. I will tell you my fee when you tell me what you are so anxious to find."
Lady Kathleen did not sit down and told Lexie that they were not going to waste their time talking to this so called lawyer. They would take care of business themselves. They slammed the door on the man and went down the stairs to the dirty busy street. Lexie said, "Well, now you've done it. What do we do now?"
Lady Kathleen said, "My dear, we are ladies, so we are going to dress like ladies. The first thing we are going to do is find a modiste. (A dressmaker) They walked slowly and watched the signs and finally after two hours of walking found a dressmaker shop. Lady Kathleen told Lexie not to talk because her use of the English language would not pass in this shop. (She talked like the poor young girl that she was.) When they walked in the door
the woman seamstress was not a bit happy with their looks. Lady Kathleen had a story all ready for her. She explained that all of their clothes had been stolen by some pirates. All they had to wear was what they were wearing. She also said that she had money, but needed the clothes very quickly.
Usually it took quite a long time to make a dress, but the lady said that she just happened to have two dresses that she could make fit them. She had a seamstress there to help her. She also had jewelry and some accessories for them. They now looked like proper ladies of the English 1700's.
After another hour of getting the dresses fixed they walked out the door looking like two beautiful ladies that just might be allowed entrance at Lady Bonita's home. She wasn't going to take any chances however, and found a print shop and had a few calling cards made with her name on them; Lady Kathleen Taylor. She then found a hansom and they were on their way to get Marlee.
                                                    *****************
Marlee had sneaked up to her room to put her pirate dress on so she would be ready to set sail on the ship as soon as she saw it in the harbor. She made a quick stop to say goodbye to Stashia and was on her way down the road. She followed the road that the hansom had taken so that she would be able to find the Cap'n.
                                   *******
The ladies were so uncomfortable in their dresses. They had dressed in pants and shirts like men for so long that the hoop skirts and tight corsets were so very scratchy and itchy. They kept squirming around and grumbling. The dresses were so tight it was hard to breathe. Lexie was complaining about it to Lady Kathleen when suddenly she let out a scream! Lady Kathleen yelled, "What on earth is wrong with you?" She yelled so loud that the horse jumped and started to gallop down the road. The driver was yelling and pulling back on the reins trying to get the horse under control before the hansom flipped over. It was rolling on one wheel as it was!
Remember that old wrinkled dog was Marlee's friend.....

The Betting Book And A Kiss Goodbye

Before Lady Kathleen and Lexie went back to their hotel room, they stopped at the coffee house for something to eat. They were tired and very grumpy.  The butler had slammed the door in their face and that was very rude. Lady Kathleen couldn't believe how snooty he was to them. She had met much nicer people on her pirate ships in her estimation.
The Industrial Age had accomplished many things. It's inventions of new things made life easier for the rich, however, it took jobs away from people. Now there were hundreds of thousands of folks with no jobs and sleeping on the streets just like Lexie and little Marlee and her mama had done.  (Grandma Lu pointed to a picture she had of an elderly man begging for food on the streets.)
So eating at a coffee house was indeed a luxury. Seldom did people get the opportunity to eat meat. It was rare indeed to have beef or pork. Lady Kathleen was used to eating seafood, like fish and shrimp. That was not available, so they ordered a bowl of stew that had a little beef and some vegetables in it and had coffee to drink.
While they were eating, Lady Kathleen whispered to Lexie that she needed to find a lawyer. She thought that perhaps if she could find the right person there might be a chance that Lexie could find her birthright papers from her father. She had started to believe the young lady and needed proof that she was who she said she was. The mystery would then be solved. London was a huge city and there were hundreds of lawyers. It was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find a good one.
When they had finished their meal they walked slowly towards the door trying to listen to the men's gossip, but had no luck. They went to the board by the door to see if there were any ads for lawyers. A man who was sitting nearby asked if he could help them find something. He said that he knew most everyone. Lady Kathleen said she was trying to find an honest lawyer that could help with some personal business. She was new in town and would like some assistance. The man's eyes sparkled and said, "I would be a solicitor (that is another name for a lawyer) and would be glad to help ye. Why don't ye come to my office at two of the clock this afternoon. It is on Pudding Street, next to the bakery.
Grandma Lu said, "You know this was a very dangerous way of doing things. Lady Kathleen didn't know him from a hill of beans. She could get into all kinds of trouble. In those days there were so many lawyers that some of them were dishonest and charged a lot of money but didn't do anything for it. It had been many many years since she had been in London and knew little of the ways of the city since she had been sailing the seven seas. Grandma Lu said, "In the back of the coffee house there was a little book, called the betting book. Men would make wagers with real money about many things. (Grandma Lu again pointed to a picture that she had found of men in those days betting money and writing it down in the betting book.)
Today they had all seen the conversation between Lady Kathleen and the questionable lawyer. They were betting if Lady Kathleen would lose her money to him or if she was smarter than the lawyer. (They didn't know that Lady Kathleen was a pirate. That's a good joke on them isn't it?)
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Meanwhile back at Lady Bonita's mansion little Marlee was more sad than ever. She wouldn't eat and wouldn't play with Stashia or the mini horses. She would only walk in the gardens and talk quietly to the little statues that were there. She walked up to one of the little angels and said, "Good-bye little angel. I am going to be leaving soon. I am going to run away to find my cap'n. I love her and need to find her. I will miss you, but you keep guard over the garden and the old wrinkled dog, Stashia." With that said, she blew the angel a kiss and went to prepare for her trip. She was going to go to the sea where the Cap'n's ship was. She was going to leave as soon as she changed into her pirate clothes. 

