Chapter Thirty

That Blasted Bearskin Rug…

When Daniel returned to their bedroom, he knew he would find Carolyn asleep. Even as he was giving his orders to Applegate, he'd felt the soft waves of emotions washing through her.

The sensation of her dreaming happiness made him smile. The tension he had felt in her had finally lessened, though there was still a faint, lingering undercurrent of unease he could not pin down to any specific cause. It worried him, causing the crease between his eyebrows to deepen with concern.

But, for now, his wife was curled on her side with her cheek resting on her hand like a child. From the soft smile on her lips, he knew she was still dreaming. He felt grateful the emotional tension of the last few days had eased from her expression.

He didn't wish to awaken her from her slumber but he had no choice. He sat down on the side of the bed, resting his hand on her upturned shoulder, rocking her gently awake.

Carolyn turned over, stretching and opening her eyes dreamily. "You weren't gone too long."

"I was away longer than you think. You were asleep and dreaming, my love," Daniel stated simply.

"I… how did you know?" Carolyn pushed the fall of her hair from her face with one hand.

"Because I felt it. Every one of your emotions was reflected back to me." Daniel sighed. "It was a very beautiful dream…"

"Yes…" Carolyn nodded slowly. "It was more than beautiful. It was heaven… I never wanted it to end. Waltzing with you in the moonlight…"

"Ah yes, but our dream is now our reality," Daniel pointed out softly. "We no longer have the need of such wishful thinking."

"Yes, I know that, but…" Carolyn shook her head and smiled. "You do waltz so beautifully."

"You may waltz with me any time, you know that, my love."

"I would enjoy that," Carolyn sat up, wrapping her arms around her upraised knees. She frowned. "You're troubled. I can see it in your eyes. What is it? Who was down in the garden?"

"Seaman Applegate and his disdainful cat," Daniel replied shortly. "It seems we have an unwanted intruder out at the Spirit Island camp. Applegate came to warn us and get my instructions on what to do. He has gone back to keep a close watch."

"An intruder at this time of year? What did you tell him to do?" Carolyn pushed back the bedclothes and reached for her night dress and gown. "What are we going to do about it?"

"Nothing for now on both counts…" Daniel put a restraining hand on her arm. "Carolyn, I have to tell you. The intruder is that blasted Paul Wilkie. It seems he is on a new mission to find the proof for his research into the existence of ghosts. And he will break in and trespass to do it."

"Wilkie…?" She looked stunned. "How and why? What could he possibly want now?"

"The same as last time, I would think." Daniel shrugged, letting her go as they both stood up. "He wants to prove his theories about ghostly apparitions. He is not a man easily swayed from his course. It seems he'd heard the rumours about the camp and decided to go snooping when no one would be around. That place is only for the hardiest of folks in the winter."

He shook his head. "We can only hope he is extremely uncomfortable and lonely. If we leave him alone long enough, he may go away of his own accord. I have sent a plague of rats to disturb his rest."

"He told me he'd devoted his life to the study of the spirit world." Carolyn sighed roughly. "He said I was looking at a man with a cause. He'd been trying to expand his department of parapsychology at the university. Except no one took him seriously."

"I doubt they do now after we discredited him. But the man is like a starving dog with a confounded bone. Claymore told me the man telephoned on Christmas Eve demanding his permission to visit the camp. He told the man he no longer owned the property. Wilkie seems to have taken that as his permission to invade."

"Why didn't you tell me about it then?" Carolyn worried. "Applegate is no match for that man."

"I did not wish to spoil your Christmas," Daniel replied. "I can deal with the likes of Wilkie. You had enough to concern yourself with your parents' intrusion. If we do not disturb Wilkie he will go away on his own if there is nothing to hold his attention. He cannot sit out there all winter."

"Well, now I am worried. Harriet we can manage to manipulate…" Carolyn went to comb and tidy her hair in the mirror. "Wilkie is a man on a mission to prove there are things that really do go bump in the night. And to go to the trouble of looking around an isolated camp in the middle of winter. He could catch his death from the cold out there."

