A note to all my lovely readers:

If you would love to read my recent novels retelling the original story of The Ghost and Mrs Muir then please go to Amazon (US) and look under Books for Lucie and the Captain and Lucie of Greystone Cottage by Katherine Lange.

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Thank you for your attention, please enjoy!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover…"

H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Down To The Sea

"She's surely a real beauty, Sir!" Jonathan enthused, gazing with wide, admiring eyes at their new ship. "I can't wait to go aboard! May I, please?"

"I thought all you wanted was a stack of pancakes and maple syrup," his sister retorted with a grin. "Or did you forget?"

"Girls!" Jonathan grimaced with disgust. "They don't know nothing about anything. This is more important than food!"

"I know that you won't want to go for breakfast once you get aboard. And I'm starving."

"I wouldn't mind taking a quick look at the gallery," Martha added thoughtfully. "I'd feel a mite better in my mind if I could see how it all works. I'm doubtful of how a body could cook anything in a room that keeps moving."

"Maybe you could cook us some pancakes," Candy offered hopefully. "I'll help you make them."

"Well, I want to go climbing up in the rigging," Jonathan huffed. "Do you think I'd be allowed, Captain? I mean, if you said I could…"

"Merry Christmas, my love…" Daniel leaned down to rest his forehead against his wife's. "And you wished for us to have more children than just this one…" He spread his hand briefly across her belly, kissing her brow before he straightened up regretfully.

He turned to his hopeful stepson. "I'm not yet master of the Carolyn, lad. You'll have to ask Captain Beaumont. He still has the command until he comes ashore to hand her over."

As he spoke the ship's gangplank descended, thumping to rest on the wharf for the bustling dock workers to secure. A small group of men appeared at the ship's rail above, Lucius leading the way ashore, a wide grin on his handsome features.

He saluted Daniel. "Delivered safe and sound as requested, Captain. Her command is now yours."

"Thank you, Captain." Daniel returned the salute. "She looks to be in fine form. And you've made excellent time."

"She's a stout ship." Lucius looked back over his shoulder. "Well made and trim. If my Rebecca handles half as well we'll have some good runs this summer."

"She'd better if we're to pay the old Admiral back his investment before he comes looking for our hides. He's not a man known for his patience with slackers. We'll be working for every dollar we earn now."

"Oh, we'll do that right well enough," Lucius reassured him, shaking Daniel's outstretched hand. "I've already secured our cargoes for the first shipment to London next week. Tallow and hides and some fine earthenware. There's been some keen interest in our new venture and the merchants have been lining up for us to carry their cargoes. They know who they can trust."

Lucius took Carolyn's hand to kiss the backs of her fingers. "It's good to see you again, Mrs Gregg. And blooming too. How do you manage to look even more lovely every time I see you?"

"Call me Carolyn, please…" Carolyn offered, smiling up into his amused expression. "I think we can now forego the formalities. Since you've already named a ship after me and gone into business with my husband."

"Carolyn, it is then…" Lucius acknowledged with a nod, pushing his sea cap back on his head. "Thank you, I would like that."

"May I go aboard her now, Sir?" Jonathan asked impatiently, edging into their conversation. "Now that you're in command. Please, Sir?"

"A fine ship's boy in the making?" Lucius looked Jonathan over with approval. "I can just remember when I was this young and eager to test my limits."

The boy's parents exchanged glances. Carolyn nodded, giving her silent permission, knowing there was no way to slake her son's deep thirst for adventure and all things naval than to allow him his wish.

"Thank you," Daniel acknowledged softly. "The lad will come to no harm and he needs to learn his limits. It might as well be in the harbour rather than on the ocean."

He turned to the group of men who'd walked down the gangplank behind Lucius. "Mr Jarvis…" he commanded, seeing his first mate standing among them.

"Aye, aye, Captain…" The young man saluted quickly as he hurried forward to receive his first command.

※※※※※

Later that morning, the Gull Cottage family finally returned to the house. They were all seated around the kitchen table discussing their plans over their luncheon. The children had talked non-stop since they'd come home from the harbour. Carolyn was well aware neither of them would sleep much tonight.

