The Treasure of Ecarte Island

An Architect's Dream

      Casper Bridges stood in the middle of staked out grounds where the observatory was to be built.  With hands on hips he turned facing west, then north, then east, and finally south. He nodded thoughtfully.
      "Certainly a fine hilltop for stargazing."
       Petrich grinned. "Oh, yes. There is no finer vantage point on the island. Many star readings have been done right where we're standing just with a portable telescope, sextant, and a lit lantern."
        "About time you had a proper structure built, then."
        "Indeed."
        "I am wondering something." Casper confessed.
        "And what's that?" asked Petrich, after making a short sharp whistle to signal Gretchen to not wonder too far from him.
       "You and Ellenora spoke of providing a school here for celestial scribes. Wouldn't that be a conflict of interest with the scribe guild of Justitia Observatory?"
       "To hear them tell it, yes. But since Woxlichen Observatory no longer even has a school for scribes, Justitia is operating as a monopoly. We are merely providing an alternative to committing to a guild."
       "Oh, is commitment to a guild a bad thing?"
       "When guilds get greedy, it is." Petrich replied, "By the time I was dismissed from the Justitia guild, I was contributing the mandatory percentage of nearly twenty-five percent per commission. And, no, that was not payment on an outstanding balance on tuition. That was pure profit for the guild alone."
          Casper shook his head. "That is quite a chunk to contribute. So, you plan for this to simply be a scribe school?"
           "Yes, teaching technique in designing and creating both paint on parchment celestial documents as well as the ancient art of needlepoint tapestry documents. We also want to teach how to network to get commissions as a freelance scribe, something I had to learn all my own.  So, no. Not a guild. No extortion with mandatory percentage contributions. . .and something else that will ruffle a few Justitia feathers. . .we have every intention of enrolling both males and females here."
           Casper's brows shot up. "Oh? Well, that's commendable!"
              Petrich shrugged. "It only stood to reason. I feel sure there is untapped talent out there in women, and not just as assistants to male scribes. Woxlichen and Justitia were simply too chauvinist to figure this out."
          "All the more reason to draw up blueprints and get started." Casper commented as they made the hike off the hilltop.
          "Yes. My solicitor in Leiden sent out the contract by mail yesterday. Should arrive by tomorrow afternoon. Violet is the Notary Public here. When signed, she can notarize."
           Casper chuckled. "No doubt the most honest individual on Ecarte Island, and possibly the entire world!"
            "That's our Violet. Honest, and someone who was willing to help Nora and me when we needed it most."
             Casper nodded solemnly. "Yes. She and Gilbert did the same for me."
             Petrich looked at him as they walked along. Casper kept his eyes to the ground, his mouth in a fine line.  A nearby bark from Gretchen made them both look up.
              Gretchen stood at attention at the mouth of a small cavern.  Petrich made another short whistle, and the dog only hesitated a second before returning to the men. Once there, she was immediately rewarded with another bit of carrot, and Petrich's praise.
             "Are there many of those?" Casper asked, still looking to the cavern.
             "Yes. Our cottage was built into one. The enclosure for the sheep is no more than a shallow cave with a gated entry.  There's probably a good five to seven more leading into the hill. I haven't explored them all. A couple of them go further in than I am willing to go alone."
              "I see. They'll need to be surveyed before actual construction, which should be part of the contract."

