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Thank you for your attention, please enjoy!

Chapter Forty-One

A Spirited Return

"Twins, eh?" Lucius Beaumont shook his head as he leaned back in his rump-sprung chair, his booted ankles casually crossed on the edge of Daniel's desk. "There's life in the old seadog yet, it seems. Who would've guessed Lucifer's boon would stretch that far?"

He puffed contentedly on his cigar, saluting his good friend with his glass of Madeira. "I suppose this is the natural price you must pay for wanting to be made human again. I wish you good luck with all the squalling in the middle of the night and the diaper changes. You're going to need it."

"I'll take it all and be glad of it," Daniel countered with a frown. "It's an unlooked-for miracle I'm still trying to understand."

"Yes, it certainly is that," Lucius mused, his expression briefly clouding with regret. "Rebecca and I were never blessed with the gift of a child. Time was not on my side. I do have regrets in life and death."

He shrugged as he shook his head. "But as for your wanting any more stories from me. If that's the reason why you've summoned me here on this fine afternoon, well, you've wrung me bone dry. All else I have to say wouldn't be at all suitable for any lady's delicate sensibilities."

He grinned. "We can't have 'em swooning all over the place with tales of my swashbuckling adventures full of blood and gore."

He chuckled richly, enjoying his own joke. "Wouldn't be at all seemly. Besides, I always wanted to write my own memoirs when I was finally run aground to become shore-bound and ancient."

He moved his shoulder against the remembered pain of the cannon shot that ended his life. "Like you, I too didn't get a chance to grow old disgracefully."

"I understand. My sentiments are the same." Daniel hesitated, stroking the feather of his quill pen through his fingers. "But I called you here for that very reason. Carolyn has decided we're going to publish my sea journals and I have agreed it's time. I wanted you to be aware since you figure in some of them."

Lucius's feet hit the floor with a thud. "Are you sure that's wise?" he asked with an astonished lift of his eyebrows. "I mean, I know I've been mentioned in some of them and not always in a good light. Surely it's better to leave all those sleeping dogs lying right where they are? They have a tendency to leap up and bite you if you're unwise enough to disturb their ghostly slumbers."

Daniel smiled, sensing a small measure of revenge. "Courage, my friend. It will not be that bad. Over a hundred years have washed beneath our keels since we went to sea together. Any who might object, or be offended, are long dead and forgotten."

"That's easy for you to say now," Lucius complained, puffing furiously on his cigar. "I should've burned all those blasted journals when I had the chance. You gave any man no quarter and won't allow him to beg for the mercy of the passage of time. And there are some darker spirits who might object to being suddenly exposed. They have long memories and nurse past grudges. You well know that time means nothing in our spirit world."

"I know and I promise I will save your blushes and theirs." Daniel nodded. "Your part in it all may be watered down or omitted for those very sensibilities you mentioned. This will be a work dealing with the facts, not fiction. If it's a success, we can look at publishing yours next. You too have battled with a few unsavoury demons and won."

"Thanks…" Lucius eyed his friend dubiously. "I'll give it some thought."

He raised his shoulders. "Mind you, the piece about that female witch doctor in Madagascar chasing after you for your handsome male appendages and your pretty blue eyes made excellent reading." He began to chuckle anew. "Now thereby hangs a great and glorious tale."

He leaned back once more, returning his heels to the edge of the desk. "I never knew you could run that fast over such stony ground." He blew a perfect smoke ring toward the ceiling. "It was certainly a sight to behold. I was happy to save your life that day when I finally stopped laughing."

Daniel shook his head. "Belay that. As I said some things are better left in the past where they belong."

"But the past does have an uncomfortable habit of sneaking up from behind and shooting you in the back," Lucius replied sagely, holding out his glass for a refill. "Be careful what ghosts or demons you may be stirring up by bringing it all back to life. Some of them may not wish to be remembered and may resent the imposition."

