Carolyn was enjoying the retelling of her adventures on the evening news, when the TV inexplicably lost its signal. "Or rather, explicably" she thought to herself, "Captain!" she called aloud, knowing he couldn't be too far away. In a totally unrepentant tone, he perched behind her, "Madam, you were all together too independent before all this acclaim, now it seems to me you'll be absolutely impossible."
Getting ready to enjoy the verbal sparring that lay ahead, she smiled and turned back to her hemming, "Oh not at all! In fact, I realize that a woman is not totally self-sufficient. So if you ever again feel the need to help, please be my guest."
"Splendid," he said in a self-satisfied tone, glad she was finally seeing the wisdom of having him be relied upon for her needs. Raising an eyebrow, he took notice of her work, "It seems to me you are badly in need of assistance right now."
Not wanting to poke herself with a pin again, she kept her attention on her work, "Oh?" she asked quietly.
"You seem to have forgotten where a hemline belongs," he offered, with a touch of real dismay in his voice. Having had this conversation with him several times, she refused to rise to the bait, "I'm not in the 19th century Captain,' she said mildly, continuing with her efforts.
"As a woman who has lodged herself under my roof," he stated with more authority, "I must ask you to take my wishes into consideration Madam."
"As a ghost who has lodging himself in my century, I will have you take my hemlines where I wear them!" she said in her most peppery tone.
They let a moment or two pass, neither willing to continue the pretense of an argument, "Oh no reason to argue Madam," he said in a councilitory tone. Giving him an appreciative smile, she needed, "Quite right,' before pinning another section.
It was only as he disappeared that the illusion of agreement fell, just like the unpinned hemline that fluttered downward. "Really!" she thought rolling her eyes in mock frustration. Tugging the hem down evenly, she spoke into the air, "Oh Captain, really it seems most unfair! Would you really want me to wear something like this in public? I can only imagine what you'd suggest if I were finishing this to wear for you."
She gasped as the dress lifted up, separated and drifted down to the rug, leaving the form quite undressed. "Captain!" she said with a loud giggle and then as she began to be more intrigued with the thought of what he meant, she smiled, "Really?" A single sheet of notepaper floated down in front of her, a quick read told her all she needed to know – and turning out the light her footsteps hurried up the stairs to the Master Cabin.