"She's a very fine ship, Captain," Jonathan enthused. "Malcolm said I can be the second cabin boy with him. He said he would teach me my duties. If that's all right with you, Sir." He looked up at Daniel hopefully.

"Malcolm can teach you well if you're willing to learn." Daniel ruffled the boy's blond curls affectionately.

"Oh yes, Sir! I will, Sir!" Jonathan saluted with childlike enthusiasm, grinning happily from ear to ear.

"We have some news of our own," Carolyn added to the conversation, taking her husband's hand to hold it tightly.

She took the opportunity of Ellen being out of the room seeing to Henry. The baby was now teething and newly fretful.

"Some more news, is it? As if going to sea isn't excitement enough…" Martha chuckled as she poured their coffees. "I don't know if you can top that."

She looked up at Carolyn's blissful expression. "Or maybe you can…" Her gaze shifted to Daniel and she nodded. "Okay, I see you can."

"Congratulations." She saluted them with her coffee cup. "Good for you."

"What is it, Mother?" Candy asked innocently. "What do you have to tell us?"

Carolyn reached to take her daughter's small hand. "When we return home in the fall, I'm going to have a baby. You're going to have a sister or a brother."

"Oh, Mother how lovely! You're going to have a baby?" Candy stared at her with eyes wide with joy. "I think that's just wonderful." She glanced shyly at her stepfather. "I want to have lots of babies when I grow up."

"Me too," Jonathan stated loyally. "But, if it's all the same to you, Mother. I'd rather the baby was a brother for me. I surely don't need to have another sister to nag me all of the time."

"Well, I'd like a sister. I want to be a big sister." Candy rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, you already are…" Her brother stood his ground. "Girls don't know a thing about anything important. But I bet the Captain wants a boy."

He looked to his hero hopefully. "I'm gonna need a second cabin boy to come after me."

Daniel shook his head slowly. "I never looked to become a father. A healthy babe is all I can ask the good Lord for. I care not about its gender."

"A boy, then," Jonathan said brightly. "We need another man around the house. There's too many girls already. Henry doesn't count. He's Uncle Claymore's son."

"The lad does have a fair point there…" Daniel smiled ruefully, looking up at his wife.

"Just as long as he or she has got ten fingers and ten toes when the baby's born, we'll get along just fine," Martha added. "I'm looking forward to spoiling another little one. Jonathan was such a sweet baby. He never gave me a lick of trouble and that's a fact."

"But what are you going to tell Grandfather and Grandmother?" Candy asked wisely. "And Cousin Hazel and Harriet. They'll all want to come visit us as soon as they know. They won't be happy that we won't be here."

"Truly out of the mouths of innocent children…" Daniel sighed, taking a long mouthful of his strong, black coffee. "Another very good reason for us all to run away to sea together. The less I see of the Williams…" he muttered.

Carolyn nodded. "We'll have to tell Uncle Claymore of our plans and ask him to take care of the house while we're away. But I think it's best if we tell no one of our news of the baby outside this house. Not until we're good and ready to tell them."

"Fair enough. We can all agree on that. Right, children?"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" they said in unison, both saluting smartly as they fell about laughing.

Amid the happy noise, Martha laid a hand on Carolyn's arm. "I'm so happy for you both. You deserve every happiness. At least, your confinement will be in the wintertime. It couldn't be more perfect."

She patted Carolyn's hand comfortingly. "Now you need to rest while we plan for all the packing we'll need to be getting on with. You go on up and lie down while you can. I'll bring you a nice, hot cup of tea later and a bite to eat. You're eating for two now, remember?"

"Thank you…" Carolyn nodded. "Yes, you're right. We still have so many things to work out and plan for. Going away to sea is such a wonderful idea."

※※※※※

"Are you really, truly sure we can do this?" Carolyn asked worriedly that evening, turning in bed to frown at Daniel. "I mean, the children are still young. They could wait for another summer."