He frowned. "One demon, in particular, comes to mind. The one who was the harbinger of all this change in you, my good friend. What Turner's master gifted to you, the demon's always been hell-bent on snatching away again. He's begun to boast of his powers over you to anyone who'll listen."

Lucius raised his shoulders. "He won't be at all pleased if you expose him for the coward he is. Beware of the infinite wrath of that one. He will seek to do you and yours grave harm if he can. The idea of your impending fatherhood will be a huge thorn in his side when he thought your soul was his for the taking."

"As you rightly said, some craven dogs are better left to sleep where they lie," Daniel agreed as he refilled his own glass. "Turner must remain firmly in the past, where he belongs. I will not allow him to harm me or mine, you can be very sure of that."

"I still don't like it…" Lucius shook his head. "We'll need to make plans for all contingencies and soon. Before the blackguard becomes even more emboldened by the unforeseen changes in your circumstances."

"Yes, I've been thinking about that and what needs to be done to safeguard us all from his wrath," Daniel replied evenly, drawing deeply on his own cigar.

※※※※※

George Turner sat on the hill overlooking Gull Cottage. The spring sun was warm on his hunched shoulders and the birds were singing. It was a perfect afternoon. He hated the happiness of it all.

Behind his dark-rimmed glasses, Turner's eyes narrowed with simmering displeasure. The bucolic scene of the house sitting smugly within the protection of its stone walls bathed in sunshine made him feel ill and well out of sorts. He'd always preferred the place when it had been heavily overgrown and filled with dust and cobwebs. It had suited his mood and his sense of power.

Now he longed to be able to wipe it all away with one sweep of his impatient hand. He hadn't spent the last hundred years pursuing Daniel Gregg for his immortal soul to give up so easily. Now he could almost feel he had it within his grasp once more.

"You've broken the terms of our agreement, my fine friend," he commented grimly, sensing his prey's presence in the upper part of the house. "If only I could get my master to listen to me. You're now more human than spirit, upsetting the fine balance of all that's right and proper. By rights, you should be mine. I have your place all prepared for you."

His scowl deepened when he saw Gregg's woman leaving the house by the front door. Carrying a wicker basket on her arm, she looked happy and carefree as she walked out into the garden.

Turner stood up to get a better look at her. Carolyn's soft prettiness made his hands curl into fists, his nails digging into his palms. She was the root cause of all his troubles.

"You think you're so safe from me!" he snarled. "I'll show you there's no safety and nowhere to hide from my wrath!"

He vanished in a puff of flame and acrid smoke. The grass, where he'd been sitting only moments before, curled up, turned brown and died. The stench of his presence hung heavily in the air.

※※※※※

Down in her sunny garden, Carolyn seated herself in a chair, humming a contented tune as she planted out some early annuals into earthen pots. The afternoon sunshine was warm on her face and back as she worked. Spring, it seemed, was coming early to Schooner Bay this year and she was happy to be outside in the fresh air.

She paused in her work, turning her face up to the sun, bathing in the soft warmth. She closed her eyes, still humming the tune. Then she gasped at the sudden chilly frisson of awareness shivered up her spine as a dark shadow appeared to momentarily block the warmth of the sunshine and she felt something insubstantial brush past her cheek.

She wrinkled her nose at the odd smell that seemed to accompany the ice-cold touch on her skin. It carried a whiff of sulphur. "What on earth?"

Unwelcome memories of a past encounter with an unsavoury demon rushed to the surface of her thoughts as she looked all around. The sun's warmth returned almost instantly and she began to think she'd imagined that cold touch. At the same moment, a car came up the hill and was driven to a halt outside the gate.

Distracted from the strange encounter, Carolyn rose to her feet to see who their visitor could be. She watched a small, birdlike woman, elegantly dressed all in many shades of lavender beneath a large floral hat, get out of the driver's seat. She saw Carolyn immediately and began to wave, obviously wishing to attract her attention.

