NOTE: This work of fiction is coming to an end. There will be three more chapters and then THE END. It has been a fun ride and thanks to all who have come along for the journey. I will be starting a new fanfiction for GaMM and also continuing with Let There Be Love as a fortnightly addition.

Chapter Twenty-Two

A Fraught Development

Two weeks later:

Carolyn walked quickly out of town, heading for the turn-off onto Bay Road. She was determined to arrive back at the house before her husband's ship left the security of the Schooner Bay harbour. She wanted to go up onto the walk and watch the ship's progress until it vanished over the horizon. Then she would settle in to wait impatiently for his return.

Their goodbyes on the dock had been long and lingering, marred only by the tardy arrival of a very apologetic Seaman Applegate pulling mightily on his forelock as he rushed across the dock toward the Rebecca's gangplank. The man moved very quickly aboard, threatened by the lash of Daniel's shouted commands as his idling crew scrambled back from their own farewells at the ship's rail to man their stations in readiness to set sail.

"I guess Seaman Applegate will never change." Carolyn sighed as she watched the scene with resignation.

Daniel shook his head ruefully. "If I remember rightly, it was your tender heart that saved his sorry hide last time. If he does not shape up on this voyage I will be forced to dismiss him. I cannot afford to carry any slackers when a more able man could well take his place."

"If you must." Carolyn shrugged. "But it would be a pity if you cannot teach him how to be a proper seaman. You managed to teach me."

She reached up to kiss him again. "I shall miss you. Come back to me safely and whole."

"I will…" Daniel cupped her face between his hands. "No matter what, I shall always return to you. 'Your loving arms are my harbour, my shore, and my anchor in a storm-tossed world. I fly to you as truly as an arrow flies into the sun, to be lost in the brilliance of your smile, the warmth of your greeting and the certainty of your endless love…'"

"Yes…" Carolyn replied tremulously as she took her final, tearful leave of her husband. Hers was to be a solitary walk home while he had a ship to command and little time to look back toward the retreating shore.

She drew a deep steadying breath as she walked away from the docks, glancing backwards now and then as she went. This part of their married life she doubted she would ever become used to dealing with. The necessary separations burdened her soul with dread and longing.

"It's only for six weeks, I hope." She braced her shoulders as she entered the town.

The children were at school and Martha had stayed behind to catch up on her baking. Henry was safe in the sure care of his young nurse, Ellen, who had taken him to visit Claymore to be fully attired with a new winter wardrobe. No expense was to be spared. It seemed that Claymore had developed quite the soft spot for his adopted son and heir.

Carolyn pulled her handkerchief from her sleeve to dry her eyes as she walked on. She knew she should get used to not seeing her husband for most of the summer, but his leaving still brought on a feeling of helpless loneliness.

She tipped her face up to the sky. "I miss you already."

There was a small hope to see him home for the winter sooner than expected. The advancing chill of an early fall marked this voyage as possibly Daniel's last of the season. Buoyed by that hope, Carolyn smiled mistily as she hurried along, holding on to her bonnet against the clutch of the chill west wind which was carrying her husband further and further from her side.

She prayed all would go well and her beloved would be home again and they would be able to spend the winter months together. She hoped her family had had enough of Gull Cottage for now. Though she counted nothing as certain, especially with the advent of the Christmas season once more and knowing her parents didn't need an invitation to come calling on them again.

"And as for Hazel and Harriet…" Carolyn shook her head as her boots found the familiar rutted path on the road that led her home.

With her head down and her hand on the brim of her bonnet, holding it against the determined clutch of the wind, she did not at first hear the carriage slowly approaching her from the direction of her home. It was the snorting of the horses and the jingling of their harness that alerted her. She moved aside to the edge of the road to allow it to pass and was surprised when it drew up beside her and stopped.

The nearside door opened and a familiar face looked out. Sally Hall smiled when she saw Carolyn. She reached out a hand to beckon her forward.

"Your housekeeper said you would be walking home alone from saying goodbye to your husband. So I decided to come and find you. I hope you don't mind my unannounced visit, but I was in the area and decided to call in on my way back to Boston."