"I doubt we would be that lucky." Daniel laughed mirthlessly. "Wilkie is another irritant that must be dealt with as we did Mitford if he becomes too intrusive."

He lifted his shoulders. "Before the rest of the world finds us unprepared and decides to come pushing its confounded nose back into our family business."

"Our family business…" Carolyn turned to him, reaching her arms around his waist and giving him a quick hug before kissing his cheek. "I do like the sound of that…" She trailed off with a sudden frown.

"What is it?" Daniel leaned back to look down at her with swift disquiet. "We have found our peace and yet you are still not yourself. You look too pale for my liking."

"It must have been last night's dinner of Martha's red flannel hash…" His wife shrugged. "I'm suddenly feeling a little queasy…"

Daniel became full of worried concern. "Rest…" He urged her back toward the bed. "You must lie down and go back to sleep. Martha and I will take care of the children. You have been doing too much and it's finally caught up with you. Wilkie will wait a few more days. Do him good to freeze out there."

"I don't know if it's quite as bad as my needing to go back to bed." Carolyn managed a sketchy laugh, her gaze turning inwards. "I'm sorry. But if I didn't know better, I could almost swear—"

She shook her head as she swallowed tightly, pressing the back of the hand to her mouth. "No, never mind. I'll be fine. Maybe I do need to lie down for a while."

"I won't hear of anything else," Daniel replied firmly, escorting her back to bed with an insistent hand on the small of her back. "Are you sure you're not coming down with something? When I cast my mind back, you haven't seemed yourself since before Christmas."

"No, no, I'm sure it was just a little too much hash," Carolyn decided firmly, not giving voice to her deeper thoughts about the possible cause of her sudden stomach upset. "I don't know when to say no. It's always so delicious."

"But you hardly ate any last night," Daniel pointed out, pulling the covers up to her chin and tucking them in. "Is there anything you need? Anything I can get for you?"

"No, thank you…" Carolyn stared up at him with considering eyes. "But you could send Martha up to me when she's free. I need to talk to her."

"Very well…" Daniel huffed, straightening up. "But I do not see why you cannot tell me whatever it is that's obviously on your mind. I may have just the remedy."

"Thank you, but I need Martha," Carolyn insisted stubbornly with a determined smile. "Certainly not a glass of your infamous golden willow bark elixir."

"I see…" Daniel turned away toward the door. "I still cannot see why I am to be excluded," he grumbled as he went out, closing the door behind him with a snap.

"Because as much as I love you, you're also a man…" Carolyn frowned with a deep, gusty sigh. "And what I think may be happening here is the most wonderful and incredible news possible. And I have no idea how I'm going to even begin to tell you…"

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Half an hour later, Martha opened the door and looked in. "The Captain said you're not feeling well. That you needed me."

She walked into the room. "Something about my flannel hash upsetting your stomach." She looked concerned and a little miffed by the accusation. "I will say you are looking a little too pale. I said you've been overdoing it lately."

"I had to say something to him…" Carolyn pushed herself up against her pillows. "Where is the Captain now?"

"Downstairs with the children, getting them ready to go outside and build a snowman. He looked none too pleased with the turn of events. He thinks you're hiding something from him but you won't tell him what it is."

"He's feeling left out." Carolyn shrugged. "I'm afraid I can't help it. I needed to talk to you first."

"To complain about the quality of my hash?" Martha seated herself on the side of the bed, leaning forward to put the back of her left hand against Carolyn's forehead. "You're looking a bit off-colour, but you're not running a fever. Maybe you're just a bit run down from running yourself ragged while your parents were here. I'll go down and whip up a tonic that'll have you as right as rain in no time."

"Your hash isn't to blame…" Carolyn took the housekeeper's hand, trying to assemble her tumbling thoughts. "And I don't need a tonic."

"Then what is?" Martha frowned at her. "Have you had some bad news? Surely you're not worrying about Owen Mitford. He's had it coming for years and then some. His kind always survives."

"No…" Carolyn sighed. "I couldn't care less what happens to that man. But I'm not at all sure it isn't just in my mind." She released her grip on Martha's hand.