"Madame Tibaldi…" Carolyn pulled off her gardening gloves before she returned the wave. She sighed distractedly. "Oh no, what does she want this time? Holding another séance in my house is totally out of the question."

She glanced up at the wheelhouse windows, but they were empty. She breathed a cautious sigh of relief.

Madame Tibaldi opened the front gate and hurried through. "Oh, my dear, dear, Carolyn, good afternoon." She held out both hands toward her, smiling happily. "It's so wonderful to see you again and looking so well, too. Why, you are positively glowing with health. It must be all this wonderful fresh air. I do love Maine in the springtime."

"Hello again, Madame Tibaldi," Carolyn replied cautiously, briefly taking her hands. "It's lovely to see you too. And so soon."

"Oh, tut-tut, I told you the last time I visited your very charming little house." Madame Tibaldi wagged one admonishing forefinger. "Do please, call me Olivia. It makes me feel less old."

Before Carolyn could reply, the school bus pulled up behind the medium's car and the children alighted. Seeing their unexpected visitor, they hurried through the open gate to greet her.

"Hi, Madame Tibaldi! Have you come back to read my head this time?" Jonathan demanded to know, pointing to his forehead. "I've got some new bumps."

"Yeah, and you didn't have time to show us any card tricks the last time. Have you got any new ones?" Candy asked brightly. "I liked playing poker with you."

"Oh, my dear children…" Madame Tibaldi cried, clapping her hands with delight. "It's so lovely to see you again, too. But I've come here today to see your mother. I'll be sure and make time to talk with you later."

"You have?" Carolyn asked warily, turning to look back at the house, wondering where Daniel was and if he was already aware of the unwanted intrusion. "I'm not sure that's wise. Not after the last time you were here."

"You have?" Jonathan's face fell. "Oh, that's okay. I guess I can wait."

"But why?" Candy asked, taking the old woman's hand and pulling her toward the house. "We want to see you too. Come on inside. Martha can fix you a cup of coffee and I'll find the deck of cards."

"Oh, my sweet young dears, such enthusiasm for an old lady." Madame Tibaldi chuckled as she allowed herself to be towed along the path and up the front steps with an apologetic look back at her unwilling hostess.

"I do wonder what she wants now," Carolyn grimaced as she abandoned her potting and followed them. "It can't be anything good."

Daniel materialised by her side, looking thunderous. "There's only one way to find out and that's to ask her! But, there'll be no more séances carried out in this house, Madam! You can be very sure of that!" He vanished again before Carolyn could reply.

"Ask her, he says. Easier said than done. She doesn't stand still long enough for me to even think of a question." Carolyn sighed as she entered the house, finding the children had propelled their unexpected guest into the kitchen.

"Oh, it's so wonderful to be back here again." Madame Tibaldi sighed, seating herself at the kitchen table at Candy's insistence. "I've missed all your sweet smiling faces in my extensive travels."

"And you're back so soon," Martha replied sweetly as she poured two glasses of milk and gave the children their cookies. "We've barely recovered from the last time you were here. That was quite a show you put on. Bringing up the wrong sea captain and all."

"It's what I do." Madame Tibaldi waved the criticism aside airily. "But that was just a mere wrinkle in the fabric of the spirit universe. After all, I did manage to bring you a real sea captain."

"But he was still the wrong one." Carolyn sat down at the table.

"Yes, well, I sorted him out right smart enough. I wasn't about to let that disagreeable spirit stay on this plane since he wasn't your beloved sea captain." Madame Tibaldi waved her hand toward the living room.

Daniel materialised behind the medium. "She sorted out Figg? That's rich, I must say. It was I who saw off that drunken braggart." He folded his arms across his chest, looking significantly at his wife. "You haven't yet asked her why she's here again. It can't be anything good."

