A Note:

If you wish to read my recent novel retelling the original story of The Ghost and Mrs Muir then go to Amazon and look under Books for Lucie and the Captain by Katherine Lange.

Thank you for your attention, please enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen

Leaving To Return

The sun set that evening on a blessedly quiet Gull Cottage. Carolyn and Daniel had worked solidly all day on their manuscript notes, trying to get as much done in the small amount of time they had left together.

"I think I'll go on up," Carolyn said finally, stretching as she stifled a yawn behind her hand. "I can hardly keep my eyes open any longer."

"You do look weary, my love. I will gather up our notes and follow you as soon as I have locked up." Daniel kissed her before turning her toward the living room door and giving her a gentle push in the small of her back to send her on her way.

He took his time performing his nightly ritual of banking the fire in the living room before making sure the house was closed up and secure before he too went upstairs. He was about to turn the key in the lock of the front door when the bell rang.

"Who the devil…?" he questioned, opening the door to see the elderly telegraph boy on the porch. "Good evening, Pertwee. What is it now? You were here only this morning."

"Evenin', Captain…" The ancient telegraph boy tipped his fingers to his cap as he drew an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket and held it out. "Yeah, I got another telegram for ya."

He shrugged. "Well, it's really for your good lady. I thought I'd better bring it up since it's marked urgent and I knew she'd wanna read it right away."

"Thank you…" Daniel frowned as he took the envelope, turning it over in his hand. "I will see that Mrs Gregg gets it."

He dipped his hand into his pocket, drawing out a few coins. He passed them across to the telegraph boy's eager palm.

"Thank ya, Sir. Now ya needn't be afraid of her opening it. It ain't bad news, if that's what's worryin' ya, Sir," Pertwee volunteered.

Daniel shook his head ruefully. "As with this morning's telegram, I suspect you already know the contents of this one."

"Well…" Pertwee shifted uncomfortably. "I might've sort of looked at it. Just in passin', like. It was, ah… It was…"

"Accidentally, like…" Daniel supplied helpfully.

"That's it exactly, Captain! Accidental, like…" Pertwee touched his cap again. "Good night, Sir."

He turned away quickly and made good his escape before Daniel could question him further. Daniel closed and locked the door. He looked again at the telegram before turning out the lights and carrying the envelope upstairs to his wife. He hoped she was still awake.

Carolyn rolled over in bed and opened her eyes as he entered the bedroom. "I thought I heard voices downstairs," she commented sleepily.

"Yes, you did…" Daniel approached the bed to sit down on the edge, holding out the telegram. "Pertwee brought this for you. He said it was marked urgent but he also assured me it is not bad news."

"He would know, of course." Carolyn sat up, leaning back against her pillows as she accepted the envelope gingerly. "I wonder who it's from."

"You won't know until you open it," Daniel said gently, leaning over to pick up a letter opener from the desk. He held it out.

"At least we know it can't be from Hazel…" Carolyn replied doubtfully as she slit the envelope open. "Well, I certainly hope not…"

"What that woman, nothing is certain." Daniel shrugged. "But I would say not. She will be too worried about her sister to stay long enough to send us a message."

He watched as his wife took the telegram from its envelope and unfolds it to read the contents. At first, she looked confused then her brow cleared and she began to smile.

"It's good news, then?" Daniel questioned urgently.

"The best news…" Carolyn nodded as she held the telegram out. "It's from Miss Hall. She says she will be publishing the first instalment of 'For A Captain's Love…' in two weeks' time. Then it will be published monthly. She says she is expecting big things to come from it and a goodly rise in her circulation."

She bit her inner lip worriedly. "I do hope we can live up to such high expectations. We cannot get behind with our next novel."

"It will be as she says…" Daniel read the telegram quickly. "We must ask Fred Hammond down at the Schooner Bay General Store to order in extra copies for us to keep."

"I cannot believe my dream is finally so near and now so real…" Carolyn rose onto her knees beside him, putting her arms around his neck and drawing him close. "And I owe it all to you. No one else believed in me, except Martha. My own mother thought I was crazy to even try to become a published author."

"I know. I'm only sorry I cannot be here to share your first triumph with you." Daniel sighed regretfully. "But I must sail in two days' time."

"Yes…" Carolyn sighed. "I'm so sorry too. I will miss you."

