Carrie came back from the beach all happy and sunburned. Ouch! I thought as she rushed into my office where I was still editing my newest book. She hadn't realized just how much sun she had gotten, but later tonight I knew I would be giving her some aloe for that sunburn.
As I sat there she chattered about all the people she had met and that this one young man had come and sat with her and told her all about the town. How much she loved his accent, as he was Scottish and the way that he talked with that wonderful brouge that only the Scots have.
I sat back and smiled as she related all her afternoons adventures to me. There was not a chance that I was going to get any more work done until she left the room. So I just smiled and enjoyed her stories. I suddenly realized that this was her first time out of New York City. All of this , the Mansion, the cove were like a new adventure for her.
Finally when she came up for air, I suggested that she better get the bottle of aloe out of the refrigerator and put it on her skin after she showered because it would help heal and cool down that burn that I could see was getting redder as the day started turning to dusk.
She left and went in the kitchen still chattering that as soon as she showered she would come down and make us both something to eat. I told her that it was not necessary but she insisted because I had given her the afternoon off and she had such a great time. So I acquiesced and turned to work some more on my manuscript.
I could hear Carrie singing as she showered and had to chuckle to myself as I pictured the Captain with his hands over his ears pacing in the den and muttering in that language of his about having that young girl in the house.
It suddenly got very quiet and I sighed as I again tackled my manuscript in what I hoped would be a few minutes of peace and quiet. But to my dismay, it was not to be. All of a sudden I heard this earth shattering scream and litterly jumped out of my seat and took off down the hall.
The den door was open and I ran in to see a totally frightened Carrie standing in the corner of the room holding her throat with her one hand and pointing to the picture above the fireplace with the other.
"What happened in here?" I asked.
"The picture, that one, over there, over the mantle, it's eyes scowled at me and it's lips moved.!" she exclaimed. Her eyes never left that picture as I tried to reasure her that she must have imagined those eyes moving and maybe the last edges of the sunlight coming in the room had tricked her into believing they really had moved.
"NO! They did move, and his eyebrows slanted down and those lips snarled, I saw it plain as day." she told me as she stared at the picture of the Captain.
After about 15 minutes of talking to her, I finally got her to leave the den and go downstairs and fix us something to eat. She backed out the door muttering to herself that it wasn't her imagination, that she really had seen something.
When she left I closed the door and looked around the room. I knew the Captain was here and so I called out to him to show himself.
He materialized behind me laughing in that deep voice of his as he swung his head back making that long hair of his swirl around.
"Gosh! I thought to myself. "He is one handsome man."
How could I be mad at him for protecting his den. The only room in the house that he considered his private domain. I had told Carrie not to go into the den, but like all curious young people , I guess the curiosity just got the better of her.
I put on my sternest face and planted my hands on my hips and waited until he stopped laughing. He watched me and it didn't faze him one bit that I was aggitated with what he had done to my assistant. In fact, I think he rather enjoyed seeing me a bit ticked off.
"Why did you go into that picture and nearly scare the life out of that young sweet girl?" I angerily asked him.
"She snuck in here when ye told her nae to do that, so I thought to teach the lass naer to do that again. I waited till she had walked around a bit and then I coughed and she jumped up startled like a young doe. She looked at my picture and I wiggled my eyebrows and scowled at her with my eyes and lips . Then I smiled at her and that is when she screamed. It was all I could do not to burst out in a full belly laugh. Ye should have seen the look on her face at that moment."
I bit my lip so that I would not smile and tried very hard to continue to glare at the Captain so that he would not see any amusment in my face or eyes. It was rather funny, and she did deserve being scared as I has specifically told her the den was off limits to her.
The Captain walked over to me with that sparkle in his eyes and bent down to look into mine.
"Ahh,Lass, Yer not angery at me now, are ye?" he said with a sad look on his face.
I knew that mischevious look, for I had been the victum of it many times before. He put his arms around me and gently kissed my forehead as he whispered in my ear that he was sorry but that now the lass would not be bothering him in his den anymore.
I felt shivers go up and down my body and his warm breath caressed my shoulder. He noticed that I had become less tense and he pulled me into his arms tighter. With his index finger he lifted up my chin and while I gazed into the stars of his eyes he gently kissed my lips.
Before I could say anything as I stood there with my eyes closed, he vanished, knowing that he was totally forgiven for his micheovous actions of the day.
I opened my eyes and sighed as I walked across the room and out the door into the hall. Still star struck by that wonderful and sweet kiss.
Downstairs I could hear Carrie in the kitchen and it sounded like a war was going on in there , so I decided that I better stop thinking about the Captain and get into my kitchen before she tore it all apart.