She spread her hands wide in defeat before allowing them to fall back onto the covers. "After all, he is still a ghost at times… I mean, could he? Could we? Is it even possible?"

"You're being very cryptic," Martha replied, in confusion. "What's with you this morning?"

Carolyn shook her head. "Maybe you and Daniel are right, after all. The pressures of having my parents here and all that has transpired because of them. Owen being arrested. It's all taken its toll. And yet…"

"Ah, ha…" Martha replied sceptically. "But you have other ideas."

"Yes…" Carolyn finally nodded after a long silence. She drew a long, steadying sigh, releasing it gustily. She laid a protective hand over her abdomen, her confused gaze pleading for her good friend's understanding.

"I don't see…" Martha began and then stopped as her eyes widened and she looked down sharply at Carolyn's resting hand. "Oh… oh, but I do see…"

"Yes…" Carolyn sighed, trying not to cry.

The housekeeper put one hand over her open mouth. "Oh, my dear. That is the most marvellous news possible…"

She stood up to bend in, giving her friend a long, warm, comforting hug. "It'll be all right," she said. "I'm sure it will all be fine. It has to be, doesn't it? I mean, he would never let anything bad happen to you. Not now, not ever."

Carolyn welcomed her warmth and understanding. "Yes, I'm sure it will be. It has to be. But, Martha, how am I going to begin to tell him my incredible news?"

"I guess you can only start at the beginning," Martha supplied, sitting back to pull a handkerchief from her apron pocket and wipe the tears from her eyes. "There is no better place to start. Not with news like this. Oh, my dear, I could not be happier…"

"Thank you, for everything…" Carolyn hugged her again. "The news is truly wonderful, but I—"

"What's truly wonderful?" a masculine voice asked from the open doorway. "I have brought you a cup of tea, my dear. In my experience, there's always trouble when two women get their heads together and start whispering their secrets. A man cannot feel safe in his own house."

"Oh, dear…" Carolyn glanced past Martha's shoulder to her husband. He looked none too happy, watching their interaction closely.

"Don't be so suspicious," Martha instructed, getting to her feet and turning to him. "And stop scowling at me like that. It might be something you want to hear."

She turned back to give Carolyn an encouraging smile and a small squeeze on her shoulder. "I'll be downstairs with the children if you need me. It will be all right, I promise."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Carolyn reassured her, watching her good friend leave the room, closing the door softly behind her.

"Am I allowed to be a party to this truly wonderful news?" Daniel advanced to the bed, placing the cup of tea down on the bedside table. "Or is it only for you two women to know?"

"Don't look so miffed," Carolyn retorted softly, taking his hand to draw him down to sit beside her. "Women are allowed some secrets, just as you men are."

Daniel shook his head. "In the last hundred or so years, I have learned to my cost that women's secrets, if not handled correctly, have a tendency to blow up in your face. Men's issues are much more direct and easier resolved."

"Direct is good…" Carolyn toyed with his long fingers, counting them off silently one by one until she reached the number six.

Her husband frowned down at her, seeing her concentration as she began to count again. "What is it, my love, that you are finding so difficult to say? I would know because I detest not knowing."

He closed his hand over hers. "Have I done something to wound or offend you in some way? I wish you would tell me what it is that I have done so I am remedying the situation. You found it easy enough to confide in Martha."

"It is not so much what you have done…" Carolyn replied slowly. "It is more a matter of what you have inadvertently created."

"Created…" Daniel looked all at sea and more than a little annoyed. "You make no sense, Madam. I wish you would just tell me instead of talking in such riddles. Whatever it is I can fix it."

"Somehow I doubt that…" Carolyn smiled tremulously. "Very well. We are going to need to get married in the human world sooner than we had planned. A lot sooner."

"Sooner?" Daniel frowned. "Why? I thought we had settled on a long engagement. Your parents were happy enough with that. It gives us time to plan and make everything ship shape and watertight."

