Chapter Twenty-Eight

Removing An Unwanted Rival

"Are you really sure about this?" Carolyn asked her husband in an anxious whisper, as the last dish from their Christmas meal had been dried and put away. "I mean, so many things could still go wrong."

She cast a worried glance at the kitchen door. Her parents were in the living room supervising the children in the gathering up of their scattered Christmas gifts and putting the discarded piles of wrapping paper into the fire before their bedtime.

The hour was late and the house was quiet. Claymore had played his part as well as anyone could have expected from him. He had no appetite for staying any longer than was needed under Emily's considering frown.

He'd managed to quietly impart the unfortunate news about Paul Wilkie's phone call to a disbelieving Daniel who'd ordered him to keep the information to himself. Claymore had nodded quickly and made good his grateful escape as the sun was going down. He'd driven happily home through the steadily thickening snowfall.

Tonight, he would dream of another bag of treasure, relieved by the fact he no longer had to pretend to be the Captain. Or anyone else but himself.

"Talking to my father on his own could be dangerous," Carolyn worried her point, feeling her tension headache tightening in her temples again. "I would rather be with you. My mother and Martha can put the children to bed."

"You can see the man is bursting with questions he wants answers for," Daniel soothed her as he hung up the dishcloth. "He won't want to voice them in front of you. He wants to have a man-to-man talk with me. To ask me about my intentions. I must admit it will be a novel encounter. No woman's father has ever done so before."

He grinned. "But in the past, my intentions were not very honourable."

"Oh, to be a fly on that wall." Martha shrugged. "But the Captain's right. They do need to talk with no one else around."

"Well, if you're sure…" Carolyn sighed brusquely. "But I still don't like it. What if my father asks you something you can't answer?"

"I can handle your father. Take your mother and the children and go on up." Daniel stepped close to cup her face between his hands and kiss her forehead. "Don't worry about me. But I love you for it." He ran the ball of his thumb across her parted lips.

"Make sure the Madeira decanter is full and all will be well." Martha winked. "I'm for my bed too. Good night and Merry Christmas. It's certainly been one I'm going to remember for a very long time."

"Good night." Carolyn turned away from Daniel to hug her. "Merry Christmas and thank you for everything."

"Oh, don't thank me, thank the Captain." Martha smiled, giving him a cheeky salute. "He's the one steering this fine ship we're all sailing in. I very much doubt he'll run us aground now. Not when we've come so far."

※※※※※

Daniel stood before the fireplace, leaning one forearm on the mantlepiece as he stared down into the flames. He held a half-filled glass of wine in his free hand. A long silence had settled over the living room as both men searched for an opening to begin their conversation.

"You're looking very pensive, young man," Bradford finally commented. "I do hope that frown you're wearing is not on my account. Or more importantly, my daughter's."

"No…" Daniel shook his head as he looked up. "You have been nothing but kind and welcoming to a complete stranger in your daughter's life. You know nothing about me."

"Our daughter obviously cares for you," Bradford replied thoughtfully. "That means a lot. Before Carolyn returns, I would like to ask about your intentions toward her. You care for her in return. Any blind man could see that. But we also have our grandchildren's future to consider."

He shook his head. "Emily and I may seem like an old married couple to you. But we do remember what it's like to be young and in love."

"Love…" Daniel mused with a rough sigh. "Until your daughter came into my life, the concept of such a tangled and inconvenient emotion was completely foreign to me. She changed everything."

He shook his head. "She is everything." He went back to his contemplation of the flames. "I would die without her, I am sure."

"Do you have some sort of confession you wish to make, young man?" Bradford asked cautiously. "Is there something you feel I need to hear? Is it about Carolyn?"

Daniel smiled bleakly. "You call me, 'young man', Sir. There are times when I feel more than a hundred years old."

Carolyn's father shook his head. "My name is Brad. I wish you would use it. I called my father, Sir. It was an uncomfortable relationship at the best of times."

"As was mine with my own father," Daniel acknowledged. "Thank you, Brad."

"Well, now that we've cleared that up. You still haven't answered my question. I can clearly see that my daughter and grandchildren adore you. I would hate to see them hurt if you have a confession you need to make before our ladies return downstairs."

"I would defend them all with my very last breath." Daniel swallowed the contents of his glass before walking to the coffee table to refill it from the decanter.

"Then, what is it?" Bradford asked with concern, watching him anxiously. "Spit it out, man."

"I would like to ask for your consent to marry your daughter, but I fear you may not give it," Daniel replied simply, returning to his position before the fire. "Of course, Carolyn no longer needs your consent, but I would wish for it. Call me old-fashioned, but it's the way things are done in my world. I could not marry your daughter without it."

"Do you know of any impediments that would make us not wish to give our consent?" Bradford asked worriedly. "You appear hale and hearty."