              The contract for the construction, indeed, arrived the next afternoon.  Petrich and Nora gathered at Gilbert and Violet's home where Casper was boarded for the meantime. 
             Before the actual signing took place, Violet and Nora prepared an al fresco meal complete with wine and fresh fruits and cheese.
Throughout the preparation, Violet spoke little, and this was not at all unusual. She was often quiet, but what she did not say in words, she more than made up for in being a keen listener.   
           Violet was always interested in Nora's sheep, and was content to merely listen as Nora detailed the trials and errors of her ewes' recent lambing. 
            The flock, being the first Nora and Petrich had tried raising on their own, was a small one consisting of only ten ewes and a lone ram. Only four were old enough to lamb this season, and all had given birth beautifully.
           It was true that one of the ewes seemed to not produce enough milk for her lamb, resulting in Nora having to supplement with a couple of bottle feeds per day. 
          "Can't wait for Jenna to come home from the mainland and see the lambs. I know she'll be impressed with the texture of the wool. She was hoping to use some in her new sweater designs. Speaking of Jenna. . .surely she and Casper knew each other growing up. Aren't they nearly the same age?"
            Violet paused then said simply, "Yes."
             "Ah! Then it should be exciting,  them meeting again after so long!"
             ". . .yes." Violet replied.
The meal was a joyous one with Petrich, Nora and Casper talking about their tour of the different buildings Casper had designed over the last near decade.  Some were municipal buildings and designed for efficient space for offices, but there were others that were fairly large family homes. These homes were some of his earlier constructions, and being personal dwellings, these were more decorative by design.
           The tour had been an inspiring one, prompting Petrich and Nora to scrap their original blueprints and begin again. Now they hoped for an office building, of sorts, for the space and utilization, yet with the coziness of  a home.  They felt beyond doubt that Casper Bridges was the man for the job.
          After signing the contract for construction, Casper would immediately inform his longtime foreman, who would then inform the construction crew. Raw materials and building equipment would have to be shipped as well.
        The extra time waiting to actually break ground was of no major consequence. It would give Casper time to complete the land survey study, and even make use of his speleological education, now that there were cave formations to survey, as well.
       When the meal was over, Petrich made ready the documents, giving Casper time to carefully read through the multiple pages. As he did so, Gilbert poured some brandy he had been aging for over five years. It was the first batch he had ever distilled using his own Ecarte wine.
       Gilbert's brother Dietfried was the real expert in knowing a good tasting brandy, but in his absence, Petrich Hollenburg was the next best candidate. Dietfried had taught Petrich all he knew on a great many subjects throughout their many years of acquaintance.
       Nora, accepting a bit of brandy herself, practically ignored it, being more interested in continuing her talk with Violet.  The sheep would be ready to shear within a couple of months and Violet was keen on Nora teaching her how to spin wool into yarn on a spinning wheel. 
       Nora was certainly eager to have the help, for the whole point of raising sheep was to draft high quality yarn for future celestial document tapestries, as well as providing for Jenna Callie's baby clothing business.
      Upon mentioning Jenna's name a loud at the table, Nora immediately noticed Violet shifting her eyes over to Casper, who had looked up from the pages of the contract. They made eye contact for only an instant, but it was enough for Nora to wonder if she had said something inappropriate.  She immediately turned her attention to her unfinished brandy, noticing Casper's demeanor change to just borderline morose. 
       Before even finishing the document, Casper closed the portfolio and gently slid the document away from him. His action caused Petrich to halt in mid sip of his drink.
      "Is it not as complete as it ought to be?" he asked.
       Casper shook his head, leaned back in his chair and sighed.  He kept his head bowed, and now everyone was looking at him, not knowing what to say.
        He lifted his head. "I don't want. . .I can't sign this."
Petrich sat down his sifter. "I'll telgraph, Harold straightaway and send the contract back to amend. . ."
"No." Casper interrupted. "It's nothing wrong with the document. . . It's me." He turned his eyes to Violet at the opposite end of the table. "I must have Jenna's permission."
Violet agreed with a slight nod of her head.
To relieve Petrich and Nora of their puzzled expressions, Casper began explaining.
And what a sordid tale it was, about an orphaned boy whose teacher saw in him great potential. The teacher made possible for this boy to go to university away from Ecarte, leaving behind a girl who had nothing but love for him. They wrote to each other often in the first year of separation. It was at this time when Violet came to live on Ecarte and was well aware of Casper and Jenna's distant, yet seemingly healthy relationship.
The war between the Leidenschaftlich and Gardarik regions had come to an end nearly a decade before, but left many fatherless boys from the defeated Gardarik army. Casper, together with others on his campus became embittered and sought to avenge their dead in dangerous acts of targeting Leidenschaftlich veterans. To his horror, one of these veterans was discovered to be his former teacher and mentor, Gilbert Baugainvillea who had lived incognito for years on Ecarte.
Blinded by misguided anger and pride, Casper came back to Ecarte to exact revenge. He would have succeeded if it had not been for Gilbert's love for him, and Violet's ever vigilant bravery. But this part of Casper's story was not the most heinous.
Jenna had an idea that Casper's new found ideology had the potential to bring trouble, and mentioned as much to Violent in confidence. But her love for him was still strong when Casper made his visit to Ecarte. Her love was betrayed, however, when Casper forced himself on her, an act he almost immediately regretted. But it was too late.
He had ultimately confessed what he had done to Gilbert and Violet, who believed his sincerity, yet warned him that Jenna had the right to deny his apology.
As for Jenna, herself, the rape was never mentioned. It was as if it never happened, and sadly, along with it Jenna lived from then on as if Casper Bridges never existed. This was made possible, being that Casper returned to university (with a very much changed attitude) and stayed away from Ecarte ever after. . .until now.
"I can't be here working without her permission." he finished with a great sigh.
"And, if she doesn't?" Petrich asked, "Because I am with Gilbert and Violet on this one. We respect Jenna's tolerance or intolerance of your presence."
"Yes, of course. In such the case that she refuses my being here, my close associate, Nigel Locke can take over the contract but under my close supervision."
Other than a solemn agreement all around, they all remained silent, until Nora spoke.
"I will not even try to imagine Jenna's feelings about you now, but, I hope she gives you permission, Casper."
"Yes. As do Violet and I," Gilbert added. "Your recognition of how important it is speaks volumes. Many would just assume all was well given the number of years gone by, but you do not."
"She returns from the mainland in two days time." Violet replied, "You will have your answer then." Only then did she lift her own small sifter of brandy and take a drink.