Chapter Eleven

The Captain and Mrs Gregg

"I love you too…" Carolyn turned to her new husband, still standing within his embrace as she reached to stroke her thumb across his lips. "But you talked of eternity. What about the here and now?"

"Just tell me when…" Daniel's intense look of longing said far more than the simple words. "I have sought this moment for more than a century. I'm not sure I can wait much longer…" He caught her upraised hand to his lips, kissing her wedding ring.

"Me neither. I'll go right now, and find Martha…" Carolyn stepped backwards slowly before turning to gather up her train in one hand. "Don't go anywhere without me…" she ordered as she turned and hurried away through the crush of ghostly guests in search of her friend.

She found her still talking and swapping recipes with Mary Kearns. Carolyn walked up in time to hear her say, "I never knew you could do that with beetroot. I must give it a try."

"Martha?" Carolyn laid a hand on her arm.

Both women turned to her. Mary looked her up and down with satisfied approval. "I would say this gown of yours has finally gotten its proper airing. And in a very nice setting, too. It has all gone off rather well."

"Thank you for such a wonderful party," Carolyn acknowledged. "I don't remember another quite like it."

"That's because there are very few like this." Mary looked around with a shake of her head. "A pity, but there it is."

"I know what you have come to ask…" Martha smiled as she took Carolyn's hand. "Now you and the Captain would like to slip away without too many people noticing?" She looked beyond to where Daniel was standing at the edge of the crowded dance floor, watching them with barely concealed impatience.

"I didn't think anyone would really notice if we left early." Carolyn looked around the crowded garden. "But the children might…"

"They'll be fine." Martha squeezed her hand before releasing it. "You two go on now…"

She indicated the front door of the house with a lift of her chin. "I'll be sure and look after Candy and Jonathan. Somehow I doubt they'll be doing much sleeping tonight. They've made too many new friends and having too much fun."

"Thank you…" Carolyn leaned close to kiss her cheek. "For everything…"

"I somehow doubt anyone in this household will be doing much sleeping tonight…" Mrs Kearns smiled, tapping Carolyn's arm lightly with her furled fan. "Young love is so enchanting to see. I remember being a new bride, once…"

She shook her head with a long sigh as she studied Daniel with deep approval. "You know, if I were only a hundred or so years younger…"

"I would surely have to watch out." Carolyn laughed softly as she thanked both women again before turning away and making her way through the crowd.

Back with Daniel, she took his hand, tugging him toward the house. "Come on…" He needed no other encouragement as they walked away into the shadows of the front porch.

He brought them to a halt at the threshold of the open front door. "Since this was once my house…" He turned to her, opening his arms. "I must carry my bride over the doorsill."

"I wouldn't expect anything else…" Carolyn said as he swept her up, holding her high against his chest.

The chattering guests closest to them, noticing their quiet exit, sent up an encouraging cheer. Carolyn hid her face against her husband's shoulder as he carried her inside, kicking the door shut with the heel of his boot.

The quiet of the house seemed to envelop and welcome them home. The shadows shifted and moved with the flickering light from the lanterns and candles burning outside. The only illumination inside the foyer was the triple candelabra clasped in the hand of the conquistador statue guarding the bottom of the stairs and the double holder on the wall beside them. The upper floor was in darkness.

Soft strains of a waltz filtered in to them through the closed door. Everything around them seemed to possess an ethereal quality.

"It's almost as if we've stepped back into another time…" Carolyn turned her head against Daniel's shoulder to look around.

"Perhaps we have…" He watched her. "Or maybe it's that we have created our own time and space. A place just for us…"

"Yes… maybe we have." Carolyn turned to look at him. "You know, I never, ever expected to cross this threshold as a married woman."

She shook her head slowly. "But then, I never expected to find you. Isn't life both strange and wonderful?"

"Yes, unbelievably so. I had given up any idea of ever finding the woman for me," Daniel admitted, setting her gently on her feet. "I crossed the world many times, hunting for you, searching for you. But I never found any sign of you in all those exotic places. And yet you were here, with me, all the time. It only took a century or so, and a pact with the devil, to make me realise that."

Carolyn took his hand. "Perhaps something greater than all of us is guiding us even now. I really think love is the greatest power of all."

