Chapter 2

Phileas stood on the deck, staring at the paper in his hand. The implications were staggering. How in the world did I get married without knowing it? Who Melody Anderson was, he could say. He had met her this morning when he woke. How this whirlwind romance come about…

"Oh, Mr. Fogg, it is so good to see you up and about again!" an older grandmotherly lady said, smiling as she and her gentleman escort approached him on deck. Looking up at the newcomer, Phileas was again caught without a name to go with his company.

"Such a terrible muddle the other night, but it turned out well in the end. I haven't told you how sorry we were about that. My husband and those sailors misunderstood. Terrible mistake that," she said with a giggle. "Oh, I shouldn't be amused by your misfortune. I would have never believed you capable of such a thing, but there in the middle of the night when we heard the dear girl cry out, it was just so… well."

"Can't blame me for how it looked," her husband said, cutting off his wife. "Any decent man would have come to Miss Melody's aid. As my Sara and I had adopted her for the voyage, I may have jumped to conclusions a bit too fast. My apologies," he offered with his hand. "It was quite wrong of us to suspect you of immoral designs."

Phileas took the man's hand, accepting his apology.

"At any rate, you should have warned someone of what you were up to," the lady said. "Did you know that the best man in a wedding comes from the days when brides were often kidnapped from their homes? The best man was the suitor's back up… the one that held off the girl's family at bay while the couple got away. You could have used a best man the other night."

The lady offered him a good day again as she continued down the deck. Her husband gave Fogg a smirk as he hesitated in following to speak privately.

"A victorious outcome," he said, looking inordinately pleased. "Despite that bit of trouble, I consider all well done. A catch such as she is worth unconventional means. Sara and I are more than happy to stand up for the two of you and much more than pleased to have been able to stand as witnesses to your vows. I wish you and Melody every happiness." He then tipped his hat and moved on to catch up to his wife.

"What in the world?" Phileas turned to the dining saloon and the only person he knew by name who would hold all the answers. "Melody Anderson–Fogg, has a great deal of explaining to do before we reach London."

Fogg found said lady at a quiet table in a deserted corner of the dining saloon. Miss Melody had changed into a peach dress with a lacy bodice front. In another frame of mind, Phileas would have been a proper gentleman and given the lady a friendly greeting and compliment on her appearance. He might also have noticed it was a splendid color for her unusual eyes. Right now, he was in no mood for pleasantries. He sat down and came straight to the point of his curiosity.

"I just heard a rather interesting rumor," he said, picking up his napkin and settling it in his lap.

"Yes, it is still the main point of gossip," Melody said, smiling, anticipating his meaning. "The voyage has been uneventful except for our adventures. I suppose now that we have reached England, they will find something new to talk about. I haven't been to England in so long. What sort of gossip do you…"

Phileas stopped her midstream. "Please, from the beginning. I don't seem to have full recall yet, and I need a bit more information."

"You still don't remember? What don't you remember?" she said, obviously horrified.

"At the moment, I don't remember being this long at sea," Phileas said, thinking about his answer. "I remember having taken passage, and waking up with you this morning, but little else."

"The lapses before were short-term things… not this bad," Melody said. Her eyes visibly chilled, shocked at what he said. "We really should have you seen by a doctor once we reach London. Do you have a doctor? You should tell me who and–"

"Please, Miss… Melody. Just tell me how all this came about, please," Fogg said, stopping her outpouring of concern. "Tell me how we came to be wed."

The lady gasped, appearing suddenly uneasy.

That makes two of us.

She gathered her words and began again, from the beginning, with a mixture of sympathy, apprehension, and discomfort written across her expressive face.

"I'm so sorry. Yes… Five, no, six days ago, you were on deck near my cabin late in the night," she said. "I heard an awful commotion outside. There were voices; one was yours. I heard repeated banging about and then a splash. It sounded as though someone was in pain. Since you were still recovering from your altercation in Tripoli, I feared you had had a spell on deck and had fallen over the crates. The decks were crowded with cargo."