He stopped, then asked, "You're not already married or anything, are you? I know about you sailors having a woman in every port, But a wife…"

"No, I have never been married." Daniel shook his head slowly. "I had never found the right woman, until now…" He glanced up toward the ceiling.

"Well, then…" Bradford raised his hands in defeat. "What is it that you find so difficult to say? Are you penniless or wanted by the law for some crime?"

"No, such unfortunate fates have never been mine," Daniel replied with a soft laugh.

"Well, then, tell me," Bradford demanded. "Are you worrying me for nothing?"

"You both see Owen Mitford as the right man for Carolyn," Daniel replied. "It seems you have always been of that opinion since Robert Muir died."

"Well, Owen cares for her, he always has." Bradford shook his head. "I will admit we were planning on taking our daughter and grandchildren back to Philadelphia with us after Christmas. But it seems she's refusing to go."

"Because of me…" Daniel pointed to himself.

"Yes, young man, because of you." Bradford nodded sharply. "It appears we no longer have any say in the matter. She has made that quite clear to both of us that her life is her business and she will not leave this house or you. It was a simple solution."

He sighed. "She's determined she's going to make a life here with you. I do wonder at your hesitation. It is your work for the navy? Have you been recalled to active service and you must leave us again?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, my work for the navy is finished. All I have now is Carolyn, the children and this house." He looked around the firelit room. "It is enough."

"Then, I do not see the problem…" Bradford commented in bewilderment.

Daniel raised his brows. "You would give your consent to the man you see standing before you?"

"I think it's already been made very clear that we have no other choice," Carolyn's father admitted honestly. "But if you must hear it, then, for my daughter's sake, I do give my consent."

"Thank you, Brad…" Daniel acknowledged with a grateful nod.

"Now that we've cleared that up, how soon do you plan on marrying my daughter?" Brad inquired. "Or is this to be a long engagement? I would like to know she is settled and cared for."

"Ah, there you have the nub of the issue that has been troubling me…" Daniel shook his head. "Ours must, by necessity, be a secret engagement," he admitted levelly. "You cannot tell anyone about me or the engagement. Certainly not Cousin Harriet. Sadly, hers is a rather large, uncontrollable mouth. Nothing can be divulged until I can get a few necessary things squared away and ship-shape."

"This is all rather mysterious, I must say," Bradford huffed. "But I think I understand. Am I allowed to ask why?"

"My, ah… work for the navy has left me with a few enemies," Daniel lied with a straight face. "Nothing would give them greater pleasure than to harm those I hold dear."

Of course, the true reason was a far simpler one. In the human world, their engagement needed to be kept as low-key as possible to avoid unwanted speculation. At least until Daniel had managed to forge all the necessary paperwork and make himself into a living being with a past that could be verified.

To do that he needed time and help from his newly-minted 'cousin' Claymore and the ever-resourceful Lucius. But such matters took time and patience.

"I see…" Bradford pulled off his glasses and rubbed a hand over his eyes.

He frowned as he returned his spectacles to the bridge of his nose. "I will admit I do find it all very disturbing. But very well, I agree. We will tell no one, though I doubt my wife will be best pleased. For how long must we keep the engagement a secret?"

"I will let you know as soon as it's safe." Daniel shook his head. "Please do not worry. Your daughter is safe with me. I would never allow anyone or anything to harm her. I would die before that happened."

"I believe you…" His prospective father-in-law looked him up and down. "You do have a commanding way about you that I have come to like."

He glanced up at the painting above the fireplace. "Perhaps you are more like your ancestor than you're aware."

"Perhaps…" Daniel smiled wryly as he too looked up at his own portrait. "I wonder at times what the old sea dog would say about me. If he could see me now."

Bradford shrugged as he reached to refill his glass from the decanter on the coffee table. "Maybe he would congratulate you on your good fortune of finally finding the right woman for you."

"Maybe he would, at that…" Daniel raised his own glass in salute at his painted image and laughed.

※※※※※

"Thank you, Dad…" Carolyn kissed her father's cheek gratefully. "For everything. You'll see it's for the best for all of us. The children and I couldn't be in safer hands."

"Don't thank me, thank your young man, here." Bradford smiled as he indicated Daniel with his glass. "He presented me with a very persuasive argument. How could I withhold my consent? He said he couldn't marry you without it. It seems that's how things are done in his world."

He shrugged. "I never knew the navy was that rigid or old-fashioned."

"But, a secret engagement…" Emily questioned worriedly. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that. I'm sorry if there's a pressing need for it, however—"

"It will be fine, Mother," Carolyn hurried to reassure her. "You'll see. Daniel is a man of his word. As soon as he can square everything away, he will let us know. He likes things to be ship-shape and Bristol fashioned before he does anything."

