Chapter Two. #2
“Although small, Penhaven’s existence spans eighteen hundred years.
It started as a modest holding and grew to become what we are today.
A very popular and lucrative tourist trap.
As you saw, we’re in a circular cove with a beautiful sandy beach and the town spread out above that.
We’ve got the harbour and the marina too.
However, make no mistake, the water around this part of Cornwall is treacherous.
“A rich lord moved here in the eleventh century, a Baron of the wars; his family name was Jasper. Baron Jasper took ownership of the land incredibly seriously, and over the years he cared for the people of Penhaven. Over the centuries the Jaspers continued to care for the town and the locality, often becoming magistrates. They received several titles and much property and gold as a reward for their loyalty. The Jaspers had an uncanny knack of picking the winning side.”
Mrs Penrose smiled and sipped her drink.
“In the early seventeen hundreds, times turned desperate.
The taxes ruined towns, villages, and even people.
Smuggling and wrecking became a way of life, and it was rife in Cornwall and Devon.
Legend states fires were set to lure boats in; it was the opposite.
Lights were dimmed to draw ships onto the rocks.
A light meant stay away, not come closer.
“The Jaspers, now holding a Marquess title, came down hard on anyone caught doing either. Judd Damerell and his gang had been scavenging on the shore for those who were wrecked by natural causes. But they didn’t find enough loot, and like all men, they got greedy and began drawing ships in and wrecking them.
To protect vessels, the Jaspers built four lighthouses in seventeen-thirty to help people. ”
“I guess the wreckers and smugglers were not too happy about that?” I questioned.
“No. They took offence greatly, and many times tried to sabotage the building of the lighthouses. But Judd couldn’t stop them lighting up every night.”
“Wow, okay, so we had smugglers and wreckers here?” Thea asked, looking excited.
“Yes,” Mrs Penrose nodded. “The townspeople who’d been struggling began turning hostile towards the Jaspers. Other local rich landowners mainly looked the other way or were involved. Not the Jaspers. Their honesty became a disadvantage for them.”
“Let me guess, Judd killed the Jaspers?” Thea exclaimed, her eyes bright with excitement.
“Not quite. For forty years, Judd and Nicholas Jasper fought each other.
Judd escaped every time, but his followers were taken and hauls confiscated.
Other times, Nicholas missed the mark completely.
Both Judd and Nicholas had sons who also grew to hate each other.
Nicholas died in seventeen-eighty, and their heirs continued their work.
George Damerell was cruel but highly intelligent.
“Charles Jasper was his father reborn. Both George and Charles were born later in life and were in their thirties when they took over their legacies. It was instant war. Charles was far harsher in punishments and installed four men into the lighthouses who couldn’t be bribed to turn the protective lights off.
“One night, it escalated, and to this day, nobody knows what happened. Still, in seventeen-ninety-nine, the entire Damerell gang disappeared after terrifying the coastline, towns, and sailors for years.
“Jasper Manor burned down, and bodies were recovered belonging to Charles and his sons. His daughter remained, and by his will, inherited his fortune. Back then, women couldn’t inherit a title, although they could inherit the estate and other assets if they weren’t entailed.
The Jasper estate wasn’t. That’s the way it was back then.
The same night, as everything else, the four lighthouse keepers were also murdered. There wasn’t a single witness.”
“That’s a hell of a story!” Thea exclaimed.
Mrs Penrose nodded. “Indeed. But something else tragic happened. The lighthouse’s lanterns refused to work.
Subsequent keepers moved in and were out within a few weeks.
The lighthouses became known as haunted, and many have alleged to have seen the ghosts of the murdered victims. And since seventeen-ninety-nine, the lanterns haven’t worked. ”
Something struck me as off about that.
“So, we’re the first Jaspers to return to Penhaven ?” Thea asked, bemused by the story.
“Yes.”
“What aren’t you telling us?” I pressed. “Because I definitely saw a light last night.” Which caused me concern. How? Because it wasn’t electric.
“Last month, Christmas Day, all the lighthouses began working again. Their lights lit even though there’s nobody around to tend to them.
The four replacement lighthouses the county installed—kaput.
One collapsed on Boxing Day and is now a pile of rubble.
The second caught fire and burned down. The third partially disintegrated and needs to be pulled down, and the fourth fell into the sea,” Mrs Penrose stated.
I wanted to argue with that. “Coincidence.”
“The legend is that when four Jasper daughters return to the lighthouse, evils shall be corrected, and the dead might walk amongst the living.”
“Okay, that’s creepy,” Thea said, wrinkling her nose.
“You mentioned there were six of you? I bet four are female,” Mrs Penrose stated.
I glanced at Thea. “That means nothing!”
“Ships need these lighthouses. This land here possesses properties that interfere with radar. They can’t use that here. So, if they go down… a modern-day wrecker’s paradise,” Mrs Penrose said.
“Seriously. Wreckers exist today? I don’t believe that!” I exclaimed.
“Not in the way you’re thinking. But stealing from sunken ships? A huge business. And trust me, girls, there’s plenty around this coastline. The lighthouse lighting the sea will stop them robbing them in the dark,” Mrs Penrose explained.
“And are we unwelcome because of that? Because we’re stopping theft and desecration?” Thea exclaimed.
“Seems harsh,” I agreed.
“Locals here were raised on these legendary stories. They believe in them,” Mrs Penrose said.
“And you don’t?” Thea demanded
“Who says I don’t? Perhaps I don’t like the idea of punishing innocents for what happened in the past?”
Well, Mrs Penrose had given me something to consider. For the rest of the day, Thea and I worked our way through our lists, but my mind kept returning to Leafpoint and the stories about it. What had I inherited?