The Special Elixir

Rating: M

Martha wanted her special cookbook back. She knew the last time she
had seen it was in the master bedroom. Now she was searching there but
she couldn't find it anywhere in the room. "I know it was still here a
couple of weeks ago because I saw it on Mrs. Muir's desk near the
typewriter.  I couldn't take it then and now it isn't there anymore.
Where in heaven could Mrs. Muir have hidden it now?" And then it hit
her like lightning. "The Captain must have it now. That underhanded
ghost. It must be in the attic.  That's the only explanation.  Well, I
should check the attic right away but I must be sure that the Captain
isn't up there right now.  I can't have him catch me.  He can be very
protective of his things up there. His things, HA!  That special
cookbook belongs to me and not him or Mrs. Muir." Ms Grant was just
about to leave the bedroom when the phone rang.

She knew Mrs. Muir was in Boston and the kids were in school, so she
picked up the receiver after it rang twice. "Hello," she said.

 "Oh, Martha, this is Mrs. Williams." came the prompt answer. "Is my
daughter there?"

"No, Mrs. Williams, she isn't here. She went to Boston this morning
but will be back by evening. Is there anything important you want to
speak with her about?"

"No, Martha, really nothing important. I only wanted to have a little
chat with her on the phone that's all."  came Emily's voice back. "Now
that she isn't there, I'll call again later." she was about to hang up
but then she decided that she shouldn't. She had to speak with
someone, so why not Martha? "Martha, are you still on the phone?" she
spoke into the phone because she wasn't sure at all if Martha hadn't
hung up in the meantime.

"Yes, Mrs. Williams, I'm still on the phone!" Ms Grant answered,
thinking, 'I should have known something is bothering Mrs. Muir's
mother. I think she will tell me now what it is.'

 "Oh good." Emily was a little bit nervous. "Martha...." she began but
stopped because she didn't know how to tell Ms Grant what was
bothering her.

Martha noticed it and encouraged Mrs. Williams to speak. "What's the
matter, Mrs. Williams? Has it something to do with your daughter?"
Martha remembered at the last time the Williams' had been here and
Mrs. Williams had thought her daughter wanted to elope with Captain
Gregg. Shuddering when thinking back that Mrs. Muir's mother had
almost married her daughter off to Claymore Gregg, Martha still felt
relief that the captain had put a hold on it and had coming up with a
very great solution. "Let it out and you will feel much better. You
know you can tell me everything."

"Oh yes Martha, it has something to do with Carolyn. You see I had a
small talk with Carolyn's cousin Hazel a few days ago. And she told me
some very mysterious things about my daughter."

'I should have known. Hazel, that other snoopy twin. She must have
told Mrs. Williams something very curious about her visit a month
ago.' Martha thought, remembering with horror that terrible visit of
the evil ghost Featherstone. And then it hit her with amusement what
Mrs. Williams wanted to tell her. 'Oh no, Hazel must have somehow been
a witness to one of Mrs. Muir's erotic dreams. Seemed our good
Captain's magic has failed in this special case.'

And it seemed Martha was right with this assumption because Emily
began to speak again. "Hazel told me that she had somehow become a
part of one of my daughter's strange dreams but could no longer
remember in what connection."

"Strange dreams, you say, Mrs. Williams?" Ms Grant spoke
disbelievingly into the phone, all the time knowing exactly what kind
of dreams Mrs. Muir's mother meant. "What kind of dreams did you mean?"

"Well, Hazel said she had heard Carolyn making very lusty noises in
her dream and that she had yelled the name Daniel twice. Martha, has
something happened since we were there between my daughter and Captain
Gregg that I don't know about. You know, something like...." Emily
didn't finish her sentence at the end because she was too upset
thinking that Carolyn and the Captain might have had, well, sex with
each other without being married.

Martha knew exactly what Mrs. Williams wanted to say and calmed her.
"You don't need to say a word, Mrs. Williams. It's all alright with
your daughter. Nothing, let me say, erotic happened between your
daughter and Captain Gregg, believe me. I can tell you, whatever that
cousin Hazel has told you, none of this is true." Martha knew that she
was telling Mrs. Williams a lie but couldn't help it in this special
case.  Still, it wasn't REALLY  a lie at all because she knew that
Mrs. Williams was really speaking and thinking of Claymore Gregg and
not the real Captain.

