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Lucie and the Captain

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Dinner For One

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Chapter Fifty-Six

The Sword Of Damocles

"Are they all still closeted in the living room with that woman?" Olivia asked, as she descended the staircase some minutes later. "The twins will be awake soon and stand in need of their mother's attention."

"It'll take more than dynamite to shift Cousin Harriet if she's already decided to stay the night," Martha replied crossly as she paused in the kitchen doorway. "I've never met anyone who knows how to outstay her welcome like that one."

"Yes, a thorny situation." Olivia frowned at the closed doors to the living room. "I was planning on leaving in the morning. I have loved it all, but I'm no longer needed here and my spirits are becoming restless for new adventures. And I do have my lecture tour to recommence. I've already sold out my venues all over New England."

She shook her head. "But if I am needed to stay longer, then I will. If that selfish woman is going to cause our little family some ongoing troubles…"

"It'll be all right. Leave it to the Captain," Martha replied stoutly. "He'll see her off in fine style. Harriet Williams will find no free berth here, tonight. Nor any other night."

She patted the little medium's hand. "You go on about your business, my dear. Leave everything to us. We've sailed this course more than once before."

"Well, if you're really sure," Olivia replied doubtfully. "There is trouble brewing around that one. My spirits say her aura is not a happy one."

"It's never been anything else." Martha folded her arms across her chest. "Harriet is another woman who could fall into muck and come up smelling sweetly of roses. But she is most certainly not welcome here. She's forever bringing her troubles to Mrs Gregg's door expecting to be told the solutions. There's not a strong enough bone in her body to cope with any upset, however small."

Olivia cocked her head, as if she was listening to voices only she could hear. "I see. Well, it seems that this time may be different. She is about to hear a truth she will not like. It seems there is a small matter of a fake diamond ring…"

"A fake, you say?" Martha's brows rose steeply. "Not that rock she's always wearing and showing off to anyone who'd look?" She laughed. "Oh, Lord, that would be too priceless. I thought it was too good to be true the last time I saw it when she came visiting us out on the island."

She turned toward the closed doors of the living room, straining to hear any of the conversation within. "I do wish I knew what is going on in there, right now."

"From the vibrations I'm feeling, it's nothing good," Olivia assured her. "But it seems that Harriet is in complete denial about her own marital troubles. She clings to the idea her no-good husband loves her. If he ever did."

She chuckled softly. "My spirits are most pleased with the outcome. We will soon know all…"

※※※※※

"It's a fake?" Harriet stared up at Claymore in horror. "But it can't be! I don't believe you! You can't be sure!"

"Believe what you will…" Claymore stiffened with disdain as he straightened and pocketed his loupe again. "I know my stones better than any man. That ring is nothing more than a well-made piece of cubic zirconia. Cleverly disguised, I will say. The setting is very effective and distracts the eye. But it's a fake, nonetheless."

He turned quickly to his great-uncle. "If you no longer have any need of me…" He walked backwards toward the doors. "I think I'd better be on my way. Things to do, other people to see…" He tipped two hasty fingers to the brim of his hat before making his escape, hurrying from the room and closing the doors behind him.

"Oh, but how can my lovely ring possibly be a fake?" Harriet asked in bewilderment. "My husband said he purchased it from the most reputable jewellers in Philadelphia. Surely he can't have been swindled? He's too smart for that."

"I very much doubt it's the jeweller's fault…" Carolyn frowned as she glanced up at her husband. 'You already knew?' her raised eyebrows asked.

He bowed his head, a grim smile on his lips. "Of course. I know everything."

"Ohhh, Lucius…" Carolyn nodded her understanding. "Ah, I see it now. You have been busy."

"Who's Lucius?" Harriet demanded in a hysterical tone. "What are you talking about, Carolyn? Who are you talking about? What has he to do with my ring?"

Momentarily diverted from her own troubles, she looked around the room, her bottom lip trembling. "It's this awful old house. It always has been. Ever since you came here, I've known there was something else here. Something I can't put my finger on."

