THE CAPTAIN'S HOUSE

By Atonia Walpole

Chapter 4:

August 22, 2006

John picked Annie up at 10:00 and took her to the dock. He had a basket full of goodies and a couple bottles of wine. “I thought we’d have a picnic. The guy down at the deli fixed it up for me.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, John,” she said, watching him stow the picnic down in the galley. "Anything I can do?”

“Nope. I’m going to maneuver us out of this slip and we’re off to the sea. You okay today?”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll tell you about my roommate later.”

“Roommate? I thought you lived alone?”

“Not quite.”

 John buckled her into a life jacket, untied the ropes and started his motor to get them out of the harbor. He smiled as he watched her sitting by the railing holding on for dear life, her hair loose and blowing in the wind. He was going to have to do something about her and the thought gave him much pleasure. “Hey, come on back, sit here.” She inched her way back to the seat by him and sat down. “That’s better, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, thanks.” She was trying to braid her hair to keep it out of her face.

“Look in that bucket there. I keep a few leather shoe strings around and you can tie your hair up. Here, take the wheel. I’ll do it for you.” He gathered up her hair and tied a piece of the string around it, letting his fingers comb through the length of it. Taking the other piece of string, he tied his own hair back.

Annie sat back in the seat and enjoyed the ride among the waves. He handled the boat expertly. He was different on the sea she realized. He was in control, was the master. Oh, god…he was her Captain. With his hair tied back he looked so much like the glimpse she had seen the night before it was uncanny. He had on a white polo shirt open in the front, black swim trunks and boat shoes. John Scarlet. She was going to look him up, find out who his people were. Maybe her roommate was a Scarlet?

John brought his sails down and eased into a cove. “Picnic spot,” he said as he worked.

Annie looked over to the little narrow strip of beach and smiled...perfect. John jumped down into the water and Annie handed him the goodie basket. She waited for him to come back and help her down. As he caught her under the arms, his own arms went around her and held her  for a minute. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day,” he said with a wide smile, then took her hand and led her up on the beach.

Annie spread out the blanket he had taken from his bed. She removed her shorts and tee shirt and sat down.

“That color suits you, matches your eyes.” John sat down and removed his shirt. “Let’s see what we have here, bottle of wine and a corkscrew. You want to do the honors? Only paper cups, I’m afraid, sub sandwiches, chips, something gooey and sweet.”

Annie opened the wine and handed him a cup. “Thank you, John, for bringing me out today.    To you!”

“To you, Annie, cheers.” He held her eyes as he drank the wine. “So, tell me about your roommate.”

“He’s a ghost, John. Now don’t look at me like that. He’s the real thing.”

“A ghost is not a real thing ,Annie. It’s all in youe mind.”

“He was in front of my eyes last night. He’s been there, well, ever since you came in with me that day. I feel him there and sometimes I get a glimpse out of the corner of my eye, a form or shape, sometimes a color. I looked up military uniforms in the library and found out he’s a British Naval officer, a Captain. Last night he revealed himself to me in full uniform.”

“You believe this, don’t you? Don’t you think the uniform you looked up sparked your imagination?”

“I looked up the uniform because I had seen it, John, on him. The day you were there I thought he was you for a minute. You look like him with your hair pulled back like that.”

“Hey I’m not a ghost! I’m real. Well, what does he do besides scare the bejesus out of you?”

“He doesn’t scare me, never has. He doesn’t mean me any harm. He…causes…sensations.”

“Sensations…good ones? Ummm…lucky devil.” John smiled at her. He had no doubt she believed this nonsense. “Come on, let’s get wet.” He stood up and reached for her hand. “How’s your hand? I see the band aid is gone.” He turned her palm over. A pink scab had formed in the shape of a J. He looked up and decided not to mention his thumb with the scar that formed an A. Weirdness, that’s what it was.

They swam about and played in the water, eventually ending up together where it was waist-deep. He held her arms in his hands and looked into her eyes. “What would you say if I picked you up and carried you to the boat, down to my bed and lay down with you?”

“I’d say you are an awfully strong man.”

“I feel like Hercules.” He dipped down, slid his arm under her knees, picked her up, kissed her lips and carried her to the boat. “I can’t carry you up the ladder.”

“Ooh, weakness,” She purred.

“You’re going to have to help me out a little here,” he laughed.

They lay in his bed and the familiar tingling in her nipples worked its way down her belly. She closed her eyes and let it take her. The room filled with lavender as they rolled entwined in the bed, the soft motion of the boat adding to their pleasure.