 Emily wasn't quite convinced because she got the feeling Martha
wasn't tell her the truth. "Martha, you're not telling me the whole
truth. You're really sure that there isn't anything to do with Carolyn
and the captain that I should known about as her mother? Or did
something else happen when Hazel paid a visit?"

"Oh, Mrs. Williams, why should I lie to you? I never did it in my
life, did I? You can really believe me, Mrs. Williams, there is
absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to your daughter or
anything else. She is really okay and it nothing important happened
when cousin Hazel was here, believe me. We are all fine, including
your grandchildren. And don't bother about Captain Gregg, he really is
a gentlemen and had never done anything.... You know what I mean!"
Inwardly Martha was grinning because once more the vision of the
Captain's special birthday last year and the erotic scence she had
been witness to rose before her mental eyes.  Now that special
cookbook occurred to her again and she was reminded of that curious
dream she had had after seeing what she had thought she had seen.

"Alright, I'll believe you, Martha, but I'm not quite convinced at
all. If it is okay, I want to check it myself. Tell my daughter that
her father and I are coming this weekend for a short visit."

"Well, Mrs. Williams, I think your daughter will be happy to see her
parents again. I'll let her know that you are coming. We'll see you
both this weekend. Bye."

"Bye, Martha. And thanks for your understanding that I want to check
the facts myself." and Mrs. Williams hung up.

"Oh boy, Martha, you must tell Mrs. Muir very skillfully that her
parents want to pay her a visit again and WHY. Wonder what the Captain
will say about that?"

Martha had just spoken the last sentence when Captain Gregg appeared
in the room. "What will I say about WHAT? And what do you have to tell
Mrs. Muir very skillfully, Martha?" Daniel asked because he hadn't
heard the conversation on the phone.

Ms Grant winced at the sudden appearance of the Captain. "Captain
Gregg, you startled me. Must you always pop in without any warning?
Never mind. To answer your question, Mrs. Muir's mother was on the phone."

"Mrs. Williams?"

 "Yes, Mrs. Williams."

"May I ask why she called?"

"You may. I'll tell you. Mrs. Williams had a chat with Mrs. Muir's
cousin, Hazel, a few days ago."

"That nosy cousin." Daniel was a little bit angry. "What could they
have told Mrs. Muir's mother about her visit? She should have
remembered nothing about it."

Ms Grant could understand Captain Gregg's anger. "Captain, I fear your
magic has failed in a special case."  Noticing the Captain wanted a
further explanation after she had said that, she tried to calm him.
"I'll tell you before you ask, Captain. That nosy cousin told Mrs.
Williams that she had somehow been a witness to one of Mrs. Muir's,
let me say, erotic dreams about you and had heard her yelling your
first name twice. But she hadn't told, or better said, couldn't tell
Mrs. Williams how she had witnessed it. So you see, your magic hasn't
failed completely."

Daniel didn't understand at all how Hazel could have remembered her
stay in Carolyn's bedroom. He was perfect sure that he had dissolved
everything from her memory that had happened during the time she had
been in Gull Cottage. 'BLAST! Nothing but trouble with these snoopy
twins.' he thought. "Martha, don't tell me, Mrs. Williams wants to
come here again and convince herself that all is fine with her
daughter because she believes that nosy cousin." Daniel worried.

"I'm afraid yes, Captain. She wants to come this weekend. I tried to
prevent it but it seems I didn't succeed. I wonder how Mrs. Muir will
react when I tell her the news? Captain, please could you..., you know."

"Very well, Martha. I'll tell her but you have to tell her WHY."

"That I will, Captain." Martha promised.

Later in the evening. Carolyn tried to keep her nerves under control
after Daniel told her that her mother was coming, especially after
Martha had told her WHY.  "Captain, how could that happen? I thought
you would have erased all of Hazel's memories of her stay here." Now
she, too, was reminded of that terrible adventure with the evil ghost
Featherstone.