She pointed an accusing finger at Daniel's portrait. "And as for him! You're always talking to shadows or about people and things that aren't even there. I sometimes wonder what will become of you all the way out here in this wilderness. You really should bring your babies away from here while there's still time and come home with me. I know your dear mother would welcome you with open arms. And the Muirs have that great big house all to themselves…"

Her rapid breathing hitched as she placed a worried hand on her cousin's arm. "Before it's too late. Oh, Carolyn, why did you ever come here?"

"I came here to begin my life again after Bobby died," Carolyn replied evenly, placing her free hand over her cousin's. "As you must do. I truly do think your husband knows all about this ring and whatever else is going on. You really do need to go home and confront Owen over it. Demand some answers and don't be diverted. You deserve the truth. He must be made to return your fortune to your control. "

"But how can I? I'm not as brave as you," Harriet hurried to reply. "If you could only see your way clear to returning with me. Then Owen would know I mean business. He's always respected your opinion."

"No, Harriet." Carolyn shook her head before her husband could interject. "You have Hazel. I'm sure she will help you face Owen if you feel you cannot do it alone. You only have to ask her."

"But my sister isn't even speaking to me," Harriet cried. "She never returns my phone calls anymore! Could you telephone her for me? Please, Carolyn."

The sound of an indignant infant wail cut across their fraught conversation. Carolyn glanced up at the ceiling as she rose to her feet. "I will call Hazel if you think it will mend your fences with her. But then you will ask for her help," she said evenly. "Now you will need to excuse me. I have my babies to attend to. Please stay for lunch and then you can be on your way."

She didn't wait for a reply from her open-mouthed cousin as she left the room to find Martha and Olivia hovering in the foyer, both looking guilty of being caught eavesdropping.

"It's all right." Carolyn smiled as she shut the doors behind her. "I've told Harriet everything. Well, everything she needs to know, anyway. The rest is up to her."

"That's good to hear. Now your babies stand in need of you," Olivia said unnecessarily, given the rising noise from the top of the stairs. "I was about to knock."

"And I welcome the distraction," Carolyn replied quickly, walking toward the stairs. "I don't know when I've been more relieved to escape from Cousin Harriet. I'd forgotten how wearing her company can be. Owen is welcome to her. She needs to face her husband and stand on her own two feet."

She turned to Martha. "I've invited Harriet to stay for lunch and she may visit with Danny and Lucy for a short while. But then, she will be on her way."

"I'm glad to hear it. It's about time you put your foot down with that one like you did with your mother." Martha nodded quickly. "I'll make sure it's an early meal, then she won't be encouraged to linger with any ideas of outstaying her welcome." She bustled away to the kitchen, her satisfied smile widening.

"It'll soon be over and for the best," Olivia reassured Carolyn as she accompanied her up the stairs toward the bedroom. "You'll see. And as for that husband of hers…" The medium laid one forefinger alongside her nose. "Let's just say, from what my spirits tell me, he's soon going to regret the very day he was born. He won't trouble you anymore once he has been dealt with by two very capable spirits."

She smiled as she took Carolyn's arm. "And it seems my work is now done here. I must be on my way again in the morning. Back to my gipsy lifestyle. I will miss you all very much."

"Your company and help we will miss…" Carolyn leaned close to kiss the older woman's cheek as they entered the bedroom. "Please come back again and visit us any time."

"Oh, be very sure I will. If only to see how much these two wee mites have grown and discovering what they have become." Olivia laughed indulgently. "Until then, my spirits will keep me well informed. You are to be envied, my dear. For the great love you have found here in spite of all the obstacles that were constantly being put in your way."

They both approached the bassinet where two pair of dark eyes fixed on them hungrily. Each woman picked up a wriggling baby and carried them to the bed. Carolyn settled herself comfortably on the bed against her banked pillows.

The room soon relaxed into happy sounds of contentment as Olivia bustled about, changing the bedding in the bassinet while keeping an eye on her small charges. Sunlight streamed into the room, chasing away any shadows and doubts.

"If only it could always be like this. I do love living here…" Carolyn settled back against the headboard behind her. She turned her gaze to the open windows and the peaceful view of the deep blue ocean beyond. "I cannot imagine my life anywhere else…"

It was the serenity she craved, the certainty of knowing that all would be well. That it was going to be all right. If only the women of the Williams family could be brought to understand she was more than content with her life and planned to go on living it her way from now on.

