Chapter Eleven

In Peril Aboard The Mary Anne

By the time the school bus pulled up outside the front gate, Carolyn was more than happy to call it a day. Her back and shoulders ached, but she was very pleased with the progress she'd made with the manuscript. Everything was knitting together seamlessly.

She shuffled all the pages into a neat pile and secreted them away in the bottom drawer of the desk. She smiled down at the dog, still faithfully curled up at her feet.

"You can go off guard duty now," she encouraged. "Run along and find the children. See that they get upstairs safely with all they need to wrap their presents. We've hidden everything down in the living room. I'll finish up here while you're doing that. I'm sure, the Captain will be along right on the stroke of four o'clock for our daily consultation."

She smiled. "I think he'll still be in a bit of a mood. I really do think he's becoming rather lonely." She shrugged. "But it can't be helped. I need him to be in one of his contrary moods where he disappears and leaves us alone for days on end. That would help us all tremendously."

Even as she said the words she knew they were untrue. "But it can't be helped. Not yet, anyway…"

The dog jumped up and barked as he ran from the room to find his young friends. He ran down the stairs and then almost immediately came back up again, ahead of the children.

As he entered the hallway he froze, growling low in his throat. He pointed with one paw as the children, burdened with their paper and gifts ran into the hall behind him.

"Oh, oh… Captain Gregg's here." Jonathan stopped walking. Both children hurriedly shoved their burdens of gifts and wrapping paper behind their backs.

"Good day, mates…" The Captain appeared in their path, blocking their way. "I thought we might have a pleasant little chat. How was your day at school? Did you make any new friends?"

He rubbed his hands together. "I hear there's a school play in the offing. I always enjoyed a good play. You can rely on me to help if needed, mates. Just say the word. Did I tell you that I once took in an excellent portrayal of the Bard's 'Julius Caesar' while I was docked in London Town? A fine, stirring play it was too. Afterwards, they served a magnificent fish supper and glasses of champagne."

"Sorry, Captain…" Jonathan shook his head, keeping close to his sister. "We can't talk now. We don't have any time."

He frowned. "I… that is, we…" His furrowed brow cleared. "We have to get on with our rehearsals."

"Yeah, thanks, Captain. But we got to go and rehearse," Candy added brightly. "Our teacher said so."

Both children sidled around him, moving quickly toward the door of their room. "Yeah, so we can't talk right now, Captain," Candy said, as they walked backwards into the room. "I'm afraid, we're very busy at the moment. I… maybe later…" She eased backwards into the room.

"Yeah, we're too busy right now for idle bilge," Jonathan added cheekily as he shut the door in the Captain's frowning face.

The ghost stared after them. He was becoming tired of this tedious game. But it still served a purpose. He and the children's mother had agreed, and he wasn't about to break it. No matter how much it irked him at times. It was up to the lady herself to change the rules and agree they should be done away with. Once given, a decent man always kept his word.

Besides, there were other benefits to his ongoing isolation from the affairs of the household. By continuing to give Mrs Muir her nightly dreams, instead of merely reciting the tale of the beautiful stowaway aboard the Mary Anne, he was allowing her valuable insight that mere words could not accomplish.

And it seemed to be showing in her work, given that she'd been typing for hours with barely a break. He was very keen to read the day's work and see what she'd accomplished by so much dedication.

"I will consent to become Captain Joshua Webster, for her sake, much as that confounded name sticks in my craw. But I do understand why she cannot use my real name. It would not be right and could lead to difficult questions we cannot answer." He frowned as he went down on his haunches beside the dog who hadn't been quick enough to make it into the room with the children.

"Now, what about you, my friend," he wheedled, stroking his beard. The animal's company was better than no company at all. "I've always gotten on very well with dogs of all kinds, so I'm going to appeal to your better sense. Instead of constantly betraying me, as you do, you and I should be good friends."

He rose to his feet, warming to his theme. "We have a certain amount in common…" He began to pace, his hands clasped in the small of his back. "Living in this household of mostly females and never really being able to participate as humans. There's a certain loneliness in both of us. A need for companionship. A desire to be wanted for ourselves alone and not for what we can bring to the table."