"Love is why I could never leave this house…" Daniel admitted softly, drawing her up fully against him with his hands at her waist. "Love is the reason I stayed after you moved in and proceeded to turn my world completely upside down with your stubbornness and your beauty. I had never met anyone like you."

He shook his head slowly. "A twentieth-century woman who never hesitated to express her opinions…"

"And I came here because I was running away from the whole idea of ever being with any man again…" Carolyn whispered. "I never guessed I was running away to find love here, with you, my nineteenth-century man who didn't want to hear anything of my opinions…"

They shared a quiet laugh over how far they'd come, together. Carolyn went up on her toes to be closer still, her gaze on her husband's mouth.

"Then we are well matched in our desire for something more than what we possessed in our former lives…" Daniel said, as he took her lips in a long kiss that said far more than words ever could.

Finally, they moved apart, if only for the necessity of drawing ragged breaths. Daniel bent down again, gathering her slight figure up into his arms. "Shall we?" he questioned even as he carried her toward the stairs.

"I thought you would never ask…" Carolyn threw her arms around his neck as he took the stairs two at a time. Unlit candles suddenly sparked into life to magically light their way down the hallway.

Their bedroom door stood slightly ajar. Candlelight flickered softly within the opening. Daniel elbowed it open before pushing the door shut behind them with his foot. He allowed Carolyn to slide to stand beside him.

"Someone has been very busy," she commented, looking around the softly-lit room.

What had once been Daniel's room before Carolyn moved in had been decorated with several bunches of roses, both white and red set around in cut crystal vases. The patchwork coverlet on the wide bed was covered in scattered petals. Their beautiful fragrance filled the room.

"I can guess who…" Daniel replied as he carefully gathered the coverlet from the bed and poured the scented rose petals into a heap on the dressing table. "Mary Kearns has always loved to set a romantic scene."

"And I think Martha would have assisted her. It is a lovely gesture," Carolyn said, as she helped him replace the coverlet. "They have all been so marvellous. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect wedding."

"I can think of an even lovelier gesture…" Daniel replied, looking up at her.

"I can, too…" Carolyn raised her hands to her head, stripping off her veil before adding it to the pile of rose petals on the dresser.

Then she turned her back to her husband. "You will need to help me with this gown. The buttons are down the back and too small for me to reach all of them."

"With pleasure…" Daniel was beside her in an instant, his long fingers making short work of the row of tiny pearl fasteners.

Carolyn smiled as she turned around again. "Do you need help with yours?" she asked teasingly, toying with the gold fringe of one of his epaulettes.

"I think I can manage…" Daniel quickly unbuttoned and stripped off his uniform jacket, tossing it carelessly across the desk behind them, enveloping the typewriter. The high black stock confining the collar of his shirt soon followed.

"Ah, that's better…" He sighed, running a hand around his neck where the shirt collar had been pressed close against his skin. "I'd forgotten how confining that uniform can be."

"Ah, but then what about your boots, my dear, dear Captain?" Carolyn continued sweetly, as she dropped her eyes, peering up at him with mock innocence through her lowered lashes. "Surely you will need help with those…"

"You're never going to allow me to forget the incident with that female stowaway, are you?" Daniel sighed, shaking his head. "All I need do is become a spirit for a moment and everything will be gone…" he teased.

"Oh, but where would the fun be in that?" Carolyn shook her head, laughing. "And such an unfair advantage over me."

"Madam, did I ever say you were incorrigible?" Daniel sank down onto the side of the bed, holding out one long leg toward her.

Carolyn took his boot in both hands, easing it off his foot, not without difficulty. Daniel silently changed legs, his gaze never leaving her. The second boot was removed and he stood up in stockinged feet.

"Now it's your turn…" He took her by her shoulders, easing down the soft satin of her wedding gown to her elbows.

Carolyn allowed the dress to slide down her body to pool at her feet. She stepped forward out of it, bending to pick it up before draping it over her husband's jacket on the desk behind her. She kicked off her shoes, not caring where they landed.

She looked up. She'd never felt so small and vulnerable against his superior height and size. Or so cherished, as in this breathless moment.

"Thankfully, no blasted corset to wrestle with," Daniel commented approvingly, bringing her close against him once more, now dressed only in her soft silk chemise, bra and long petticoat.

"I'm sure you would have coped," Carolyn replied. "I'm told you have a lot of experience in removing such troublesome garments." She laughed as she shook her head.