"Are you having second thoughts already, my love?" Her husband smiled gently as he leaned back on his pillows stacked against the headboard.

He put aside the book he'd been reading. "I thought you said you wanted to do this. That you don't wish to stay behind this summer."

"With all my heart," Carolyn countered quickly. "It's just that—"

"Then listen to it and not your head…" Daniel placed a loving finger across her lips, silencing her protest. "A wise man once said that any journey, however long or short, must always begin with a single step. And the children will be safe enough. I would never allow any harm to come to them."

He reached for her, placing his large hands on her hips, drawing her to him easily to sit astride his lap. "In five days' time, you will take that very first step into a new world with me. Think of it like our honeymoon trip to Boston only longer this time. And that voyage was a revelation."

He impelled her down to kiss the tip of her nose. "Do you not think that I also had my doubts that we could do this? It was not an easy decision to make."

Carolyn placed her two hands flat against his naked chest, pushing herself back to look down into his blue eyes. "You had your doubts, too?"

"In the beginning, yes. Many doubts…" Her husband shrugged. "When Lucius first arrived in London, he hurried to tell me about his incredible proposal that we start our own shipping line with Admiral Kearns' money."

He shook his head. "We went out to dinner with the old man at the Savoy. The Admiral said he'd been feeling restless lately. Useless, tied up and shore-bound as he now is. He said he needed to feel he still had some say in the ways of the world. All I could see was the many pitfalls such a venture could create. The owner of any vessel has vastly more worries than a ship's master."

He sighed. "Not the least of which would be the more time I would be forced to spend away from you and my family. I almost refused his generous offer right then."

He moved one hand from her hip to spread his fingers wide across the slight roundness of her bare abdomen. "I knew such an enormous undertaking would keep me away longer from all that I've come to love and cherish with all my heart. I didn't want that."

Carolyn frowned at his pensive look. "And yet, you agreed to Lucius's plan to purchase and sail your own ships? You made the agreement between you before you came home to us."

"Yes…" Daniel nodded slowly. "It was Lucius who saw my hesitation. He dragged me back to his ship and worked on my reluctance all night. He has a very persuasive tongue and plied me with several bottles of the most excellent Madeira he said he'd been saving for just such an occasion."

He chuckled wryly. "When I expressed my many reservations he laughed and said, 'Why not sail away with Carolyn aboard? What could it hurt?'"

His hands slid lower to the rounded softness of her bottom. "Through the fog of Madeira fumes and a badly aching head, such a deliciously tempting idea, once voiced, would not go away. I spent all day and the next night wrestling with it, trying to see how it would work. I had said you could sail with me in the future."

"Were you afraid I would say no to the whole idea?" Carolyn asked quietly.

"A little, yes," Daniel admitted honestly. "Then I remembered that look in your eyes the time I sailed from you at the end of last summer. You stood on the dock for such a long time, watching me leave and yearning for my return. I almost commanded the ship to turn back and take you aboard."

"But, you didn't…" Carolyn's breath hissed softly between her lips as the tips of his probing fingers teased against the velvet warmth of her womanhood. "I didn't think you ever looked back for me…" Her back arched at the sensual temptation of his touch.

"Always…" Her husband's seeking lips traced the sweet line of her throat down to the warm valley between her breasts. "The loneliest place in the whole world is standing at that rail watching Schooner Bay sink below the horizon knowing I was leaving you behind once more. And how helpless I always felt…"

He turned his head to rest his bearded cheek against her breasts over her accelerated heartbeat. "Knowing you were waiting for me to come home had me chafing to return. My crew often suffered the harsh edge of my tongue for my impatience."