"Not at all. You are most welcome." Carolyn walked forward. "How lovely to see you again."

The coach driver jumped to the ground to fold down the steps for her to step up into the coach. Carolyn thanked him with a smile.

"I did wonder if you'd already seen quite enough of the Hall family." Sally chuckled as she moved back, allowing room for Carolyn to climb aboard. "My father can be very overbearing and impatient when he wants something."

"You, I am happy to see at any time," Carolyn replied, settling herself. "Did your father tell you about his thwarted visit to Gull Cottage?"

Sally directed her driver to turn the coach back to the house before she said, "He couldn't resist blustering on about how he was surrounded by ungrateful females. You hurt his pride and that smarted. He's even more determined than ever now to sink my Ladies' View magazine out of all sight. He will go after all my contributors, hoping to bribe them away."

Carolyn pressed her gloves fingers together. "Oh, dear, I am so sorry. I didn't mean for his dreadful temper to be visited on you."

"Don't be sorry, my dear." Sally waved a dismissing hand. "We've been butting heads ever since my mother died and left me to run the magazine. I haven't been so entertained for such a long time. For my father to bother to cross the threshold of my offices to speak to me in person, I knew something had truly and deeply upset him. And it took a slip of a woman to do it."

"Well, he was obnoxious and mean, talking down to me as if I didn't possess a mind of my own. I was too sharp for his liking. He tried to bribe me away from you with promises of expensive educations for my children."

Sally sighed. "Yes, he said you were not at all what he had been expecting. He quite abhors my association with you. He still may entertain hopes of drawing you away from me. He does not give up so easily."

"Nor do I," Carolyn stated firmly.

"Good." Sally turned to look earnestly at her as the coach drew up before the front gate of Gull Cottage. "We are going to make a great success of my magazine and force my father to acknowledge the wisdom of my staying on to run it. He holds only a minor share so he cannot push the issue. But he can make every attempt to subvert my contributors away from me with bribes of the same nature he offered you. Some have already succumbed to his blandishments. That I cannot help. But I would be very sorry to lose you."

"He was very persuasive but he also thought he could make both my husband and I go back on our word. Which is not the way we do business. Our contract is with you and is binding on all of us."

"Thank you." Sally nodded as her driver jumped down to open the door for them to alight. "You have placed your faith in me and you will not be disappointed."

"I don't expect to be," Carolyn acknowledged. "Are you needing to stay the night with us? I have completed the rough draft of our third manuscript if you would care to see it."

"Well, 'An Angel's Song' was a wonderful read. Your husband's turn of phrase with that letter of his was pure genius. I will look forward to publishing it and giving my father an apoplexy. And if my readers' responses to your latest instalment of 'For A Captain's Love' is anything to go by, we certainly have found a winning formula. Our circulation is already up by a very satisfying degree which irked my father even more."

Carolyn's brow creased as she escorted her companion into the house. "I can only hope we do not run out of suitable stories. Daniel has been looking through his sea journals for inspiration."

Sally shrugged. "Well, I am sure your husband must know some other sea captains with stirring stories to tell. I doubt he would have to look far."

"No, he wouldn't." Visions of a devilishly smiling Lucius Beaumont suddenly appeared in Carolyn's mind as she called for Martha to see to Sally's coachman and the luggage.

She shook her head ruefully. "I do believe Daniel may do. Though how suitable Captain Beaumont's stories will be in another matter entirely."

"I like the sound of him already." Sally laughed as she drew off her gloves and hat.

"Yes…" Carolyn replied as she untied the strings of her bonnet and removed it. "I do think the two of you would get on famously. You both have the same sense of humour."

"Then you must introduce us sometime."

"If we ever encounter him again in Boston, I most certainly will. Please follow me and I will show you to the guest room, then we can get comfortable and go over my next outline before we have dinner."

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Seated in the living room over a cup of coffee after dinner, Sally lowered the manuscript slowly. "This is amazing. If I may say it is even better than the first two. If such a thing is possible."

She shook her head. "You two certainly have a gift for words. As always I find myself right there on that ship. It's almost as if you were there too."