He stopped pacing and looked down at his seemingly attentive companion. "So, what do you say, young fellow? How'd you like a nice game of ball?"

The dog sneezed. He shook his head as he ran for the staircase and disappeared.

The Captain stared after him in consternation. "Black-hearted traitor!" he declared as he vanished in a huff and returned to the sanctuary of his attic room to wait until the appointed hour of four o'clock.

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"Good afternoon, Madam," the Captain said formally as he appeared in the bedroom promptly on the first stroke of four o'clock. "I trust you are well?"

Carolyn smiled as she glanced up from looking through the telescope. "Very well, thank you, Captain…" She went back to her task. "You know, I never realised before just how soothing this pastime can be. Standing here, watching all the ships coming in and going out again..."

She made no move to step down from her position. She was determined to provoke him into another of his lengthy silences. After all, it was for a very good cause, and he would understand when she finally could show him the completed manuscript and explain it all to him.

"I am glad you find such relief in my possessions," the ghost replied moodily. "Since you are already here, we may as well begin our consultation time. Unless you have somewhere else you need to be."

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Carolyn tried to look contrite as she straightened up again. "Did you wish to use this? It is, after all, your time to be in here. I'll go downstairs and see to the children's homework. And we have their play costumes we need to make. I'll leave you alone to enjoy the evening."

She stepped down and then stopped. "Unless you feel the need to consult with me on some more urgent matter? I thought we were doing rather well with your rules."

She raised her brows. "For my part, I'm quite happy to leave everything until Monday at four. Then we can discuss the week over our glass of Madeira."

"I…" The Captain stared at her, making no move to take possession of the telescope. "… thought it might be you who wished to consult with me. Surely there is some feminine grievance that you wish to air. I have never known a woman not to have at least one burning issue she wants to get off her chest."

Carolyn frowned as she shook her head and pretended to think. "Nope. I can't think of a single thing I need to discuss with you. Everything is running very smoothly. Thanks to you and your excellent organisational skills, Captain. You were right. What we needed was some discipline and order aboard this ship."

His frowning look disbelieved her. "You don't find our arrangement irksome in any way? I would have thought that, as a woman, you would be trying to amend it in some way by now. Seek to turn events to your advantage. It would be just like a woman to attempt to do so."

"Not at all…" Carolyn shrugged as she crossed the room toward the open door. "I really do think our arrangement is working out very well. I'm getting a lot of work done and it's so very peaceful around here. I find I can think very clearly."

She managed to speak the lie without blushing this time. But her tangled emotions still burned through her, warming her blood. She longed to be able to walk into his willing embrace and have his powerful arms close around her. It would be heaven to be comforted and held against the strength of his shoulder. She wanted to tell him what she had been doing and ask for his help. It irked her a little that she still couldn't. The party was still weeks away. She needed to stay strong.

"I see. So that's the way the wind still blows." The Captain turned, his frowning glare tracking her progress across the room. "Then, is there anything I may help you with, Madam? Some task I may perform for you to ease your burden of care?"

He took a step toward her. "We have yet to discuss how you are to make the money you need to remain beneath my roof. That article on the little medium is still insufficient for your ongoing needs. You've admitted that. You stand in need of help, no matter how much you protest."

"Oh, I…" Carolyn ran a hand up around the back of her neck and tried to look casual. "I'm sure I'll think of something. Given enough time. But, thank you, Captain. That's very sweet of you to offer to help."

"Sweet!?" The resident ghost reared back as if she had just slapped him across the face. "I may be many things, Madam! But I have never accused of being sweet, in my entire life!"

"Well, I think you're being very sweet," Carolyn replied with a smile. "Madame Tibaldi thought so too. You really made a great impression there. I think she was almost half in love with you."

"Fiddle faddle!" the Captain snapped. "I can see your mood is inclined toward the frivolous and not given to any serious bent." He bowed his head sharply. "If I cannot be of any assistance, and you say there is nothing to discuss, I shall leave you alone, Madam, until you decide to come to your senses. Good afternoon, Mrs Muir!"