Daniel could perfectly understand Carolyn's anger. "I know, my dear.
It is a mystery to me why snoopy Hazel could still remember this
detail. She certainly shouldn't have."

"I believe you, Daniel." Carolyn was frustrated and inwardly she was
cursing. 'BLAST! BLAST! BLAST! Nothing but trouble with Hazel and
Harriet. Always they had to cause problems.'  Of course, Carolyn loved
her parents and was looking forward to see them again but not just in
this special case.
*******************
The next day, while the Captain and Mrs. Muir were enjoying their walk
down the beach to get Mrs. Muir's mind on other thoughts and the
children were in school, Martha found uninterrupted time to search the
attic for that special cookbook. Luckily, she found it in the
Captain's sea chest. While taking it out, she caught sight of a little
bottle. Curious, she took the bottle out of the chest too.

Now in her right hand, she noticed that the bottle was filled with
some liquid. "Mhm, wonder what liquid it is? Perfume perhaps? Well,
Martha, why not open the bottle and see if you can smell something."
And she did, but couldn't smell anything. So it was now clear to her
that it wasn't perfume. "Dang, I thought I had some perfume here. Now
then, what other liquid could it be? Think Martha, think.  Why would
it be hidden in the Captain's sea chest if it isn't perfume?" And then
it hit her. "Oh no, now I know why Ed was so quite wild for me on that
evening two and a half months ago. Now wait, Captain, you shall pay
for your underhanded actions. And I know just how to pay you back."
Now she was grinning over her whole face. "Oh boy, Mrs. Muir will
never forgive me for this."

 Before Martha left the attic with the cookbook and the special little
bottle, she made sure that Captain Gregg would not become aware that
she had been in the attic during his absences. He wouldn't become
aware so quickly that she had now that little bottle with that erotic
elixir.
*****************
Friday evening, a knock at the door got the attention of the children
who were in the living room. "Hey Jonathan, I think that will be our
grandparents. Come on, let's greet them."

 "Oh yeah." And both hurried to the door and Jonathan opened it.

"Candy, Jonathan." the Williams called out at the same time as they
walked in. "Where is your mother?" Emily asked.

Before one of the children could answer, Carolyn came down the stairs
because she had heard the knock too. "Mom, Dad, nice to see you again.
How was your flight?"

"Well, like your father would say, flying makes me nervous." Emily
said smugly.

"Emily, please don't remind me of the flight." her father said.

"Well, let's get your baggage upstairs and I think you both should get
some rest. You both look so tired." Mrs. Muir said because she wanted
to prevent her mother from overwhelming her with questions this very
evening.

"Very well, Carolyn, we will talk tomorrow but we will talk." her
mother answered, because it was immediately clear to her that her
daughter was trying to evade any questions. And the Williams made
their way upstairs to the guest room with the children carrying their
baggage.
*******************
It was a wonderful Saturday morning. While the whole family was
enjoying their breakfast, Candy suddenly got a marvelous idea. "What
does everyone think about a nice walk down the beach after this
marvelous breakfast Martha made for all of us? Oh, before I forget,
thanks, Martha, for this delicious breakfast."

"Why, thank you, Candy. I'm glad you all enjoyed it."

"Oh yes, Martha, Candy is right. Thanks for the delicious breakfast."
And Emily poked her husband in his right side. "And I think it's a
fabulous idea Candy had there. A  walk down the beach would be good
for all of us, don't you think, Brad?"

"Oh yes, that would be nice." Bradford's voice sounded very
unenthusiastic.  It looked almost as if he still hadn't accepted that
his daughter with her family had moved to the sea.

Jonathan noticed it and said. "Oh come on, grandpa, we all would like
to have you with us."

"Very well, Jonathan." finally he agreed.
******************
After the whole family had left for the walk, Ms Grant was now alone
in the house with Captain Gregg. Now she could realize her little
revenge plan without wondering what kind of strange new
misunderstandings it might draw after itself. And she couldn't suspect
either that this erotic elixir had also a vital side effect. It would
make Captain Gregg very solid and visible for everyone.