And if they could not understand that, then they would find they were no longer welcome at Gull Cottage. It was well past time to take a much-needed stand.

※※※※※

"If you really think I can do it…" Harriet hovered uncertainly in the open doorway of the house after lunch. "I mean, I wish I had your strength, dear Carolyn. You always were so brave. And I've always been such a coward. But I love my husband and deep down, I know he loves me too. If only we could work this out…"

"Then hold your chin up. I promised I'll telephone Hazel for you and tell her you need her help," Carolyn replied, taking her cousin's arm in a firm grip and turning her toward the front steps. "I'm sure you'll hear from her the moment you get back to town. Then the rest is up to you."

"I'm sure you'll find you're stronger than you think, Harriet." Daniel followed close behind, urging them both to walk down the front path to the open gate. "You've never hesitated to speak your mind to us."

He walked to the car and opened the driver's door, turning his head to frown pointedly at their unwanted guest. "Your husband needs you now. Make us proud of you."

"If you're truly, really sure…" Harriet dithered in the open gateway. "Oh!" She jumped as it slammed shut behind her, pushing her very ungraciously to stumble up to the car and cling to the wing mirror.

"Quite sure…" Daniel replied with a lean smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Oh, my, what's happening to me?" Suddenly, Harriet found herself seated behind the wheel without her really knowing how she got there. She managed to roll the window down after Daniel shut the door with a snap.

Carolyn tried not to smile as she stood beside her impatient husband. "Call us the moment you have any news," she encouraged quickly. "I'm sure everything will work out for the best. Goodbye, Harriet, and good luck."

"Um, goodbye. It was so lovely to see you and meet the twins…" Harriet said quickly as her keys magically appeared in the ignition and the car started by itself. "How strange…"

She barely had time to put the vehicle into gear before it began to move, leaving her with nothing to do but wave a hasty goodbye with her arm out the open window. "Goodbye…"

"Well, that's that…" Daniel dusted his hands together with satisfaction as the car disappeared in a cloud of dust. "Now all we have to deal with is your parents, when they arrive in two days' time. Then everything will be shipshape and squared away."

"Maybe you could treat them with a little more dignity," his wife encouraged as she took his arm. "It's not my poor father's fault that he's so browbeaten."

"Do not count on it," her husband replied, smiling down at her with a look of deep determination in his blue eyes. "It seems that for us to have our lives to ourselves in the future, I may yet have to carry you away to sea just to get you alone, Mrs Gregg."

"I'll look forward to that, Captain Gregg," Carolyn responded with a laugh as they shut the front door behind them and left the troubles of the outside world firmly on the other side.

※※※※※

Owen Mitford returned to his office after lunch with a deepening sense of unease. He'd wasted precious time going home to confront his wife over her spending, only to find she wasn't even there.

It seemed Harriet had decided to drive down to visit Carolyn in Schoonerville, after all. She hadn't even left him a note saying where she'd gone and how long she'd be away.

"I don't like it," he grumbled, seated at his desk. "What's going on? Why is this happening to me? Why now? I only need a few more days…"

"I'm sorry, Mr Mitford?" Mandy, his beautiful young secretary looked up from taking his dictation. She pouted prettily. "Why is what happening? I only wrote down what you told me to."

She uncrossed and recrossed her slender, tanned legs, leaning forward in her chair. Usually the enticing distraction worked. But not today.

Owen failed to notice her inviting smile as his angry frown drew his eyebrows together. "I was talking to myself. You can go…" He waved a dismissive hand without looking at her. "Take the rest of the day off. Go home."

After the morning's odd events with his secret ledgers somehow getting out of his safe and his control, Owen found he was jumping at shadows. He was seeing things that just weren't there. Hearing things that troubled him. His restless fingers itched to open his secret safe again to double-check the contents. To satisfy himself all was well. That his immediate future was still certain.

He had a strange, uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach he would not find all was as it should be. And now there were also the voices inside his mind. Awful voices that kept whispering things to send his heart racing and fraying his already short temper. No matter which way he twisted he couldn't seem to escape their sibilant hissing about things no one should know but himself. All his plans and schemes were being laid bare.