"Good afternoon," Carolyn replied as he vanished in a huff. "I'm sorry, Captain…" She sighed as she whispered, "But I do hope you stay away for now. I have an urgent dream I really need to be getting on with…"

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Later that evening, Carolyn breathed a cautious sigh of relief when there was no further sign of the ghost. The children weren't worried, agreeing that it was better if no one summoned him. That way, the secret of their planned birthday party was safe enough for now. They were so eager to surprise him.

It was barely nine o'clock when Carolyn retired to bed. Martha had wilfully encouraged her with yawns and stretching. She was making out she was too tired to stay up tonight for their usual evening glass of sherry and a slice of cherry cake.

"Sweet dreams, I hope…" The housekeeper winked as she turned out the kitchen lights behind her. "I've already been up and seen to the kids and they're asleep. Good night and remember tomorrow's Saturday. You can sleep in for as long as you like. I'll keep the kids busy and downstairs out of your way. We can work on their costumes for the play."

"Thanks, Martha…" Carolyn kissed her cheek before they parted ways at the foot of the stairs. "You're a gem. I don't know what I would do without you. Good night."

"Don't forget, I want to know everything that happens if you have another dream," Martha called up over the railing before she walked away toward her own room at the back of the house. "Especially if that gorgeous Captain Webster shows up this time. And he'd better…"

"You know I can't make any promises…" Carolyn sighed as she walked up the stairs and entered her room. "That first dream may have been a one-off…"

She hated to disappoint her good friend and confidante, but there was no way she could guarantee she would dream again tonight. Certainly not in such vivid and memorable detail. She wished she had that kind of control over being able to dream at will.

She frowned at the Seagirt envelope and then pushed its contents to the back of her mind. It would keep, for now, since they'd all been denied access to the attic until further notice. She couldn't smuggle it in under the Captain's nose on Monday and expect him not to notice.

She picked up her nightwear from the bed and walked down the hallway to get changed in the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and washed her face before she walked back to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

She turned on the bedside light and pushed back the covers. She got into bed and lay back against her banked pillows.

The manuscript of 'Maiden Voyage' lay on the bedcovers. She frowned at it as she reached out to pick up the pages. It seemed innocent enough.

It was all she could think to do to provoke a new dream. She had worked all day on it, and it still seemed to be fresh in her mind. She wondered if she would pick up the narrative from where she left off early this morning.

"There's only one way to find out…" she whispered as she settled back against her banked pillows and began to read up to the terrifying moment of discovery…

※※※※※

At the stroke of midnight, the Captain appeared beside the bed. He'd already ascertained that Carolyn was now fast asleep. He waved one hand, and the scattered pages of the manuscript magically shuffled themselves back into a neat pile on the bedcovers.

"For feminine reasons of your own, you seem determined to quibble and dither when all I wish to do is help you in your quest. You have put me quite out of all patience with your stubbornness. All you have to do is ask for me to rescind the rules. Why do you find that so hard to do? What else are you seeking to hide from me with your prevarication?"

He leaned down next to her softness and sighed. "Of course, I forgive you. I could never remain angry with you. I would have crossed the entire world for you, and never once counted the cost."

He shook his head as he raised one hand and smoothed his fingertips across the satiny curve of her cheek. Carolyn moved and murmured in her sleep, but he didn't catch what she said.

"To be able to lie here, with you and hold you, safe-harboured, against the entire world…" he whispered. "I would give up my eternity for that single, precious boon…"

On an impulse he no longer tried to control, he went down on one knee and sifted his fingers through the fall of her hair, pushing the strands back from her temple. He bent forward to press his lips to her cheek near the corner of her mouth. Then he moved slightly and kissed her gently on the lips, feeling their soft warmth against his in a moment of breathless glory.