"I've noticed you've become rather nautical in your speech lately," her mother complained, shaking her head. "The children too. I'm very sure I heard Candy say 'blast' just now when she dropped her toothpaste in the bathroom basin. I cannot say I like it."

She looked around the firelit room, moving her shoulders in denial. "I will say there is something very odd about this old house. Harriet felt it too when she was here. At times I could swear someone, or something is watching us…"

"Oh, Mother, it's only your imagination," Carolyn replied, glad to be diverted now that another serious hurdle had been passed. "I'm sorry. I will speak with Candy about watching her language. It will be fine. We'll all be fine. The children adore Daniel and he would not allow anything to harm them, or me."

She crossed the room to take her husband's arm between her hands, hugging it to her chest. "It's Christmas and we're very much in love. That is all that really matters tonight. Be happy for us."

"We can see that…" Bradford nodded quickly. "I… ah, where are you staying tonight, young man? While you're in town."

"At the Schooner Bay Inn," Daniel replied promptly. "I could hardly reside under this roof until Carolyn and I are properly married. It would not be seemly."

"I looked out the children's window and the snow is falling heavily now." Emily glanced toward the curtained windows. "Your cousin was lucky to be able to drive all the way home when he did. The road will soon be snowed in. It's a shame you cannot stay here for the night."

Bradford raised troubled brows. "Yes, I meant to ask you at dinner. How did you get out here earlier? I didn't see or hear any car after your cousin arrived."

"Claymore kindly drove me out here," Daniel replied matter-of-factly, ignoring Carolyn's suddenly tightened grip of alarm on his sleeve. "I asked him to drop me at the end of the road. It was a pleasant enough walk and I needed to stretch my legs after being confined for so long at sea. I sent him on ahead with the gifts for you all."

"Well, I will say that was a little odd. But I can't see why you have to brave those conditions outside now," Bradford commented stoutly. "Your cousin's not here and I doubt any vehicle could make it safely this far out at this time of night. It seems you're stranded here, with us."

"We do have a fold-away bed we could put up in the alcove," Carolyn remarked quickly, trying to divert the point of the conversation. "We keep it in the cupboard under the stairs for emergencies. There's linen and pillows for it in there too."

"Fine, fine, that'll do nicely," her father approved. "I'm sure you've slept in worse. Right, Captain?"

"A lot worse," Daniel humoured him with a wry smile. "If you're both happy for me to stay down here for the night then I would be grateful for the accommodation."

"I do think it's for the best," Carolyn's mother approved. "Carolyn will be upstairs with us. I think her reputation will be safe enough if anyone inquires."

"Oh, Mother…" Carolyn remonstrated again with a frustrated sigh.

"Well, one can never be too careful, dear," her mother reassured her. "We would hate for any fresh scandal to get around. That unfortunate article of yours about that woman stowing away on that dreadful ship caused quite a stir, I can tell you. I would hate to renew any unwanted speculation."

She took her daughter's free arm. "You're looking a little too pale and tired for my liking. You need a good night's sleep. It's obvious that this young man of yours has been keeping you up too late at night."

She shook her head reproachfully at Daniel. "Now say your good nights, dear, and we will leave the men to put up the bed for the Captain. I'm sure they can manage such a simple task between them."

"Good night, Captain…" Carolyn said dutifully with a rueful sigh. "Merry Christmas."

"Good night, my dear. Merry Christmas…" Daniel raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her fingers.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Carolyn murmured, touching her fingers to his cheek.

"I shall look forward to it. Sweet dreams…" Daniel breathed. "Dream of me…"

"Good night, Captain." Emily nodded to him pointedly as she drew her daughter away from his side.

"Good night…" Daniel watched with a wry smile as his beloved was led out of the room like a naughty child.

Inwardly he cursed the necessity of his downstairs confinement but he would play along. He would be forced to wait until Carolyn's father had gone to bed, then he would seek out Lucius.

"You'll see her again in the morning," Bradford reassured him when he saw his expression of discontent. "Now let's see about getting that fold-out bed set up for you. It's been a long and interesting day, but I, for one, am struggling to keep my eyes open."

He looked concerned. "You'll do all right down here by yourself? I'm afraid this can be a bit of a spooky old house when you're alone. Especially at night. Sometimes it makes you see and feel things you wish you didn't."

"Oh, I'll be fine," Daniel reassured him with an ironic laugh. "I have never been a man who's afraid of a few ghosts…"

※※※※※

Daniel sat behind his desk in the wheelhouse, writing steadily in the new journal he'd decided to keep. An hour ago, he'd put out a call for Lucius. Daniel waited impatiently to discover his friend's findings regarding the despicable Mitford.

"I am the Master of my fate. I am the Captain of my soul…" he quoted the last two lines of his favourite poem beneath his breath as he wrote down the words.