“J…John” she said as he sought her bruised lips once more. Somewhere in her mind she knew she had almost said Jack.

September 12, 1820

He obtained a house for her and her woman from an acquaintance though he had never seen it. Anne was a widow and he ,after all, was married. He was respectful of her reputation. She visited him on the ship when he was in port but that had only been in port six times in two years. Thoughts of her warmed him nightly.

He picked up the little silk purse he had bought for her and smiled. She loved the little trinkets he chose for her. He took his goblet back to the table, thinking about having another glass. No, he put the stopper back in the decanter. He would wait until later. Back at the window he saw the rain had begun. It would be a wet journey across the harbor. He picked up his violin and began to play.

August 22, 2006

John had her back to the dock by nightfall. He brought the remains of their picnic with him as they walked to his car. “Would you like to come up, meet my roommate?” she asked when he parked in front of the house.

“Sure, maybe finish off the wine?” He carried the bottle up the familiar staircase to her room. “Well, where is he?” he asked as she closed the door.

“Um, I don’t know. He’s here and he isn’t here. Sorry, best I can do,” she said and took the bottle from him.

“Maybe he doesn’t like the company you keep?” he suggested, sitting down on the loveseat.

She handed him the cup of wine and sat down beside him, smoothing his hair back. “I do…like the company. I really enjoyed myself today…all of it.”

“So did I.” He looked over her shoulder as the bedroom door opened by itself. An invitation?  “It doesn’t have to be over, you know…the day.”

“Umm…maybe an hour or two left.”

John left her just before midnight. She turned off the lights in the sitting room and climbed back in bed. He was back. She raised herself on her elbows and said to the darkened room “Go, I don’t need you tonight.” A light flashed through the bedroom window revealing him sitting in a chair, smiling, dressed in his breeches and a flowing white shirt opened down the front. He dipped his head to her and faded. She lay breathless for a moment. He was gone but the lavender remained. She would remember to look up John Scarlet tomorrow. Tonight she would dream about him.

August 23, 2006

John called Annie, waking her up the next morning. “Good morning Annie…I just wanted to say…good morning to you.”

“Mmm, good morning to you, John. Sleep well?”

“Sweet dreams last night. How about lunch?”

“Okay, can you pick me up at the library, say 12:30?”

“Sure, see you.”

John had indeed had some sweet dreams the night before. His bedroom smelled of lavender. He hung up the phone and lay back in the bed. He had forgotten to ask her if her ghost had visited last night. He smiled…sensations...and hoped he had left her with a few of his own.

He picked her up at the library for lunch. She had a backpack with her. “You look like you’re going back to school.”

“It is actually left over from college but it’s handy.”

“Find out anything today?” he asked

“Yes, I found out quite a bit today,” she smiled over at him. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

They were back in the café for lunch, eating clam chowder. “I looked you up, John,” she said, dipping into her soup.

“What do you mean you looked me up?”

“At the library. Someone has obviously researched your family before because there's a lot of information available. I had to, John. You know I told you about my ghost. You look so much like him.”

“Well, I’ve never cared much about that stuff, Annie, but I guess you’re going to tell me anyway,” he smiled.

“I don’t have all the answers yet but I can tell you your family originally came from Boston. They were ship owners and sailors. Now doesn’t that fit?” she smiled. “There were two brothers born in Boston, one stayed on and the other moved down the coast a bit to this town. The one who moved here was named John Scarlet.  There seems to be a John Scarlet in every generation down to you.”

“You think this John Scarlet is your ghost?”

“I’m not sure yet but there has to be a connection. I still have some more work to do online.”

“It’s the houses that interest me, the oldest ones were built by shipbuilders. You can tell by the workmanship. Interesting about the Scarlet sailors, though.” It intrigued him. The long line of seafaring men he had always heard about was true.

Chapter 5:

August 24, 2006

John visited the ships museum with Annie to see if they could find any Scarlet information. He was fascinated by the ship models while Annie was reading all the plaques and information available. She called him over to see what she had found, a model of a ship built by Scarlet. The information booklet mentioned Captain Scarlet, too.

“There’s your Captain,” John said.

“Your Captain, maybe, but not mine. Mine is British.”

“It’s a fine ship. God, I would love to sail on one of those!” He walked over to a mural on the wall depicting a sailing ship much like the Scarlet model. He had one of those moments, lost in the mural, feeling the cold salty air, the damp of the ship, the men’s voices on the wind, the sound of the sails catching the breeze. He felt like he was there. It was only when Annie took his arm that he came back to the museum. He turned and looked at her strangely. “Déjà vu again.   I was just on that ship. My mind is going, Annie!”