He drew back with a sigh of true regret and stood up. "If only you were awake and aware…" he whispered. "But it's still far too soon. My powers are not strong enough to sustain the contact and you would exhaust me too quickly. But there is another way…"

Inhaling deeply against the throbbing needs of his steadily reawakening body, he began to move his hand through the air once more. "Last night, I promised to keep you safe from all harm. Tonight, we shall continue with our quest. I will help you once more, despite the stubborn nature of your feminine whims…"

"Well, looksee in 'ere, then, lads. There be very sweet, sweet treasure, indeed…"

"Let me go!" Carolyn's heart leapt into her throat with consternation as more than one set of rough and calloused hands were thrust inside the lifeboat to snatch at her arms and clothing.

But there were too many of them and she was helpless to resist their crude efforts to drag her from her hiding place. She was lifted up and tumbled from the security of the little wooden craft. Her booted feet landed heavily on the deck, but she managed to keep her balance as she leaned back against the lifeboat, trying to avoid the press of the noisome bodies closing in all around her.

"Come on now, my pretty…" one seaman cooed, pushing in to get next to her. "You got somethin' I want. Somethin' we all want. How about we start with a buss or two on those soft cherry lips of yourn…"

"Yeah, one kiss for each of us. You don't be stingy, now. 'Cause we like the looks of you, sweeting…"

"Let me go!" Carolyn lashed out with her clenched fists but to no avail.

The men smothered her with their rancid-smelling bodies pressed in close, hemming her in against the lifeboat with nowhere to go. She struggled to breathe in the closeness of them all, turning her face away.

"Get off me!" she tried again, twisting from side to side as she pushed at them.

"Oh, it be a fight you be wantin'," one man crowed as he produced a knife from his waist and waved it before her eyes. "Well then, you've gone and found yaself one. We likes a bit of spirit in our sweet pretties!"

"I am not one of your pretties…" Carolyn was forced to turn her head away against the stench of his breath so close to her face. "Get away from me this instant, you offensive oaf!"

"Well, now, not so fast. Let's just see what you've got hidin' under all of them petticoats and ya corset. I bet it's somethin' worth us all lookin' at."

"Yeah, let's see what ya been hidin'," another man said as he snaked one long arm around her waist and held her tight. "Go on, Smeaton. Cut her good, we all want to see what she's got!"

With several swift slashes of his sharp blade, the man called Smeaton sliced through the long row of buttons holding Carolyn's bodice together. The two halves sprang open to reveal the low neckline of her white cotton chemise that covered her heaving breasts.

"No!" Carolyn made another attempt to get away, but they had her arms trapped at her sides.

She lashed out with her booted feet and connected with a few shins. There were some shouts of pain until they managed to imprison her legs within her full skirts. Now she was trapped like a butterfly on a sheet of paper, pinned against the side of the lifeboat.

"Treasure, indeed…" Smeaton leaned closer, leering at her with devilish intent as many calloused hands began to grab at her body and clothing.

"What, in the name of all that's holy, is going on here?" a man's voice shouted from behind the rabble of leering seamen. "What do you have there? I order you to stand back!"

The gang of seamen grumbled their discontent, but they fell back from Carolyn like an outgoing tide, leaving her breathless and blazingly angry. They parted to allow her full view of the tall, powerfully built man standing on the bridge stairs behind them with his hands balled on his hips.

His full head of hair was dark and curling, cut low across the back of his neck. His piercing blue eyes blazed cold fire in the flickering lights of the deck lanterns.

"Daniel…" Carolyn whispered, her hand creeping up to her hot cheek in wonder.

She knew it was him, and yet it wasn't. He was dressed in black trousers cinched with a wide leather belt and an open-fronted white shirt beneath his unbuttoned jacket. His skin was tanned and taut with blazing anger across his strong cheekbones.

She stared at him, transfixed. He was very much alive, terrifyingly angry and totally magnificent. Just as she had imagined him in 'Maiden Voyage' when the ghostly Captain had dictated the tale to her.

"Well! Speak up, one of you blasted seadogs!" he shouted. "Who brought this woman aboard, and why are none of you at your posts?"

