The Captains Brother

I was wondering around the house today and decided to look in some of the other rooms and see if there was anything of interest in them. On the second floor is where the immediate family slept and had their rooms. The Captains room I took over because I loved it from the first time I saw it. Then there were other rooms to look into. One had  a large picture of what looked like a pirate on the wall. I stood there and looked at it for a long time trying to figure out where he fit in this family. As I was lost in thought, I started to notice a very manly scent filling the room and it smelled like a musk cologne that men wear. It seemed to fill the room and I started to feel a presence in the room. I was a liitle scared as I turned around and looked behind me and let out a whoosh of air as I saw that it was only the Captain standing there in the doorway and smiling at me. He walked in and pointed up at the picture and turned to face me.

"That scroundrel on that wall is my brother, Jim. " "he was the Captain of many of my fathers ships and quite a sailor he was." "He could sail any ship that was made and handled her like he knew every inch of her by heart." "A good man my brother Jim was." "He lived to be an old sailor and I had this picture made of him so I would have something to put in this room of his when he came for a visit." "When he saw it he pretended like he didn't care but I knew that he really liked it that we had it made and put in his guest room." "My Katherine loved him and he loved her too.""She was a kind and generous woman and loved all that came here and was a great hostess to all my family and friends." "You see that album over there on the shelves?"

"Yes," I said, "I do."

"Well, if you want to see some things about my brothers life go and get that album down and take in  your office and have a good look at it." "I think you will be happy to see all the ships that he captained and pictures of him and his wife and kids.""Oh! Yes! he had a wife and kids and they are all gone one now too." "He had two girls and twin boys. hellions I called them." The Captain smiled and watched as I took down the old tattered album very carefully. This was quite a treasure he was letting me look into. I turned around to thank him and he was gone. Darn! that man had a way of coming and going before I was finished talking to him and besides I enjoyed being with him.

I took the book down to the office and sat in my chair and very carefully turned the pages. They were yellow with age but still you were able to see the pictures very good. There were two lovely young girls and two mischevious looking twins in one picture with his brother and his wife standing behind them. As I turned the pages I saw the family growing up and all the things they did for enjoyment. The parties and people they loved. There were pictures of others and there was one that said mother and father.So this is what his parents looked like. What a handsome pair they were. He looked just like his father . Same dark wavey hair and dark mysterious eyes. That small smile on his face and the look in his eyes as he looked at his wife gave me goose bumps. I felt like I was intrudeding on a private moment between two people so much in love. I sat and looked at that picture for a long time. Such love, you could feel it. I sighed and sat back and closed my eyes and started to drift off into my own daydream. Me and the Captain alone in that room where his parents were.

I don't know how it happened but I fell asleep and when I woke there by the patio window stood the Captain with the book in his hands and he too was looking at the picture of his parents . When he saw that I was up , he turned and started to speak.

"I had forgotten that my mother and father were in this book too." "They were very much in love and they were very good parents to me and my brother and sisters. " "Oh! I didn't tell you I had two sisters and a brother before." "My older sister was named Mary and the younger one was Jen short for Jennifer"''. My brother you know was named Jim."

I got up and walked over to him and looked at the book as he showed me his two sisters and his brother and him with their parents at the park. They were in a handsome buggy being pulled by huge black horses. The whole picture was magnificent. Together we looked through the rest of the book with him telling me all about each picture and where it was taken and what event they were at and celebrating. I loved the one with the family by the Christmas tree and they were all dressed in their best clothes and going off to church for mass. What a beautiful family he had. HIs brother and sisters were all attractive but he was the best looking of all of them.  He was the spitting imagine of his father. I kept looking at the picture and at him. I didn't notice him smiling at me, and then he put his hand on my shoulder and gently ran his hand down my arm and up again. I could feel chills and stood very still . I didn't move a muscle just enjoying his gentle touch. He turned me around and looked at me very intently and leaned over very close to my ear and whispered,"You are as lovely and outshine anyone in that book."

I was speechless, and just looked into his eyes as he stood up and took his hand off of my arm and smiled and very slowly disappeared before my eyes. must have stood there for at least ten minutes just looking at the spot he had stood in and I put my hand and rubbed my arm where he had so gently ran his hand and I could still feel the goose bumps there.

I decided to take a walk down to the cove and sit on the chair there and just look out into the ocean and dream a dream. It has been such a wonderful day. I love the ocean and soft breezes and the peacefullness of the whole cove. I knew how the Captain felt about this cove and his home and I was feeling the same way.

 

The Squall

I was sitting in my office and typing some of the notes from my conversation with the Captian from our morning walk. He said that he would be right down with a picture and a poem that he wrote about an adventure that he had at sea. I was typing for quite awhile before he came into the room and brought a huge picture in a frame into the room and a sheaf of papers. I smiled because as the picture was quite large, he had trouble handling all the papers he was carrying and he started to drop some of them. I looked at him and I could see that he would not appreciate me laughing, so I bit my lip and got up and approached him to take the papers out of his hands and pick up the few he dropped.  He just looked at me with those beautiful eyes and it was as if he dared me to say something about his awkwardness. 

