Chapter 3

Carolyn curled herself up in the sheets and lay her head on the soft pillows on the bed. She listened to the soothing sound of the wind outside as it gently rustling the leaves on the trees and she soon fell into sleep.

Almost immediately after, she felt a cool breeze on her skin, which she thought was rather strange because she distinctly remembered closing the windows before she'd gone to bed. So, she opened her eyes and found herself standing outside Gull Cottage on the front lawn.

The sky was still dark, lit with a thousand stars as well as a stunning full moon and all around her there were candles and hanging paper lanterns overhead. The garden itself was covered over with a wooden dance floor and there was a small band playing soothing, melodic music across from her. Aside from the band, Carolyn saw no one else and even they didn't so much as glance in her direction.

She caught sight of a white glove on her hand and looked down to see that her arms were covered in long, soft gloves and that she was wearing the most elegant blue gown. The skirt was long and wide and she was corseted as any respectable woman would have been in the last century. Her dress had short, puffed sleeves and it had a deep neckline that had no shoulders. The colour was stunning and the fabric flowed beautifully as she took a few steps across the garden, marvelling at the cool breeze on her skin and the scent of the flowers all around her.

"Good evening, madam," the captain said from behind her and Carolyn turned to face him.

He was standing there elegantly, wearing his dress uniform. There wasn't a button out of place or a spec of dust on the early Victorian suit. The gold epaulettes, the polished buttons and the gold bands on his sleeves caught the light beautifully. His decorate, ceremonial sword hung at his hip and the smile he gave her was enough to warm her heart.

"Captain," she smiled at him while he took her hand gently.

The hand holding hers felt so real, so solid even through both of their thin white gloves, it was hard to believe that it was merely a dream. She curled her fingers around his just to prove to herself that she could actually touch him without passing straight through him.

"Never fear, I am perfectly corporeal here," he said as though reading her mind or at least her expression of amazement. "At least until you wake in the morning," he added, dropping a light kiss to the back of her gloved hand. "And might I say, that your beauty would put sweet Helen of Troy to shame."

"Hopefully not enough to start a war," she replied.

"Don't disparage yourself, madam. If Helen's loveliness could ignite a war which lasted for a decade, then you, dear lady would plunge the world into at least a century of warfare."

Carolyn pursed her lip at his blatant exaggeration but she couldn't help but feel flattered. He really could be very eloquent and charming when he chose to be; even if he chose to use war or nautical metaphors.

"I'm sure it's entirely down to this beautiful dress you thought up," she said, swirling her skirts. "If all else fails, you could always open a shop as a dressmaker," she joked.

"I? A dress maker?! Bilge!" he scoffed. "Besides, a dress is only as enchanting as it's wearer. The fact that you are perfectly enchanting would ring true regardless of your choice in attire," he said.

"That's very sweet of you," Carolyn smiled, knowing full well that he hated to be called 'sweet'.

He pursed his lip at the word but managed to hold his tongue; a fact which almost made her laugh. "And while we're on the subject," she continued. "I have to say, you look quite enchanting too," she said, eyeing his officers' uniform with a smile. Of course, she'd rather not tell him that he looked quite dashing and she'd prefer that he wore it more often. His wasn't exactly an ego that needed too much of a boost although he had been quite charming thus far.

"Enchanting?" he grimaced with a dramatic shudder.

"Dashing, then and handsome, too," she relented quite easily and found that she didn't mind at all when he smiled.

"And how about 'magnificent'?" he said with a grin remembering her words when she'd seen his portrait for the first time.

"Yes, that too."

"Much more appropriate, madam," the captain said, placated.

"Of course."

"Now, you look entirely too lovely to be simply be standing around in a doldrum. Let us have a dance," he said and led her over to the wooden dance floor that was placed atop the front lawn.

They reached the centre of the floor and he turned to face her. She looked up into his eyes while he placed one hand at her waist and gently pulled her closer. She moved willingly and they were standing as close as they ever had except this time, she could feel him standing there. She could feel the tender hand at her waist and his other holding her own and she could feel his warm breath as he exhaled.