"My parents are the least of our worries…" Carolyn looked up. "It is you that I am concerned for. How you will take the news I have to tell you."

"If you do not tell me soon, I may not be responsible for my actions!" Daniel told her hardly, his eyes full of frustrated concern. "Please, just tell me…"

Carolyn reached to take both his hands on hers, resisting his attempts to pull away. "That time I dreamed of us waltzing together you said we could have no more wishes. That everything we have ever desired has already come true. We couldn't ask for more. It would not be possible…"

"I did say that and I meant it." Daniel shrugged. "But then your parents forced their way aboard our ship and blew away all we had planned. But my words still stand. We must be grateful for what we have now and not ask for anything more beyond their final acceptance that I am to be the only man in your life."

"I'm afraid it's a little too late for that now."

"Carolyn…" Daniel said warningly. "Tell me what your news is right now. I command it."

"Yes, Captain…" His wife smiled at him with the most beatific smile he had ever seen. "You and I… We are going to have a child…"

Daniel froze as he stared at her, completely lost for words. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing issued forth. He finally closed his lips, shaking his head.

"Are you all right?" Carolyn asked anxiously, seeing his handsome face go completely pale beneath his deep tan.

"All right…?" he finally managed croakily. "I have never been more right in my entire existence." His gaze narrowed onto her abdomen. "I… But, how is it even possible? Do you know the how and the when of such a momentous event?"

"The how we already know only too well," Carolyn offered gently, placing her palm against his cheek. "I rather think that time we spent together out at the camp had something to do with the when. I think the timeframe fits."

"That blasted bearskin rug…" Daniel gave a short, disbelieving laugh, running a hand up and around the back of his neck. "Are you sure? I mean, aren't there some kind of tests that need to be performed?"

He sat up quickly, pulling away from her. "A doctor! You must see one immediately! I will telephone him now!"

He stopped, his expression filling with confusion. "What if it's a false alarm? What if it was the hash, after all?"

"Oh, Daniel, come here…" Carolyn recaptured his hands and brought him back down to her. "And say what to him? Come out and see my wife? She is sure she's pregnant. That would set all the tongues in town wagging overtime."

"Something like that…" Daniel swallowed tightly. "Isn't that how these things are supposed to work? I have no experience, but…"

He spread his hands in confusion. "If anything should happen to you because of my deeply selfish need to be with you in that way…" His face was hollowed with fresh fear.

"Oh, my love, yes and no…" Carolyn started laughing gently with relief. "But you forget I have already borne two children. I think I should know the signs by now. In all the rush and confusion of my parents being here and the revelation of your existence pushed it all into the back of my mind. And if you were selfish, then so was I. Now we will face the consequences, together. Whatever they are."

She looked down with a small frown. "But already I can tell that this child is going to be different."

"Different?" Daniel straightened in alarm. "How different? What do you feel?"

"Just different…" Carolyn attempted to settle his state of confused agitation. "I'm sorry, but all babies are different. Jonathan was different from Candy. I'm sure your mother had ideas about you before you were born."

She took his forearm between her hands bringing him closer again. "Maybe it's because this baby's father is also different."

"That is what alarms me most of all," Daniel told her honestly. "I am not… I could never be… I mean, maybe I am not truly father material…"

He gesticulated his true meaning with a frustrated wave of his hand. "Lately I have begun to feel different too. I have known changes, things shifting within me ever since we first went out to the island. It seems Lucifer's boon has yet to find its true boundaries. I truly had no idea what to expect. I never dreamed…"

"And you didn't want to tell me for fear of worrying me?"

"I didn't wish to alarm you. I was deeply concerned I may be becoming something less rather than more. I could not bear that if it was to be so. Not now…"

"Well, whatever it is, you are more than man enough it seems," Carolyn replied gently. "I had not given such possibilities any thought."

"Nor did I." Daniel leaned forward to gather her against his heart, holding her tightly. "I will tell you that whatever happens, whatever comes…"

He sighed, pressing a kiss into her hair. "Know that I will love you until the end of time and beyond…"

"As I will always love you…" Carolyn nestled closer against the sure and steady beat of his great heart. "And whatever happens, we will face it together. But, first of all, we have an urgent wedding we are going to need to plan."