He proped the picture on the wall and settled down in the chair and started to tell me all about his night on this clipper. It seems that he was on one of his many trips to deliver cargo to a port on the other side of the world when a terrific storm broke out and he and his men had all they could do to keep the boat afloat. The story was so enthralling that I listened without making a sound or asking any questions. The more he talked the more antimated he became and waved his arms around and started speaking louder and finally stood up and paced back and forth as he neared the end of the tale. He then handed me something that he said he wrote after he returned home and that no one had ever seen it before, but he wanted it to be in this book of mine.  I am going to share it with  all of you here.

THE SQUALL

                                      by    Captain McCain

SLIENTLY SLIPPING THROUGH THE SWIRLING FOG

IT’S SAILS FULL AND STRAINIING IN THE BILLOWING WIND

TOSSING VIOLENTLY FROM  STARBOARD TO PORT

ROCKING BACK AND  FORTH FROM BOW TO STERN

SEASONED SAILORS ONE AND ALL

NO THE DANGERS AWAITING THEM IN THE SQUALL

WAVES RUSHING OVER THE BOW WITH A THUNDEROUS ROAR

SAILORS  LASH THEMSELVES TO THE RAILINGS AND MAST

PRAYING TO THEIR GOD THAT IT WON’T LAST

SECURE THE BOATS STORES FROM THE GREEDY HANDS OF THE SEA

IT REACHES OUT FOR THEM IN ANGRY MOCKERY

“COME TO ME!”, IT SAYS, “FOR YOU ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO FIGHT MY RATH!”

BUT THE MEN WILL NOT GIVE UP THEIR LIVES SO EASILY

AS THEY BAIL THE WATER FROM THE SHIP CARGO HOLD

THESE MEN THAT ARE STRONG, ABLE-BODIED AND BOLD

FOR THEY HAVE SEEN MANY A STORM AND HAVE LIVED TO TELL THEIR TALES

OF STORMY NIGHTS AND FLURRING SAILS

MUSCLES FLEXING AND STRAINING AGAINST THE ROPES

NO WEAKLINGS HERE  TO GIVE UP  THEIR HOPES

ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT AND INTO THE DAWN

THE WEARY SAILORS BATTLE ON

LOWERING THE SAILS AND LASHING THEM DOWN

THE SUN RISES IN THE EAST

THE WRATH OF THE STORM HAS CEASED

NO ONE HAS DIED ON THIS JOURNEY

ALL THE MEN WILL GO HOME

THE SEA HAS LOST AND THEY HAVE WON

SAILORS BODIES ALL TIRED AND WORN

GO TO SLEEP WITH THE UPCOMING DAWN

DREAMING OF HOME AND OF FIRES BURNING

DREAMING OF HOME AND FOR LOVED ONES YEARNING

 

I was so entralled in this poem that I hadn't noticed how intently he was watching me. His eyes glistened like coals and he sat stroking that wonderful face of his. He had such an amazing way of looking at you. Almost as if he could see inside and knew just what you were thinking. Sometimes, I swear he knew what I was thinking, and with that thought I started to blush. Oh!! dear!! I wouldn't want him to be able to know some of my thoughts about him. 

He smiled and chuckled . and got up and walked out of the room. Was he able to read my mind?? Oh! I hope not because I would have a very hard time not thinking about him and some of my thoughts were mine alone.

 

 

Adventures of the Captain

The Captain and I are in the office and he is going to tell me about one of his favorite voyages that he made.

I settled down by my computer and got everything ready so I could take down every word he said. Gosh! he looks so dashing today! He is wearing a tee shirt and jeans and nothing on his feet. Lounging on the over stuffed chair and he is so big that he over fills it and makes it look small.  I have got to stop this and start thinking of what he is saying.

He smiled at me, and asked me if I was paying attention, which only made me blush and stammer.  I nodded and he chuckled a bit and said "ok,lets get on with the adventure."

"I was sailing out of India when I noticed a young lady walking down the path some distance away. She was so beautiful and I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. "I started to walk along side of the boat so that I could see her better , but we were already moving out of port and it was hard to make out all of her features." "I wanted to turn that ship around and run up that hill and find out who she was, I don't even know why I was so possessed to do so."  Well, I didn't  stop the boat, but I couldn't stop thinking of that girl and I promised myself that the next time I came here I would find out who she was and where she lived and most important if she was available."

"It wasn't for another two months that I was once again in India and I left the boat in search of this maiden. " "I looked high and low all through the town and asked all I saw about this shadow of a woman I saw when I was leaving two months ago."

One shop keeper seemed to know who I was talking about because when I discribed her to him, he smiled and said it was Miss Katherine McDonald and she lived with her mom and dad in the house on Topper ST. I asked him if she was engaged or spoken for and he smiled again and his eyes twinkled a bright blue. "No,"he said,"Miss Katherine is a free woman and not easy to make do as  you want her too , she is very strong willed, you know." 