It wasn't long until Martha entered the living room with some special
cookies for the Captain. She found him in the alcove, reading a book.
"Ah, there you are, Captain. I have to tell you something, the whole
family just left a moment ago for a walk down the beach. I think Mrs.
Muir has enough time now to explain everything to her mother."

"Sounds good. Oh, who was it who came up with the idea for the walk?"

"Candy! I think she is suspecting something."

 "Candy! Good girl. What do you mean: SHE IS SUSPECTING SOMETHING,
Martha?"

"Don't ask me, Captain. You know she isn't a little girl anymore."

 "Females." was the only comment of Daniel after Martha had said that.
And then noticing the cookies on a plate in Ms Grant's hands, he said,
"What have you there?" pointing to the plate.

"Oh, those! They're some special cookies. It's a very new receipt and
I thought you would like to taste them. I haven't tasted them myself
yet because I thought you might try first."

"Mhm, they smell wonderful.  You're sure you would like me to taste
them first?"

"Yes, Captain, please. You know I like cooking for a man." she tried
to not giggle. It was damned difficult for her because she knew she
had dribbled six drops of the erotic elixir into the dough. And she
was happy that she had gotten Jonathan away before discovering and
eating these cookies.  She shuddered when thinking that maybe the boy
would ....

"Thanks, Martha." Daniel said. Without suspecting what would happen,
he took the first cookie off the plate and began consuming it. "Mhm,
Martha, it tastes magnificent —  as all the things you cook. Can I
have another one?"

"Of course you can, Captain. You see, I've made them only for you."
Still she was inwardly giggling.

 "For me. What's the reason? I didn't know you cared for me." Daniel
was suddenly mistrustful.

"Oh come on, Captain. Why are you suddenly so mistrustful? Have I ever
done anything that would have induced you to mistrust me?" Martha
sounded a little insulted.

Daniel noticed it and said conciliatorily, "Of course not, Martha. You
are the best friend Mrs. Muir and the kids could ever have. And of
course I thank you that you have thought of me by baking this
delicious cookies." And with that, he took another one and consumed it
with great pleasure.

 Martha, satisfied, left the room but not before making sure that
Daniel would eat the remaining cookies. Now she needed only to wait
how long it would last till the effect of the elixir would start on
Captain Gregg. And she was already tense like a dashing bend what the
consequences would be to a ghost.
**************
It was almost noon when suddenly Daniel was overcome with very wild
erotic desire. Of course he couldn't explain the whole thing to
himself because he knew that he hadn't any blood in his veins which
could pulsate that way. Somehow, he suddenly felt himself very much
alive and in a very lustful mood. In this moment, he didn't even think
it over that Mr. and Mrs. Williams were still in the house.

Now he waited with tension in the master bedroom for his beloved
Carolyn. And he knew it wouldn't be very long until she would appear
in her room because he could hear her footsteps coming down the hallway.

Mrs Muir, just back from her walk down the beach, suspected nothing
when opening the bedroom door and entering her room. She had hardly
closed the door behind herself when she felt Daniel's arms around her
waist, pulling her toward him with wild desire. "Daniel!" she cried.
"What has come over you?"  Neither Carolyn nor Daniel had any idea at
this time that six drops of an erotic elixir were the cause of the
Captain's wild erotic desire.

Instead of an answer, he brushed his lips against hers and kissed her
with wild fire. In his wild erotic desire,  Daniel forgot to lock the
bedroom door from the inside.  Carolyn, totally surprised by this
attack, didn't know how she should behave.  Now she was reminded of
her erotic dreams again. Should she struggle in defense and gave him a
slap on his hairy face or devote herself to his fiery kisses?  When
she found she couldn't resist Daniel's kisses, she gave herself to him
and returned his kisses. 'How will this end?' she thought. And she
mustn't wait for long. When she suddenly felt Daniel's right hand on
her breast, it became suddenly clear to her that he wanted more than
only kissing her. She couldn't allow that they would end up in her bed
while her parents were still under the same roof with them. Not now,
not after she had cleared up the whole misunderstanding between her
mother and herself. She had to stop Daniel.

Suddenly she was lifted up in his arms and he carried her to the bed.
"NO, Daniel, please. That wouldn't be right, not with my parents under
the roof."