Daniel returned to the telegram. "Miss Hall also says here that we will need to beware of her father trying to scupper our efforts for her magazine. It seems he's already caught wind of our works and he's not happy."

"Surely there is nothing he can do," Carolyn replied firmly. "We have signed the contracts. We will honour our word."

"I will return to you as soon as I can," Daniel promised, capturing her lips in a long, intimate kiss. "Then we will continue to work on the manuscripts."

"I will wait for you always…" Carolyn drew him closer still. "Please come back to me safely and then we can celebrate properly."

"Yes…" Daniel dropped the telegram to the bed as they fell back together into the wide deep comfort of the feather mattress.

※※※※※

Two days later Daniel comforted Carolyn with his arms around her as they stood together at the docks beside the gangway leading up to the deck of the Charlotte. Around them the busy life of the docks bustled on, carefully ignoring their intimacy.

"Please do not worry for me, my love," he murmured against her hair. "I am in safe hands. I will be back before you have time to truly miss me. You have a manuscript to complete from the notes we have made and no Hazel to make your life impossible."

"I do wish I could come sailing with you…" Carolyn sighed against the strong beat of his heart. "Three days together has not been long enough. Hazel was a distraction we did not need."

That morning they'd received a short telegram from her cousin telling them of her safe arrival home and Harriet's improving health. Nothing was said of Hazel's mysterious summons home and there was no word of any more visits in the near future.

Carolyn felt a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Perhaps her family had finally thought better of imposing themselves on her again any time soon. Or Hazel had been busy blackening her name with her gossip. Carolyn tried not to care what the interfering woman may have said.

"The woman is gone and the day will soon come when you all may come with me…" Daniel nodded, looking beyond his love to where Martha and the children were standing with Henry and his nurse. "Then we will not have to part like this again."

"We could sail to Rome?" Carolyn asked. "I would adore to see the city."

"That's a solemn promise…" Daniel lifted her left hand to his lips and kissed the sapphire ring he'd given her on their wedding night. "Rome, Paris, London. We shall see them all, together. It will be our destiny."

"You know, I do wish the old Bey could see you now." Carolyn smiled mistily. "I think he would be very pleased to see how right he was about you."

"Oh, I am sure the old man is laughing his head off right now." Daniel nodded. "He knew me better than I knew myself. He understood my endless search for true love needed to start at home. And how right he was."

He kissed her ring again. "And I still have a lot to learn and you have so much to teach me. I truly wish I could—"

"Ah, Captain, Sir..." Mr Jarvis appeared at Daniel's elbow looking deeply apologetic. "I hate to interrupt…"

"But you must." Daniel sighed. "I am aware of the time. A moment more."

"Yes, Sir." The young man smiled as he tipped two fingers to his sea cap. "Mrs Gregg. It's very good to see you again."

"Thank you, Mr Jarvis," Carolyn replied, smiling at the warm admiration in his brown eyes.

The first mate turned back to Daniel. "The men are waiting at their stations. It's past time to weigh anchor, Sir. The tide is rising and the Charlotte is eager to be gone to the sea."

He grimaced. "We're still missing one tardy seaman from the deck crew. A new man I hired named Applegate. Able seaman fourth class Elroy Applegate. It seems he's not as eager to join us as he said he was."

"Time and tide wait for no man…" Daniel quoted softly to his wife, with deep regret in his voice.

He glanced at his first mate. "Thank you, Mr Jarvis. If the man is tardy then we will sail without him. He can easily be replaced at the next port. Prepare to weigh the anchor."

"Aye, aye, Sir. Good morning, Ma'am." Jarvis saluted them both again before turning away toward the gangplank.

"In six weeks' time we'll look for your return every day from the widow's walk," his wife reassured him, pulling gently away from him. "The children have sharp eyes. They will see your masts first and know it's you. They are becoming quite expert at telling the different ships apart."

"And I will look for you through my telescope…" Daniel pulled her back to kiss her once more before he prepared to leave her to wait anxiously for his ship to finally reappear over the horizon within the allotted time.

"Applegate! You're late!" Jarvis suddenly barked, turning back halfway up the gangplank when he saw a young, nervous-looking man in a seaman's uniform trying to scurry past his captain and Carolyn to access the ship without being detected.

"Get yourself aboard, now!" Daniel commanded him with an impatient wave of his hand as he followed him toward the ship. "I carry no slackers or backsliders aboard any ship I command!"