"Anyway, when I opened my door to find out what had happened, you were walking toward me… You were unsteady, stumbling… and then you came right to my door and fell into me, causing us to fall into my cabin. You fell on me, and I cried out when we landed. Several people came running and… They found you and I on the floor. Mr. Stiles and several crewmen on duty… came to a natural conclusion and…"

"I see," Phileas said, picking up the gist of it. He had picked up his second head injury when the men had at him for breaking into the lady's room.

"Yes," Melody said, eyes downcast. "I tried to explain that you hadn't done me any harm, but at first sight, no one would listen to me."

The captain was summoned after you were carried away. He finally took the time to hear my side of it. I adamantly insisted that he let you go. But he argued that if he did, it would look as though I… well, had invited…

"I see," Phileas said again. She didn't have to continue. He knew full well where this was going. He had, by accident, compromised this young woman beyond redemption.

Lord, did I marry her out of nobility, out of duty to protect her honor? Was I forced to it? No. I might have made a groveling formal apology, but to do a fool thing like that, even in a half-witted condition, no. I might, in a half-witted condition, have arranged a sham engagement to be broken once the ship reached England.

But that isn't the way it worked out?

If this mess had started an engagement of convenience to save our honor, it had since become something more. And if I had not consummated the marriage before now, I defiantly did so this morning.

"How were we married?" he said, grasping at straws.

"There was a minister… a missionary on his way to Oran," she said. "He married us the next afternoon off Oran before witnesses. A special license had been obtained, so the banns could be waived. He and the captain later went ashore to register the union as a marriage at sea. I believe the captain still has the documentations in his safe?"

"The captain gave them to me on my way here," Fogg said, holding up the envelope.

"Now tell me, how did I come to be looked on as a romantic figure rather than an opportunist in this affair?"

"That was your idea," Melody said. "Captain Georges just made the story public knowledge." She pushed her eggs about her plate nervously, not wanting to go on, but Fogg prompted her to continue.

"The captain… He added to the story you told him the night you were arrested, saying that he had given permission for you to bring me to the upper deck after midnight to propose to me. He said he had provided champagne and flowers for us," she said in a softer and softer voice. "He convinced everyone. When the ceremony took place, you were being applauded rather than vilified. I… I thought it… exceedingly kind of him."

"Quite, yes," Phileas said. "So, everyone thinks I stumbled on the boxes in the dark and fell into your cabin on the way to propose. Is that it?"

"You are angry, aren't you?"

"Damn right, I'm angry." He wanted to shout, but kept his voice down. I've been trapped into a marriage by happenstance, to a woman I don't know, and all to appease shipboard gossip.

To Melody, he said, in a tone that made a lie of his words, "No, I'm not angry. Have I been bedridden from my injuries ever since?"

"Not completely," Melody said, refusing to look at him. "You have had fainting spells and memory lapses, but have not been bedridden. You have insisted that we not spend much time out with the other passengers. A few brief turns about the deck and meals have been all you have allowed before today."

To avoid further gossip. Phileas huffed and frowned at his untouched plate. And during that time of recuperation, I lost track of the fact that this marriage was a farce and…

Phileas let out a long breath and closed his eyes.

"This can't be happening."

He didn't realize he had said that aloud. Not until he saw the tear run down Melody's cheek before she could wipe it away. When she realized he had seen, she jumped from her seat, leaving him alone.

Phileas stayed in his seat, pretending all was well in his quiet corner for a full five minutes, forcing himself to eat half his breakfast before getting up to find her.

If Melody were innocent in this, he had a great deal to make up for. But Phileas couldn't help but suspect the young lady had arranged this mess while he had been incapacitated to catch a wealthy husband. Unscrupulous conniving wasn't an unusual element in some women's matrimonial endeavors.

If I find I have been taken advantage of by a female opportunist, Melody Anderson will sincerely regret it.