"You never told me…" Carolyn whispered against his dark curls. "You should have told me…"

"How could I worry you more when there was nothing to be done about it? Your own trials have caused you enough suffering, my love…" He impelled her upwards against him with his hands cupping the twin moons of her backside. "Cousin Hazel and then your parents. The damnable Hall with his outrageous demands and then blasted Vanessa Beauvoir pushing her way back into our lives. We were given no time to breathe. There have been so many times I swore I would carry you off to sea with me and not look back or count the cost…"

He sighed as he settled her body fully against him, making her entirely aware of what her scented warmth was doing to him. "But I knew you would fret too much without having the children with you. However much I desperately wanted to be alone with you. I could see another long, bleak summer ahead of me but I was powerless to do anything about it. Then, Lucius told me of his plans…"

"I understand…" Carolyn nodded knowingly, her eyes locking with his as their bodies joined, slowly and completely, "'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…'" she whispered against his seeking lips as the world swayed and fell away beneath the urgency of their ardent lovemaking once more as they became lost in each other…

※※※※※

Two days later:

"You're planning to take my son and his nurse away to sea with you?" Claymore frowned, drawing the feather of his quill pen between his ink-stained fingers in agitation. "Do you think that's at all wise? Why can't he stay behind where I can keep an eye on his progress and welfare?"

"You'd need to keep more than an eye on him, Uncle. Are you prepared to also take care of his many daily needs," Carolyn asked softly. "He's a growing boy and he's teething right now. Ellen couldn't manage him all on her own. I thought that's why you gave him to us to raise. It's not as if we'll be gone for months. And Henry will be well cared for."

"You know I couldn't possibly wait on that child hand and foot," Claymore added huffily, seeing the yawning gap in his argument. "I'm far too busy with my summer rentals and my other revenues. I can barely find time for myself. Why, I've hardly slept these few days. I've been far too busy."

He frowned at his young clerk of office who was listening closely to their conversation. "It's time you took that rent book around again, young man," he instructed abruptly. "Don't dally and do not linger at the house of that Miller girl. You've got enough work to keep you well busy and there's no time for romance. Come straight back here the moment you're done. We'll be working all night otherwise."

"Yes, Sir and no, Sir." Young Jack sighed as he pulled at his forelock. He got off his stool to fetch his coat and cap before leaving the office with a large ledger jammed beneath his arm.

"Then it's all settled. No harm will come to the babe," Daniel replied to his cousin. "It will be good for Henry to get some good, fresh sea air in his lungs."

"I suppose so…" Claymore frowned. "I'm guessing you want me to look after your house as I used to do before you two got married? For my usual fee, of course."

"You'll get your blasted fee. Do you know what I really find so very refreshing about you, Cousin?" Daniel asked in a wry tone.

"No… But I know you're going to tell me whether I like it or not." Claymore pulled on his quill in agitation.

"It's that whatever happens or whatever befalls you, you don't change one iota from your money-gouging, sand shark, miserly self." Daniel shook his head. "In the most macabre and troubling way, I find that fact strangely comforting and endearing."

Carolyn giggled at the very accurate description. "Sorry…" she apologised, covering her mouth with her hand.

Claymore grimaced. "Yes, well. I heard you'd started up your own shipping company with Beaumont and the Admiral's money. Secrets like that have a way of getting out."

"It's no secret," Daniel replied evenly. "It makes sound business sense as well you know."

"Yes, well, I might have a use for you and your ships." Claymore eyed his cousin speculatively. "At least I know I can trust you. My import business of French antiques is booming. I can barely keep up with demand."

He pulled a discontented face. "And I'll be checking every single item for any hidden drawers or secret compartments. I don't want a repeat of my encounter with that dreadful Countess Beauvoir. Her sort I can do without ever meeting again. She cost me a pretty penny."

"Then you should be sleeping well at night, Uncle," Carolyn replied with a smile. "Dream of all the money you're going to be making from all your new ventures."

"Bah!" Claymore eyed her mirth with displeasure. "I don't need to sleep! It's such a waste of precious time! I'll see you when you get back in six weeks. I just hope you two haven't gone and bitten off more than you can chew. Now if you'll excuse me…"

He looked pointedly toward the office door. "I have some important business I need to be getting on with. My summer rental business is booming. I need to look for some new properties."

He frowned speculatively at Daniel. "I don't suppose you would reconsider my proposal?"