"his made me smile now, because when it came to stubborness I am the master of it and I have a very strong will also. I usually get what I set out to get." He stated.

I just sat there and listened to what I was beginning to believe was how he met his wife Katherine. So that was her name. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, because he just glowed when he talked about her.

"Well,"he said,"I got directions to that house on Topper ST. and took off in that direction to meet this woman that had plagued my dreams for the last two months." "As I walked, I kept thinking how I was going to get into that house to meet this girl when I didn't even know the family or the girl for that matter." "All I knew was that her name was Katherine and she was a vision, a angel."

"Well, I got to the door and gathered up my courage and knocked and waited there like a condemmed man waiting for the axe to fall." "You can't imagine my surprise when the door was opened by a good friend of mine that I did alot of business with." "I actually grinned and laughed out loud and at the same time sighed a sigh of relief." Here was my way into the house. It seemed he was a cousin of hers and was visiting that day and that she and he were going for a buggy ride in the park. "Well, to my good fortune, he had come to take her out and asked me along."."I of course agreed and he bid me enter and he introduced me to her mom and dad and I waited in anticipation for this vision to come into the room." "When she did, I could feel my breath quicken and it felt as if my heart was racing." "I had never in my life ever felt that way about a woman ." "She was beautiful beyond words and so tiny and petite and gracious."

"myfriend introduced us and I fell in love with her the moment I looked into her beautiful eyes. I would do anything in the world for her."

"She smiled back and offered her hand to me and I took it into mine and kissed her tiny fingers gently. " "She blushed,"he chuckled." I guess she was surprised that I did that ."

"Well, we went for that buggy ride and many more after that." "Oh! She was stuborn and so was I but when I looked into her eyes I just melted and would do anything for her." "Many months later I asked her father for her hand and he slapped me on the back and said that he couldn't think of a better man for his daughter than me."

"We were married the following year and in the mean time, I had this house built for us and purchased Cutters Cove. I gave it to her for a wedding present and she was overjoyed." "We spent many happy moments in this house and we love each other without end."

"We didn't have children right away, we wanted to wait until the business was better and we had the house all done and everything in its place as she always told me." "So, it was five years before we decided to have a child and she was doing ok and every day that she was pregnant, she grew more beautiful to me.""I could not wait for that child to be born and neither could she."

He stopped there and just stared out the window of the room. He sat and didn't say a word, and I just sat too, not wanting to interrupt his memories as he thought back. He had told me how his wife had died and his child. I already knew this tragic end to this beautiful marriage. So I didn't pressure him.

All of a sudden, he got up and looked at me and said." You know all the rest. I don't want to go into that again." I shook my head yes, and he nodded and strolled out of the room.

I typed way into the night and got all that story down and read and re read it many times. How sad that someone that was so loved had to be taken away like that. Life is strange and death is stranger. I felt grief for the Captain and for Katherine and the baby boy he never saw alive.

 

 

Return home and surprise

I was breathless when I returned from my junt into town to pick up a few things I needed for my office and some grocery shopping as well. Those two bags were heavy as I walked down by the water back from town. I had to stop and look out at the ocean and it was such a beautiful day and the water was so blue and it looked so inviting. 

I didn't stay though because the Captain said that he would tell me another of his adventures today and I didn't want to miss that opportunity.  So I hurried alot faster than I should have and here I am breathing like I ran a marathron.

I went to the kitchen to put the groceries away, and I noticed that it felt very cold in there. I got an eerie feeling as I went into the room and I felt uneasy. I don't know why , but I felt like someone was watching me. I looked all around and it seemed to get colder and colder. I could see my breath and it made me panic a little. Why was this happening here? I put the bags down and started to put things away and all of a sudden some of the things from the bag fell to the floor and I could smell lilacs in the room. It was a very strong scent. I picked up the groceries and just put them on the counter and all I wanted to do was get out of there and return later. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, after all the Captain was a ghost  and this was his home.  But the Captain never played jokes on me or tried to scare me either.

I was feeling paranoid and rather dumb, so I turned around and picked up the things that were on the floor and put them away. The room suddenly got warmer again and I could not smell the lilacs any more. Strange, I thought, what was going on here anyway.

I went into the office and brought my office supplies in and stashed them on the shelves and sat down at the desk and opened my computer and was writing when the Captain appeared by the window and walked over and sat down in the big chair in front of the desk.  I never was so happy to see him  as I was then. 

He looked at me and asked me what was wrong, because he said I looked as white as a sheet. I explained what happened in the kitchen and the strong smell of lilacs that permeated the kitchen while I was in there.

He just sat and didn't say a word. He rubbed his forehead back and forth with his hand and just sat deep in thought.  After what seemed like forever, he mentioned that his wife had preferred lilacs to any other flower and that it was strange that I should be smelling them in that room as she always had them in the kitchen on the table in the morning when he came down for breakfast.   I stared at him and just listened to every word he said. I didn't move a muscle.

