Monday, October 14

 I've come across a book about the Knights Templar which describes how they grew rich and powerful during the Crusades, and how they were finally brought down.  It's called The Knights Templar and Scotland and I know there is an ancient Templar Chapel called Rosslyn near Edinburgh and there are many legends surrounding it.

It's a fascinating story and I'm looking forward to finding out more.

I was showing off my rudimentary French in the following story called Moonlight Bay:

MOONLIGHT BAY                                                                        MAY 12, 2023

Bradley had only spoken to Angelique a couple of times but he realised he was totally, madly, crazily in love with her.  He couldn’t eat, he couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t think of anything but the next time they might meet. He was swept up in a whirlwind romance and he was revelling in the excitement of, at last, finding the girl of his dreams.  More surprisingly, and more joyfully, he realised that Angelique seemed to feel the same.  Her eyes sparkled when she was with him and her voice dropped to a low, throaty murmur and he felt he was the only person in the world who could hear what she was saying.

He'd only arrived in Paris yesterday, on his own after his travel-mate had decided to head back to Australia.  Bradley knew he was sometimes hard to get on with and was used to his own company.  Now, here he was, in a small and shabby pensione on the left bank of the Seine.  On this first morning, when he stopped for breakfast at the tiny café on the corner, it was Angelique who served him.  He was immediately enchanted by her dark, sultry looks and extraordinary husky voice.  Certainly, he had had girlfriends in the past but there was nobody back in Westbury who evoked quite the same feelings in him as Angelique did.  He knew he was lost and could never be happy again unless he had Angelique by his side.

He had only known her for a few hours but he believed in ‘love at first sight’ so, gathering his courage in both hands, he asked her to marry him.  To his surprise she said ‘Yes’. 

“But first, ma cher,” she said, ”You must meet my parents.  Tomorrow, we will travel to their home at La Baie du Claire de Lune and you must ask my father for permission for us to wed.”

Bradley thought he was walking on air.  Is it true what they say, he thought, that Paris is the City of Love?  How else could you explain what had just happened?

The following morning, Angelique met him at the café and they made their way to Le Gare de Lyon for the train to La Baie du Claire de Lune 

“My French is not good,” he said to Angelique. “How do you translate La Baie du Claire de Lune?”

“In English, you would say Moonlight Bay.”

“Moonlight Bay?” thought Bradley.  “What a wonderful name.” 

The train soon pulled into a small station.  Through the trees, Bradley could see the glisten of ocean but he had no time to enjoy the view as he found himself facing a large gentleman with a red face and wearing a beret.

“You are Bradley, are you not?” said the large man.

“Yes, monsieur, I am,” Bradley managed to mumble, realising that this must be Angelique’s father.  Bradley could feel that this man might not take to him as quickly as Angelique did.  He would have to be on his best behaviour or everything could come unstuck.

The next few days was an idyllic time for Bradley.  He and Angelique walked hand-in-hand through the winding streets of the mediaeval town, they drank coffee at the café where Rene, the café-owner, would tell them stories of the war and they made plans for the wedding.  At M. le Blanc, Angelique’s father’s, suggestion, Bradley transferred a large amount of money into a joint account at the local bank to cover the expenses of the wedding and their life afterwards.

It was a surprise to everyone when, a few days later, Angelique announced that Bradley had decided not to marry her after all and had left during the night.  There were some who were suspicious but it was not thought necessary for the police to investigate.  In any case, people could always be found to testify that he had been seen walking to the railway station early in the morning, even if the Stationmaster had not noticed him.  Rene and Edith at the café would certainly testify that they had heard Bradley talking to a friend on the telephone saying that he was coming home.  If someone had happened to have seen M. le Blanc in his boat on the bay in the dark of night, dropping a large bundle over the side, they would certainly not mention it to the gendarmes. The people of La Baie du Claire de Lune look after their own.

Angelique mourned the disappearance of her lover for an appropriate length of time then married the son of a local wine dealer.  The capital she brought to the marriage was very welcome and allowed them to launch a new range of wines which they called Moonlight Bay.