Chapter Twenty-Five
Captain Daniel Gregg At Your Service
"What's going on out here? I don't understand," Bradford echoed in a mystified tone as he walked into the foyer still holding his wine glass. "It's a bit late for someone to be visiting."
He frowned at Daniel with confusion. "And who's this young fellow?"
"It seems that this man is Captain Daniel Gregg," Emily replied, shaking her head as she looked from her daughter's shocked expression to Daniel's frowning face and back again. "He says he's the only one."
"The only one? Well then, who was the other one?" Bradford demanded to know. "The one we met last time. The man who was supposed to marry our daughter and didn't."
He waved a helpless hand. "He certainly wasn't this one. Any fool can see that."
He leaned forward to stare at Daniel. "At least, I'm sure he wasn't." He frowned, putting a hand to his forehead. "Or am I seeing things? Don't tell me there's two of them."
"I'm afraid Carolyn and I have been guilty of practising a small but very necessary deception in the past," Daniel replied smoothly, looking from his wife to her mother. "We have our reasons. Please forgive us. All will be explained in due course."
"It will?" Carolyn asked, totally lost in the awesome scope of her husband's breathtaking audacity.
She shook her head, wondering if she was actually asleep in her bed and dreaming. She closed her eyes and opened them again. But the scene below her did not change. Her husband seemed real enough and his imploring gaze spoke volumes.
Carolyn walked down the first flight of steps to clasp the newel post at the bend in the staircase to steady herself. "How? I mean, who will?"
"Oh, sure it will…" Martha shook her head at him, fully caught up in the drama.
"It's all very simple…" Daniel replied as he extended his hand up toward his wife. "Will you not come down to me, my dear, and together we may tell your parents the whole story? I think it's past time we explained everything."
"This I want to hear too," Martha whispered, trying not to gape at the whole situation. "And what do we have to lose, now? The cat is well and truly out of the bag. Or should I say the ghost…" She knew she should leave them alone but she couldn't tear herself away from the breathtaking scene.
"Oh, I'm sorry…" Carolyn apologised, gathering her scattered senses and stiffening her spine. "I… have a headache and I was just going to bed. But now that you're here…"
She managed a shaky smile as she descended the staircase slowly, keeping her eyes on her husband's, trying to read his expression. "You startled me, that's all. I wasn't… expecting to see you tonight, Daniel dear. You did say you were far too busy to visit. Weren't you planning on going away somewhere for a few days?"
"I was, but my plans were changed at the last minute by circumstance…" Daniel took her hand to tuck it into the crook of his elbow. "I found I just couldn't stay away from your loveliness for a moment longer. Please, do not be cross with me."
He turned his head, bending close to kiss her cheek. "Please play along, my love, I beg of you…" he whispered against her ear. "I know you're deeply distressed, but I have a very valid reason for the revelation of my physical presence in this house. It is unavoidable and necessary to prevent an even greater disaster from befalling us all."
"Oh, Daniel…" Carolyn sighed, turning to look at him as she put up one hand to briefly cup his bearded chin. "I understand. And I'm not at all cross with you because you do say the sweetest things."
"Thank you…" her husband breathed with relief as he smiled down at her. "I think we should all adjourn to the living room so we may be at our ease."
"This had better be good, young man." Bradford glanced down into his empty glass. "I think I'm going to need some more of that Madeira to help me understand what's going on now. I'm sure it's this crazy old house stuck way out here in the middle of nowhere. A man could start imagining all sorts of things…"
He shook his head as he stared hard at Daniel through the dark frame of his heavy glasses. "There are two of them? Why? None of this makes any sense that I can see…"
"I doubt any of it is going to make any sense at all…" Emily shook her head. "But I'm willing to listen."
"Martha…" Carolyn inhaled deeply to steady her own nerves as she turned to the housekeeper. "Please, would you bring us all some coffee. I have a feeling we're all going to need it hot and strong."
"Of course, Mrs Muir." The housekeeper nodded quickly before retreating into the kitchen, her tight expression brimming with frustrated curiosity.
"Shall we?" Daniel indicated the living room with a sweep of his hand. "I think we'd all be more comfortable sitting down."
"I know I would be," Bradford agreed, leading the way back into the room. "I don't have a single clue about what's going on here, tonight. But then I don't seem to have a clue about anything, anymore."
"This had better be good," Emily cautioned, watching Daniel's every move closely.