He said that he had been able to hear her voice once in awhile, but never see her. He was not allowed to he thought because he had died the way he did, but he wondered why I smelled the lilacs in the kitchen and he never did. He asked me if I saw anything and I said no, that I was to frightened and it was so cold all I wanted to do was get the things put away and get out of there. I also told him that after the things fell on the floor the room got warmer and the lilac smell disappeared. He looked up sharpely at me and just stared . He was scaring me now.

I don't know what happened in that room and I hoped that it never happened again. Was his wife able to come and go here too? Did she want me gone? Oh! I was not to happy now.

The Captain sensed my unease and got up and walked around the desk to me and said that I had nothing to worry about. His wife was not able to materialize and he only heard her in his head. She had never bothered anyone before and he knew that she would not hurt me. Maybe she just wanted to see who had moved in here and now would go away.  I looked at him, this handsome, strong and gorgous man and thought to myself, that if I was his wife and  able to come back, I would not like some woman moving in my house with my husband, whether I was alive or dead.

After all this termoil we decided to just go for a walk in the gardens and not write anything today. I was too shook up anyway. and the Captain seemed to be deep in thought also. So we   left the office by the patio doors and walked out into the flower garden and stayed out most of the afternoon just walking and enjoying the many flowers and plants that were so elegantly arranged. In the middle of the garden was a gazzabo and he and I decided to sit there and just talk and relax for the rest of the day until dinner time. 

 

The Captains Den

I woke up a little confused. I was fully clothed and in my bed. That was unusal in itself because I remember being at my desk reading the newspapers. How did I get up here? Well, I must have been more tired than I thought I was to have come to bed and not even undressed and wrost not to remember doing it at all.

I was walking down the hall and saw a door ajar and was going to close it when I spotted the Captain standing by a fireplace. I knocked on the door and said hello  and he told me to come in the room.

What a great room this was. I hadn't looked in all the rooms on the second floor and this looked like a library or den. It had a huge fireplace in it and the Captain was standing there in front of a roaring fire. He had some pictures on the fireplace and other nicknaks too. I didn't want to appear nosey , so I didn't really take a good look at them.

"Well, Lass," He said."Did you get a good nights rest?" "I found you asleep at your desk and took you up to your room so that you would be more comfortable." "Your as light as a feather, ya know, you ought to eat more, least you fade away," He laughed as he said this.

So, that is how I got upstairs and in bed. I was a little shy now. He must have picked me up and carried me all the way to my room and tucked me in bed. I must have been very tired not to have felt him pick me up and carry me.  I thanked him for his thoughtfulness and I could feel my cheeks burning red. He looked at me with a wicked smile on his face and winked at me , and said that I was welcome. It was his pleasure, and that it had been a long time since he had carried a woman to bed.  This remark made me blush even more , and I hurridly said that I had better go downstairs and have some breakfast and go and do the shopping I had planned for today.  As I left the room and closed the door, I could hear him laugh as I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. I put both of my hands on either side of my face and it felt hot enough to cook an egg. Oh! that Captain!  I will be more careful about falling asleep in my office again. I wouldn't want it to become a habit of him carrying me off to bed.

I had a cup of coffee and some toast and got my hat and coat and left the house. I looked up at the second floor and there he was watching me  as I left. I lifted my hand and waved goodbye to him and he smiled and waved back. He opened the window and yelled down to me that I should hurry back as he had some more adventures to tell me about his seafaring days.

That was all it took for me to set out at a brisk walk and make up my mind that I would only get what I really  needed and look the town over some other day. It was much more interesting for me to hurry back to be with the Captain and hear about his adventures on his many travels and the places he went and what he did there.

"Ahhh, Lass, hurry back, I miss you when you  are not here. It is too quiet now without your constant questions and curiosity. " He was smiling as he watched her practically running into town.

Captains Explanation and newspapers

I have been standing on the veranda and looking out at the ocean for quite a while today. I had seen the Captain earlier and he had said that he would come and talk to me later in my office if I wanted him to, but that he had to do a few things and would be back later in the afternoon.

I have been thinking about what the Captain had told me yesterday about his wife and child. If they are both gone, why is he here? How did he die? Why isn't he with his family in heaven? So many questions and they are making me have a headache. I hope he will answer them for me and that he won't think that I am being nosey. There has to be a reason why he can't join his family and he is stranded here. Did he want to stay here?  Or is he made to stay here forever? There is more to this than meets the eye.  I will try and be patient and not make him angry . He might not want to tell me all the story. Or maybe he will.

This waiting and thinking is only making my imagination run wild. I should just go in the office and work and wait until he decides to come and talk to me. I don't know how I am going to get anything done until he clears these things up for me.  I am getting chilly , so I am going in now.

Whats this?? An old newspaper on my desk, it is dated 1845. This is really old. I wonder if the Captain put this on my desk for me to read.