She only smiled at him and hugged his arm. They walked around the museum and found a display of warships. John stopped and studied them then walked back to the mural…he was sure the ship he thought he was on was a warship.

“What is it, John?”

“Warship, I was on a warship. There was smoke from big guns firing.” He stood starring into space.

“A glimpse from the past? I get those all the time, John. I have all my life but especially when I am researching my own family. It’s like I’m in touch somehow and they let me have a look through the door.”

John was quiet on the ride home, his mind still struggling with the door that had opened for him. It had been so real, the acrid smell of the smoke and sounds. “I’ve never had anything like this happen before,” he whispered.

“You said you would like to be on one of those ships and you were for a moment. I guess you had better be careful of what you ask for. Still, it’s strange…Scarlet’s didn’t build warships.”

Annie could see John was shaken by his experience. “John would you like to come up?”

He smiled, “You had to ask?”

She entered her rooms and paused to see what was afoot. He was there and he wasn’t. Same strange sensation she had the last time John was here. She looked at John, who had walked over to the window as he had the first time. He had his hands in his pockets. Before her eyes she watched him change. The man stood a little straighter and was dressed in breeches and the white shirt she had seen before, long blond hair caught back in the ribbon. She stood very still,waiting. He turned to her, smiled, and said, "There’s a storm coming up." It was John again.  He’s with John, in John…something. Her hand went to her mouth.

“John what were you thinking just now before you spoke?”

He looked at her a moment. “About making my boat fast, making sure the ropes are tight. This time of year storms blow up in a hurry, skirting up the coastline. Why?”

September 12, 1820

The rain against the glass blotted out the horizon, the dark clouds he had observed earlier no longer visible. He lay down his violin. The ship was beginning to rock slightly more than usual. He decided to go up on deck and have a look at the approaching storm. He donned his rainwear on the way to the steps.

August 25, 2006

“I think you’d better go, love. Landlady will be up shortly.” She snuggled against his chest.

“If you keep doing that I won’t be able to go. Still think I’m a ghost?”

“No, I know you’re real enough,” she laughed.

John kissed her goodbye and left her in bed where she lay for another four hours before waking to the sound of rain on the windows. She stretched and pulled his pillow to her, hugging it and wishing he was still there. Ah, be careful what you wish for…she looked around but her ghost wasn’t there this morning.

After breakfast she sat down at her computer to enter some information on the Scarlets and see where they ended up in the tree she had started. So many men named the same thing was confusing. Only the dates separated them. Something clicked in her brain and she pulled out a folder of papers she had copied from the archives at the state capitol. John Aubrey had been bound out to John Scarlet in 1826. She sat back in her chair. A connection between the two families is made, except John Aubrey had no family. She went through the pages again coming upon the marriage bonds for the county. Skimming down the pages she stopped: Margaret Aubrey to John Scarlet. She must be Aubrey's daughter or sister. Further research that day confirmed her suspicions. Margaret was the daughter of her ancestor John Aubrey. She picked up the phone to call John.

“Hey, Annie, I was just about to call you see if you wanted to go to dinner tonight.”

“Yes, food, yes. But listen. I made a connection today, Aubrey-Scarlet.” She told him of her finds.

“Kissing cousins? I like that. Tell me what you're doing right now.”

“I’m on the love seat taking a break. What are you doing?”

“Sitting in the tub thinking about you.”

“That sounds nice, John. Wish I was there.”

“You could be.”

“What time are you picking me up?”

“6:30. See ya.”

She lay back on the love seat and thought about him in the tub. She felt a tickle on the bottom of her feet. “I thought you weren’t going to bother me anymore.” The air around her neck began to move and she closed her eyes.

September 3, 2006

The relation ship between John and Annie was beginning to get serious. The word ‘love' had been mentioned. They spent more and more time together, eating most of their meals together. He had taken her to his apartment and shown her his photos. She was intrigued with the photo of her on the hilltop when he told her what he had seen in his viewfinder. Who was the woman? Annie was determined to find out.

The answer came in the mail. Copies of the church records arrived that afternoon and she and John went over them. John found the record of the christening: John Aubrey/ Mother: Anne Turnball, Father: Jack Aubrey. “They weren’t married, Annie. He was christened on July 1, 1820.”