They began to move slowly, perfectly in sync with each other and to to the music that was being played across from them by the small band and the beauty of the garden seemed to fade away to nothing.

For a while, it could have been minutes or it could have been hours, for Carolyn was hardly paying attention, but during that time, neither one said anything further. They covered the length of the dance floor over and over, never tiring of the music or the dance.

It wasn't often she got the chance to dance like this anymore, and especially not with the captain, except when he had possessed Claymore of course, which he really shouldn't make a habit of doing.

For a dream it all felt so incredibly real, as it had when the captain had given them all his Christmas dream, even the breeze she felt on the back of her neck when her hair blew around her shoulders felt real.

"I've still no idea how you make dreams like this, but it was a lovely idea, thank you," she said, still looking up into his eyes.

"Madam, I would dance with you every night were I able," he assured her as he spun them around elegantly. "You dance beautifully and it appears to lighten your mood tremendously. You were rather despondent earlier and I'll not have sour faces aboard my ship," he added, mockingly.

"I was a little down," Carolyn whispered.

"And…this has helped you?"

"Oh, yes," she smiled.

"Good," he said, with a raised eyebrow as they swirled into a dizzying spin around the floor again. "Aside from being at sea, naturally, I rather do long to dance as though I were alive," he mused, "It's not nearly as appreciated now as it was in my time."

"Oh, I don't know," Carolyn replied, thoughtfully. "People still put a lot of pride in a good dance partner", she said.

"Then we are both quite fortunate," the captain said, proudly.

"Yes, me more than you I think. I may be a little out of practice."

"Nonsense," he insisted.

"My mother insisted when I was young that I practice every day. If she knew now that I hardly get the opportunity, she'd be a little put out," Carolyn said. "And I suppose, in your case, I'd have to thank the young lady…or ladies…who taught you to dance," she said, biting her lip.

Of course he'd made no secret of the fact that been been both a scoundrel and a ladies man, and even though she'd not even been alive at the time, as usual, Carolyn couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy towards those women that had been fortunate enough to know him in life.

"Is that a hint of jealousy, madam?" he chuckled, deeply. "You can lower your heckles, my dear, they're hardly warranted on this occasion. No, the lady question was not one of my paramours but my sainted aunt Eleanor," he said. "She was an excellent dancer and teacher. As well as a woman of high society and superb taste," he explained.

"Oh," Carolyn muttered, sheepishly.

"Though it did, of course prove to be a very useful skill throughout my life," he added, sounding smug.

"I'll bet," she scoffed.

"And if it puts a smile on your face, then I've all the more reason to thank my aunt for her troubles. I confess, I was not the most diligent of pupils when I was a boy."

"I bet you were a holy terror," Carolyn laughed.

"I was, indeed," he chuckled. "She used to tell me that I had the face of a cherub and the personality of the devil. I much preferred to be out of doors causing mischief and I traipsed mud through her prized Persian rugs more times than I care to admit when I returned from my 'adventures'. Of course, as I grew, I appreciated her tutelage far more, especially when I was old enough to appreciate the effects it had on the fairer sex. But as a young boy…no, I saw no appeal in her lessons."

"Hence why she is 'sainted' aunt Eleanor," Carolyn nodded in understanding.

"Quite."

"She sounds lovely."

"Oh, she was," he smiled. "You know, it was she who imparted on me an eternal love of the written word and of the power that words can achieve when spoken confidently and eloquently."

"We certainly have a lot to thank your aunt for," Carolyn said. It would be difficult to imagine him speaking without his usual confident eloquence when it came to his way with words.

"We do indeed," he smiled. "But, pray, what of you, madam? We're you a 'holy terror' of a child? Did you lead a merry dance for your exasperated parents and traipse mud through their floors while leading adventures through the jungle to find lost cities and undiscovered oceans?"

"No," she laughed, shaking her head. "No, I was a very good little girl," she assured him. "I did everything that I was supposed to. I didn't dare to disobey."