"Oh, yes, Sir! I mean, no, Sir!" The young man stopped to salute haphazardly, grabbing at one of his untidy striped socks with one hand and nearly losing his grip on the large, unwieldy seabag slung over his shoulder. "I slept late, you see, Sir. My old mother is deaf and didn't think to wake me. Oh, I'm so sorry, Sir!"

He whimpered noisily. "It won't happen again. Honest, Sir! I promise I won't let you down. I'll be your bestest seaman ever!"

He saluted again as he hurried away up the gangplank past the disgruntled-looking first mate and disappeared from view. The ragged line of men lining the ship's rail to farewell their own loved ones cheered him on his way with ribald comments and sage advice.

"You see, my love…" Daniel turned to smile ruefully back at his wife as he began to climb the gangplank. "I could not be in safer hands."

※※※※※

Three weeks later:

"Well, I never…" Martha bustled importantly into the Gull Cottage kitchen in the late afternoon. Untying the ribbons of her bonnet, she tossed it aside as she hurried to the table, puffing to catch her breath.

She put down her shopping basket and threw back its gingham cover. "I know we weren't expecting anything to arrive from Boston until at least next week. So I hurried all the way home to bring you a wonderful surprise I found down at the General Store."

"What do you have?" Carolyn looked up from helping the children with their homework. "Surely it's not what I think it is?"

"Oh yes, it is!" Martha declared triumphantly as she dipped both hands into the basket and brought out a neat pile of magazines which she laid carefully on the table. "I know it's so unfair that the Captain can't be here right now to see you become famous in Schooner Bay. Maybe he'll be home earlier than we expect and then we can truly celebrate your success."

"It still doesn't seem real…" Carolyn leaned forward to study the cover of the 'Ladies' View' magazine.

She picked up the top copy carefully to admire the beautiful coloured print of two well-dressed ladies in stylish crinolines complete with parasols and bonnets. The cover was elegant and enticing with its brightness and femininity.

Carolyn smiled. It seemed Miss Hall had done everything she could to attract new readers to boost the circulation of her cherished magazine.

"Let's see now…" Martha sat down at the table and picked up her own copy to read. "I was stopped by several people in the store who asked me to give you their good wishes. They've all bought their own copies to take home to read. It seems Margaret Hammond has been spreading the word about your literary success and the townswomen are all so proud of you. They said they can't wait until the next instalment."

"I do wish my mother could see this and be as happy for me." Carolyn shook her head as she opened her copy to find the first instalment of her novel.

Her name, written in elegant print, jumped straight out at her beneath the title of her novel. She stared at the page, knowing it was so much to take in all at once.

"Give your mother time," Martha advised softly. "She'll come around. Until then we can enjoy ourselves. I'm looking forward to reading this when I go to bed."

"May I read it, Mother?" Candy leaned to peer at the magazine over her mother's arm. "I'd like to."

"Maybe when you're twenty-one," Carolyn replied gently. "It is not a story for children."

"Oh…" Candy sat back looking disappointed.

"Well, I don't want to read it," Jonathan affirmed. "Those stories are for the ladies. Not for men."

"Well, you're not quite yet a man." His mother smiled, ruffling his curls. "And maybe one day you might wish to read them."

"The Captain reads them," Candy offered. "He's a man and he likes them."

"That's because they're his stories," Carolyn told them, closing the magazine from the temptation of young eyes. "Now it's time for you two go on upstairs and get washed up for dinner."

"All right, Mother. Race you, Jonathan…" Candy jumped up, closely followed by her brother. They ran laughing from the room.

Carolyn opened the magazine again. "I cannot wait until Daniel gets home again. There is so much to show him."

"I know…" Martha clasped her hand companionably. "But until he does, we must make the best of it on our own."

"Yes, we must…" Carolyn turned her gaze to the kitchen window and the view of the distant horizon below the house. "I'll find it hard to sit here and wait. I do hope he can return sooner than we expect…"

※※※※※

Four weeks later:

Carolyn paced the confines of the widow's walk atop the house. She was finding it harder and harder to sleep and she often climbed the ladder to the rooftop view at all times of the day or night. If it rained she fretted until the weather cleared again.

Seven long weeks had already dragged past and now her stomach was starting to knot tightly at the prospect her husband may have been delayed somehow, or worse.