“The widow Turnball who lived in the house was John’s mother. Wait a minute! Jack Aubrey! I’ve been so dense. I thought John and Jack were the same person, but if he was born in 1820 he sure wouldn’t have been paying taxes on that house before then. Jack is the one! He’s the mystery man and Anne must have been his mistress. Oh, how romantic, John.” Annie was looking out the window.

“It may not have been, Annie, but think what you want to,” he laughed.

“It was. I feel it. She loved him dearly and he loved her. I wish we could find out who he was, where he was from.”

Annie had gone to take a shower and John paced around the room picking up things, looking out the window. He spied her pendant on the table and picked it up. This is what causes the lavender she had said. As he turned it over in his hand he saw his hand go out and lift the brooch from a red velvet lined box. He turned it over in his hand. This is the kind of thing she would want. John dropped the pendant back on the table. He had seen the arm go out, a dark blue coat with gold piping. He had seen it! He fell down on the loveseat, rubbing his face. Another glimpse, a door opened for him? No, it was too unsettling. He looked at the pendant again. It was the same one.  He got up and walked over to the ice bucket and filled a cup with ice water, wishing he had a whiskey.

Annie came out ready to go to dinner. “Has my ghost been bothering you? You look rattled.”

He told her about he vision he had with the pendant. “It was a brooch but the same one you have there. The coat sleeve was dark blue with gold piping.”

“Like a uniform, maybe?” she walked over to her desk to find the copies she had made of military uniforms at the library.

“Like this but the piping was different.” He pointed to the page.

“John, that’s my Captain’s uniform, my ghost.” She turned around to the room. “Why don’t you help me out here?” she snapped and stamped her foot.

John looked at her. “Maybe he is trying to help. He bought the pendant or brooch. Who did he give it to in your family?”

“It’s your family, too, John, and I don’t know the answer to that.”

John later told Annie he felt like he had stepped over the edge. He couldn’t deny the things he had experienced though he didn’t understand any of it.

“It’s not going to hurt us, John. Whatever is going on, maybe it’s to help us understand something. At least we’ve gotten to the bottom of a few things, like the Scarlet-Aubrey-Turnball connection. And, I might add, I’ve met you.”

“Ah, Annie, I love ya!” He took her in his arms and held her close, burying his face in her hair.

“Where did you pick up that English accent?”

“Sorry?”

Chapter 6:

September 12, 1820

He arrived on deck catching the wind and rain full in his face then made his way to the quarter deck where he peered out into the darkness. He bellowed out instructions and listened as they were relayed and his men scurried about.  “It’s changed directions!” he hollered. “Aye, sir,” came the answer. He looked over the side toward the land thinking surely Jimson would have had the sense to turn around. Pray God he has.

September 4, 2006

John asked Annie to go with him down the coast to photograph some houses he had heard about and she agreed. Few days, pack a bag, it’ll be fun. They were driving down the curving narrow roads, talking, and she asked him about his fascination with old houses.

“Well, I’m an architect by trade so I guess it follows I’m interested in construction. But it’s the old shipbuilder’s houses I love. You know a lot of them were built from wrecked ships? Yeah, they didn’t waste anything.”

“Do you architect anymore?”

“I haven’t done a paying job in a couple of years. After the divorce I just kinda quit everything and took off on my boat.”

“You quit a good-paying job to play?”

“No, I left my former father-in-law’s firm to get my head straight. I have a book out of photos, sailing ships. Not a big seller but I really didn’t care. It was something I wanted to do and now I’m working on the Captains' houses.”

“I envy you your freedom, John.”

“What is it that keeps you tied down?”

“Myself, I guess. I’m a history teacher, local high school, and I took a year off to research my book. So I’ve been doing a lot of traveling up and down the northeast.”

“Can I ask what happened to your husband and why you took your maiden name back?”

“Oh, I never had his name, really. I always used my maiden name. He was killed in Iraq.”

“You really don’t have anything tying you down then, do you?”

“What are you suggesting, John?”

“Sail away with me, would you?”

She stared at his profile as he drove. Could she do that, just drop everything? Everything. What was everything, a job she didn’t particularly enjoy? What would her parents think…did she care? She was 30 years old, educated and…free. He turned and looked at her, those blue eyes full of life and love. “Yes, John, I would. There are some things I have to take care of first, but yes.”

He reached out for her hand. “Then we’ll set sail, my love, we will.”

They spent two nights together in hotels along the way, waking up in each other's arms for the first time. John scouted out his houses and took his pictures. Annie helped him by gathering all the information she could on each house and creating folders for each one. They did a bit of sightseeing and ate good food. It was a great trip. John dropped her off at the B&B, promising to take her for breakfast.

