"I beg your pardon, madam?" the Captain suddenly materialized behind her, and she froze, her fingers tightening around the comb. Slowly she put it down, and turned to face him.
"I'm sorry, Captain. I ... you weren't meant to hear that." she spoke softly at last.
"My dear," he spoke equally softly, "I'm delighted you find the need to remind yourself." His eyes were eloquent, and Carolyn's heart began to beat a little faster. After a moment, he gestured to the door. "Shall we?"
"Yes, I think we should." she agreed, almost breathlessly.
As they sauntered along the beach, Carolyn tossed sticks for Scruffy to fetch.
"Mrs. Muir, I'm curious about something." the Captain said abruptly after a long silence.
"Oh?" she inquired.
He hesitated, then strode forward again, not looking at her. "No, it's nothing."
"You mean, it's nothing you can talk about right now? With me? Tell me, Captain Gregg!" Carolyn ordered, laughing slightly.
He grinned, his eyes twinkling at her. "I never was good at following a woman's orders. That way lies danger!"
"Yes, I know. Tied to the apron strings and sat by the fireplace like a pet poodle. What do you want to know about me, Captain?" she was direct.
"What you think of me. Of your late husband. Of our sharing Gull Cottage after three years." he shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, his eyes not meeting hers. "In short, I want to know everything about you."
Carolyn turned and busied herself with Scruffy for a moment to get her emotions under control. "A tall order." her voice was muffled.
"And one I had no right to ask." he conceded. "Perhaps we should return to the house. I see now where I may have made an error on the charting of this beach..."
Shivering slightly, Carolyn shoved her hands in her jacket pocket. "And the wind is getting colder now that the sun is going down."
They hurried back to the house, each thinking their own thoughts, yet sharing a companionable silence. When they reached the porch, the Captain opened the door for Carolyn, then said, "I'll be in the alcove if you need anything." and he disappeared before she could say anything more.
Walking in and closing the door behind herself, Carolyn shook her head in wry amusement. Both of them were acting so out of character, so awkwardly! Obviously the presence of the children and Martha made a real difference to their relationship! Perhaps the Captain was worried about her reputation? Surely not!
Deciding to relax in a warm bubble bath, Carolyn ran upstairs and started the water running. She added a generous amount of the scented foaming liquid, then went to her room for a book and a robe. The phone rang, and when she answered, it was Claymore.
"Hello, Mrs. Muir, it's Claymore Gregg calling."
"Yes, Claymore. Hello."
"I was wondering how everything is out there tonight..."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, with Martha and the children gone, you could be ... well, lonely ... in that creepy house ..." Claymore stammered.
"Claymore..." Carolyn began, then she stopped. Maybe he was just being solicitous. Or maybe not. "I've locked both doors, so I think I'll be safe from any outside forces tonight."
"Is old Spookface around?"
"I believe he's in the alcove working on his sea charts. I'm upstairs. Why? Do you want to talk with him?" she asked mischievously.
"NO!" came the strangled yelp over the phone. "I mean, uh, no, that's all right. If he had been away, I would have come up to keep you company, but as it is, I have a very pressing engagement I'd forgotten, so I'll just say goodbye..." and he hung up quickly.
Chuckling to herself, Carolyn put the receiver down. Then she stiffened. "Wait a minute! WHY would Claymore be even THINKING about keeping me company?" She shuddered. Needing a mindless book to stop her from wondering about Claymore's motives, she grabbed a Harlequin before heading into the bathroom.
The antique claw-footed bathtub was almost full, the foam billowing and the steam rising. Carolyn closed the door to keep the room warm, undressed and slid into the tub with a sigh of contentment. For the first few minutes, she just relaxed, then she reached out for her book she had left by the tub. After reading only a few pages, however, she closed the book and threw it across the room. Impossible love, hah! What did these writers know about impossible love? Leaning back, Carolyn shut her eyes against the hot tears that threatened. She could write her own book on that topic... entitled "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir!"
The water began to cool down and she languidly raised her feet and turned on the hot water tap just a bit. The bubbles almost threatened to overflow out of the tub, so she turned off the water again, giggling a little.
A few drips came out of the tap, and she stuck her toe in to block it. Even as she did so, she remembered watching a couple of TV shows where this very scenario had been played out, with the woman's toe getting stuck. Carolyn wriggled her toe, pulled it out, then, at another drop from the tap, stuffed it back in. She pulled the bubbles back from the edge of the tub before they slid down the outside to the floor, then she leaned back again, with her eyes closed. She relaxed fully, her mind blank, then suddenly jerked awake. She had been asleep for a split second! She could have drowned!
Then she became aware of a pain in her left foot ... the toe ... still in the tap!
To Carolyn's horror, the TV show had come true. Her toe was caught, stuck fast. No matter how she pulled, she couldn't get it free. What on earth was she going to do NOW?
"BLAST!" she gritted, twisting carefully, knowing that the overfilled tub would make a mess of the living room again if she created too many waves. She let out some of the water, then stopped the drain again. Couldn't let TOO much out, or she'd have no cover if she needed rescuing! Already the bubbles were dissipating. "BLAST!"