The Butler

Grandma Lu said, "It was very late at night by the time Lady Kathleen and Lexie got back to their hotel. They had a lot to talk about. Lexie had said that her father's last name was Taylor. That upset Lady Kathleen and thought that Lexie was trying to trick her. When she saw a tear run down Lexie's cheek she didn't say anymore, but she would find out more about Lexie's parents or she would be a weak-kneed ninny landlubber, by George!"
"The first thing they would do in the morning would be to hire a carriage which was fairly new to England when these ladies were there. It was called a hansom and was drawn by usually only one horse. The driver would sit up high on the back and guide the horse with the reins. Before the hansom was invented shortly before the ladies got to England you had to either ride a horse or walk. There would be room for just two people in this carriage. The House of Taylor was much too far for them
to walk because it was on the outskirts of London.  The second thing that might be a bit tricky for them is to gain entrance into the House. Often the butlers of these huge old mansions decided who would get the okay to go in. They would often turn people away if it was too early in the day or if they didn't recognize folks they would ask for a calling card to introduce themselves. Usually in those days there was a little table or desk in the foyer just inside the door that the butler would place the cards in a silver tray for the lady of the house to inspect as she wished. Then she would either invite folks back to her home at another time or completely ignore the fact that they had ever been there.
Grandma Lu had a cartoon picture of a calling card for the children to see.
Grandma Lu asked the children a question. "What do you think the butler will do when he sees two strange men at the door? Will he immediately turn them away or ask for a card?
Harleigh raised her hand and said, "I think he will send them away." The children and Grandma Lu laughed and said, "I probably would too, Harleigh. Well let's see what happens."
"Lady Kathleen and Lexie got out of the hansom and walked up several steps. The mansion was just that. It was as big as Lady Kathleen's palace if not bigger. Now remember, Lady Kathleen was a pirate and not afraid of much except bad storms. She looked around and saw something she had never seen before. There on the door was a metal lion's head. She reached out for it and it banged against the door. She put her hand around it again and this time she banged it against the door. Just as she reached for it the third time, the door opened. There in the doorway was Lady Bonita's butler, Edward. He looked at them with a fake smile on his face and said, "What is it that you want at the House of Taylor, I might ask."
Lady Kathleen said, "We have come to see the lady of the house. I am her cousin, Lady Kathleen."
The butler tipped his head to the air and sniffed and said, "Madam is not home. Leave your card if you must."
Lady Kathleen said in a loud voice, "I haven't any old card. I want to see me cousin!" At that point, Edward, the butler, slammed the door in their face!
Lady Kathleen told Lexie that this was not the end of it. They would get in that house to see Lady Bonita one way or another. They had asked the hansom driver to wait for them so they got back in and headed back towards their hotel. What they didn't know was that Marlee was outside in the garden along with a maid playing with Stashia. She thought she heard a familiar voice and started running down the lane. She was too little to catch up to the carriage and watched it go down the road. Marlee cried out, "Cap'n Cap'n come back, come back!" But the horse kept on going and kicking up dust and rocks on the dirt road. No one heard little Marlee's cries. By the time the maid caught up with Marlee she was sobbing and carrying on something fierce. The maid had to have the butler help her get Marlee back in the house. By this time she was kicking and screaming. Nothing would quiet her. She just knew that her Cap'n had come to take her home to the island. She ran to the window just to see the hansom round the corner and go out of sight. Her Cap'n was gone once again.