The Muirs sat on the couch with their daughter. Daniel took up a position beside the fire and beneath his own portrait.
He removed his sea cap as he leaned one arm on the end of the mantlepiece, looking up at the painting. "A fine-looking fellow, wouldn't you say? Look at those determined eyes and his firm chin beneath that beard. He was every inch a man who was in excellent form and had full command of his destiny."
He placed his cap on the mantle beneath the portrait, with its captain's badge facing the room. Glints of the lamplight winked off the badge, focussing his audience's attention on it. "He is my idea of a true sea captain. They certainly don't make them like him anymore."
"That's what I said…" Bradford marvelled, watching Daniel with fascination. "How'd he know?"
Carolyn's husband turned to smile at him. "Painted in eighteen-sixty-two when the good captain was at the height of his sailing career. He had everything going for him and didn't think he needed anything more. He was very content with his lot. Or so he often told himself…"
He shook his head, looking around the room. "He also built this house, you know. Sadly, he never once allowed a woman on board any of his ships," he continued slowly. "But, if he'd found the one woman who was right for him a hundred years ago, he would've carried her off to sea, and shown her how beautiful the world could be. He would have met his match in her. Lord knows, he waited for her and hunted for her. How was the good captain to know that the only woman for him had not yet been born?"
His tone held real regret as his thoughtful gaze settled on Carolyn who was watching him with tears in her eyes. Daniel sighed. "How sad, that she was not born in his time. Nor she, in his…"
"Yes, how sad…" Carolyn nodded quickly. "If only he'd been born in this century, how different things would have been…"
"Yes…" Her husband nodded as he glanced up at the ceiling. "Or the good Captain could have made a daring deal with Lucifer to prolong his life."
He shook his head. "Sadly, he did not and died all alone, one night. Up there, in his cabin."
He brought his gaze back to his entranced audience. "It seems there was a sou-west gale blowing and he was forced to close his bedroom windows before falling asleep on the couch. It was his sad misfortune to be all alone that night. As he slept he accidentally kicked the blasted gas heater on with his blasted foot. He never found his one true love, not in his own lifetime…"
"That's such a beautiful and tragic story," Carolyn whispered, wiping her eyes. "Every time I hear it, it's like the first time…"
"I thought it was about time you heard the truth of it from my lips…" Daniel replied. "That very first night was a complete revelation…"
"I don't understand…" Emily frowned, turning to her daughter. "Is he giving us a history lesson? Or is there a point to all this odd talk of dead sea captains and lost loves? It's late and I demand to know what's going on. I don't like this."
She looked back at Daniel, frowning at the bare ring finger of his left hand. Daniel smiled as he saw her concerned gaze. He'd been wise enough not to appear wearing his wedding ring. It was safely stowed out of sight in the breast pocket of his jacket.
Emily sighed as she turned to the painting. "And why does he look so much like that man in the painting behind him? And where's the other one? The one we met last time. It's all very puzzling and unsettling."
"I'm sure the Captain has a point," Carolyn quickly reassured her. "He always does." She shook her head at Daniel. "I know he'll get to it very soon."
She prayed he did. Her racing heartbeat was loud in her ears. She was almost certain her mother could hear it. She had no idea how or why Daniel had suddenly decided to reveal himself to her parents. She wished he would explain so she could begin to breathe again.
"Well, if he is giving us a lesson in history, I'd like to hear it," Bradford stated, leaning forward to pour himself another glass of wine from the decanter on the coffee table. "He's a very interesting fellow. Much better than the other one."
He nodded to his daughter. "I approve of this one. From what I've seen of him so far, he's a keeper." He frowned. "Unless there's yet another one we haven't met. Is there?"
"I think you've had quite enough of that wine, dear," his wife replied. "We don't know anything about this one. We didn't get to know much about the other one."
"An excellent idea, Sir. I think I'll join you." Daniel took the decanter and poured himself a glass.
Martha walked into the room carrying the tray holding the coffee pot and four cups. "If this'll be all you need, tonight, Mrs Muir…" She placed the tray on the coffee table, trying not to stare at their visitor.
"Thank you, Martha. That will be all. I'm sure we can look after ourselves. Good night."
"If you say so…" Martha looked around them all before her gaze settled on Daniel. "Good night and good luck. You're sure gonna need it."