"We didn't bring her aboard, Captain Webster, Sir," one man complained, knuckling his forelock. "You could say, she sorta fell into our hands. We found her in this here lifeboat. She was all stowed away, neat as a pin. See for yourself." He reached to lift up the musty canvas cover. "We was gonna bring her to you, Sir. Honest."

"And by that event, you thought it gave you scum a license to molest a helpless woman?" the Captain roared, shaking one fist at them all.

"Now, see 'ere, Captain…" Smeaton advanced himself to the head of the men. "What we find, we keep. Them's the rules. We found her and we's keepin' her. Right, lads?"

A ragged cheer rose from the group of men. Some did not look too sure about the turn of events, but there was courage in numbers. They began to advance on their solitary commander who seemed to be outnumbered and helpless.

"Besides…" Smeaton smirked. "There be twenty of us to yourn one." He shrugged. "Maybe later on, when we's had our bit of fun with this sweet fancy…" He turned his head to leer at Carolyn. "… we may even let you have your turn wiv her. Can't say fairer than that, now. Right, lads?"

He turned his sneering gaze back to Webster. "That's sayin', of course, if you live that long, Captain…" he sneered. "Me, for one, am tired of livin' beneath your blasted rules and confounded lash. I says it's well past time we elected ourselves a new captain."

He looked around the group of men. "Now, who's with me? We'll do some fine blood-lettin' before we get back to our sweet little dessert!"

With his knife thrust in front, he made a lunge for his Captain. But the other man didn't flinch away as he leapt down from the staircase and his knee-high sea boots landed solidly on the deck. He kept his balance with ease, despite the pitching of the ship.

"It's your blood I'll be letting out," he growled as he wrenched his cutlass from its scabbard and snatched up a heavy wooden belaying pin from its nearby rest.

"Get him!" The other men crowded back to give them room as they circled each other like two wary pugilists looking for an opening. Captain Webster edged closer to where Carolyn was standing, kicking aside any seaman who tried to stand in his way.

Seeing him getting too close to their prey, the men began to close in, ready to smother him with their numbers. They were not about to surrender their newly- found prize without a fight.

"Get behind me, woman, and stay there!" the Captain commanded Carolyn in a raw tone.

"I'm quite capable of taking care of myself," she asserted, still stunned by his sudden appearance and likeness to her Daniel.

She shivered, despite the heaviness of her clothing. She did her best to drag the two halves of her bodice back together to cover her cotton undergarments, fastening them as best she could.

"Do as you're told, woman!" the Captain roared in reply as Smeaton saw his momentary distraction and lunged in with his knife.

Webster swatted him aside like a bug with his belaying pin and ran the blade of his cutlass through the man's outstretched forearm for good measure. The foul seadog fell back with an anguished cry, grabbing for his wound as it bled freely.

"All right, you win…" Carolyn quickly stepped behind her rescuer's protection without another word of dissent. "But I'm not one of your blasted crew."

Her quick retort earned her a warning glance from her rescuer. "You're on my ship and I command here. You'll do as you're ordered." He frowned. "And blast is not a lady's word."

"Oh, isn't it? Well, we'll talk about that later…" She grimaced as she saw the blood running from Smeaton's open wound to drip on the deck.

This was all getting a little too real for her. She had to keep reminding herself it was all only a dream. Soon she would wake up in the safety of her bedroom.

"It's only a dream…" she breathed. "Nothing of this is real…"

"Eh? What was that?" Webster demanded, glancing down at her again. "Don't be chattering nonsense, woman. Not when your very life is in such peril!"

"Aye, aye, Sir," Carolyn replied, saluting him smartly.

"By the Great Horn Spoon, woman…" he complained, turning back to the crowd of seamen beginning to press in on them again. "A man needs to concentrate on his blood-letting!"

"Fine by me…" Carolyn peered around his tensed sword arm to watch the men as they advanced closer.

Not wishing to be seen as a helpless woman in the face of imminent danger, she abandoned trying to keep the two halves of her bodice together as she grabbed out a nearby belaying pin from its rest. She hefted the solid piece of wood, needing two hands to control it as she held it out in front of her.

