Quiet. That was all he wanted. After so many years of noise and bustle in the Navy, after the sobs and screams of prison, and the yelling matches that tore at his vocal chords in his destroyed marriage, this was the quiet he wanted.

John Bates looked up at the lighthouse, barely listening the deep growl of the man next to him retiring from his position at the lighthouse. He nodded in all the right places, taking his cues from the side of gaze when the man looked at him, but his focus was on the tall, white building standing solitary sentinel on the cliff face.

The man led him inside and John kept pace, wincing occasionally as his knee groaned. The ground floor was nothing especially fancy, though the man's wife was pleasant as she insisted they take a minute for tea. Her Scottish brogue touched a bit at John's heart strings and he sat down before his tour guide had a moment to object on the grounds, "upsetting the order of things."

"Mr. Carson always objects to anything that could upset his day." The woman smiled at John and he returned it over the edge of the teacup.

"I usually do too but my mother taught me to be polite and never turn down an offered kindness." He took another sip, "Though my grandmother would've approved of this china."

"My grandmother bought it and gave it to my mother." The woman sighed at the cup, "Always thought it should represent the family."

"Tradition is important." Mr. Carson still stood, holding the ends of his jacket sleeves in his hands as his arms swung in time with the slight rise he took every few seconds onto the balls of his feet. "We uphold a noble tradition here at this lighthouse and I would hate for anyone to destroy that."

"Oh for heaven's sake the man's been here less than five minutes and already you talk as though he'll bring the house down in a day." The woman sighed, shaking her head and John just took another sip of his tea. "You think the world would end because we're moving just down the coast."

"And who says it won't Mrs. Hughes?"

"I do and so does he." She stood, pointing at John, "I'm sure a man who knows his china is more than prepared for the finer details of caring for a house like this."

"My grandfather worked in a lighthouse when I was a boy." John put down his cup and stood as well, though his knee complained and he tried to hide the wince with a twitch of his mouth.

Mrs. Hughes, however, caught it. "Are you sure you'll be alright to manage all those steps and ladders?"

"I'll manage." He smiled at her and pointed to the stairs, "Might you give me the grand tour?"

"Absolutely and Mr. Carson will go wait for you up by the light." Mrs. Hughes, with her husband's mouth agape, led John about the lower level sitting room, wash room, and the adjoining office they added in their tenure.

"Mr. Carson used to do all the ledger work on the kitchen table until I put my foot down. We requested an additional office and meeting room for the efficient running of the lighthouse and the Council agreed. Though I doubt they would've if Mr. Carson didn't have the support of the Crawleys."

"The who?" John stopped, one of the pages in his hand falling back to the ledger as he flicked quickly through its contents to get a sense of how the system Mr. Carson assembled worked.

"The Crawleys own several of the fisheries up and down the coast. Mr. Carson used to work as one of their managers until he decided he wanted a quieter life. They respected him so much they lobbied for the position and won it for him. He owes them everything and with all the good work he did they owe him the safe return of half their fleet. Especially after the hurricane a few years ago." Mrs. Hughes sighed again as she looked around the office. "It does look nice. Though it may need a bit of paint."

"I'm not opposed to a bit of hard labor myself." John took stock of the walls, "But I agree, it may need paint."

"Just get your list to Mr. Mosely. He handles all the buying for the lighthouse and manages the grounds."

"Keeps me focused on saving the ships then?" John smiled and waved with his hand so Mrs. Hughes could exit the office first and start up the stairs.

"Exactly that. It's why I was brought on as housekeeper."

"After Mr. Carson?"

"Oh no, long before him. I worked in this lighthouse since I moved from home. I managed it better than I did my own place."

"Until it became your place." John noted and Mrs. Hughes gave me a look.

"You've got a bit of cheek to you Mr. Bates."

"The touch of the Blarney. One of my mother's gifts to me. It goes well with my delicate Irish complexion." John examined the second floor, looking in on the two bedrooms, another washroom, and a smaller sitting room.

"As long as you can bare to talk to yourself. It does get a tad lonely here, make no mistake on that." Mrs. Hughes continued up the stairs, winding tighter as the lighthouse tucked toward the top.

"Part of the appeal of the position." John looked into the last lavatory, the smallest bedroom yet, and a tiny office. "Did Mr. Carson not want this space for his work."

"This was where he did it before he wanted to gain my attentions. I cooked for him occasionally, when the cook was on holiday or ill."

"And that's when he fell in love with you?" Joh smiled to himself as Mrs. Hughes blushed a bit.

"I prefer to think of it as a meeting of two like minds in the twilight of life." She pointed to the ladder. "Mr. Carson will be waiting up there for me."

"You're not coming?"

"No," She waved her hand, "I'm not a fan of the height for a start and second Mr. Carson is very particular that the only person allowed near the light itself are those trained to use it."

"Tradition or it all falls apart then?" John grabbed the ladder and started up.

"Exactly that. I'll see you when you come back down Mr. Bates."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hughes."

John finished his climb to the top of the lighthouse and took a moment for his breath to return. Partly because of the climb up the stairs and the ladder. The other part was the view.

He knew what waited at the top of a lighthouse. He knew the ocean almost as well as he knew himself. That was what the Navy did for a man. But this, looking out with unfettered access and without the risk of a superior officer shouting about wasting time. John took a deep breath and felt to his bones that he'd made the right decision.

"If you're quite done Mr. Bates I believe we have some particulars to go over before I can hand over the care of this lighthouse to you."

"Absolutely Mr. Carson. I am ready."

Mr. Carson brought his mouth up as he looked John over with what might be disapproval, "We'll see."