Carolyn grimaced as she sipped her coffee. "My mother always accused me of having too vivid an imagination and wanting too much from life. She said I should be content with possessing a husband and children. That was her opinion of a woman's role in life."

Sally put aside the manuscript and sat back. "And yet here you are, making the most of your talents. You should not waste the gift the good Lord gave you."

"And yet here I am and my mother knows nothing about my being published. She sees my writing as a curse, not a gift. She would take it as an excuse to remove my children from their unsuitable mother. I might as well be on the stage."

"A rather drastic stance." Sally shook her head. "But I have seen it in my own family with my parents arguing over what my future will be. A husband and children figured strongly in my father's ideas for me as well."

"You do not know my mother or my female cousins. They would delight in making my life difficult for their own ends. They always have. Daniel rescued me from that fate but not from their ongoing interference. We have only just seen the back of my Cousin Hazel. She was determined to run our lives for our own good."

"Then we must hope that word of our endeavours does not get back to your family. They will certainly hear nothing about it from my lips."

"Thank you," Carolyn breathed gratefully. "One day I will tell them myself, but not yet."

Sally picked up the manuscript again. "When do you think you will have this novel completed?"

"I hope to have it written by the time Daniel returns from London. Then we can polish it and mail it away to you as soon as we are done."

"I shall have to start reconsidering my offer to you." Sally laughed, picking up her coffee cup. "You have more than lived up to my expectations. I am so glad we found each other."

"Me too," Carolyn acknowledged happily as Martha carried in a tray holding a plate filled with slices of delicious-looking chocolate cake and three small glasses.

She put the tray down on the coffee table before drawing a small bottle from the pocket of her apron. "I don't think the Captain would mind if we shared a nip or two of his good sherry. After all, this is a celebration of all you've accomplished so far."

"I'm sure he wouldn't." Carolyn nodded as she accepted the bottle and filled the three glasses.

Sally's expression sobered as she accepted her glass. "You must know my father will keep on with his quest to thwart you. He will keep digging until he finds something he can use against you. He is not above paying good money to have you investigated and he can afford to buy the very best."

"He may investigate all he likes," Carolyn replied stoutly. "He will not find any skeletons in my closet or under my bed."

"Just so long as you are aware if anyone comes snooping around, looking to find information on you."

"I shall see them off with my new broom," Martha replied. "I promised the Captain there will be no issues at home while he is away. And I meant it."

"Thank you both," Carolyn acknowledged. "But I can take care of myself. I'm sure no one in Schooner Bay will have tales to tell either."

"Then I am content." Sally nodded. "I shall look forward to a long and profitable association with you all."

She raised her glass in acknowledgement.

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"You have a good friend in that Miss Hall," Martha stated as the coach drove away from the gate of Gull Cottage the next morning. "She'll see you right and no mistake."

"Yes…" Carolyn dropped her hand from waving goodbye. "I can only hope we can find enough stories to keep going with our work. Having Daniel home for the winter will be a huge blessing."

"You've both come a long way," Martha acknowledged as she closed the front door. "If only your mother could see you now and approve of all you do."

Carolyn grimaced. "Sadly we both know that will never happen."

"Yes, sadly. Your mother and the cousins are all very silly women," the housekeeper replied roundly. "I know you don't like to hear it said, but there it is. They only want what they want for you. Not what you want for yourself."

"Yes…" Carolyn sighed gustily. "But since they will never change their opinion I am forced to ignore their thoughts on all that I do or say."

Martha nodded. "I hope we've seen the last of the twins for a while. It's just as well you've got the Captain to back you up. Your mother will be feeling the need to come visit us again soon enough and you need your man here, not halfway around the world."

"Christmas…" Carolyn grasped the intent of her friend's words. "I fear you are right. They have stayed away too long already."

Martha shrugged. "Yes, well, what better excuse does she need? And if she decides to bring the cousins with her." She shook her head ruefully.

Carolyn squared her shoulders as she gathered her skirts, preparing to go upstairs and back to her work. "We shall just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. I can only hope they do not find out about my writing. Then they will really have something unpleasant to say to me."