"Well…" Mandy stood up, looking deeply offended. "I thought we'd made plans to have dinner together tonight. You said—"

"Forget what I said..." Owen ran a hand up and around the back of his neck, his eyes fixed on the painting of the Maldives' island. "I'll be too busy. Tonight and for some more to come. I have… things I need to do. Alone."

"If you say so. Call me, if you change your mind…" His secretary left the office in a huff, shutting the door pointedly behind her.

"Women!" Owen raised his eyes to the ceiling, blowing a long frustrated breath. "I'm better off without them."

He glared at his painting as he rose to his feet to approach the section of wall panelling that concealed his safe. He stood staring at the vision of the island, his dream haven far from Philadelphia.

Slowly, he touched two fingers against the corner of the wall. It swung open silently when he depressed the right section. The safe dial turned easily, the soft clicking of its tumblers easing the rigid tension in his shoulders.

"It's going to be all right… It has to be all right…" He closed his eyes briefly as the door swung open to reveal the contents. "Soon, all of this will be behind me…"

Inside his mind, the sibilant whispering of the voices didn't stop. Their hissing increased in volume and began to mutter unspeakable threats. Behind his closed lids, visions of hellfire and damnation tortured him, twisting his ability to think rationally and clearly.

"Stop this!" He jerked his eyes open again, frowning into the safe.

He gasped as his racing heart skipped a beat and then sank down to his shoes. The safe was empty. Completely and utterly empty. For a moment, he couldn't grasp the implication.

"What in God's name is going on here?" he demanded to know, slamming the flat of his hand against the wall. "What have you done with my things this time? Bring them back, right now!"

He turned to glare around his office, staring hard into every corner. "Where are you, you bastard? Come out and face me like a man instead of whispering to me like a coward!"

'Coward… coward… coward…' The single word echoed around the office, rebounding again and again off the walls. 'A coward dies a thousand deaths…' a man's deep, resonant voice inside his mind continued grimly. 'Are you ready to face yours?'

"No!" Owen clapped his hands over his ears as ghoulish laughter tormented his scattered senses. "Go away! Leave me alone!"

'Go away! Leave me alone!' the voice inside his head mocked him. 'I'll leave you alone only when I'm good and ready…'

"What do you want?" Owen dropped his hands. "Why are you doing this to me? What have I ever done to you?"

'To me? Nothing. But you seek to trespass where you do not belong. Now you must cut your losses and become a decent man. Something you have never been. You will go home to your loving wife and be grateful you are still breathing. You will confess everything and throw yourself on her mercy. Then you will beg her forgiveness and all will be well. She is a very simple soul, more than ready to forgive you. You do not deserve her.'

"Why should I?" Owen spat back. "What if I say no?"

But there was no reply beyond more sibilant whispering and the same visions of hellfire. Owen jumped and swore heavily as cold and ghostly fingers brushed across the back of his neck once more before an unseen but heavy hand settled on his shoulder, forcing him to stumble backwards and spin around to crash into the wall behind him.

He whipped back around, trying to come to grips with his unseen assailant. Someone was enjoying a huge and ghastly joke at his expense. But the room's reflection in the tall picture windows behind his desk showed again he was still totally alone.

Alone and no longer with the means to put any of his plans for his future in place. Everything he needed to start his new life was in those files and ledgers. Without them he had nothing. He could do nothing.

He swore again, long and low as he looked back at the empty safe. He had no idea what he was going to do about any of it. He slumped back against the wall and dropped his head into his hands as hot tears of self-pity stung his eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me? Leave me alone…" he begged, sliding down the wall into a crumpled heap. "Just go away and leave me alone…"

'I will leave and you will cleave to your wife who loves you. Attend to her. Care for her. Give her everything her heart desires. You will have no further need of this…'

The painting floated off the wall in unseen hands. Owen looked up and gasped as the image crumpled and then vanished into thin air. His mouth hung open in frightened shock.

'You will never again reach for anything or anyone who can never be yours…' The harsh voice inside his head went on. 'Be content with your lot in life. If you fail, I will return and make you wish you were dead. Do you understand?'

"Yes…" Owen replied in a ragged whisper. "But, who are you? Why are you doing this to me? I demand to know who put you up to this! What have I ever done to you?"