"Yes, well…" Carolyn frowned as she tried to cut to the heart of the matter. "Madame Tibaldi, why are you here this time? I mean, it is lovely to see you, but I can't allow you to hold another séance."

"Oh, I'm not here for anything like that." The medium looked significantly at the two children who were watching her closely. "Ah, but I really need to have a word to you in private, dear, if I may. I have some important news to impart."

"Of course…" Carolyn frowned. "Come with me into the living room." She stood up and the medium followed her across the foyer.

"Please, sit down." Carolyn indicated the couch before she turned and shut the doors behind her.

Daniel materialised in the room. He glared at the medium before turning to his wife. "I won't tolerate your allowing this fraudulent ghost-caller to remain under our roof! She will only upset you with her prattling inanities and selfish demands. She's a bare-faced faker!"

"I've been sent to you on some very urgent business," the medium confided quickly, drawing Carolyn down to sit beside her. "I was on my way back down to Boston, after my very successful lecture tour of New England when some of my spirit followers impelled me to turn off for Schooner Bay. They were most insistent I come here to see you today."

"The spirits… I see." Carolyn glanced at her husband as he stalked over to the fireplace. "What did they want?"

"Oh, my dear, dear girl…" Madame Tibaldi reached to pat Carolyn's hand comfortingly. "The spirits don't always come out and say what they want right off. They're always chattering on and on about this or that. So much so that sometimes a body cannot even sleep. I have to tell them, enough! Go away!"

She laughed indulgently. "They don't always listen then, either. Some nights I get no sleep at all. Have you ever stayed up until dawn playing poker with an Indian Maharaja? I have. A most charming and civilised man. I always allow him to win, of course. He can get a little upset if he doesn't."

"No, I haven't." Carolyn shook her head with a laugh. "But yes, some spirits can be very obstinate."

"Yes, of course, you would know, dear, wouldn't you?" Madame Tibaldi prattled on. "Living with one yourself, as you do. And sometimes more than one from what the vibrations tell me. And they are never wrong."

Carolyn watched her warily. "How do you mean?"

"Why the very handsome and dashing Captain himself, dear." Madame Tibaldi rose to her feet, tripping across the carpet to gaze up at Daniel's portrait. "I know he's around here right now. I can feel his strong vibration. Such power, such glorious manliness. He must have been quite something to behold when he was alive and in charge of his life. I'm sure he slew all the dragons for the damsels in distress and carried them off in fine style!"

"Madam…" Daniel snarled as he raised his open hands toward the medium's neck.

"He was said to be quite something, indeed," Carolyn rushed to say, waving a denying hand at her husband. "He was thought to have had a girl in every port. More than one, it seems."

"Yes, they do all say so." Madame Tibaldi chuckled, pressing her hands over her heart. "But, of your dear Captain, I would believe it to be very true. Why, ten – twenty – half a hundred, if he'd wanted them! He was a hell of a man!" she continued proudly.

"Ah, I'm sure he did and he was…" Carolyn stared at her in fascination, remembering her initial encounter with Daniel on her very first night in the house.

"What's afoot, here, Madam?" Daniel asked with a darkening frown. "She parrots my very words."

Carolyn shook her head. "I have no idea…"

Madame Tibaldi looked back at her with knowing eyes. "Your Captain was here the day of the séance, no matter how strenuously you denied it then. I felt him too. Only there was more than one spirit present that day."

She pointed toward the ceiling. "There was another up there. One with a very naughty sense of humour."

Her gaze became thoughtful. "He's a sea captain with a great liking for cigars and Madeira. He also died in the prime of life as many of my spirits did. A great pity, but there it is."

Daniel dropped his hands, stepping back to frown at the woman. Her words had caught his frustrated attention. "Maybe I have misjudged the woman," he mused grimly. "Just a little. Lucius was up in the wheelhouse that day."