"Never?" he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Well…there were…a few boys I dated that they didn't approve of…which, of course, only made me 'love' them more," she said. "They weren't too happy about my career choice, mind…but they came around eventually. No…the one thing I did that I suppose they hated the most was…when I eloped with Bobby…" she said with a mournful sigh.

"I did not intend to cause you any distress," the captain said.

"You didn't, I just…it was a long time ago and…your never actually asked me about my marriage…have you?" she asked stopped their dance.

She stood gazing at him curiously. It took her a moment to remember that no, he hadn't ever asked her about her former husband. He, who pried his nose into everything, asked constant questions and gave constant advice, had never once asked her about her husband.

"It was no business of mine," he said after a moment.

"That's never stopped you before," she stated, not intending it at all as a chastising comment but more a statement of fact.

"True," he admitted and tugged at his ear, his usual nervous habit. "Oh, blast it all," he grimaced. "I once heard you and Martha gossiping about it in the galley…I hadn't intended to eavesdrop only…well, I didn't like what I heard. Your words did not paint a picture of a happy marriage and even I know when it is better to exercise the better part of valour."

"Thank you," Carolyn said, genuinely. "So…you aren't…curious at all?" she asked a moment later.

"I didn't say that," he protested. "However, I'm prepared to drop the matter entirely, and I'll add only this; any fool who is fortunate enough to marry you, and then make a muddle of things, deserves a fate far worse than I could deliver."

"It wasn't…all bad…" Carolyn admitted. "It started off quite well…"

"Madam, I really…"

"We met in college," she began. "He was training to be an architect, I was taking a worrying course. We fell in love or...I thought we did. He proposed in the middle of an orchid in summer...it was beautiful. For a while...things were okay. We were happy. But...then his career just seemed to decline entirely. Nothing went right for him and I was supporting the family with my writing even though he kept insisting that a 'woman shouldn't work'. But what choice did I have? It made him even more bitter that I could support us but he couldn't. I only found out years after we married that he wasn't a very good architect. He'd gotten himself into some trouble with a client and then I found out I was pregnant with Candy. He was furious..."

"He didn't harm you, did he?" the captain asked.

"No," she shook her head. "No, he didn't. He had affairs, but he never raised a hand to me. I only found out about his affairs after I had Candy. A friend told me…he was all over town like a dog in heat," she shook her head with teary eyes.

"The blaggard," he swore.

"His parents refused to believe it then and they still don't now. But I know he cheated. I saw him I told him I knew...I think the neighbours probably heard us arguing we were so loud. After a while he apologised and said he'd change. I don't know if I believed him or not but we had Candy to think about so...after a while we decided to make a clean go of it. A few years later we had Jonathan and everything seemed fine...till..."

"Please, do not tell me that he was unfaithful again?"

"I'm afraid he was," she sighed.

"Oh, my dear lady, he didn't deserve you," the captain tried to console her.

"We were in the middle of the divorce when he...he was drunk...again...and he was driving. He crashed and...he died a few days later."

"Madam, you need not..."

"The worst part was..." Carolyn continued and let out a rueful scoff. "I couldn't even cry for him. I used to love him so much, or at least I thought I did. Now I don't even know for sure if it was him or if it was the idea of being in love that I loved," she said. "I never told the kids about...about any of it. Candy barely knew him as it was and Jonathan never even met him and as much as he hurt me...he's still their father."

"He was a fool," the ghost hissed. "I searched the globe several times over for a woman like you and he simply...the blaggard," he thundered, "You deserved far better than the likes of such a spineless cad, my dear, and so did the children."

"Thanks," she sniffed. "His parents still refuse to believe it. In fact they won't even talk about it. They're good people, they really are but…well, they just refuse to believe that their son could do anything so…He was their only son, you see, and I guess in their eyes, especially now he's dead, he just can't do any wrong."

"It is fortunate for him that he is not on my side of the veil," the captain muttered. "I would unleash such hell upon him that even the devil himself would be unable to protect him."

"You know, I think I might have let you, too," she said.

