The next day, Carolyn came down to the kitchen and found Martha busy at the stove, cooking bacon while toasting bread over an open flame.
"Good morning, Martha."
"Good morning, Mrs. Muir. Would you like one egg or two?"
"One, please," she replied, looking around the room. "Where are Candy and Jonathan?"
"They came down early and went right to the barn to hitch Bonhomme to the cart. I've never seen them move so fast this early in the day," she smiled. "I understand you have plans, this morning."
"Yes, we do," Carolyn replied with a shy smile. "Martha . . . about last night . . . On behalf of Daniel and myself, I want to apologize to you for our behavior. We seem to have forgotten how much we owe you and should never have put you in such an awkward position."
"Mrs. Muir, what are you talking about?"
"We have been acting like a couple of lovesick adolescents . . . sneaking around . . . taking every opportunity to spend time alone. It hasn't been fair to you and, we want you to know, we'll do our best to keep you from worrying from now on."
"Well . . . actually . . . that is how you've been behaving," she grinned. Then suddenly, her eyes got wide. "Mrs. Muir! You and the captain haven't . . . ?!"
Realizing what her friend was asking, Carolyn's response was immediate.
"No!" she blushed, casting her eyes downward for a moment. Then, looking up at her, added, "But it hasn't been easy."
"I can't say I blame you," the older woman said quietly, with an understanding smile. "But there's no need to apologize to me. You don't owe me anything."
"Martha, Daniel and I owe you everything. If you hadn't agreed to move up here with the children and me, I couldn't have done it . . . I wouldn't have done it. I'd still be in Philadelphia, dependent on my parents, and Daniel and I would have never met."
"Something tells me, you two would have met eventually; no matter how long it took. It seems as if you are meant to be together, which is why I don't understand why he hasn't proposed yet . . . or has he?"
"No, he hasn't . . . and he says he won't."
"AND WHY NOT! What's wrong with that man?!"
"He . . . ah . . . he expects me to propose to him."
"Where did he come up with a daft idea like that?! A woman can't ask a man to marry her!"
"When he first mentioned it, I thought he was teasing me, but he wasn't. Last night he explained it's the only way he'll know for sure that I don't have any doubts about being the wife of a seaman."
"I guess he has a point. It can't be an easy life."
"No. We had our first taste of it with this last voyage," she admitted. "I know it won't be easy but, when he's home with us, that more than makes up for the months he's been away."
"If you believe that, why haven't you asked him to marry you?"
"It's complicated. Early yesterday, I would have said I was still worried about how that kind of life would affect Candy and Jonathan. Whether you knew what you were doing or not, you shot down that excuse last night. What you said was true, those two are crazy about Daniel, and it doesn't matter if he's home or at sea. In all honesty, he's the father I wish they'd had from the start," she admitted.
"Now, Mrs. Muir, I thought you had let go of that unpleasant part of your life. You have a bright future ahead of you, with a man who is a thousand leagues above the memories you need to leave behind."
"Oh, Martha, I have. . . Daniel has made that easy. The past is not why I'm hesitating. You must admit, proposing to a man is a bold move . . ." she smiled. "Anyway, I told him I needed a few weeks."
"So, you're going to make this decision before he leaves again?"
"Yes. The decision is an easy one, and, you've probably already guessed, its already been made. There's just something I have to do first."
"Well, I hope you ask him soon. If you hold him off much longer, the storm of protest he'd conjure up would be wild enough to blow us . . . house and all . . . out to sea."
XXXXX
When Daniel arrived at the train station, he was surprised to see Bonhomme and the jaunting cart parked out front. Carolyn and the children were waiting for him on the platform and, upon seeing him, their faces lit up.
"Good morning Mrs. Muir . . . children. I didn't expect to see you today," he smiled, walking toward them.
"Good morning, Captain Gregg," they greeted him together.
There were a few people nearby and, as usual, Daniel Gregg, out in public with the Muirs, caught their attention. Daniel and Carolyn understood they needed to be on their best behavior to keep the gossip mill at bay. It wouldn't take much for it to start up again.
"The children wanted to come by to see you off, and, since we had a few extra minutes this morning, we decided to come by," Carolyn replied, smiling. In a lower tone, she added, "I assume the superstition about saying goodbye doesn't apply when a seaman travels by train?"
"I believe that is a safe assumption," he said, taking Carolyn by the elbow and leading her and the children to a more secluded area so they could speak more freely. "Thank you for coming. This is such an unexpected pleasure."
"You won't be gone long this time, will you, sir?"
"No, son. I plan to be back Saturday night. I might even be home in time to help your mom tuck you both in."
"That'll be great!" Candy replied happily.
Daniel patted both children on the head and looked at Carolyn, and they fell easily into one of the longing gazes the family had become so familiar with.