"Madam? I sense some urgency in your voice ... are you all right?" the Captain's voice came from outside the door.
"No, I'm not!" Carolyn retorted. "My blasted toe..."
"I beg your pardon?"
Carolyn took a deep breath. "My toe is caught."
"Your toe?" there was a pause.
"Don't come in!" she cried, frantically scooping the bubbles around herself, and looking in despair at the towel hung just out of her reach. Even the bath mat was too far away, since she had pushed it to the end of the tub instead of the side, figuring to get out on the end by the heater.
"I wasn't planning on it!" he sounded affronted.
"Just...just keep talking so I know where you are!" she frantically tried to work her toe free to no avail.
"Madam, I said I would not come in. Do you not believe me?"
"Please, Captain ... oh, blast!"
"Mrs. Muir, your language!"
"Captain, I can't get it out ... if you promise not to look at me, and ESPECIALLY not to laugh, you can come in."
"Certainly not! While you are bathing? What sort of cad do you take me for, madam?"
"Please, Captain, hurry! The bubbles are going fast!" Carolyn swished in an effort to bring them back, but it only cleared an area near her feet, so she stopped moving. Checking to make sure she was covered, and seeing no sign of the Captain, she called again, "Please? I'm begging you to come in, Captain!"
"Madam..."
"Blast it, Captain!" now she was near tears of frustration.
"Oh, very well." he appeared suddenly, his back to her, facing the door. "What is the trouble?"
"The trouble is my toe." she said, feeling the blush creeping over her cheeks, and raising her hands to cover them. "It's stuck in the tap."
"Stuck in the...?" there was a moment of silence. "May I look? Are you decent?"
"Oh, never more so." she muttered, somewhat sarcastically.
Gingerly the Captain turned around, crouching down by the taps and studiously keeping his eyes turned away from her body.
"You can't just pull it out?" he asked after a moment.
"No. I think it's swollen now, and it hurts like a ..."
"I understand." the Captain broke in hurriedly. "But I fail to see how, or WHY, you stuck it in there in the first place!"
"Temporary insanity." Carolyn sighed. "I saw it happen on TV."
"On TV?"
"Yes. Someone stuck her toe in the faucet and couldn't get it out. It was hilarious to watch. It's humiliating to live."
"Hmm."
"How am I going to get it out?"
"I do not know, madam. How did she get it out when you watched it?"
"I can't remember." she sounded forlorn.
"I cannot see how the faucet can be taken apart ... it appears to be a solid metal pipe."
"It is."
"Heat expands metal..."
"Not to mention what it would do to my toe..."
"Quite right, my dear. The cold water might make the toe a little smaller?" he questioned.
"I'm not sure you can turn it on..." she started to sit up, then sank back and frantically pulled the bubbles back to cover her. The Captain turned to look at her, his eyes travelling quickly up her body to meet her eyes for a second before he turned away.
"Forgive me, madam..." he spoke huskily again.
Carolyn's mouth was dry. She licked her lips, then managed to croak, "The towel ... could you pass me the towel, please?"
"Ah, of course!" sounding much relieved, the Captain waved his hand and the towel floated over to Carolyn.
She quickly threw it over herself, then sighed in frustration when she realized that it was not a very thick towel, and when wet, clung to her curves most revealingly. Where it wasn't floating free in the water, of course. Still, it was better than disappearing bubbles!
Just then, the phone rang. Carolyn and the Captain looked at each other, then simultaneously looked at her foot stuck fast to the faucet.
"Should I answer it, madam?" the Captain said. "I can't bring the phone to you..."
"What if it's my MOTHER or someone?" Carolyn questioned. "She'd freak, as Candy would say, if a man answered!"
"Freak?"
"Never mind." The phone continued to ring about 8 more times, then stopped. Carolyn looked at the Captain. "I always hate listening to the phone ring when I can't answer it, and don't know who it is or what they want..."
"I wouldn't know..."
"Right. Now, about my toe..." she wriggled her foot in vain a few more minutes.
"Perhaps if you turned over and over, you could, well, twist it out?" the Captain suggested.
Carolyn glared at him. "I'm not going to flop around in here like a beached porpoise for your amusement!" she said tartly. "The towel isn't nearly big enough!! Besides," she added, "I'm not convinced it would work anyway."
The Captain's hand instinctively hovered over her foot as he examined the problem closely. Carolyn caught her breath and clutched the towel to her chest, expecting to feel his touch any moment. Hoping to feel his touch. She gave her foot another jerk at that errant thought. Hadn't she just been reading about impossible love? Now that was something impossible ... to feel the Captain's touch.
Suddenly she heard something outside ... the rattle and hiss of a familiar vehicle. The Captain looked up, and his eyes met hers. "It's that bilge rat!" he said, in astonishment. "What in blue blazes is he doing here at this time of night?"
"I talked with him earlier this evening ... he was afraid I'd be lonely here..." Carolyn confessed.
At that, the Captain reared up, and thunder rolled through the room. "Did he honestly think that HE would be more company than I am?" he roared. There was a banging at the front door, and Claymore began shouting, "Mrs. Muir! Mrs. Muir, are you there? Are you all right? Mrs. Muir!"