She remembered the terrible storm he'd sailed through last year, just before Christmas. She tried not to disclose her rising disquiet to her children. They were worried enough already at the unexpected delay. They also haunted the widow's walk and the telescope in their parent's bedroom, eagerly scanning the horizon.

"Such delays are common," Claymore had told her on one of his regular visits to make sure all was well. "You must try not to worry."

"I know I should do better," Carolyn had replied, laying her hand on his sleeve. "But I cannot help but worry. There is little else I can do."

"Very well…" Claymore had kissed her cheek. "Send for me if you need me at any time. And it will be all right. My cousin well knows what he's doing. There is no better sea captain in all of Maine. I can tell you that as a certainty."

Her uncle's calming and rational words, though thoughtful and well-meant, did nothing to ease Carolyn's state of mind. She waited, walked and fretted, trying to concentrate on the work at hand that she needed to complete.

The bright spring mornings allowed her to see far out to sea toward the limitless horizon. She'd carried up a chair and small folding table from the wheelhouse and often sat for hours over her many notes and pages of manuscripts for her third, as yet unnamed novel, trying to read the words and make sense of them as she waited and prayed. But nothing was going to plan and she fretted she would not have it completed in time.

Two weeks ago she'd finally managed to mail off the completed manuscript for 'An Angel's Song' to Miss Hall. It gave her a much-needed sense of accomplishment and relief.

But at the same time, Carolyn had also received a long letter from Robert's parents. The Muirs had again repeated their generous offer to take the children into their own home so Candy and Jonathan could receive the very best education and all the city had to offer.

They wrote that they'd already secured a place in the same boarding school for Jonathan that his father had attended and an excellent ladies finishing academy for Candy. They were very sure Carolyn could not refuse their offer and were quite prepared to travel down to Schooner Bay to take the children home with them.

But refuse she did. Carolyn had spent one precious afternoon penning a very carefully worded letter firmly and finally declining their kind offer once and for all. She knew they meant well, but she was not about to abandon the care of her children to complete strangers. They would be Greggs soon enough and that was the end of the matter.

"Coffee?" Martha's head appeared through the ladder hatch as she gingerly climbed the steps to the rooftop level. "I've made you some sandwiches too. You hardly ate a thing yesterday or the day before."

"I'm sorry. I really don't feel like eating." Carolyn sighed heavily. "I know I should for the sake of the children. I know they worry."

Martha placed the tray she was carrying on the edge of the cluttered table. "You must have faith that he will return. The Captain knows what he's doing. There could be any number of reasons he's been delayed."

"I know that…" Carolyn sighed heavily. "And they worry me too."

"Then try to make the best of it and eat something," Martha encouraged. "He will be back in your arms soon enough."

"Thank you, Martha…" Carolyn clasped the other woman's calloused hand. "You are a good friend to us all. I do not know what we would do without you."

"I'm just glad you had the good sense to leave Philadelphia when you did. I doubt your mother would have countenanced hearing my opinion of her high-handed ways. I would have been instantly dismissed." Martha returned her grasp warmly before turning to look at the view.

She breathed deeply. "This will do me…"

She frowned, leaning forward to peer closer at the horizon. "Well, I'll be…"

"What is it?" Carolyn was on her feet and at her side in an instant. "What can you see?"

Martha pointed out to sea. "I may not have Jonathan's sharp eyes but I would swear I'd know the set of those sails anywhere."

Carolyn grasped the rail, leaning forward to look closer. The ship rose steadily from beneath the line of the horizon, a stiff following breeze belling her sails fully as white sea foam churned and flew from beneath her sharp keel.

"I do believe you're right…" Carolyn sighed. "Oh, thank heavens…"

"He's coming home! The Captain's coming home!" Jonathan shouted up the stairs. "I just saw the Rebecca through the telescope in your room! She's looking right trim and well in hand."

"May we please run down to the docks to wait for the Captain, Mother?" Candy asked breathlessly from the wheelhouse below. "It's such a lovely morning."

"I think that's the best idea I've heard in months! Go and fetch your coats, children!" Carolyn replied quickly, abandoning her work to the freshening breeze as she hurried away down the steps and out of sight.

"Well, I think that's unanimous." Martha chuckled.

She took her time gathering the abandoned manuscript pages and notes together before they blew away. She tucked them neatly beneath the waistband of her apron before she picked up the coffee tray and made her way much more sedately down the stairs again.

※※※※※