"I'll admit to having some knowledge of their workings…" Daniel replied with a smile. "But I have been known to cut through a few offending laces to expedite matters…"

He turned her around so they were both visible in the dressing table mirror. "But something very important is missing…"

"I don't understand…" Carolyn studied their reflections wonderingly.

This close together, they appeared to move in the flicker of the candlelight, their mirrored forms blending the white silk of her clothing with the soft bleached cotton of her husband's dress shirt.

Daniel didn't reply as he drew a long string of beautifully matched pearls from his trouser pocket. He held them up in the candlelight for her to see.

"Oh, Daniel…" Carolyn reached out to touch them. "I noticed they were missing from my jewel box this morning. I was going to ask you where they might be."

"When I gave Claymore some of my gold doubloons and ordered him to buy them for you, I made a solemn promise to myself…" Daniel countered, lifting the necklace to place it around her neck so the large teardrop pearl at the centre settled into the shadowed valley between her breasts. "I made a vow that somehow, someday, I would see you wearing these, just for me…"

"They really are beautiful…" Carolyn leaned back into his embrace, running a fingertip across the lustrous surface of the pearls, finally touching on the teardrop at the centre.

"Almost as beautiful as you…"

In the mirror, their reflection evidenced their affection for each other. His strong arms were around her waist, his large hands spreading flat over the soft curve of her abdomen as she reached up with one hand to caress the line of his bearded chin.

"If only we could stay like this, forever…" Carolyn sighed.

"But where would the fun be in that?" Daniel teased, as his hands began to explore her soft curves while his lips moved up the side of her neck to the soft curve of her ear before kissing her temple.

"No fun at all…" Carolyn agreed shakily.

"Besides…" Daniel continued as his hands rose to slide beneath the straps of her chemise, drawing them slowly down her upper arms. "A part of that promise I made to myself was that I would, one day, see you wearing my pearls and nothing else but my undying love…"

※※※※※

Down in the front garden, the candlelight flickered and the assembled crowd danced, drank and chatted the night away. Ghostly time was not the same as human time, and the non-human attendees at the wedding of Captain and Mrs Gregg had no place better to be. They'd settled in with the full intention of seeing the sun rise before the new day forced them to depart.

However, two small children and one human housekeeper began to find they could barely keep their eyes open as the hours ticked by. The other attendees showed no sign of slowing down as the sun finally crested the horizon, signalling an end to the festivities.

Martha managed to round up her small charges. "I think it's time the two of you went inside and to bed. I know I'm bushed."

"Awww, do we have to?" Johnathan complained, rubbing his eyes with one fist. "I was just gonna play another game."

"Well, I can't keep my eyes open," Martha replied honestly. "And Scruffy has had the good sense to go to bed ages ago. Now say your polite goodbyes and we'll go in."

"Okay, Martha, we will." Candy nodded, turning away to talk to the crowd of ghostly visitors.

Jonathan followed her lead and the children began to dutifully wish all their new friends goodbye. Martha stood watching them, avoiding looking directly at the chaos of the garden. It could all wait until she felt more awake and better able to tackle the mammoth task of the tidy-up.

Mary Kearns approached her as the ghostly visitors slowly began to vanish with the rising sun, one by one, calling their own goodbyes. The admiral's wife understood Martha's thoughtful gaze.

"Be not concerned, my dear. It'll all be gone in a trice, you will see. We spirits know how to make things right again. No one will guess we were ever here."

"But it all appears so real…" Martha marvelled, studying the tables of food and all the decorations.

"Ah, yes, it is real, for now. But once the last spirit leaves then all will return to how it was before. There are some good points in a ghostly existence. There are no dishes to wash."

Mary smiled. "But you and I. I would like it if we could talk again…" she offered.

Her husband walked up behind her. "I think that was the best wedding party you have ever thrown, my dear," he said gruffly, linking his arm through hers and kissing her cheek. "You are to be congratulated."

"Why, thank you, sir." Mary chuckled, tapping his cheek with her fan. "I do believe successfully marrying off five daughters gives one a certain expertise."

She turned back to Martha. "I will be in touch…" she said, as both spirits slowly dematerialised.

"I'll look forward to that," Martha replied, as the children returned through the suddenly silent garden.

"Where did they all go?" Jonathan looked around with wonder as the candles began to gutter and the strings of coloured lanterns started to vanish along with the furniture and the wooden dance floor.