The Coffee House

Grandma Lu said, "You know centuries ago women couldn't go to many of the same places as the men could. Like we found out, women couldn't work on a ship so that's why Marlee had to be dressed like a boy. Well, now the same thing is happening. Many of the pirates on shore were friends or at least knew Lady Kathleen. They didn't know Lexie of course, but since Lady Kathleen vouched for her, they helped them find a clean place to stay some distance away from the Pirate Cove."
"Lady Kathleen had thought ahead and had  gold coins in her pocket. She needed clean clothes for her and Lexie, so she sent a runner to do this errand for her. She ordered the sizes she guessed in men's clothes.
Lady Kathleen ordered a wash tub with warm water so that they could take a bath. They had to share the water and one towel and just a sliver of soap. But it felt like Heaven. Being clean and having clean clothes felt so good even if they were men's clothes."
(The children couldn't believe that they had to share a little bitty tub of water and only one towel. They were used to having running water and lots of towels.)

 "Now they needed a plan to find Lady Bonita and Marlee. They left their nails dirty and broken so no one would suspect that they were women. Plus they wore gloves on their hands as was the fashion in those days. There were so many things to think about. Their hair had to be completely covered as well. It was also the fashion for many men and women to wear wigs even here in the United States in the very early days."  Grandma Lu pointed to a picture she had of a man in the clothes that men wore. "The hats looked like women's hats do now, don't they? So it would be fairly easy to fool other men, wouldn't it?" The children kind of giggled. They knew their daddies would never wear an outfit like that. Grandma Lu smiled and said, "Oh, I agree, but Lady Kathleen and Lexie were now ready to be seen in public posing as men. In those days coffee was something new to drink. In fact it had been brought to England by ship in the middle sixteen hundreds from a country called Turkey. Well, people immediately saw a way to earn lots of money; selling coffee. There was a very famous coffee house in London called Whites. At the time our ladies were in England it was open to all classes of men. Later on it would be a private club, but at this time men went there to gossip and learn the news."

"The very smart and the very rich and the very poor all shared the club for a penny a cup. Yes that's right, coffee only cost a penny. They used to call those coffee houses Penny Universities because of the cost of a cup of coffee as well as the many things that men learned from each other there. Just like our colleges nowadays."
"Lady Kathleen and Lexie ordered a cup of coffee. As they sipped their coffee they listened to the conversations that were going on around them. They both heard some men talking about a Lady Bonita and a little girl called Marlee. It seemed that Marlee girl was a sad little girl and nothing that the servants or Lady Bonita gave her would make her smile."
"Their hearts started beating faster. They couldn't believe their luck. They were fast approaching their goal. They had to find a way to know where Lady Bonita's home was. They needed to be quiet and listen some more. One of the men mentioned the House of Taylor. Lexie's eyes got big and whispered, "Lady Kathleen, that's me last name. I'm sure of it. Me mum told me a long time ago, that her husband's, my da's (dad) last name was Taylor." Lady Kathleen's eyes narrowed and said, "Lass that is me last name too.What are ye trying to pull? There are very few Taylors in this land in me way of knowin'. Lady Kathleen was looking mean at Lexie, but felt sorry for doing that when she saw a tear running down the lass's face."
"The men continued to gossip about Lady Bonita. "I have heard that there is a reward being offered to anyone that can make the lass smile and be happy."
Lady Kathleen motioned to Lexie to stand up and act like they were leaving. They stopped at the table where the men were talking about the reward. Lady Kathleen said, " Sirah, could ye be tellin, me where this Lady Bonita's House of Taylor might be? I'd like to give it a try." The men all laughed at them but one man that was not wearing a hat. He
said, "The notice is tacked to the board by the door as you go out. Good luck to ye. No one has made her smile to my knowledge. Tis a sad little lass, that's fer sure."

