I
have been steeped in the stories about my ancestors since my birth.
They may have even seeped into me through the walls of the womb. Anna’s Secret is
a story I’ve heard many times from various people. The latest version
was from my Uncle Harold. He said that one of our own people was
suspected of the crime of murdering Anne Beaton with a turnip hoe. It
was said that she was no better than she should be and was doing a
little marital wandering with someone in the community. For a long time
the smithy was suspected. He was in custody for a period but was
finally exonerated and left Prince Edward Island for good. Ultimately
the authorities decided that the crime was perpetrated by a woman and
was in fact, a crime of passion. This last was pronounced with great
relish. They never found the person responsible. It seems that Anne
had greatly riled a wronged wife, and probably several.
The
story caught my imagination and I began to wonder: what if she wasn’t
who they thought she was? What if the reason for her murder was entirely
different? What if the murderer was discovered? Who would it be? Her
husband? The wronged woman? The man she was said to be involved
with? There was a lot to play with here. In a technical sense, how
close to reality could I be without offending descendents? Not too
close, I decided. Anyway, it’s more fun to write what pops into my mind
and see how it plays out.
As
I wrote, the narrative opened like a flower as I examined the
individuals who I decided were involved. Who were they? What
relationship did they hold to Anna and to her family and to each other?
How did Old Annie figure into it? After all she was a daft old woman
who had to be transported to gatherings in a wheelbarrow because she
couldn’t be left alone. Most of the time she didn’t know anyone and
lived in her mind very far in the past with people she knew in her
youth. What did she have to do with Anna’s murder? After all, she and
Anna had been life-long friends.
And
what did it do to the community? Their sense of safety was shattered
and people took to locking their doors, some even in the daytime. This
was in a community that never locked its doors even in my grandmother’s
time. I remember this from my childhood. The only time the door was
locked was if they were going to be away for an extended period because,
what if someone needed something and they weren’t home to give it to
them? I remember my own mother telling me a story about an old man who
peddled goods and trinkets door-to-door. He was a little simple as they
say here. They woke up one morning and discovered him asleep on the
lounge with a blazing fire in the stove. After the murder, people were
afraid to walk out alone at night.
As
the story progressed it took awhile for me to realize who the real
perpetrator was and the denouement was almost as much a surprise to me
as it will be to you.
Anna
Gillis, the midwife and neighbour in Mattie’s Story, has been found
killed. The close-knit community is deeply shaken by this eruption of
violence, and neighbours come together to help one another and to
discover the perpetrator. But the answer lies Anna’s secret, long
guarded by Old Annie, the last of the original Selkirk Settlers, and the
protagonist of An Irregular Marriage. Join the community! Read Anna’s
Secret and other novels by Margaret A. Westlie.
Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords
Genre – Fiction, mystery, historical
Rating – G
More details about the author
Website http://www.margaretwestlie.com
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