She shook her head as she left the room reluctantly, closing the doors behind her. She wished she could linger to hear his explanation, but she knew Carolyn's parents would not welcome her presence in the room because they didn't see her as a part of the family. But she remained in the foyer for a few moments, as close as she dared, trying to catch any snippets of the outrageous conversation she knew was to come.
"It is an excellent Madeira…" Daniel smiled down at Carolyn's mother as he drained his glass and placed it on the mantle beside his cap. "You asked how is it that the good Captain and I look alike. Please, be patient. There is a simple explanation which I will get to in a moment or two."
He shifted his gaze to his wife's expression of confusion and trepidation. Despite her reservations, he could see her trust in his reasons for revealing himself tonight was total and unwavering.
"Several months ago, I was charged with clearing out the house of an old sea captain who'd recently died," he continued to weave his outrageous tale. "In the attic, I discovered a treasure trove of sea journals written by a certain Captain Daniel Gregg, who I soon discovered, had once resided in Schooner Bay. My old sea-dog was an avid collector of all things nautical."
He looked back to the painting. "He was also an article writer of sorts and all alone in the world. I discovered that in his will he'd left his entire collection, along with certain monies, to a Mrs Carolyn Muir residing in Gull Cottage, Schooner Bay."
He studied his audience, seeing he had them with him. "They'd been corresponding for some time, you see, about his memoirs and when the old captain fell fatally ill, he just knew this mysterious Mrs Muir would be the perfect person to take good care of his beloved things."
He shrugged. "I did not know much about the town. I was intrigued by both the address and the lady. Naturally, at the very first opportunity, I sought out the old man's beneficiary to deliver the good news and some of Captain Gregg's personal items."
Bradford gasped and nodded to his daughter. "Harriet said you gave her a copy of the old man's will before she left. I told her I wanted to see that. Was he another Captain Gregg?"
"No, he wasn't," Daniel replied smoothly, shaking his head. "His name was Captain Horatio Mathers, late of Beacon Cove. A well-known figure in those parts. But I think you will find Gregg is a common enough surname in this part of Maine. It is certainly the name I was born with."
He looked back at his wife. "The very first time I met my lovely Carolyn I knew I'd found the woman I had been searching for all my life. I'd almost given up hope of ever finding someone like her."
He shrugged. "Like the good Captain, there…" He pointed with his thumb at the painting. "…I fully expected to spend my life alone because I too had never found the woman who was for me. One fine afternoon, here in Gull Cottage, changed all that forever..."
He indicated Carolyn with an open-palmed sweep of his hand. "This beautiful lady came into my life like a blessed whirlwind of change and blew away all the cobwebs and dust from my lonely, withered heart. I knew I'd finally found the one woman I'd been searching so long for. It was a revelation I had never dreamed could ever be possible."
He smiled wistfully. "At times, it seemed as if I'd been hunting for her for more than a hundred years."
"Very romantic…" Emily murmured, trying to deny his undoubted appeal, but beginning to fall beneath his spell. "I will say, you do have a lovely way with words, young man…" She sighed worriedly. "You're almost too good to be true."
"Please continue, Daniel," Carolyn encouraged, trying to see where he was going with his tale. "Tell them everything."
"Very well…" Her husband inclined his head. "It was Carolyn who decided she should write Captain Gregg's memoirs. I was just as excited as she about this project and I've been providing her with more of his things as I come across them as I cleared out Horatio's house. The Captain lived through some very interesting times. I could envy him that if I didn't love your beautiful daughter with all my heart."
"So, that was your pipe Harriet found in here the first time she visited…" Emily concluded. "I knew Carolyn hadn't told her the whole truth about that night."
She turned to her daughter. "She said that your mysterious friend had stopped by to drop something off to you. She never saw him."
"Yes, some more of the Captain's sea journals…" Carolyn nodded quickly. "He only stayed for a minute or two. That's why Harriet didn't meet him. He had to hurry away because he didn't want to be seen. He does like to keep everything well-ordered and ship-shape."
"Well, maybe, but it all sounds a bit underhanded and murky to me," Bradford opined. "Why not, young man?"
"If there is any fault, then it's entirely mine," Daniel replied, inclining his head. "It was safer for all if we did not reveal our relationship to anyone at that time. It would only have complicated my work and I was not willing to put Carolyn and her children in any kind of danger by any selfish actions of mine. Our love has, by necessity, needed to remain clandestine, until tonight. We both felt it was time…"
"Clandestine?" Carolyn's eyebrows rose.