The captain sighed and gently squeezed her hand in his. "I promised you calm seas and we seem to have drifted into a squall, dear lady," the captain said. He was still holding her hand and he took a step closer to her. "Do forgive me," he said.

She gave a slight nod and looked back over at the dance floor. "Shall we…" she said.

"Of course," the captain said and they began a slow waltz again. "On behalf of my gender, madam, I can only offer an apology for the blaggards' behaviour and my solemn oath that no man, living or dead, will ever treat you so callously again. Not while I exist."

"Thank you. I'd like to think I know better than to trust anyone who doesn't respect me enough to stay faithful, at least now, but I suppose none of us really know what people are doing at all hours of the day...And thank you…for believing me," she said. It had hurt at the time that her in laws hadn't believed a word she'd said; even with proof they'd vehemently denied it all. So the fact that a man she'd known for only two years could trust her enough to believe her while her in laws, whom she had known for much longer, could not, was a great relief to her.

"Anyone with half a brain could see that you are sincere," he assured her, whirling them around in an elegant turn. "And anyone who truly knows you, has no right or reason to doubt your sincerity."

She smiled, gratefully at him. "It is infinitely more preferable to see you smile," he said, warmly when she smiled. "And to that end, I have just the tale for you," he added.

"And what 'take' is that?"

"It's rather an amusing story," he assured her. "I promise you. It earned raucous laughter in every port from here to Belfast."

"Well, that's quite a review," she remarked.

"And all perfectly true, I assure you."

"Alright, what's the story?" she relented.

"Ah, now, it was 1853," he began. "I was sailing around the Caribbean when a monstrous squall blew us off course and we ran aground upon a small, uninhabited island. It was a miserable spec of land around the size this town, littered with palm trees and such.

It was sat amidst shark infested waters and there wasn't another island for miles. Truly not a place anyone would wish to be stranded, but alas we had no choice but to wait for calmer waters before we would shove off. When the squall passed, we patched up the ship enough to get us to port but during our brief stay on that island, we found an old pirate. Indeed, a pirate," he said. "He claimed his name was Old Pete and that he and his wife had been marooned on that god forsaken spit of land for five years."

"Old Pete the pirate and his wife?" Carolyn repeated, not quite certain if he was telling the truth.

"Yes," he nodded. "You see…he wasn't exactly a very profitable pirate, thus, his crew marooned him. I don't know if his mind was addled before or rather that, but at any rate, when we happened upon him, he was quite, irrevocably mad. Certainly his wife was not what we expected."

"Why?"

"Because his wife was a seal, madam," he said, perfectly seriously.

"…A seal?" she scoffed.

"Yes, a seal, a great fat seal it was too. Perfectly well trained, at least, I'll say that for the beast."

"The pirate…married a seal?" she blinked and then laughed.

"The pirate married a seal. Aye. Isn't it glorious?" he giggled as happily as a naughty child. "I was all for leaving them there, but my better natured prevailed and I took them both, man and seal-wife aboard my ship. When we docked at Port Royal I delivered them both to the authorities and I left. I had no thought of ever seeing their pair of them again. However, several years later I found myself beneath the warm Caribbean sun again and who should I find to be running a tavern?"

"No? Really?" Carolyn stopped dancing and stared up at him, stunned.

"Aye, really. Old Pete the former pirate had retired from his former life, bribed the officials into releasing him, though I've no idea how, and he had opened the finest establishment in town…him and his wife," he laughed. "That wife of his even balanced a silver tray atop its whiskered nose ladened with drink!" he laughed and she did the same. The image of a seal delivering drinks to thirsty men of the sea was simply too funny to ignore.

"And…what did…what did he call the tavern"? she asked through her laughter.

"The Roving Seal-er," he declared and she laughed again.

"Alright, you were right…that is a funny story," she giggled. "It's ridiculous," she breathed, still laughing, "The Roving Seal-er…really…"

"Quite a clever title for a mad man, I'll admit," the captain said, "And that seal did bring in the crowds. So perhaps he wasn't quite so addled after all."