"Are you gonna to kiss Mom goodbye?" Jonathan asked with a touch of resignation in his voice.
That was enough for the couple to break eye contact.
"No, lad, I'm not. It wouldn't be appropriate to do so in public. I will, however, kiss both ladies' hands," he replied, taking Candy's small one in his and bringing it to his lips. As he did, the first call to board the train was announced.
"I love you, Captain," she said smiling.
"I love you too, my girl."
"I don't think it's the same when you leave on a train, but 'fair winds and following seas, Captain,'" Jonathan said, reaching out to shake his hand.
"Perhaps not, but I appreciate the sentiment, lad. Thank you," he smiled. "Now, you take care of the family while I'm gone, and don't forget that I love you."
"Yes, sir!" the boy saluted, smiling. "I love you too, sir."
Daniel returned the salute and then ruffled Jonathan's hair. He looked down at Carolyn and reached for her hand.
"Thank you for coming to see me off, my love. I'll see you Saturday," he said and kissed the back of her fingers.
"Safe travels, Captain," she smiled. "Oh . . . and don't forget . . . I love you."
Daniel gave her a half smile. It took everything in him not to take her in his arms.
"Thank you, my dear. Never doubt that I love you too."
"I won't," she whispered, smiling up at him, her eyes glistening.
"ALL ABOARD!"
"That's my call," he said regretfully.
He walked down the platform with the people he loved most in the world by his side. A few feet from the train Carolyn and the children stopped and watched him climb aboard. Instead of going inside the car, he remained standing on the steps, facing them, while holding onto the railing. When the train began to pull away, Candy and Jonathan waved enthusiastically. Daniel waived back to them, but he and his lady only had eyes for each other.
XXXXX
After waiting until the captain was out of sight, the family dropped Bonhomme at the livery and went to their separate destinations. When Carolyn arrived at the office, Claymore was surprised to see her so early and even more pleased to hear that Captain Gregg would be out of town the next two days. He was determined to get as much work out of her as he could, and it was always easier when the seaman wasn't around.
The day was long and uneventful at the office and at school. The children walked home at the end of their day, and Carolyn left the office at her usual time. When she arrived at Gull Cottage, Candy and Jonathan took the horse and cart, to brush and fed Bonhomme and get him settled; it was something they did every evening. While they took care of the horse, their mother made her way to the house.
"Good evening, Mrs. Muir," the housekeeper greeted her as she came through the back door.
"Hello, Martha. How was your day?"
"It was very productive; I got quite a bit done," she said, stirring the contents of a pot on the stove. "It's a good thing we didn't plan things for this Saturday. We'd have been hard pressed to rearrange everything with the captain out of town."
"I know. As much as I'd have preferred to do it this week, it looks like we were right to wait."
Martha nodded and then asked, "Did you pick up the mail?"
"I did, but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet."
She put her bag on the table and pulled out several envelopes.
"Oh, it's just some old friends writing, and here's one for you," she said, handing her an envelope. She continued to go through the others until she stopped, turned one of the letters over, and sighed.
"That one's not a friend?"
"A relative," Carolyn said with a furrowed brow as she opened the letter.
"Then I was right," Martha replied dryly.
"Oh. My mother-in-law and my father-in-law are arriving on Friday . . . Friday?! That's tomorrow!"
"Uh oh. It's a good thing I made productive use of all that free time I had today," she said, knowing she'd be re-cleaning everything to keep the elder Muir's complaints down to a minimum. "Does the letter say what time they expect to get here?"
"On the four o'clock train."
"Mrs. Muir, doesn't anyone you know believe in giving notice before visiting?"
"It doesn't look that way, does it?" she smiled. "Although, Mother and Dad haven't dropped in on us yet."
"That's true, but I'm sure that's only a matter of time."
"Marjorie doesn't say in the letter, but I would assume she and Ralph plan on staying here."
"I'll air out the spare bedroom and give it a good cleaning tomorrow morning, just in case."
"Thank you, Martha. I'm sorry about the extra work this is going to make for you."
"No need to apologize. It'll give me a head start on next week. How are we going to get them to the house?"
"I suppose I'll have to ask Uncle for some time off tomorrow afternoon."
"He won't like that."
"Maybe I can bribe him by inviting him to dinner Sunday afternoon."
"The captain won't like that."
"No, he won't," she replied offhandedly. Realizing her old and new lives were about to collide, she turned quickly to face her friend. "Daniel! Oh, Martha, he's planning to come up to the house when he gets back Saturday night!"
"Is that a problem?" she asked. Seeing the expression on her young friend's face, she knew it was. "You haven't told your in-laws about the captain yet, have you?"
"No. I didn't think they'd understand. You know how they are."
"Are you sure the children haven't told them?"