She wasn't sure she liked the sound of the word. But she was already well out of her depth and she knew it. She could only hope and pray that the man with his hand firmly on the tiller knew enough of the course he'd rashly charted to guide them into safe harbour.
"Coffee?" she suddenly asked brightly, deciding it was easier to busy herself pouring each of them a cup. She knew she needed it black and strong to steady her jangled nerves.
"Please go on, Daniel dear. Tell them the rest," she begged as she handed around the filled cups. "This is just like opening a lovely Christmas present. You're not entirely sure about what you're going to find inside."
"I still don't see the need for that other Captain Gregg," Emily complained, accepting hers. "That frippery fellow you were thinking of eloping with. Why couldn't you just introduce us to this man, instead, from the beginning? We would have understood whatever it is you're trying to tell us."
She waved a frustrated hand at Daniel. "What was the problem?"
"Oh, there wasn't any problem, as such. It was just that we… I mean, we thought…" Carolyn raised her brows helplessly to Daniel as she gave him his cup. "Ah, why don't you tell them, dear? You know the story better than me."
"Very well. It needs only for me to say two more words…" her husband lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, which caused the three on the couch to lean forward in anticipation.
Daniel smiled inwardly as he held them suspended for a long moment while he took a mouthful of his coffee and swallowed it. He'd begun to enjoy himself, maybe a little too much.
He smiled as he watched the confusion creep into their expressions, including Carolyn's. She made encouraging motions with one hand, frowning at him.
"Go on…" Bradford urged breathlessly. "What two words?"
"Naval intelligence…" Daniel finally murmured, laying a forefinger beside his nose and tapping it gently.
He looked quickly around the room as if he expected someone to leap out from the shadows. The others followed his gaze, trying to see what he was looking at.
"Naval intelligence…" Carolyn frowned, trying to sound as if she knew what those two words meant. "Yes…"
"Naval intelligence…" Her father looked back to Daniel as he puzzled for a long moment. "I don't…"
"Oh…" His brow suddenly cleared. "Oh! Oh, I see. Say no more. Good man. Saving the free world. Excellent." He raised his coffee cup in salute.
"I still don't understand," Emily complained, looking from one to the other.
"It means Carolyn's young man here is in the spying game for the navy," her husband replied in a loud whisper, looking superior in his knowledge. "Very hush hush and all that. Mum's the word. No wonder he's been so elusive. He was probably undercover for all this time."
He frowned, glancing around the room, probing the shadows, before tapping the side of his nose with a forefinger. "We get the message, loud and clear. Your secret is safe with us. Won't breathe a word to a soul."
"Was…" Daniel qualified quickly. "I have recently retired from the navy and I'm no longer on active duty. Hence there is no longer any need for us to hide our love. Making me free to finally reveal myself to you, tonight. I am only sorry it has taken so long and engendered so much confusion. It was never our intention."
He put aside his coffee cup as he left his place beneath the portrait to pick up Carolyn's free hand. He bent to kiss it lingeringly. "Now my life is here with this incredible woman and I want everyone to know it."
He looked significantly at both her parents in turn. "Especially those closest to her who have always had her best interests at heart."
"And we were never intending to elope," Carolyn stated firmly, not able to keep the blush from her cheeks at the satisfied look in her husband's blue eyes.
"So, the other Captain Gregg was just a ruse…" Bradford's expression cleared. "To cover for you when you couldn't be here to meet us. When you were away on your secret naval business." He beamed his approval. "I see it all, now. You had us all fooled."
"My apologies for a very necessary ruse," Daniel confirmed smoothly, kissing his wife's hand again before releasing it. "My, ah… cousin, Claymore Gregg, agreed to stand up in my stead. I could not afford to have my true identity revealed at that time. It would have endangered everything."
"This talk about the navy is all well and fine. But you still haven't said why you look so much like that man in the painting," Emily worried the point.
"A trick of nature or a throwback, maybe. We will never know…" Daniel shrugged, neatly skirting the point of the question. "Obviously, given my own surname, there are more than a few Greggs in my family tree."
He looked back at the portrait. "I was intrigued when I found his journals. Perhaps the good Captain there was one of my ancestors. I'd like to think so, given we are both naval men of the sea."
His lips twisted wryly. "By his own admission, in his journals, he was one very aggravating fellow. He boasted he could have had ten or twenty women if he'd wanted them. It seems he was a hell of a man. I feel quite proud to know him."