He stopped writing, looking around the wheelhouse. He could sense Carolyn sleeping fitfully, turning in her sleep and reaching out for him. He longed to be there beside her where he belonged and silently cursed the circumstances that prevented him from going to her. The fact that her parents were sleeping in the next room and would hear them if he took on his human form, deepened his sense of ill-usage.

"I should be the master in my own house!" he growled. "But the end will certainly justify the means. When Lucius finally decides to show his face."

He glanced at the tray holding the decanter. He'd poured two good measures of Madeira and set out cigars while he waited for his spectral friend to materialise. The old clock on the wall struck the half-hour of one in the morning when his friend arrived.

"It was charitable of you not to summon me until after my wife had fallen asleep," Lucius commented drily as he walked across the wheelhouse to light his cigar before picking up his glass of Madeira. "She rests better knowing I am there beside her to guard her sleep."

He looked smugly satisfied as he settled his long length into the old rump-sprung armchair with a sigh. "Of course, it did take us some enjoyable time before she finally fall asleep in my arms…"

He raised a knowingly satisfied eyebrow as he leaned back, crossing his booted feet at the ankles and puffing contentedly on his cigar. "What's the matter? You're looking very out of sorts."

He frowned at his good friend. "What has been happening here since you sent me on my quest to scupper that Mitford? Is there some trouble with your wife, or should I not ask?"

"My wife also sleeps, but I can have no place beside her this night." Daniel shook his head. "I have been forced to reveal my physical presence in this house to her parents. They arrived unexpectedly on the day before Christmas Eve with every intention of disrupting our lives."

"Go on…" Lucius prompted warily. "I doubt you can sugar-coat such a confession to make it any more palatable."

Daniel laid aside his quill pen. "I was left with no other choice," he confessed. "Using my great-nephew, Claymore again to impersonate me was no longer a viable option. He is a spent force and just as likely to have ruined everything with his bumbling ineptitude."

He shrugged. "I had to appear before them, to make them understand. They were plotting to take Carolyn away from me. I could not allow that to happen. Now I have these new powers, I decided it was time I put them to a very good use. So, I entered the house by the front door and faced them."

"Oh, that is rich indeed, I can tell you that for nothing, my friend!" Lucius burst out indignantly, sitting up straight in his chair. "For us to remain undiscovered in this house by some beaky-nosed, impertinent humans, all ghosts were ordered to confine their presence to the wheelhouse unless express permission had been given otherwise."

He subsided with an agitated wave of his cigar. "And then you go, taking it into your head to come walking right in through the blasted front door! Under the very noses of said humans and facing them down! There's no going back for you now."

He puffed furiously on his cigar, making the tip glow angrily. "I suppose love can make a man do crazy things. I understand that more than you know. But I swear, there are times lately when I begin to wonder whose side you're really on."

"I am not on anyone's side except my own and Carolyn's," Daniel replied evenly, frowning at his friend through the fragrant wreath of cigar smoke around his head. "But a plot to take my wife and family away from me and give them to some brittle-boned, cod's head of a man had to be stymied before it could be allowed to draw sufficient breath. Revealing myself was the only way to achieve that end and make her parents think again about their scurvy plans."

He raised his shoulders, puffing on his own cigar. "I was forced to present myself as a viable alternative for a prospective son-in-law. Now we must work to make me appear real in the human world. And to remove that blasted Mitford from our path once and for all."

"Yes, well…" Lucius subsided reluctantly. "I will say that man is one slick customer. I was glad of the task and I thank you for it. I delighted in digging through all his unsavoury business dealings. He felt smugly secure in thinking they were safely hidden away from any discovery."

He grinned. "I truly enjoyed watching him secrete the damning evidence of his under-handed dealings in his office safe behind that oversized portrait of himself. Talk about an inflated ego. But he thought himself very secure in his perfidy."

"Well…" Daniel leaned forward eagerly. "What did you uncover that we can use to scupper him once and for all?"

"Oh, I'd say I found more than enough to bury that double-dealing cheap-jack fifty feet deep and no mistake." Lucius studied the glowing end of his cigar, drawing out the moment of revelation to his satisfaction. "If that is your wish."

"Well, go on, man…" Daniel encouraged, waving his own cigar in frustration. "You know my wishes well enough. Tell me the rest."

Lucius drained his glass, holding it out for a refill. "You were right to not trust a single thing connected with that money-gouging sand shark. His whole devious world is built on an unstable house of cards. Robbing Peter to pay Paul at every turn. One strong gust of wind from the right quarter would be enough to bring it all tumbling down around his conniving ears."

"Excellent…" Daniel nodded with satisfaction. "And I fully intend to be that very same gust of wind. The bilge-blister brought it upon himself by daring to reach out for what is mine."

He picked up his feather quill and leaned forward over his open journal. "All right, go on. Tell me the rest. I want to know everything…"

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