Madame Tibaldi smiled indulgently. "You almost seem to be overrun with sea captains. And an admiral or two, as well. Not to mention their wives and children. This house must seem very crowded at times. I wish I had the time to examine the place properly, probe into all its secrets."

"I doubt you would find anything of interest here but dust and cobwebs," Carolyn replied quickly.

"Oh, do not sell yourself too short, my dear." Madame Tibaldi turned back to reach out and touch the bottom of the frame. "And then there is this most wonderful and engaging captain. So strong and so very masculine. Almost as if he's still alive. Now he was a real sea captain. They all say so."

Carolyn frowned as she put a hand to her forehead. "I don't understand. Who are you talking about now?"

"Oh, the men who sailed with your good Captain Gregg, of course. The ones who were most insistent I return here today. All hearty men, brave and true. Some of them are among my many spirits who follow me. They all adored their ferocious but charming captain."

"Ferocious?" Carolyn blinked at the description, trying not to look at her husband. "I don't know about that."

"I was very ferocious, Madam!" Daniel snapped, glaring at the medium. "I was also deeply merciless and unfailingly severe! Ask any of her blasted spirits, if they exist! Stout men trembled at the sound of my commands! But I charmed only the ladies!" He swept his hands in front of him and vanished in a huff.

"Oh, dear…" Madame Tibaldi frowned. "He was here, now he's gone. Did I say something to upset him? Men can become so offended over trifles. My Indian Maharaja is the same. The spirits can get quite miffed at times if I don't listen to them or allow them to have their way."

Carolyn got to her feet and approached the older woman. "My dear, dear Madam Tibaldi, you must stop imagining things and tell me why you've come back today. I don't have time for parlour games."

"Olivia… Do please call me Olivia," the medium reminded her absently, patting her cheek.

"Olivia…" Carolyn obliged with a sigh. "Please, what is it you have to tell me that you find so hard to say?"

"First we must bring in your husband. He needs to be a party to this tale of mine. He is the root cause of it, after all."

"My husband?" Carolyn frowned.

"Oh, the rumours have already reached my ears." Madam Tibaldi wagged her finger. "I've heard through my human contacts that you've recently married a very charming descendent of the Captain. A rather odd coincidence that he's another Captain Daniel Gregg. A man said to be so like the Captain himself that he could be his twin if there was not over a hundred years between them."

"It's true I have recently married again," Carolyn replied cautiously. "But I cannot see how that has anything to do with your sudden need to see me today."

Madame Tibaldi laid a knowing forefinger alongside her nose. "Of course, my spirits tell me a very different story to the one you and your beloved have very carefully woven for all but the most discerning of eyes. Eyes such as mine. I see with my inner sight, not my mind. And that awful Claymore Gregg had something to do with it too."

She seized Carolyn's hand and returned to the couch with quick steps, taking Carolyn with her. "Oh, please do not look so distressed, my dear. Your secret is very safe with me. Very safe. I would not breathe a word of it to a single soul, living or dead. Sit down here with me and let's talk."

She smiled mistily as Carolyn reluctantly obliged. "And with you in your delicate condition, I would not wish to upset you for all the world and its riches."

"My delicate condition…" Carolyn put her free hand over the slight rounding of her abdomen in a purely reflexive action.

"Exactly, my dear." Madame Tibaldi smiled at the action knowingly. "Twins, I'm told by those who know such things. You are very fortunate and so is he. It was an unexpected consequence of the changes that have been wrought in him and not all spirits look upon the happy event with favour."

She looked around the room. "Now, where is your delightfully stubborn husband who refuses to appear and talk to me like a man? It's about time we had a proper face-to-face conversation. A man who can live between two such different worlds is a very rare one indeed."

She raised her brows at the portrait. "I know he was here with us a moment ago. There's no longer any need to hide, Captain. I mean you and yours no harm. Where are you? You may come on out now."

"Daniel, please?" Carolyn called helplessly, also looking up at the painting. "I don't know what more to tell her."

※※※※※