He winked at Carolyn, remembering his recent conversation with Lucius. "He also wrote about swashbuckling adventures such as taking on a pirate ship off the coast of Jamaica and bloodying their noses. He also once tore up a tattoo parlour on the Barbary coast. But, that's another story."
"Well, he sounds like a very daring and dangerous man to know. All I can say is, thank heavens you don't seem to be anything like him!" Emily frowned at the painting. "The more I hear about him, the more I'm glad he wasn't born in our time. I will not be reading any of his journals."
"Oh, I don't know…" her husband mused, looking relieved. "I wouldn't mind looking them over sometime. I rather like the cut of the man's jib." He chuckled richly then hiccupped. "All pirates beware!"
"I can assure you, Mrs Williams, that there is only one nineteenth-century Captain Daniel Gregg…" Daniel bowed his head in acknowledgement. "I have found that the past is a pleasant place to visit, but I certainly wouldn't want to live there."
He studied the picture his wife made, looking up at him with love shining in her eyes. "And for a long-term arrangement, I much prefer the present."
"Me too…" Carolyn whispered, giving him a wondering smile, not quite believing how her husband had managed to explain everything away so neatly in a way her parents could believe and understand. But she was in awe of his audacity and ability to craft such a story out of half-truths and insinuations, allowing them to make up their own minds about what to believe.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm beat…" Bradford stretched. "I think we should go upstairs and leave these two love birds to their coffee. I think they'd like to have some time alone before the Captain leaves."
He glanced significantly at his wife as he stood. He placed his empty coffee cup on the tray before holding out his hand to Daniel.
"I am very pleased to finally meet you, young man," he enthused. "I had a suspicion there was more to you than meets the eye. Or the other Captain Gregg." He shook his head. "I'm still trying to work it out."
Daniel gripped his hand firmly. "It was good to finally pay my respects to Carolyn's parents. I felt we had been forced by circumstance to wait long enough."
"We will talk more in the morning, dear…" Emily kissed her daughter's cheek before she stood up. "I want to know all about your real captain."
"I am as you see me…" Daniel spread his hands wide. "A man who loves your daughter and will for all of eternity."
"Eternity is a very long time, young man…" Emily replied, smiling slightly at his effortless charm.
"Oh, Mother…" Carolyn got to her feet. "It's Christmas. You can be happy for me."
"I am, dear…" Her mother nodded. "But I'm also making sure you've made the right choice, this time. We hated to see you all alone out here in this wilderness of a place, trying to take care of this big house."
"With the Captain in my life, you can rest assured that I will be well taken care of and I am no longer alone…" Carolyn moved to take her husband's hand in hers, presenting a united front.
"Good man…" Her father clasped Daniel on the shoulder. "Naval intelligence…" He shook his head. "Good night, you two. Come along, Mother…" He walked away toward the doors.
"Good night…" Emily nodded to them. "Captain, why don't you invite your cousin to Christmas dinner? If it's all right with Carolyn. I'd like to meet him properly this time." She smiled as she turned to follow her husband's lead.
Carolyn stood with Daniel as they both watched the doors close behind the pair. For a long moment afterwards, there was silence in the room apart from the crackle of the fire.
Finally, Daniel released the breath he'd been holding. "Well, for a first meeting with the in-laws, I think that went rather well, don't you? I think your mother likes me."
Carolyn gasped as she slanted him a disbelieving look, hitting him lightly in the shoulder with her balled hand. "I don't think I've been more scared of anything in my entire life," she said roundly. "When I first saw you…"
She swallowed tightly, choking back her tears. "How could you? I was so sure you were going to lose us everything we've worked so hard for. It could have all gone so horribly wrong."
"Instead, it all went rather incredibly well…" Daniel countered, drawing her into his arms. "Thank you for playing your part so convincingly. I could not have done it without you." He kissed her hair.
"Yes, well…" Carolyn shook her head against his chest. "When I saw you standing at the bottom of the stairs next to my mother... I had been trying to think of something special to give you for Christmas. Something you hadn't had before. But I never thought finally meeting my parents would be it. Why did you do that?"
Daniel hugged her closer. "I said there was a very valid reason for finally revealing my physical presence in this house."
Carolyn drew back to look up at him. "Which was?"
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but after you went up to bed, I overheard your loving parents hatching their plans to marry you off to the detestable Mitford. They were even discussing the venue and the guest list."