But Daniel didn't want to be dissuaded from lying her down on the bed
and making love to her. "Why not, my dear Carolyn? It's the best time
now since I'm feeling very much alive. And don't worry about your
parents, they wouldn't know anything about it because they are still
outside relaxing, I believe."

 "But what about the children?" Carolyn worried.

"Don't think of them either, my love.  They won't notice anything
either because they won't be back till dinner, I think." Daniel tried
to calm her. And his erotic desire got bigger. He began to open
Carolyn's blouse.

"Please, no, Daniel!" Carolyn cried.

 "Oh, please, yes." he repeated smugly.

But in the case of Mrs. Muir's mother's whereabouts, the captain had
been dreadfully mistaken because Emily had just come upstairs and
heard her daughter's peculiar yell. Curious, she made her way to the
master bedroom, stopped at the door and listened. There she heard the
yell again. Now very curious, she put her right hand on the knob and
turned it to see if it could opened from the outside  She was very
much surprised that the door wasn't locked.  From Carolyn's strange
yell, she had thought that the door was maybe locked from the inside.
Now that it wasn't so, she opened the door a little bit and peeked in
to take a look at what was going on in that room. What she got to see
there left her completely speechless and stiff with fright.

Her daughter was lying on her bed and a man was on the bed too,
opening Carolyn's blouse. Emily was really shocked when she realized
that the man in the bed was the man out of the painting downstairs.
How was that possible? Now she knew Hazel had been right to worry
about Carolyn and that some very strange things were going on in this
house. And then immediately it was clear to Mrs. Williams she had to
inform her husband right away.

In a hurry, she made her way downstairs where she knew Brad was still
outside with the children. In her great hurry and still in shock, she
forgot to close the door behind her again. While hurrying down the
stairs, she was thinking over the obviously ambiguous situations in
which she had found her daughter and Captain Gregg. And then it hit
her that the man she and her husband had met here on the day of their
first visit wasn't the same person as the man in Carolyn's bed. 'Oh
no, now I know why my daughter stopped me from marrying her to the
captain. The man in Carolyn's bed must be the real Captain Gregg. Then
who is the man Harriet, I and Brad met? After all I've heard, this
captain in Carolyn's bed died a hundred years ago. How could I
possibly see him? I don't believe in ghosts.' Emily was totally confused.

In her excitement, Mrs. Williams almost bumped into Martha who had
just come out of the kitchen door. "Mrs. Williams!" Ms Grant called,
noticing that something was very wrong. "What's the matter?"

"Martha!" Mrs. Williams was very angry now, "You and Carolyn told me a
big lie."

"A big lie?" Martha was totally confused because she didn't know what
Mrs. Muir's mother spoke of. "I don't understand."

"Oh Martha, you are understanding perfectly well." Emily was in full
flight because she had now recovered from her first shock.  She took
Martha by her right arm and drew her into the living room where she
pointed at the painting. "That's the man I saw in Carolyn's bed with
her and opening her...." but stopped because she couldn't bring out
the word BLOUSE.

"You what?" Martha gasped. And then the housekeeper suddenly knew what
Mrs. Williams was talking about. 'Mrs. Muir and the Captain in bed!
Seemed that elixir showed effect. But I don't understand how it was
possible that Mrs. Williams could see Captain Gregg.'  Now she was
bothered again by her conscience. 'Think Martha, you added six drops
of the erotic elixir into the cookie dough, maybe three drops would
have sufficed. Maybe you should have informed yourself as to whether
or not that elixir had some undreamt-of side effects on a ghost like
Captain Gregg.  Oh no,' she yelled in her thoughts. 'That elixir has
made the captain visible to everyone. Now see what your desire for
revenge has caused. I must fix it as fast as possible before Mr.
Williams finds his daughter together with a man in bed.'

"Mrs. Williams, ...." Martha began but it was too late because Emily
had hurried outside to tell her husband the news. Now there was no
other way out of this dilemma for Martha but to stop the erotic hustle
between Mrs. Muir and Captain Gregg before it was really too late. In
a hurry, she ran up the stairs and in the direction of the master
bedroom. Finding the door open, she rushed in and yelled. "Captain,
Mrs. Muir, stop!" She saw that she had just arrived in time.