The front page has his picture on it and it says that he has come home from abroad and that he is residing in the McCain mansion on the hill overlooking Cutters Cove. There is a whole page spread on the Captain in here. It is so interesting, he has been all around the world and now has returned to stay it says.

Oh! another paper dated 1846. There is nothing on the front page let me look further. Oh! No! the Captain is on the obituary page. It says that he commited suicide by using his gun on himself.  Oh dear!! It says that he became a hermit and would not let anyone in the house and didn't go to town. The only person allowed in the house was his housekeeper that he had since the house was built. She has stated that he became more and more remorseful and at night he would get drunk and dam the heavens for taking his family from him. The housekeeper found him in his den one day, and called the ambulance and doctor but it was too late. The Captain was dead . The house was left to the state as he had no relatives and so it was put up for sale. No one would buy the house because they said it was haunted and that they were afraid to stay there. 

So this is probably why the Captain can't leave this house. He is doomed to stay here because he commited sucide and dammed the heavens. The poor Captain in his grief commited himself to eternity in this house and grounds.  I will ask him just to be sure. I am only guessing by these articles he left for me.

I hope he comes soon. This is driving me crazy. Doesn't he know that a woman can't wait long without losing her mind.  Ahhhhhhhh  Captain. You better get down here fast. I am full of questions and need the answers from you to be sure.

It has been along time and I have been trying to work, but I start daydreaming and lose my thoughts.  Then I feel the breeze from the patio and turn and their he is standing by the doors and looking at me with such a piercing look. I am almost afraid to talk to him.  He walks forward and takes the papers up from the desk and glances at them and then at me.

"Have you read them, lass?", He says. I just nod my head and look at those dark eyes. "Now you know what happened here so many years ago." "I was feeling very lonely and I was very drunk, I  cursed the Gods for taking my family and I got my gun and I put it to my chest and fired it." "I floated out of my body and saw myself lying there and the housekeeper yelling for help and calling the doctor and ambulance." "I couldn't understand why all the commotion because I was standing right there and yet I could see myself lying on the ground.," "Then the doctor and ambulance came and he said I was dead." "Dead. I said to myself, I am here.""Can't you see me I shouted." " I tried to touch the doctor and my hand went right through him. I tried to touch the housekeeper and the same thing happened. I was completely confused and sober now. I have been here for all this time and keeping people out of my home. The housekeeper was the only one I let come in, the bank had hiredher to keep the place clean and I never scared her. In fact, I left the house so that I would not make any noise and she would flee. She is a dear lady and I have known her all her life.  "So. Lass, any questions you want to know?"

I got up and walked to him and touched his sleeve. I could feel him. I could feel the muscles underneath the shirt he was wearing. I could see him and talk to him. I asked him why I could do all these things and others couldn't. He said that he let me see him and that he could feel me too, but he didn't know why himself. It was a mystery to him as well as me.

I wanted to know where he was buried and he said he was buried with his wife and child in the graveyard. The site next to the Cross was his resting place. OF course, in those days if you commited sucide you were not allowed a service, but he didn't care. They just laid him out and then put him in his grave. 

I asked him how he felt about seeing that all happen and he said that he was sad. He never should have done that to himself and now he was  here. He didn't know for how long or what he had to do to go or if he could go even. He spent his days reading and walking and keeping strangers out of his house and grounds.

I wanted to know more, but I decided that was enough for one day. He looked tired and worn and I felt deep sorrow for him. I walked up and looked at him in his sorrowful eyes and rose on my tiptoes and gently kissed his cheek and put my arms around him and told him that everything was going to be alright.

He took me by the shoulders and just looked at me. I felt as if he could see right through me. He didn't say a word, just moved me away and touched his cheek, and slowly disappeared right before my eyes.  I stood there for a long time. Just stood there not moving a muscle.

When I finally came to my senses, I sat down by my desk and started to read all the papers that he had put there for me to read. It told all about the town , his family and others , balls, and his life story . I was so interested that I forgot the time and read  and read late into the night. This was the true story of McCain mansion and the Captain and his family. I read until I laid my head on my desk thinking only to rest for a few minutes and didn't even realize that I had fallen asleep.

"Now look at that lass, she doesn't have the common sense to go to bed when she is tired." The Captain came around the desk and lifted her up and carried her upstairs to the room that she had picked out for her bedroom and gently laid her on her bed and drew the covers over her. "There you go now lass, sleep well." "I'll be seeing you in the morrow." "Sweet dreams lass." he whispered as he closed her door and left the room.

The Revelation

It has been a few days since I have seen the Captain. I have heard noises in the night and when I have gotten up and walked to where I felt the sound was coming from, I would see a light shinning under a door and go to open it and find that it was put out. I have heard footsteps walking down the hall and disappearing into nothing. This is becoming worrisome for me, I worry that something is wrong with the captain and I want to talk to him.

Looking out from the patio I can see where the Celtic cross stands and the burial grounds of his family. Off to the right the Captain is standing and looking at the cross and laying flowers on the grave. 