It Was A Beast Of A Storm!

The trip back to England was a long and difficult one. The weather was terrible. Lady Kathleen worried that the sails would tear and rip apart. The storms were strong and dangerous. Sometimes the thunderstorms form a big group. That is called a hurricane. When that happens it rains and rains and the wind blows something fierce. When the wind blows that hard the ship starts to get tossed around in the water like a little toy boat. It takes everything that the sailors can do to keep the ship right side up.
Lady Kathleen and her ships had gone through many storms. Although they were very dangerous she knew that they were lucky to a point. The heavier those old wooden ships were the better. Their ship was very heavy because of all the supplies they had loaded on board for the long trip to England.

She had used her spyglass and had seen the clouds and knew that the storm was fast approaching. She ordered the crew to take down the sails in the front of the boat. She gave orders loud and clear to all of the sailors on board. She had them take anything that wasn't nailed down on the deck to be taken down below.  You could hear her yell, "Batten down the hatches, mates! "Tis a beast of a storm!" That meant that the men would take wooden squares and cover the holes in the deck. The holes went to the bottom of the ship and would collect water, if they weren't covered.

She told Lexie that she needed to tie herself to the ship so the strong waves wouldn't make her lose her footing and fall into the water. That would be terrible. That was a risky plan because if Lexie and the others were tied to the boat and it tipped over they would get hurt.
 She and Lexie were dressed like men because on board ship all women dressed in pants to not only protect their skin from the weather, but women weren't allowed on board ship, remember? That's why the little stowaway's mother had dressed her like a boy.
Lady Kathleen was a good captain, she ordered the men to head straight into the storm. They would be less likely to to flip over. The rain and the thunder was terrible. The lightning scared Lexie half to death and she hid her head as best she could. The waves were so high they looked like they were standing straight up; higher than the ship. Then the waves dashed against the ship with so much water it was soaking their clothes. When your clothes are wet you get cold. So now they were scared, wet and cold. Could they make it safely to shore? That was the question everyone on board was asking themselves. The waves crashing against the ship and the wind was so loud it was impossible to talk to anyone and be heard. It was a monster of a storm!
It seemed like the storm had lasted for days. It most likely did, because many of the storms out at sea did last for several days.
 Unbeknownst even to Lady Kathleen they were heading for the shore. The rain was so heavy that she could hardly see her hand in front of her face. Then she saw it; a shore line of huge sharp rocks. If they hit that it would crash and tear the bottom of her ship apart. She yelled, "Ahoy land! Hang on for dear life lest you be killed, maties. Ye be me friends for life! Save yourselves! Hold fast."

Then suddenly the wind died down a bit. She could see lanterns from a lighthouse in the distance. She could see where she was. She was in The Pirate Cove on the English shore. There were many pirate ships all docked. She was safe. They knew her ship and would help save her crew and her ship. "Aye, friends are wonderful to have. They always seem to show up when ye need them."

Well the children all started talking at once. They wanted more pictures. Grandma Lu said, "Oh I'm sorry mates, but I have no pictures for ye." Oh the children laughed when she talked funny like a pirate. "But I do have somethin' for ye to look at, now just a minute, be very quiet. I will turn the lights off and see what ye think of this." She had found a video of a bad storm at sea. The children and adults loved it. They felt like they were right in the storm.

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We shall soon see what happens not only to Lady Kathleen's ship, but to her crew and Lexie and herself. I just can't see a lady pirate walking the streets of London with a young girl whom is also dressed as a pirate. I should think there would be a way....