"Get yourself ready to move," the Captain instructed tersely, even as he frowned at her unwomanly actions of arming herself. But he gave her a sharp nod of approval. "I swear by all that is holy, this lot will not best me in a fight, fair or foul!"

"I'm ready…" Carolyn muttered. "They won't get me either."

She found she was hampered by her long skirts which kept tangling around her legs. She did her best to hold the belaying pin one hand and her skirts up with the other while keeping behind her rescuer and also out of the way of his weapons. She could do nothing about the bodice of her dress falling open again.

She felt herself getting into an awful muddle. "I need another pair of hands to help me with this lot," she complained.

"Do your best to follow me close and don't tarry!" Wielding his cutlass and belaying pin in a deadly, cross-hatched fashion before him, Captain Webster managed to drive the scurvied lot of his rebellious crew backwards slowly, but surely.

By the power of his gritty drive and sheer determination, he forced them down belowdecks and toward the open door of the sturdy brig which stood in one corner of the dimly lit hold. More than one man took a nick from the cutlass or a hit to his stubborn head from the belaying pin.

"Get in there, the poxied lot of you!" their Captain bellowed, crowding the men into the tightly confined space before he kicked the barred door shut on them.

"Here…" He held out his belaying pin to Carolyn, who took the heavy weapon in her free hand.

"Well done, lass…" The Captain grinned at her as he turned the key in the lock and then pocketed it. "That'll teach you all to offer insults to a lady."

By the swinging lights of the hanging lanterns, he turned to frown down at Carolyn closely for the first time. "And a lady she is, too…" he continued heartily, his blue eyes dancing with approval for the quality of her dress and style.

"Not a poxy doxy, that's for sure." His grin widened showing his strong white teeth in the darkness of his beard.

"Thank you for the compliment… I think," Carolyn replied with a frown.

Now the danger was over, she was not sure what to do for the best. She certainly didn't want to stay in close proximity to the men. The bars of the brig did not look very secure. She knew she should wake up now.

"What about my arm?" Smeaton complained, displaying his bloodied sleeve.

Webster scowled at him. "Bind it up and be grateful I'm not shaking out the cat-o-nine right now to whip all your mutinous hides into submission."

"But, there be a storm comin', Captain…" one of the gaoled seamen complained. "Who's goin' to pilot the ship? You need us or we'll be for Davy Jones' locker, for sure! We meant her no harm. Honest, Captain. Just a wee buss or two on the lady's cheek was all we wanted. A little softness in a hard life."

"And you used a knife to ask for her favours," Webster sneered at him. "You threatened her virtue. You'll come out of there when you're all good and willing to apologise to the lady for your foul behaviour. And promise no more harm will befall her on this voyage. Or you may all rot in there until we reach Bristol."

"But, Captain, the storm…" the man wailed. "Who's goin' to pilot the ship with us locked up in here?"

"I am!" Webster roared in reply, standing to his full height with his cutlass clutched in his clenched fist. "I'll show you scurvied knaves everything that a true sea captain can do! We won't be seeing anything of Davy Jones, or his blasted locker, this day! You have my word on that!"

They all stared at him, aghast. Even Carolyn didn't know what to say then. Remembering the ending of this part of 'Maiden Voyage', she had no desire to experience a storm at sea, dream or no dream!

"I don't want to dream any more tonight…" she whispered, earning herself another sharp look from her rescuer.

"What's that, lass?" He walked slowly toward her, stopping close enough to touch as he stared down at her.

"I…" She inhaled unwarily and caught his mingled masculine scents of sweat from his exertions and some spicy cologne. His men might stink but this man certainly did not. He set off every one of her alarm bells.

"I said I don't want to dream anymore tonight," she repeated like a mantra even as she began to drown in the deep blue pools of his eyes as he watched her intently.

"You think this night be nothing but a dream?" he questioned with a frown. "I think you might have taken a knock to the head, woman. Do you feel faint at all?"

He reached out one large, capable hand to seize her upper arm, but the physical connection was never made as everything before Carolyn's eyes began to swirl and dissolve into blackness…

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