"Your parents have only just left us…" Daniel groaned into her hair. "How are we going to explain the sudden urgency to them?"

"I really think it's best that we don't tell them anything." Carolyn sighed. "I know they will be hurt, but it cannot be helped. It will be better left until after the ceremony. Claymore can marry us as he did Harvey and Gladys Dillman. You said you can take care of the required paperwork."

"Yes, of course…" Daniel sat back to hold her by the shoulders, looking down into her face. "If you think that is for the best then that is how it shall be. I will talk to Lucius and then go and see Claymore. The three of us will arrange everything. Claymore will be made to work for his treasure this time."

He shook his head slowly, sighing deeply. "A baby… It still does not seem possible…" His blue eyes filled with confusion once more.

"We loved…" Carolyn took one of his hands and kissed his open palm. "Somehow, somewhere, it became possible. Against all the odds, against everything you believed about yourself and your altered existence. But none of that matters now. There is only us and our little family and what we have, together."

"Yes…" Daniel nodded. "Together, we have everything we could ever need. But, still…"

He shook his head with a long, troubled sigh. "Loving with you brought us to this unbelievable place. I truly could not bear it if anything happened to you because of my careless actions. I do wish you would consent to see a doctor if only to confirm all is well with you and the babe. I cannot rest easy, not knowing."

"If there was any carelessness then it was on both our parts," Carolyn tried to reassure him. "This is the twentieth-century, Daniel. Women can make their own choices."

She shook her head. "But to ease your mind, once all is set in place and you have become real in the eyes of the human world, then I will certainly make an appointment to go and see Dr Ferguson as your wife. Then you can even come with me if you want."

"Ferguson? That young pill-rolling peep!" Daniel's brow creased. "Why, the ink is barely dry on his qualifications. I will not countenance it."

He stopped and stared. "Come with you?" He looked completely non-plussed. "How is that possible?"

Carolyn smiled at his expression. "It's how things are done in this century. And since Dr Ferguson has recently taken over the surgery when Dr Feeney retired, I'm afraid it's the pill-rolling peep or I will have to drive all the way over to Beacon Cove."

Daniel's brow darkened. "No, that I will not allow. But you're asking me to stand by and watch that young pipsqueak lay his hands on my wife. The last time it was simply the ague. I would have him give you something for this sickness that plagues you. I am afraid my medical knowledge of pregnant women is limited."

"Please don't worry. Morning sickness is quite normal. I had it with both Candy and Jonathan and it passed." Carolyn managed to suppress a laugh. "If it is too much for you, you could stay home and wait for me to return."

"No, if that is the way things are done in this century…" Her husband nodded decisively. "I shall just have to get used to it."

He squared his shoulders, but the doubt in his expression remained. Carolyn could see every tangled thought he was thinking.

"Thank you, Daniel…" she whispered, taking his hand and kissing it.

"You're welcome, Carolyn…" He sighed, staring at her as if she were now made of the finest crystal and he was deeply afraid of breaking her.

"Perhaps it would be best if I sleep in the guest room from now on," he ventured slowly. "That way I can be just next door if you need me for anything."

"You will not move one step outside of this bedroom," Carolyn replied quickly. "I need you right here, beside me. I am not made of china, my love. I will not break."

"More twentieth-century thinking?"

"Something like that…" Carolyn caught his chin, bringing his darkened gaze back to hers. "I need you here because I love you. You foolishly stubborn, downright impossible man."

"Good, I'm glad…" Daniel leaned in to pull her close. "I hope you would say that."

A deep sigh echoed through him. "But you must tell me everything. Everything you are thinking and feeling. We can leave nothing to chance. Promise me?"

He fully intended to plan for the arrival of his child with the same meticulousness he'd once applied to each of his voyages. He had always believed it was better to be prepared than found wanting at the wrong moment.

"I promise…" Carolyn nestled closer, glad he had decided to stay right where she most needed him.

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