"Yes. Not long ago, we talked about it when they were writing their letters. They asked if it was all right to tell them yet. I explained that their grandparents might not understand about the captain."
"Surely, the Muirs don't expect you to still be in mourning after all this time . . . do they?"
"Robert was their only child, and, in their eyes, the sun rose and set with him. I honestly don't know what to expect from this visit."
"Maybe they just want to spend time with the children. It has been a while since you left Philadelphia."
"That could be Marjorie's reason for coming but, knowing Ralph, I wouldn't be surprised if he had something else up his sleeve. He wouldn't make the long trip up here if he didn't think it would benefit him in some way."
Carolyn stared off into space in search of some reason why they would be coming all the way to Schooner Bay for a visit now. Martha held her tongue but couldn't help thinking her friend had her father-in-law pegged. Based on her past experience with the man, no good could come of a visit from Ralph Muir.
"I guess we'll just have to see what happens," Carolyn said resignedly.
"What will you tell them about Captain Gregg?"
"I don't know. Technically, there's nothing to tell, really . . . we're not engaged . . ."
"No. Not until you propose to him, anyway."
Carolyn smiled.
"And he is our landlord."
"Mrs. Muir, you were able to fool Mr. Thompson with that line, and you may be able to get past your father-in-law with it, but your mother-in-law is much more observant than either of those men."
"She is, isn't she? I guess I'm going to have to give it some thought."
"Don't take too long. They'll be here by this time tomorrow."
"Oh, that's right! Martha, just tell me what I can do to help."
"We're in good shape; it shouldn't take too much. We can talk about it while we eat and figure out what needs to be done."
XXXXX
After supper, everyone pitched in to clean the kitchen then headed off to different parts of the house to make sure things were in order. Candy and Jonathan went to their room, which only required a little bit of straightening. Martha kept a taut ship and never let things get too out of hand with the nursery. When she would remind them to put their things away, the children did their share of complaining, but it did make cleaning their room easier every week.
Carolyn went to the master cabin to tidy up, but the only thing that needed to be addressed was the mess on the desk. She'd found the atmosphere and privacy of the bedroom the perfect place to write and was making good use of Daniel's oversized desk. Her latest effort was spread out all over the top, and it wasn't something she wanted to leave out in the open for her in-laws to see.
Robert had made his feelings about, what he considered, her 'silly hobby' perfectly clear, not only to her, but to his parents. They, of course, agreed with him and questioned why she would waste her time with such a worthless distraction. They felt her time would be better spent making social calls to prominent Philadelphia families, in order to help Robert build the family's business behind the scenes.
Not wanting to have to defend her passion for writing again, she took a few minutes to organize her work and put it safely away. The last thing she wanted was the criticisms of the past echoing into their new life.
XXXXX
After reading another chapter of "The Mystery of Squirrel Island," Carolyn put the children to bed. It was the first time she'd tucked them in alone since Daniel had returned, and she missed having him by her side. They had fallen into a comfortable bedtime routine with Candy and Jonathan, and it just wasn't the same without him.
The children, not surprisingly, were their usual inquisitive selves about their grandparent's visit.
"Mom, have you told Grandmother and Grandfather Muir about the captain yet?" Candy asked.
"No, sweetheart. I'm still not sure they will understand."
"But you told Grandma and Grandpa," Jonathan added.
"Well, that's different?"
"Why?" he asked.
"Well, Grandma and Grandpa are my parents."
"And Grandmother and Grandfather were Father's parents. We know that, but why not tell them about the captain?!"
"Oh, Jonathan," his sister sighed. "It's because, when Father died, they lost their son, but Grandma and Grandpa still have Mom."
"I still don't get it."
"They might not want Mom to fall in love with someone else, or for us to be raised by someone not Father."
Carolyn was startled at how intuitive her daughter was.
"Really, Mom?" Jonathan asked.
"In a way, yes. I'm hoping to get an idea of how they feel, so I know how to approach the subject when the time comes."
"Don't you think they'll like the captain? He's the best!"
"Yes, he is, sweetie," she agreed, smiling. "I think they would like him for the man he is but not necessarily as the man who would take their son's place in your lives and mine."
"But that doesn't make any sense," he said.
"Yeah. They should be happy you found someone who loves you, and us, the way the captain does," Candy added.
"I may be worrying for nothing. Let's wait and see how things are once they get here. If it goes well, we'll tell them about the captain and how important he is to all of us."
"But for now, we don't say anything about you and him?" her son asked.
"Right!"
Jonathan thought for minute, then, sitting up, he looked at the photograph of the three of them with the seaman, sitting on the bookshelf.
"Since Grandmother and Grandfather don't know about the captain, maybe we should put away the family pictures until they leave," he said. "When Mr. Thompson came up to our room last week, we had to turn it down before he saw it."