"Not now, not ever," Daniel replied roundly, settling his sea cap on his head before escorting his wife to the door and out onto the sidewalk.

"What did Claymore want?" Carolyn asked curiously as she settled herself on the front seat of their carriage.

"Nothing important," Daniel replied as he climbed up and untied the reins. He set the horse in motion with a quick flick of the leather. "He's always been hot for renting out Gull Cottage whenever I've been away at sea. I've refused him countless times but he still persists with the idea. All he sees is more profit."

"Oh, I wouldn't like that at all. Not one little bit." Carolyn looked back at her uncle's office. "Strange people poking around in my things." She shivered.

"Exactly. But Claymore, even though he's changed out of all recognition since you came to Schooner Bay, has never been one to allow a potential profit to escape his greedy grasp. He's like a dog with a bone, constantly chewing on the gristle."

"Yes, the old Claymore is still inside him." Carolyn hugged his arm. "Well, I'm glad you've never been tempted to agree to anything quite so silly."

She shook her head. "Renting out our house, indeed. Just to fatten his coffers. What a silly idea."

"Yes…" Her husband hurried their horse into a trot. "He knows better than to set foot inside our house while we're gone. He may keep an eye on the property, nothing more."

※※※※※

Over the next couple of days, Carolyn soon discovered that packing enough trunks and bags for an entire household that was going to be spending six weeks sailing across the Atlantic was not as easy a task as she'd first thought. But the excitement of not being left behind this season and the wonder of seeing cities and places she'd always dreamed about spurred her on to make sure the onerous task was completed in record time.

"Well, that's the last of it," Martha declared gratefully as she sat down hard on a bulging trunk to enable her to buckle the thick leather straps closed.

Carolyn straightened, with her hands on her hips, to look around at the pile of boxes and trunks in the middle of the upstairs hallway. "I didn't think there would be so much. I hope there's room for it all aboard ship."

"If not, then we'll make room." Martha raised both hands to tick the household off on her fingers. "But there's you, me, the children, one nanny, one baby and a dog."

She frowned around at all the luggage. "Looks about right. Might even say it's all a bit light. Before I came to work for you, I'd packed more than this for the last household I worked in. And they were only going to spend a week at their country house."

"Light?" Carolyn laughed incredulously. "The Captain manages with one seabag and two trunks."

"Ah, yes, but that's because he's a man." Martha got up to smooth down her apron. "They make do with what they need and leave the rest to us. We know what they need before they do."

"I suppose so." Carolyn's brow wrinkled. "You do think we're doing the right thing, sailing away together this season? I wonder if it may be all too much."

"Of course, it's not too much," Martha replied stoutly. "I can tell you that no man's ever gone and fitted out a ship for me, so I can go sailing with him in comfort. He knew you'd be miserable over having to stay here at home again while he's away. You would only fret and that wouldn't be good for the baby. Your Captain is a very wise man."

The housekeeper hugged her. "I've been seeing that aching wanderlust look in your eye ever since the Captain sailed home before Christmas. Let anyone try and stop you from going now and they'll be risking a right telling off."

"Yes…" Carolyn chuckled with cautious relief. "Let anyone try and stop any of us now." She pressed a hand to her abdomen. "And we'll be back home in plenty of time before this baby comes. I know Daniel will make sure of that. Life couldn't be more perfect…"

Again, one last nagging duty pricked at her conscience. "I think I'll send my parents a telegram with our news just before we leave Boston. My mother will not be pleased with my sailing away, but I can't help that. This is my life, not hers, and I intend to live it."

She placed a hand on her abdomen. "But I think this little secret needs to wait to be told until we get home again."

"Best idea. A summer without any of the Williams' womenfolk coming around here, getting underfoot and making demands on your patience and time will suit you very well." Martha grimaced. "If you'll forgive me for saying so, but your mother wouldn't be pleased if she fell face first into muck and came up with two handfuls of gold!"

"Oh, Martha!" Carolyn laughed delightedly as she hugged her good friend. "I couldn't have put it better myself! We're going to have some amazing adventures and I can't wait!"

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