Carolyn's laughter quietened a little bit but she was still smiling and occasionally letting out a quiet giggle. She leaned over a little and rested her hand on his chest to prop herself up, hardly thinking about it until she felt his solid form under her palm.

She stood straight and lifted her hand from his chest, apologetic. "I'm sorry, I…" she said.

"Don't apologise, madam," the captain said, quickly. He took her hand, which was still hovering just between them, and brought it back to rest over his heart with his hand covering hers. "I am not at all remorseful, so why should you be?"

"Then, I take it back. I'm not sorry," Carolyn said after a moment. She splayed the fingers of her hand against him and she could swear that she could actually feel his heart beating.

"Good," he declared, happily. Then, slowly, be brought her closer and drew her into his arms. He wound one around the small of her back and the other cradled the back of her head, where he ran it carefully through her now long blonde curls.

Carolyn let out a deep, shuddering sigh and rested her cheek against him, mindful of the row of good buttons than ran down the centre of his jacket. Her small, gloved hands came to rest on his broad back and settled gladly into his arms.

"I mean it as no joke, my dear, that I've dreamed about holding you like this for some time," he said, quietly. "It just doesn't seem right or fair, to torment us both with things that cannot be. I cannot give you now what I could have given you in life…" he trailed off.

"This is enough," she whispered, her voice muffled against him.

"Is it?" the captain said, unconvinced. He felt her nod and she ever so slightly, tightened her arms around him.

The music that had been playing had stopped some time ago but neither of them had noticed. They were lost in a small world of their own, wrapped in each others arms, standing in the gently lit garden under the nights' sky,

"Why can't we do this more often?" Carolyn finally asked.

"What? Touch?" he asked, "Carolyn, I would if I could."

"I mean…in my dreams. At least then we'd…"

"It's not quite so easy as I make it look, I'm afraid, otherwise that would be a sound suggestion. It's quite taxing on my abilities, really," he admitted. "I don't know that I could manage it every night. I'm certainly one of few spirits that can manage it at all. I am a super spirit, you know," he said.

"You're also a 'super' dancer," Carolyn replied, smiling against him.

"You don't deny that I am a super spirit?" he joked.

"I wouldn't dream of it," she retorted and she felt the rumble of his laughter through his chest.

Carolyn would have been happy to spend the remainder of the night standing there with him, but a cold, biting wind suddenly blew and she shivered. She opened her eyes and looked around, as much as she could without leaving the warm embrace of Daniel's string arms.

When she caught a glimpse of the garden around them, Carolyn saw that everything seemed to be blurred, smudged almost like running paint. It was an eerie sight and it looked rather frightening. Even the floor beneath her feet seemed to be fading away.

"What's happening?" she asked, confused.

"You are waking up," he answered her calmly. "I cannot maintain a dream if you are waking," he explained.

"But it's still the middle of the night!" she protested.

"No, it is morning," the captain informed her. "Time in dreams passes rather differently than in the waking world."

"But I…don't want to…" she began to say, and curled herself back around him much more tightly. "It wasn't just a dream, was it?" Carolyn demanded. "You're really here, and so am I…aren't I?"

"It was a dream," he said, calmly. "But it was a shared dream. For all intents and purposes, it was real," he assured her and she relaxed a little. He dropped a tender kiss to the top of her forehead and cupped her cheek with his hand. "Close your eyes, Carolyn," he said.

"Mrs. Muir…Mrs. Muir! Carolyn!" Martha practically shouted and gently shook the younger woman awake. In her dream, her arms were wound around Daniel, but now that she woke, she found that she was tightly hugging one of her pillows.

"Hmmmm," Carolyn mumbled and blearily blinked open here eyes. "…Martha…what time is it?" she mumbled and ran a hand through her hair.

"Long past time you got out of bed. You slept right through your alarm," the older woman told her.

"Oh, I was having the most wonderful dream," Carolyn yawned.

"Did we win the lottery?"

"…No," she replied, confused.