The Captain vanished with a loud clap of thunder and Carolyn sighed. She heard Claymore's frightened yelp when he saw the Captain, then his insisting on speaking to her to make sure she was all right.
"You can't see her, blast it! She's in the tub, I believe!" the Captain was incensed. "No gentleman would DREAM of ..."
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Claymore demanded hotly, and Carolyn's eyes widened at his courage in standing up to the Captain. She began to chuckle.
"Why would I lie about something like that?" thundered the Captain. "You putrefied pup, get out of my house!"
"Mrs. Muir!" Claymore shrieked. Then he yelled, "It's MY house! Mrs. Muir!"
Carolyn called as loudly as she could. "Claymore? Is that you? What are you doing here?"
"Are you all right?" she could tell he was on the stairs. Checking the towel, she tried to remember whether or not she had locked the bathroom door. Not likely. Why would she have? Locks wouldn't keep the Captain out, and he was the only other one in the house besides herself!
"Yes, of course! I'm fine. WHY are you here?" she called back. She would NOT have him coming in and finding her in this situation.
"You didn't answer the phone just now..."
"I'm in the bath, Claymore. I can't reach the phone from here, and couldn't jump out to answer it in time." Well, partly true, she thought ruefully to herself. "Do you need something?"
"Then shove off!" the Captain growled menacingly.
"Sorry to have disturbed you, Mrs. Muir." Claymore called through the door.
"Not as sorry as you will be if you don't shove off NOW!" barked the Captain.
"Oh, all right! I'm going, I'm going. Don't be so pushy!" Claymore grumbled, and Carolyn heard his footsteps retreating, then finally the car pulling away.
The Captain called from outside the door. "My dear, are you decent? May I come in?"
"Of course I'm not decent!" Carolyn sighed. "But yes, come in."
Appearing in the room, the Captain again avoided her eyes. "Now, about this toe... I believe if we got some lubricant and spread it on, you might be able to ease it out."
"Lubricant? Oh, I have some vaseline in the medicine cabinet there."
The Captain rummaged through the cabinet and found the jar. "Here you are, Madam." he handed it to her.
Shifting in the tub, Carolyn tried to keep the towel in place while she awkwardly sat up to put some vaseline around her toe.
"If you had something smooth and flat, you could maybe push some up between the faucet and your toe. I'll go see what I can find." and the Captain disappeared, a look of relief on his face at escaping the situation even for a few minutes.
Carolyn let the towel go while she used both hands to work at freeing her toe. She even turned on the cold water tap, hoping the pressure would force the toe out, but all that did was make it feel as if she had frozen the tip. "Stupid fool!" she muttered, twisting as best she could.
"Are you referring to me, madam?" the Captain reappeared, holding one of Martha's small spatulas in his hand.
She glanced up at him, grimacing. "No, me." Then she remembered her state of undress and grabbed for the towel at the same time as his eyes dropped from hers. He stiffened and turned away quickly.
"I beg your pardon, madam." He held the spatula out behind him, and she grabbed it. "I will leave now ... I will wait outside until you have further need of me." He vanished.
Carolyn was totally fed up with her situation. She let the water out, working at pushing as much vaseline as she could up between the faucet and her toe. She turned on the cold water again. Then, gritting her teeth, she twisted and yanked as best she could. At last, with a satisfying pop, her foot was free. Instantly, of course, the cold water was splashing over her, and she yelped in surprise, jumping to her feet and lunging to shut off the tap.
"Madam?" the Captain was back in an instant. "Are you..." he froze, looking at her slender body as she stood poised for a split second in surprise that he had come back. Then she reached down quickly for the wet towel and wrapped it around herself.
"I...I'm fine, Captain." she gasped at last, breaking the silence. "I'm free..."
"I see that..." his eyes drifted slowly down her curvaceous body and she clutched the towel tightly. "And your toe?"
"A little sore... Captain, please, could you leave while I get out and dry off? It's chilly in here now. After that cold water splashed on me, which is why I cried out."
"Oh, yes, of course, madam! I will await you in our room..." and he disappeared even as she was reacting to his words.
"OUR room?" For a moment Carolyn didn't move. Then she shivered, and dropped the wet towel. Stepping out of the tub, she rummaged in the linen closet for a dry towel, and quickly dried and slipped into her nighty and robe. She cleaned up the mess around the tub where water had splashed out, and put away the vaseline.
Finding the book over by the wall, she picked it up, and opened it at random. "Her heart in her throat, Jocelyn watched him move closer and closer. It was impossible that she feel so much for this man, when she was not free to love him. The thought came that if she could just experience his kiss once, she could bear a lifetime without him. The memory would be enough ..." she read out loud. Then she slammed the book shut and dropped it into the wastebasket. "BLAST!"
Limping into her bedroom, her eyes unerringly found the Captain where he stood by the fireplace. He had lit the fire, and was holding two glasses of Madeira.
"Thank you, Captain, for everything." she smiled, as she came up to him and took the proffered glass.
"May our next few days be smoother sailing than this evening." he said, and wholeheartedly Carolyn agreed. They clinked glasses and sipped, smiling at one another.