'Nothing directly to me…' the annoying voice replied in a rebuking tone. 'If you had we would be having a very different conversation…'

The air in the office chilled instantly, deepening to arctic cold. Owen shivered in his thin cotton shirt, seeing the exhalation of his breath become foggy before his startled eyes. "What the—?"

'Go home to the loving arms of your wife and be grateful you are alive. Life is a precious gift to be honoured and cherished. You will not squander it…'

The cold intensified, making it hapless victim curl up into a ball on the floor to keep warm. The voice inside his head gave one last ghoulish laugh before it drifted into silence. But the threat of its return kept him there, mumbling excuses and trying to make a bargain for the return of his possessions. He didn't notice when the bone-chilling cold abruptly left the room.

Owen was still there, several hours later, curled up into a tight foetal position, shivering and blubbering his entreaties to be left alone. He didn't notice when the office door opened and his wife walked in.

※※※※※

Two weeks later:

Gull Cottage stood silent, bathed in the light of the full moon, wreathed in a quiet solitude as the hands of the clocks all turned slowly toward midnight. Everyone was in bed and asleep, except for Daniel and Carolyn, along with one very gleeful ghost, who were closeted together in the wheelhouse over a welcome glass of sherry and the latest news.

"You should've seen the confounded man's face…" Lucius said again, relishing the memory. "I don't think I have ever been more entertained. When I took away his dream, he deflated like a pricked balloon and began to blubber."

He leaned back in his rump-sprung armchair and raised his boot heels to rest on the corner of Daniel's desk. He crossed his legs at the ankle. "I truly thought he was going to throw up at the end. He did go very green around the gills. It was a very satisfying sight."

He chuckled richly. "Anyone would think he'd just seen a ghost."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't have to hurt him," Carolyn replied quickly. "I wouldn't want that. Not for Harriet. When she telephoned last week, she said she loves Owen and has forgiven him everything. He's promised to replace her ring with a real stone. She was so happy."

"I only wounded him where it truly hurts. In his pride and his wallet," Lucius reassured her through the wreath of contented cigar smoke around his head. "All he wants is his property back."

He nodded toward the stacks of paperwork and open ledgers sitting before Daniel on his desk. "Which will never happen."

"Yes, we will always hold that particular sword high over his worthless head. Little does he know it." His good friend looked up from his reading. "I've found the document where he made Harriet sign over her fortune to him. It hasn't been enacted, so without it, the Mitford has no claim to her monies. Harriet will be quite surprised to find her fortune has been returned to her control."

Daniel held the document out to the flame of the candle beside him and all three of them watched it quickly flare out of existence. Daniel dropped the remains into the glass ashtray at his elbow and crushed the contents to dust with the stub of his cigar.

"I will say the Maldives would have been very nice at this time of year," Lucius continued. "But not for the likes of Owen Mitford. He will never see them. He will remain safely in the loving arms of his wife."

Carolyn shook her head as she sipped her wine. "My father said Owen seems to be very depressed about something but he wouldn't tell him what it was. He's quite worried about him."

"Hence, this time, your parents did not outstay their welcome and we can rest easy for now," Daniel replied evenly. "Your cousin does seem very happy that her husband is finally paying a lot more attention to her and her needs. Long may it last."

"Yes…" Carolyn shook her head. "Dad said Owen seems to be quite lost with Harriet to help him now. He told me Owen's been having trouble sleeping. He's a greatly changed man."

"Then here's to the happy couple…" Daniel raised his glass ironically, smiling at his wife. "Long may they live together in peace and harmony. As we intend to do without your family being constantly underfoot and nosying into our lives…"

"Yes…" Carolyn replied softly, raising her own glass with a loving smile. "Here's to us, our children and our future together…"

※※※※※

"Ends are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin. And there are many things that don't really end, anyway, they just begin again in a new way. Ends are not bad and many ends aren't really an ending; some things are never-ending…"

C. JoyBell C.

THE END OF PART ONE

STAND BY FOR THE BEGINNING OF PART TWO

I am continuing this story because many people have told me,

"You cannot stop there! We want more!" So "more" you shall have while this story still speaks to me…

AVANTE!