"I don't think Mr. Thompson would have noticed, even if we hadn't. He wasn't interested in anything when he came up to look at our carvings," Candy added.
Their mother didn't find that surprising but knew that her in-laws, while self-absorbed, were nosier than Blair. In the past, they had looked for anything they could to criticize her. Her only hope was that the family's time away from Philadelphia had brought about changes in the elder Muir's lives too.
"Until we decide to tell them, you're right; it would be a good idea to put it away."
"Okay!" Jonathan said, jumping out of bed.
He carefully took the framed photograph and put it in one of the bottom drawers and then climbed back under the covers.
"I didn't want to forget," he said seriously, as she tucked him in again.
"Tomorrow, I want you to come right home after school. I'm going to ask Uncle Claymore to let me leave work early so I can meet Grandmother and Grandfather at the station."
"What time will they get here?"
"On the four o'clock train."
"Can't we come with you?"
"I wish you could, but the cart isn't big enough for all of us."
"We don't take up much room; we could squeeze in," Candy pleaded their case.
"Sweetheart, there is barely enough room with the four of us; there certainly won't be room for five people. You'll have to wait until we get to the house to see them."
"O-kay," they responded, slightly disappointed.
"Mom, will we have to eat alone in the kitchen while they're here, like we did when we visited them in Philadelphia?" Candy asked.
"No. They're visiting us, and we eat our meals together."
"Good! We never liked not being with everyone."
"You never have to worry about that in our home. We will always eat as a family. If you're eating in the kitchen, we're all eating there," she assured them. "Now, come on; it's time for you to go to sleep."
She went to both and kissed them goodnight one more time.
"Sweet dreams; I love you."
"We love you too," they said together as the nursery door closed.
"Candy, do you think Grandfather and Grandmother will like the captain?" Jonathan asked quietly.
"I don't know. Grandfather can be a real bear. Sometimes, I'm not even sure he likes me."
"When they spent time with us, he was usually nice to me."
"That's because you're a boy."
"Why does that matter?"
"I don't know. I just know he always treated you differently than he treated me."
"That's stupid. We're both his grandchildren. Why would he do that?"
"I don't know," Candy replied, blinking back the tears that came to her eyes.
"Well, at least, most of the time, he was nicer to us than Father was."
"Yeah, and the captain is much nicer and more fun than Father was, and we know he loves us."
"Yeah, he does. Captain Gregg is the best," he reiterated as he snuggled under the covers. "Goodnight, Candy."
"Goodnight, Jonathan."
XXXXX
Closing the door to the nursery, Carolyn couldn't help feeling she would be denying Daniel in his own home, if she didn't tell her in-laws about him and their relationship. Realizing it was something she would have to do, she decided it should be at a time of her choosing and not because they stumbled on the information on their own or from someone else.
With that in mind, instead of going downstairs right away, she detoured to the master cabin. Turning up the gas light, her eyes went immediately to the mantle and the photo of Daniel and herself. When the photographer was setting their pose, he didn't like what he was seeing and told them they were acting as if they didn't even like each other. So, just as the next picture was taken, she'd quietly whispered, 'I love you,' to her captain; she loved the resulting look on his face. Picking up the photograph, she ran her finger over his image, then wrapped her arms around the frame.
On the desk, there were photographs of Candy and Jonathan, one of her with the children, and the same photo the children had in their room of the four of them. All three pictures had become so much a part of her surroundings, the one of the four of them didn't catch her attention when she was putting her writing away. She picked it up, added it to the one she was holding, and moved on.
Sitting on the side of the bed, she lit her bedside candle. Next to it was a photograph of Daniel, wearing a half-smile and look of surprise on his face. He was the last thing she saw when she went to bed at night, and the first thing she looked for when she woke up in the morning. If she'd forgotten to put it away, she could only image what her in-laws would have thought of a strange man's picture by the side of her bed. Thank goodness for Jonathan and his endless questions.
Carolyn stared at the photo, wishing the seaman were here with her now. She didn't know what she'd be facing when the Muirs arrived, but she knew Daniel's presence made her stronger. She could face anything with him by her side.
"No, that's not true," she said softly. "He has made me stronger whether he's by my side or not. His very existence gives me confidence."
She knew she could face the Muirs on her own and whatever Ralph Muir had planned for this visit. Regardless of what happened, Daniel's unwavering faith in her would help her deal with her in-laws.
Sighing, Carolyn put the last photograph with the others, and hugged them to her as she walked across the room. Opening the middle drawer of her dresser, she moved some of her under things out of the way and put the photographs in their place. Before closing the drawer, she put the original items back on top to hide them. Realizing what she'd just done, she couldn't help but chuckle. Not only were she and Daniel already sharing a closet, but it seemed he had found his way into her drawers sooner than expected too.