"I guess even ghosts need to sleep." Candy shrugged and yawned as they followed Martha toward the house.

"Come on," the housekeeper encouraged as they entered the silent foyer. "I've put out your pyjamas and made up beds for you two in the alcove and on the couch. You can use my bathroom to wash your faces and clean your teeth. We'll want to let your mother and the Captain sleep in for as long as possible."

"Why?" Jonathan demanded to know. "They've been in bed for hours already."

"Oh, don't be such a silly billy." Candy dug him sharply in the ribs with her elbow. "Come on, I'll race you to the bathroom." She ran toward the doorway beneath the staircase.

"Hey! No fair, you've got a head start!" Distracted from his innocent question, her brother raced after her.

"No doubt they'll be down sometime for breakfast…" Martha cast a knowing look up the shadowed staircase. "But maybe not today…" She shook her head, chuckling to herself, as she followed the children.

※※※※※

The warm sunlight of late morning filtered into the main bedroom of Gull Cottage, teasing through the gaps in the closed curtains to paint pictures on the far wall and reflect in the dressing table mirror.

But the two closely entwined occupants of the wide, comfortable bed didn't stir, not even when the reflections of sunlight reached for them. Finally, soft sounds of movement and snatches of conversation from the floor below stirred Carolyn's motherly instincts and she opened her eyes.

"I think it's past time we got up…" she groaned against the comforting wall of her husband's chest, where she lay with his arm thrown around her possessively.

"Where are you going?" Daniel demanded to know when he felt his wife trying to move his arm away from her.

"Everything about last night was beyond incredible…" Carolyn relaxed back against him briefly, trailing kisses across his warm skin. "I wish I could stay. But the children are up and about and the front garden will need to be tidied. I can't leave it all for Martha to do."

"Very well…" Daniel's chest rose and fell with a deep sigh of regret as his wife moved again, managing to evade his detaining hand and slip out of bed.

He sat back, relaxing against the pillows. He watched her get up to pull on her dressing gown before she hurried to the closet to retrieve her clothing. "I think you'll find there is no trace of the wedding party left behind," he offered softly.

"Nothing at all?" Carolyn paused to stare at him in the mirror as she gathered fresh underwear from a drawer.

"It was all laid out in an instant and removed just as quickly. The spirit screen would have taken care of everything else. There will be no trace of it now."

"Well, that's a relief. One less thing to worry about." Carolyn tossed her clothes onto the bed before she hurried to shake out her wedding gown and arranged it on its hanger beneath its linen cover. She added the veil and hung it up in the closet. "But I still need to go down. We can't stay in here all day."

She quickly gave up looking for her shoes, not knowing where they'd landed last night. Momentarily diverted, she ran her fingers through the pile of fragrant rose petals, inhaling their heady fragrance.

If only we were alone in the house…

"We can stay in this room for as long as we want…" Her husband held out a commanding hand, seeming to divine her wistful thoughts. "Come back to bed. I haven't nearly finished with you yet."

"Oh, please, don't tempt me…" Carolyn groaned, shaking her head. "I truly can't…"

She removed her string of pearls and replaced them carefully in her jewel box. She tidied and combed her hair in the mirror. Satisfied with the result she gathered her clothing from the bed and headed to the door, intending to use the bathroom down the hall.

"I know…" Daniel shook his head as he watched her depart. "I'm being selfish. The children need you. But, then, so do I…"

"Tonight…" Carolyn paused in the open doorway to look back at him with regret and longing in her eyes. "Tonight, we will be together again. I promise." She left quickly before he could think of anything else to say to detain her, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"I miss you already…" Daniel sat up in the bed, leaning his forearms on his upraised knees as he stared through the curtains at the soft glow of the sun, rising slowly toward its zenith in the sky.

The day ahead was going to be long indeed until he and Carolyn could finally be alone in this room again. His whole body tightened with longing and anticipation of the night ahead. They had only just begun. There was still so much to say and explore between them, so many secrets to uncover.

"Blast…" he complained with feeling, raising his eyes to the ceiling.

He shook his head as he finally relaxed the rigid control he'd managed to maintain all night over the state of his spiritual matter. Slowly dematerialising, he took every trace of his ghostly presence in the room with him. A sun-filled silence settled once more and the sweet scent of the rose petals piled on the dressing table permeated the warm air.