I hurry down the stairs and run to the graveyard and I have gotten there before he can disappear. I startled him, he must have been deeply in thought not to notice me. I called out to him to please not leave.

He stayed just as he was and I approached him. I could see a sad look on his face and I wondered who this person was that he had come to see here. This gravesite was very well kept and flowers placed carefully at the base of the cross. I looked at him and waited to see if he would say anything.

After what seemed like an hour, he finally spoke. "This is the grave of my wife and child." "She died giving birth to our son while I was away on a sailing trip to India," he said. "The baby was not supposed to be born for three more months and I didn't want to leave, but she made me go and assured me that she was fine and that I would be back in plently of time for the birth of our baby." "So I left and was gone for two weeks. When I returned, she was gone."  "I was enraged and stormed out of the house yelling her name into the night." "They said that she had fallen down a flight of stairs and started to hemmorage and lost the baby and because of a lack of blood she died also." "She was 18 years old. " "Sometimes I feel that if I had been here this would not have happened and she would have lived and my son would have lived." "I have blamed myself for her death all my life." "After she died , I didn't come back here for a long time. " "It was many years afterward that I returned and moved all her things and the things she had made for our son into a room on the third floor."

I asked him if the portrait of him and the lady in the bedroom on the third floor was of her. He replied that it was and that he couldn't bare to see it every day in the master bedroom, so he placed it in the best room on the third floor. He said that every once in awhile he did go there, but of late, he had stopped.

I asked him why he had been gone these last few days and he just looked at me and said that he needed time alone and time to think. I could see by his expression that he would tell me no more, so I let it go.  He had a right to his privacy too.

He asked if I would walk with him down to the cove and sit and watch the boats with him. I agreed, and we set out for the cove silently. Every once in awhile he would look at me as if looking through me and into my soul.  I realized than that I had feelings for this man. This very special and caring and protective man. A man that wasn't afraid to show his love for someone and talk about it.

We sat on the hill overlooking the cove and watched the boats coming and going and never said one word. Just looking and each of us thinking our own thoughts.  His I am sure were sad ones of his lost wife and child, and mine of my new life and my new feelings for a Captain that it was impossible for me to have, or was it? 

 

Finding the blue bedroom

I wasn't able to find the Captain last night. I went to the den and he wasn't there. I called his name over and over and he did not appear. There was a bright fire buring in the fireplace and three or four books on the desk there, but no sight of the Captain. I don't understand why he left in such a hurry.

I have decided to look for him and see if he is in any of the other rooms that I still have not seen. I haven't been up the third floor because it is mostly empty bedrooms for guests and I have had no chance as of yet to explore. I have called and called but no answer on the first and second floors. Maybe he goes to the third floor and feels more at home there because all my things are on the first two floors. 

There are six extra bedrooms here on this floor and each one is decorated so beautifully. I can understand how proud the Captain is of this magnificent home. The first three rooms were empty except for there furniture and beautiful view from their window.  No captain and no evidence of him either. In the fourth room I found that it was more decorated and more lovely than the others. There was a gold hairbrush and mirror on the dressing table and a schivrobe of many gowns hanging on hangers inside. They were so wonderful. Very decorative and long and they seemed to look like something from earlier times.  They reminded me of the dresses worn at court in those castles that I saw hanging in the other rooms.

I looked up on the wall and just in front of this massive bed over the fireplace was a hugh portrait of the Captain and a woman . He was standing behind her and had his hands on her shoulders. She was quite beautiful and seemed so regal in her gown. He looked so protective of her. The way his hands were placed on her shoulders, you could tell he would let no one hurt this person.  I wonder who she was. This must have been her room and why on the third floor? Why not on the second were all the family were?  Oh!! so many questions and no answers.  "Captain!! Captain!! where are you?? Please come out.  I would like to talk to you."I shouted out loud to no avail.

I hope the Captain doesn't stay away for a long time. I am beginning to worry about him now.  Was this his girlfriend? Wife?  Who is this woman? I am going to drive myself crazy if I don't get some answers soon.

I have gone through all the rooms and so far no Captain and no other clothes. They are all decorated beautifully, but no more pictures of the Captain in any of them.  I know he isnt on the second floor, so I am not even going to look in those rooms today. 

I will just have to wait until he wants to come back and then I will try to get some answers to my many questions. It is going to be tough for me, I am a very curious person and this mystery will drive me up the wall. How can I concentrate on writing when I have this mystery to solve?

Darn you Captain!! How can you just disappear without any explanation like that and make me so upset?