Carolyn and Daniel jumped at the voice of Martha and hurried out of
the bed. "Martha, what the hell are you doing in here? And what has
come over you to disturb us?" Daniel was in full rage because he had
just begun to remove Carolyn's clothing. He was very annoyed about
this interruption. Only now he noticed his error. Oh no, how could he
have forgotten to lock the door from the inside?

"Sorry, Captain, but I had to do this."

"Why, Martha?" Carolyn was annoyed too about this interruption because
she had had the same intention of removing Daniel's clothing.

"Why? I'll tell you both.  If the Captain hadn't forgotten to lock the
door from the inside, your mother couldn't have peeked into your room."

"What are you talking about, Martha? What has my mother to do with
your interruption?" asked Carolyn, unbelieving.

"Your mother saw you and the Captain together in bed and this in a
very clear situation, I suspect. She was very outraged and called us
both liars. Now she is outside telling your father what she has
witnessed."

 "Oh no!"

Now Daniel was on the roll. "Martha, what have you done that Mrs.
Williams could see me? You better tell me immediately before I
investigate!" And then it hit him, something must have been in the
cookies Martha have given him to eat. But what?

 "Well," the housekeeper began, "I had found a little bottle."

"Little bottle. Martha, you have been in my attic without my express
permission again, RIGHT?" Daniel's face darkened when he realized that
Martha had found the erotic elixir and that she must somehow have
found out that he, Daniel, had used that elixir himself two and a half
months ago.

 Carolyn understood nothing at all. "May I ask what you both are
babbling about before I explode too? What elixir did Martha mean?"

Now the housekeeper and Daniel both had guilty consciences. "Touché,
Captain. Who first, you or I?"

"I think you, Martha, before Mr. Williams gets here."

"Sorry, Mrs. Muir. You see, I found that little bottle when I searched
for my special cookbook. And when I realized what was in that bottle,
I couldn't resist paying back Captain Gregg."  Noticing Carolyn's
angry face, she continued. "Before you kill me, I'll tell you what
sort of an elixir it is. It's an erotic elixir which you give a man
when he isn't, let's say, in very lusty mood."

"Martha! How could you?" And now it also was clear for Carolyn why
Daniel suddenly was so wild for sex with her.

 "Stop, my dear, Martha isn't the only one who should have a guilty
conscience. You see, it was also my fault."

"Your fault. What do you mean, your fault?"

"You remember the day Martha was so depressed? Well, I had invisibly
appeared in Mr. Peevey's house and had dribbled two drops of the
elixir in his morning coffee. But I'm not apologizing, since now
Martha has paid it back on me, I believe."

 "Oh, Daniel and Martha, you both should be ashamed. But how is it
possible that my mother could see the Captain?" She blushed when
thinking that her mother had maybe seen how Daniel's hands were on her
breasts.

 "That's my fault, Mrs. Muir. I had no idea that Captain Gregg would
be visible to everyone through this elixir. I hadn't taken this
side-effect into account."
*************
At the same time, outside, Bradford was sitting on the bench of the
porch and relaxing from the walk. When he heard footsteps, he turned
around to see who was coming out.  He noticed it was his wife, but
something was amiss. He could tell by the look on her face that
something terrible must have happened. "What's the matter, Emily, my
dear?"

"Brad, you's better come inside with me because it's about our daughter."

Mr. Williams grew angry.  When Emily was so excited, he was sure his
daughter must have done something really bad. "Our daughter? Very
well, let's go in the house." and both made their way in.

Hardly in, Emily began to tell her husband what she had seen.  Brad
was full with anger after Emily had told him that she had seen their
daughter with a man in bed and they were prepared to make love to each
other. And his anger got bigger after hearing that the man was Captain
Gregg. Snorting with rage, he hurried up the stairs.
****************
"I believe your father is on his way here, my dear. And he seems very
outraged."

"What now?" Carolyn felt a little helpless.

"I have a perfect solution to your problem. Come please sit down
before your typewriter and do so as if you are thinking about a story."