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Three weeks later:

Claymore sat hunched over his bookwork puffing contentedly on his long-stemmed pipe. He'd been sitting there for quite some time, adding up the rows and rows of tidy figures that truly warmed his penny-pinching heart. He had increased the rents again and recently foreclosed on a mortgage or two that had been worth his while in acquiring.

The summer season for rental houses had been very good to him and he'd even managed to rent out the old Palmer house that Carolyn and her children had inhabited when they'd first arrived in Schooner Bay. Admittedly he'd been forced to renovate the place at some cost to his purse. But the suitable lift in the summer rental price had compensated him in the long run. The rising wreath of contented smoke around his head almost engulfed him as he sighed with pleasure.

The chill of the early fall was creeping into the office through the un-curtained windows and beneath the front door, but Claymore steadfastly refused to spend extra money on a new supply of coal. He would rather pull on another layer of clothing than waste money unnecessarily.

"I might be seen as a reformed character," he said to nobody. "But I'm not a fool. I'll not be parted from a single cent of my hard-earned money if I can help it."

The front door of the office opened, allowing in a blast of cold air. Claymore turned from his figuring to scowl at his clerk of office. The young man he'd been forced to hire after Carolyn had married Daniel.

Fresh from the Schooner Bay orphanage, Jack Trent was young, willing and eager to learn. But he was still not half the clerk his predecessor had been and maybe he never would be. Claymore persevered but it did little for the state of his temper. Carolyn knew her work well and had completed it instinctively.

"You're five minutes late," Claymore complained, pulling out his pocket watch and regarding the young man with disfavour as he managed to push the door shut again with the heel of his boot. "You know very well that time is money! I don't know how many times I've tried to teach you that valuable lesson!"

"But I had to wait back at the store 'til your order was done," Jack gasped, staggering to his desk to unburden his arms of the pile of new ledger books he was carrying. He began to file them away in the wall cabinet.

"Five minutes here, five minutes there," Claymore tut-tutted, waving his quill pen in concert with his complaint. "And it's all out of my pocket! I don't know why people are always so careless with their time. Time is money, lad. Time is money. We will see who's smiling soon enough when the bills start rolling in."

He pointed to his watch with the tip of his quill pen. "But I expect you to work an extra ten minutes this afternoon to make the time up before you go home."

"Yes, Sir." Jack looked crestfallen as he completed his task. "But it wasn't my fault."

Claymore put aside his pen as he frowned at his clerk. "You know you have very big shoes to fill. I've already told you that if you prove to be half as good as Mrs Gregg was then you'll find me quite generous."

He waved a warning finger. "But you're not there yet, young man. Not by a long chalk. You have a great deal still to learn."

"Yes, Sir," Jack repeated, drawing on his cuff protectors before climbing up onto the stool at his desk.

"Speaking of Mrs Gregg," he continued as he picked up his feather quill. "There's this fancy lookin' woman down at the General Store been askin' questions about her. And I heard her ask Mr Hammond about you too. Seems she knows the name, Gregg. Dressed all in black she was. Like she's a widow woman."

"What do you mean? What woman and what sort of questions?" Claymore demanded sharply.

"Nosy ones." Jack shook his head. "Couldn't put me finger on why, but she seemed real interested in the answers she got. She was readin' that magazine Mrs Gregg writes for when I left."

"I trust you knew enough to keep silent about any doings of my family?" Claymore demanded as he got up and walked to the door to grab his hat and coat.

"Of course." Jack looked startled. "You've been very kind to me, Sir. Givin' me a good job and all so I can make my way in the world. I'd never break your trust."

Claymore settled his hat on his head before thrusting his arms into the sleeves of his coat. "I'm very pleased to hear it."

He opened the front door and then turned back. "What did this woman look like?"

He listened as Jack described the nosy stranger in detail, then nodded his thanks. "Good. Now do not neglect your work while I'm gone. Remember the time you owe me and don't go daydreaming. I'm going to find out exactly what this woman wants with my cousin's wife."

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