"Then it obviously wasn't such a 'wonderful' dream. The car's acting up and the kids are carpooling to school again. Oh, and the washing machine is looks about ready to mutiny as well," Martha told her. "Listen to me, two years in this place and now I sound like an old salt," she scoffed.

"Great," Carolyn sighed. "Just what we need right now, more bills."

"We all knew it was on its last legs."

"The car or the washing machine?"

"Both," Martha clarified.

Carolyn grumbled and tossed her head back onto the pillows again.

"Don't go back to sleep. There's plenty to do and you need to write."

"Good morning, ladies," the captain appeared standing a short distance away from the bed.

"Try telling her that," Martha said, pointing to Carolyn. "Sleepy head here didn't want to wake up."

"No," the captain smiled. "I don't imagine that she did," he said.

A loud rumbling noise from downstairs startled then all and Martha threw up her hands in frustration. "If that's the washing machine exploding…" she hurried off.

Martha left the room in such a hurry that she didn't notice the warm, tender glance of understanding that passed between Carolyn and the captain.

"Good morning, Carolyn," he said.

"Good morning, Daniel," she replied, just as tenderly.

"So…" he drawled "A wonderful dream, was it?"

"A very wonderful dream," Carolyn said without a trace of sarcasm.

"Good…"

"Mom! Mom!" they heard the children shout from downstairs. "It's flooding! The washing machine's flooding the kitchen!"

"Man the lifeboats!" Jonathan called out and Carolyn couldn't help but laugh a little.

"It would appear as though the ship has sprung a leak," the captain said with an expression of disapproval. "With most the inconvenient, blasted timing," he hissed.

"Well, we're not sunk yet," Carolyn assured him and threw off the covers and stood up from the bed.

"Calm your battle cries, madam," he told her with a raised hand. "I shall handle this. Granted, I cannot repair one of your ridiculous modern appliances…"

"My appliances? I didn't invent them!"

"But I can at least bail out the water and save this ship."

"And I'll have you know that the washing machine is one of the best inventions of this century. There's not a person alive today who won't swear by it," she insisted.

"Well, my century seemed to manage perfectly well with it…and without all of your other modern amenities, too ."

"I don't suppose you ever had to do laundry though, did you? You're a man," she remarked and he pursed his lip.

"Yes, thank you for noticing," he said sarcastically. "And of course I did not. Laundering is a task for a woman," he insisted.

"It was a very labour intensive task in your day. Hardly something you'd call 'womens' work'," Carolyn scoffed.

"And having these machines flood my ship, leaving women and children to bail us out, is hardly a suitable alternative."

"I have far too much to do in to spend an entire day…or more…on the laundry. I have to work, otherwise we don't have any money. And now I have to work even more to pay for a plumber to come and fix the washing machine," she sighed. She picked up her dressing gown and threw it around her shoulders. "As lovely as that dream was last night, unfortunately, now everything's back to normal…and by that, I mean, everything's breaking and here I am with no money to repair it," Ah said.

"Unfurrow that lovely brow, madam," he commanded. "You shall have the means to repair this machine of yours. Call the publishing company in Boston and inform them that that we shall begin work on the book at once and you will accept the advance," he said.

"Yes…that'll tide us over for a while," Carolyn agreed. "Unless everything else decides to mutiny as well," she added.

"One problem at a time."

"Mom!" Candy cried out from downstairs. "Scruffy's floating away down the garden!" she yelled. "Come back, Scruffy!" she yelled.

"The dog can swim…can he not?" the captain asked.

"Oh…blast," Carolyn grumbled.

"Never fear, I shall bail out the galley," he assured her and then he vanished.

"I really did prefer the dream. Nothing broke down there," she mumbled and began to hastily get dressed for the day.

A.N I dance at least three times a week and I just love ballroom dancing. The scenes in the show where they actually get to dance together, which isn't nearly enough in my opinion, are some of my favourites. So, there will be a lot more dancing in this story :)

And thank you to everyone who reviews and liked the story so far. I'm so glad you're enjoying it.