 "Perfect!" and Carolyn sat down before her typewrite. "But what about
Martha, you know she can't vanish like you, Daniel."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Muir, I will hide myself in the closet so your
father doesn't see me." Martha said, giggling.

"Sounds good, Martha," now Carolyn was giggling too. Suddenly she
cried, "Daniel, the bed!"

"Oh yes." With a wave of his hand the bed was made and there was
nothing to show that two adults had been going to make love in that
bed. And then he vanished, but not before giving his beloved a last
quick kiss on her neck and whispering some very lusty words in her ear.

Martha giggled as she vanished in a hurry into the closet and closed
the door behind her. She had just vanished in time when the bedroom
door was suddenly pushed open with wild fire and Mr Williams rushed in
like a hellcat.   He found his daughter sitting before her typewriter
and not in bed. "Where is he?" Brad called in wild rage.

"Dad, which who did you mean?"

"Oh come, Carolyn, don't play the innocent. You know perfectly well
which who I mean."

"No, Dad, I don't." Carolyn said, almost coldly.

"Of course you do." her father was very angry. "Your mother saw you
with that man in bed. And don't you dare call your mother a liar."

"Oh dad, I wouldn't never do that." Carolyn was outraged.

"Of course not. Now, may I ask you again, where is he? On the balcony,
perhaps?"

Daniel couldn't allow his beloved to be further bothered by her
father. "I'm here, Mr. Williams, Captain Daniel Gregg at your
service." Now he was standing to his full height in the doorway of the
french windows.

When Carolyn heard Daniel's voice, she turned around to see him
standing near his telescope. Totally perplexed that Daniel had shown
himself, to her father she couldn't say a word.

Mr Williams couldn't start with his tirades because Daniel stopped
him. "Mr. Williams, before you say anything which you would regret
bitterly afterward, let me speak first."

"Very well, Captain Gregg. But I hope you have a good explanation."
Brad was still upset.

"I have ... you see, your daughter and I married a month ago."

Carolyn, totally surprised by this news, couldn't remember having
married Daniel. But then it hit her like lightning. One of her erotic
dreams hadn't been a dream, it had been real.

 "Married?" Mr. Williams burst out. "When did that happen, may I ask?"

"Yes, Mr. Williams, you may. We got married last month. You see, it's
all alright."

 "I see. Why didn't your mother and I know that you have been married?
You know your mother hates that. Why did you elope again?"

Carolyn was about to answer but couldn't because Daniel began to speak
again. "Don't blame your daughter. It's my fault. You see, I had taken
Carolyn by surprise with that, so to speak. If you will blame someone,
blame me."

 Carolyn couldn't stand it anymore. "Daniel, no. It's my fault too,
dad. You see, I love Daniel and was willing to be his wife. Sorry that
I haven't told you and Mom."

By now, Emily was in the room too and had heard the last of the
conversation. "I think I completely understand, Carolyn, why you
haven't told us. Now that I know you are married to the captain, I
think it's alright that you make...., you know what I mean."

"You do, mother?" Carolyn was totally perplexed. Why hadn't her mother
said anything about being married to a ghost. She must know it. Of
course, her father shouldn't know that.

 "Of course I do, Carolyn. And I can perfectly understand that you
love Captain Gregg. He is....." but stopped when seeing that Brad's
face began to darken. "Well Brad, I think, now that we finally have
cleared up the whole thing, we both should leave the captain and
Carolyn to themselves."

 "Oh, well. But a last warning Captain.  Should you hurt my daughter
in any way, I will be after you, you understand." Bradford warned.

"Completely clear, Mr. Williams. I would never hurt your daughter or
your grandchildren in any way. You can really trust me." Daniel Gregg
answered him.

"I'm sure you will, Captain Gregg. Come on, Emily, my dear, we should
go for a little walk again before Martha has dinner ready." And with
that, the Williams' left the bedroom.

"Martha, you can come out." Mrs. Muir called.

The closet door opened and Martha stepped out and said. "Well then,
all's well that end's well. And now, if you both will excuse me, I
have dinner to make for the whole family." And in a hurry, she left
the bedroom too, before Carolyn and Daniel could kill her for her
renewed attempts at playing matchmaker.
 

Sixth Story