 

 

Captain watches from the den

Look at her, sitting on that lounge chair by the water with her eyes closed relaxing in the sun. She brings so many memories back to me. I had thought I had forgotten about. Now, her coming here and her intellengence and her commitment to her writing and her ideals  have brought back things that I thought were long dead and gone. I stand here by the patio doors and look out of my den and can see all the way to the cove and I can feel the old feelings starting to haunt me again. What am I going to do about all of this. I promised her a book, I promised to tell her all about my adventures, but how can I be so close to her and not feel anything any more. It has been too long. Way too long and I must restrain myself from doing anything foolish and making her move away.  I will have to be very careful when I am around her not to touch her or hold her hand again.  I can still feel the sensations as I held her hand in mine and stroked her fingers. Such long beautiful fingers. Soft hands that turned my thoughts to long ago when I held anothers hand and stroked her fingers. but not like long ago also. There were real feelings there for her, that she must never know.  This is going to be hard for me to do, but I must. What future is there for her with me? I am a ghost, a mere light. And yet, she can touch me and I her?  I don't understand that my self. The others could not touch me when I chased them out, but she can. I have felt it and should I be able to feel like this? I am confused and I must think these things out. So for a while I will stay away and see if I can come up with an answer to all my questions. 

"I wonder where the Captain has gone." "I feel so good sitting in the sun, but it is time to go and try and do some writing and I should stop thinking about him. " "Oh! Dear!, now I am talking to myself, if anyone should hear me they will think I am going crazy ."

I quickly picked up my things and walked back to the house and as I did so , I glanced up at the den and saw the Captain in the patio doorway, I waved and called him, but he just disappeared. He didn't answer me or acknowledge me in anyway. I will go up there and see if he is there and find out what is going on. Why won't he talk to me and where is he all day and night?  I will find out soon enough. I am almost to the house now and I know he was up in that den.

McCain Castles

Today I haven't seen the Captain at all. I had wanted to ask him a few questions, about the chapter I am writing for this book but, he doesn't seem to be anywhere. I have called his name and walked through the house, but he has not answered me or appeared.  I wonder where he is?  I have stumbled unto another room today and on the wall of this room are hanging four hugh pictures of castles and each has the name of a McCain on them. They all must belong to different members of the McCain family.  How beautiful they are and I can imagine how they look inside. If the Captain were here today, I would ask about each one and how it looked and who it belonged to.  I will remember to find out all I can about these hugh castles. 

I feel sort of all alone here without the  Captain. I really shouldn't , not really. After all, He is a ghost. But I do miss him.  I hope he is alright, I don't think anything can happen to a ghost, right? After all they are dead already.  Oh! I have to stop thinking this way. Why am I so worried about him. He has been here forever and he is ok. I don't think he aged one minute. I never saw such a gorgous man in my life. Oh, dear!! I have to stop thinking that way too. What would people think of me if they knew I was living here and thinking about a ghost. 

Time to get some serious writing done, but I don't seem to be able to concentrate now. Maybe if I take a walk down to the cove and sit by the water for a while, I will be more relaxed and in the mood for writing.   I feel so mixed up today. My mind is so unsettled.  It has alot to do with the way the Captain held my hand and stroked the fingers and when I looked at him he seemed so far away as if he were remembering something. Then when he realized what he was doing, he pulled away abruptly and moved away.  That was unsettling for me and him I think.  Humm, I just can't stop thinking about that moment.

Time to get back to reality and go down and see the cove and the people there. Maybe even go for a swim, if the water isn't to cold.  Then I will be more sensible and able to write.

Today as I was sitting and writing the Captain came in and said."Come with me lass, I've something to show you that I feel will make you see my homeland better." "I didna show you this room before and I would like to show it to ya now."

I got up and the Captain reached out and put his hand in mine and you know, for a ghost, his hand felt very warm and he held my hand tenderly and just looked at it for a second as if he was thinking of something, and the abruptly let it go and told me to follow him.

We climbed up the stairs to the third floor, which I hadn't been up before, and led me to a room off to the side that had a very special door. The door was curved at the top and very ornate. It had drawings on it as if someone had carved this door by hand. How wonderful it looked and I would get some pictures of it for my book that I was writing. 

The Captain took out a small key and opened the lock and stood aside so that I could enter the room. It was a very bright room as it had windows all around it and there were pictures on every space of wall in that room. Some of the pictures had cloths hanging over them, I guess to protect them from the elements. The Captain went to one side and bide me to come too. He gently lifted one of the cloths and underneath it was a hugh picture of his castle in Ireland. It look majestic on top of that hill. He said that his ancesters built it there because it was hard to penetrate by invaders and easier to defend from that height. It had towers and walls so high that you would need ladders to scale them. Another protective element he said. 

Then he took me to another set of smaller pictures under one cloth and open  that one for me. I was surprised at what I saw there and just looked at him and waited for him to explain what they were to me.

He said that this was the buriel ground of his family and that his great great grandparents were in tombed under that hugh cross in their graveyard behind the castle in Ireland. The other two crosses were his great grandparents tombs and his parents were there also. All buried in Ireland. These were so beautiful and the large one had a special edging all around it and an inscription that I could not read. I asked the Captain what it said and he explained that it was gaelic and it was the language of his great great grandfathers family. They had been highland people and so their inscription was in that medieval language that they spoke.

He explained that it simply stated that this was the McClain Clans cross and marker and it named all the McCains that were laid to rest in this special area. It also had a prayer written on it and a blessing for all the deceased McCains. 