She walked into her room and put her bag down. He was there somewhere. “I’ve had the most wonderful time. Did you miss me?” She waited to see what would happen. Okay, no response. She walked in the bedroom, took off her clothes and ran the bath.  As she came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel he was there sitting in the chair dressed in his breeches and the white ruffled shirt. He looked so real, so solid sitting there watching her with the smile in his eyes. “You know I’m in love with your double, with John. You like that don’t you? I wish I knew who you are.” Her right palm began to tingle and she opened her hand and looked at the tiny scar…J. “J…John? Jack! Oh, my God, you’re Jack Aubrey! The brooch, my pendant, you bought it! Oh, Jack, who did you give it to? Was it Anne?" He began to fade. “Don’t go! Oh, Jack.”

She threw on her robe and called John, “I’ve had a visitor, Jack Aubrey!”

“What…you mean your ghost?”

“Yes, he was here but he’s gone now. He looked so solid tonight. I mean like I could have touched him. Now that I think about it, he’s been getting more solid lately. I asked him about  the brooch but he faded away again. I asked him who he was and my palm tingled, you know the little scar?”

“Jack Aubrey was the British Captain, your ghost? Wow! He bought the brooch, Annie, and he must have given it to Anne. She was the mother of his child. What happened to Anne?”

“I don’t know. She disappeared in 1820. You know records weren’t kept on women, only men. There was the Christening and after that only one entry for the widow Turnball at a store where she bought a thimble and that was in August. I can’t get over it! My ghost is our ancestor! Oh dear, I think he is a bit naughty.”

“Why, oh the, ah…sensations?” he laughed. “He must have been a lusty fella, Annie.”

“I don’t know about that. I want to know what happened to Anne and Jack and where did he go?”

“I don’t know where you would go to find it, but there must be records on him somewhere. If he was high up in the British Navy there has to be something.  We won’t solve it tonight, babe. See you at breakfast.”

September 8, 2006

They were finishing up breakfast. “John, I want to go up to the Captain’s house today.”

“Sure, when we leave here?”

They parked on the curb and walked inside. The docent greeted them, the one with the first aid kit again, and asked about their cuts. They assured her they were fine and would be careful about the house.

They toured the whole house, the scent of lavender strong about them today. They walked upstairs to the room with the cradle. Annie wasn’t sure she wanted to see it again after her first reaction. John held her hand as they stood and looked at it. She went down on her knees running her hand along the curves carved so many years ago. “I wonder how many babies have lain in this little cradle.”

“I only know of one, but I'm sure there were others. This was John Aubrey’s cradle.”

“I need to leave now, John.”

“Why? Tell me about it.”

“A sadness...something happened. I don’t know what. We know John lived. I don’t know.”

John took her hand and led her out of the room, back downstairs. They walked to the top of the hill looking toward the harbor. “I think the woman I saw in the viewfinder was Anne. Maybe  she was looking for his ship?” John said, shading his eyes.

Annie had moved a little away from him and pushed the hair out of her face in the wind. The sunlight was shining on the harbor. “It was a frigate, the ship, John Aubrey’s ship.”

John turned to her. “The warship with the guns. Let’s go, Annie…Annie give me your hand  let’s go now!”

Annie turned, gave him her hand, and they walked back to his car. “Hey, are you okay?” John asked.

“Yeah, John, I’m good. I think Anne was in my head for a minute. She loved Jack but couldn’t be with him. It must have been awful for her. I wonder why he never married her, I mean with the child and all?”

“Maybe he was already married? That might explain it. I’m afraid I've fallen under your spell, Annie. I seem to be as interested in this as you are, accepting the weirdness and everything. Maybe we’re both loony?”

He drove down to his boat dock. “Come check out your new home-to-be.”

Annie climbed down in the cabin with different eyes this time. “It’s rather compact but it has everything. Actually there's plenty of room here for two.” She tried to open the cabinets and he showed her how to work the latches. “Where do you keep all your stuff, John?”

“Stuff? Here, I mean I don’t carry around a lot of baggage. I have a few things stored at my Dad’s place. It’s amazing what you don’t need to live. Why? Have you got loads of stuff you were planning on dragging down here?” he laughed.

“Well, I don’t know. I have accumulated a few things over the years. I could probably store them at my parents' house. They have a big garage. I’ll have to think about that...what don’t I need to live.”

“All I need is you, Annie, and my boat, of course,” he grinned.  “Have you checked the bedroom?”

