"Good night, Mrs. Muir," he said smoothly as she crumbled the notice from the General Store in her hand. "Frustrating!" she muttered underneath her breath, as she went slowly up the stairs, "Thinks he's funny does he? Not hardly!"
After checking in on the children, she closed their door and stood in the hallway, still seething. "I must be out of my mind. This isn't real, HE isn't real, and I know that, I do!" Shaking her head, she opened the door, and stepped into the master cabin. To her astonishment, he was standing, waiting for her by the fireplace. His back to her, he was aware of her presence as he began to speak. "My apologies, M'dear for my humor just now," she heard behind her, "I had merely hoped to change the tenor of the day. There had been more than a usual degree of seriousness today and I thought a small shift would be appreciated, but I see I was mistaken." He finished, looking at her with an eyebrow raised in a curious expression.
Looking at him quietly, she walked behind him and sat on the cushioned seat by the fireplace. He sat down beside her, and they perched uneasily there, feeling awkward in the silence. "It wasn't so much the humor," she finally offered, looking at the fireplace, "but more that it felt like the whole episode with Vanessa had never happened. And I felt, I assumed that you, that we," her voice faltered, as she realized she could not find a way to say what she wanted to tell him. "Well, it's just . . . confusing," she said embarrassed by her inability to speak.
Tugging his ear, and grinning sheepishly, he looked at her thoughtfully, "Confusing eh? I could not think of a more appropriate word. I too found myself a bit at sea, and unable to find my bearings today. So it seems we are in this together, am I correct?"
"Together Captain, yes I believe we are," she said quietly. Standing suddenly, he cleared his throat, "Well, then," he said with an intimate tone to his voice, "to our shared adventure on the seas of confusion Mrs. Muir." She looked up at him, as he slowly disappeared, never taking his eyes from her face.