I asked if I could photograph these pictures for my book and he gave me his permission , but once again warned me about letting others know where I got the pictures. I agreed with him. I too didn't want anyone snooping around this mansion if I could help it , and I am sure that the Captain would not be so kind to them if he caught them either.

He handed me the key to the room and said that I could come there anytime to look at the other pictures on the walls and if I had any questions to just ask him, or if I wanted him to be there with me all I had to do was ask and he would come. I thanked him and walked around the room and stopped to look out the window . Because this room was on the third floor, I got a good look of all the surrounding area and it was a sight to behold. The grass and trees and all the wildflowers were an aura of color and light. I must have stood there for quite a long time, because when I turned around, the Captain had left and I was in the room all alone. I wondered why he had taken my hand and looked at it so thoroughly and then abruptly dropped it like it was a hot coal? His hand had felt so warm and soft and gentle. I had liked the way it felt in mine.

Slowly as I was thinking about all this I walked across the room and closed the door and locked it and put the key in my pocket. I must find a place that is safe to keep all these keys that the Captain was giving to me. I also must mark them so that I know which is which. I wonder where he goes when he disappears? I wonder if he would tell me if I ask? I am very curious about that, and when I see him next, I am going to ask where he goes and what he does.  But for now, I have to get back to my writing, if I can stop thinking about him holding my hand that is. I must stop this thinking, he is a ghost after all , isn't he?

Captain McCains Picture

 

There are so many of you that want to see what the Captain really looks like that I have decided to show you a picture of him here. He is 6ft. 4in. tall and has jet black hair and an earring in both ears. He has a small scar by his lip and intense dark eyes. He is of Irish-Scottish desent and has a brougue when he speaks, which by the way is very inchanting. I love to listen to him talk. He can be stubborn at times and very demanding also, but I have found that he is also a very sensitive and caring man too. A man that will protect what is his and relentlessly persue anything he undertakes.  I have become very  attached to him and find that if I don't see him for a day, I am sad. I don't understand it because He is a ghost after all, isn't he?? Well, I have to go into town for some supplies and I will leave you to look at this portrait and let me know what you think of this Captain that is a ghost in my home.

THE CAPTAINS ROOM AND DEN

I have been waiting for the Captain all morning and hopeing that he hasn't forgotten that he promised to show me his special collection today. I have been curious since he told me that what he had was very special.

Suddenly he appears at the door and bids me to follow him to the stairs. We climb up to the third floor and he takes a key out of his waistcoat and opens a hugh door. He then tells me to enter and he goes and puts the lamps on in the room. It is so large. There are pictures on the walls and cases with various things in them. He takes me by the hand and we start to walk around the room as he explains to me what each thing is. The first thing he shows me is a picture of one of his fathers first boats.It is beautiful and in full sail. He said his father used that boat to go to India for the dyes he transported to Ireland. The next thing he shows me is a case that has a picture of General Lee and his revolver and holster in it. This amazes me. I ask him why he would have this and he simply states that he is very much interested in the Civil War period and has been reading about that period in our history for a long time.  Amazingly enough, the next case contains the gun and holster and picture of General Grant. I am slightly dumbstruck by this case. I just look at him and he smiles and pulls me forward. This case truly is the cope de gra. Here is Abrabham Lincoln and his famous speech that he made. "Fore score and....." there is also his pipe. I am at a loss for words. I ask him if these are all real and he nodds his head and says,"Yes, they are all real" "I bought them at an auction many years ago and they have been here ever since, and I will not let them leave this house." "Now that is another reason why I didn't want anyone to come in this room and find these treasures of mine and destroy this room." "I looked all along the walls and on the tables in the room. There was so many things of history there. Books and books about the Civil War. Illustarated and beautifully bonded. How wonderful a find. I gently ran my hand over the books and asked if I might open a few and look at them more closely . The Captain smiled and said that I might touch anything in this room , but that I had to promise never to let anyone else see his treasures. He stated that this is where he stayed and read well into the night each and every night. He had a library of books in here scattered all over the room. Most on shelves but others stacked here and there on different tables.  What a magnificent room full of things that musuems would fight for. How lucky for me. I decided that I would not write about this room because it would bring attention to the relics here and might make people come here to see if they are real. I would do nothing to hurt the Captain after all his kindness to me, but I would be back again and again to look and read for myself whenever I could. 

I turned to thank the Captain and he was no longer there. That man had a way of disappearing on me all the time!!!! He had left the key on the table by the door so I picked it up and put it in my pocket and would make sure that no one ever got ahold of it. I would keep my promise to the Captain.  I just wish he would let me know he was leaving rather than just disappearing.

I felt sort of lonely without him there. I didn't understand that either. Well, I had better get down stairs and back to my writing , before the day turned to night. I haven't had much chance to write much lately with moving in and I still haven't been in every room either. Well, that can wait. I am going to get a cup of coffee and sit down at the computer and write about his adventure at sea that he had told me about yesterday.  HUmmm this coffee is sooo good.