"Owen…?" Carolyn puzzled. "But they well know I have no intention of ever marrying him. I never did. I don't love him. He was Bobby's friend, that's all."
"Ah, that very salient point seemed to have slipped their memories…" Daniel kissed her cheek. "They were so sure you were not coping here on your own. They were going to make a push to remove you and the children from this house as soon as Christmas was over."
"Oh no, they were not!" Carolyn fumed. "How could they?"
"They love you," Daniel soothed her ruffled composure with a hand to her cheek. "They were doing what they thought was best. All they could see was how tired you looked and made their own assumptions. Even to the point that our romance had broken up and you were too upset to tell them. That is why I needed to show myself before they took it all too far and you, too far away from me."
"It's what they do best," Carolyn replied sharply. "If I looked tired it was from worrying about what to do over the whole situation. You know that. I have a good mind to go upstairs and –"
Daniel silenced her with a finger laid across her lips. "No, my dear, you will not. You will permit them time to process and think about all that has been revealed tonight. They must be allowed to see me as a much better potential suitor for your hand instead of that wolf in sheep's clothing, Mitford. Tomorrow we will begin our campaign in earnest."
"We will?" Carolyn looked up at him in bemusement. "But I would have thought tonight was enough of a revelation for now."
Daniel stroked her cheek, running his thumb slowly back and forth across her parted lips. "Oh no, my dear. Tonight, was only the opening salvo in our campaign. Tomorrow, at first light, we shall lay our detailed plans, marshal our troops and bring out the big guns. We will have your parents de-masted and run aground in a trice. Then I will deal with that slippery eel, Mitford, once and for all."
He smiled hardly. "Claymore will need to be made very aware of his new role in the Gregg family dynamics so he doesn't ruin everything. He's not at his best if I awaken him at this hour. I will see to that petty detail in the morning after I've roused the children. I will coach them and Martha about their new roles in our little Christmas pantomime."
"If you think it'll work," Carolyn worried. "We must tell them to be on their very best behaviour as they did when Harriet was here. They cannot slip up on a single word."
"Have faith in their excellent abilities to play-act," Daniel replied softly. "They will not let us down. But I do think Martha may enjoy herself a little too much in pulling the wool over your parents' eyes. She detests the pinheaded Mitford as much as I do."
"You certainly enjoyed yourself tonight. What was all that about naval intelligence?" Carolyn raised her brows at him. "That was a neat trick. You have my father convinced you're some kind of naval James Bond."
"It was no trick, my love," Daniel reassured her. "I did carry more than one sensitive dispatch and on several occasions, a secret passenger or two. I have also gathered intelligence on an enemy's naval defences. Lucius was often in on the caper as well. It was all very cloak and dagger, very hush, hush and all that." He smiled as he tapped the side of her nose with a gentle forefinger.
"I see. Well, maybe there's an Anabelle Grant novel in it." Carolyn shook her head in bemusement, turning her head to kiss his finger. "You know, no matter how many years I've known you, you still never fail to surprise me. You are certainly not always good for my blood pressure."
"I think there will soon be a rather large surprise in store for someone," Daniel replied thoughtfully. "From what Martha has told me, that blasted Mitford is rumoured to be hip deep in underhanded dealings and treacherous connivance. But no one has managed to find the proof. I think I have found just the kind of task Lucius has been thirsting to perform."
"What are you planning to do to Owen?" Carolyn asked with wide-eyed curiosity.
"Nothing that he doesn't richly deserve." Her husband shrugged. "His leaky ship is about to be sunk without a trace."
Carolyn shook her head. "Just don't hurt him. I wouldn't want that."
"Only in his pride and his bank accounts. Where it truly matters to him," Daniel reassured her. "That will be enough to fully negate his influence with your parents and show him up for the charlatan he undoubtedly is."
"That will be a relief. But remember, if they hadn't been so insistent I marry him two years ago, I would never have run away to Schooner Bay and we would never have met. Some things are fated to be."
She smoothed the flat of her hand across the front of his cream sweater. "I am so glad I can say Merry Christmas, my love. And I do like this new look. You should wear it more often."
"I may be forced to do so if your parents stay with us for too long." Daniel shook his head. "Merry Christmas, Mrs Daniel Gregg…"
He lifted his other hand to cup her sweet face between his palms. He smiled conspiratorially as he bent his head to kiss her and for a long time there was a deeply intimate silence in the room.
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