She turned and cocked an eyebrow. He was still grinning. “Want to help measure the bed, Captain?”

Later they took their drinks and a can of peanuts out to the end of the dock and sat down. “It’s beautiful out tonight,” she said dreamily.

“Won’t last. There are storms coming, remnants of the hurricane that hit Florida working its way up.”

“How do you know that? What is it ‘red sky at night sailors delight, red sky at morning sailors warning’? Is that it?”

“No, I saw it on the weather channel,” he laughed.

“When were you thinking about sailing away?”

“Depends on the weather. I don’t want to go back to Wilmington while hurricanes are forming. They always seem to come in there. I don’t want to risk any more damage to my home here.”

“Have you been through a hurricane with your boat?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t on it but I tied it down as fast as I could at the dock. Still got battered around and had to replace the mast. That’s expensive. So I just sail out during the season, usually go north. We’ll go down in the Caribbean, anywhere you want to.”

“It sounds wonderful to a landlubber like me, but I’ll have to grow sea legs,” she said and stretched out her legs.

“You’ll do fine with me.”

Chapter 7:

September 12, 1820

The waves in the harbor were getting steep and water was pouring in the little boat. Anne was becoming frightened and called out to the boatman, “Can you not turn around and take me back?”

“No, not now! 'Tis no difference one way or the other. We’re too far out. We’ll try and make for the ship.”

The wind was blowing the canvas cover, ripping the back end of it to shreds. Anne looked up and knew it was only a matter of time before it would be gone. Already soaked to the skin, she began to pray.

September 10, 2006

It was an unusually warm day, the air sticky with humidity, when John went down to his boat   to check on the ropes and make sure she was tight in her berth. Annie joined him later, bringing a small cooler of beer and some sandwiches.

“We can’t take her out today? It’s so warm the sea breeze would feel good,” Anne suggested hopefully as she fanned herself with her shirt.

“No, the wind is going to pick up later and the sea will be rough. It looks calm now but if you take a sailboat out and the weather turns nasty it’s difficult to get back in under sail. Believe   me, I know.”

They sat on the end of the dock finishing their lunch. “The men who went to sea back in the day of our Aubrey must have been brave and courageous,” Anne commented thoughtfully

“I imagine they were. Saltwater gets in your blood, I think, and the hardships became a way of life.” He looked over the harbor. “I think our Aubrey would have anchored over there in the shelter on the other side of the harbor.”

“How would he get ashore? That’s a good ways out.”

“By boat. Probably they would have come up to a dock to load supplies and then anchored over there until time to sail. It must have been exciting sailing on a frigate.” John sat musing over the past and looking out to sea.

“I think I’m going for a swim, John. You want to join me?” She pulled off her shirt and dove in, “Feels good!”

John pulled his shoes off and dove in after her. When he came up he didn’t see her, and looked around, calling her name.

Annie had gone underwater and could see John’s legs kicking. She intended to come up behind him, but suddenly she began to sink, her heavy skirts tangled around her legs. Panicked, she began to thrash around and as she thought of Jack, her chest became heavy.

John noticed her hair floating on top of the water and dove under, bringing her up coughing  and sputtering. “Annie, Annie!” He swam over to the ladder holding her under the arms and called out. Several people came running to help pull her onto the dock. She was coughing up water. Somebody called for an ambulance. John could hear the sirens as he held her.

John rode in the ambulance, watching her, eyes wide in terror. She kept trying to talk but the attendant shushed her with the oxygen mask.

It was hours later when they were driven back to the B&B that she was able to talk to John. “I have to tell you something. It’s about Anne.”

“Shhh, don’t worry about Anne, honey, you almost drowned. Just keep quiet. I can hear you breathing.”

“No, Anne drowned, she drowned!” Tears seeped from the corners of her eyes. “She never made it to the ship.” She began to cry so John took her in his arms and rocked her. “I could feel the weight of her skirts tangled around her legs.”

“This has gone too far, Annie. We’ve got to stop talking about it. Leave it alone. My god, Annie  I almost lost you today.”

September 12, 2006

John stayed with Anne for two days, and although she was up and around, he was worried. This fascination or obsession she felt with the past was becoming dangerous and he cautioned her to leave it alone several times. But Annie wanted to get to the bottom of it and sat at her computer looking for anything to do with Jack Aubrey. She found some information on his battles with the French, the fact that he was married, and had begun to put together a scenario.

She told John Anne must have been going to meet him. Maybe a storm came up and she drowned? He sailed away, not knowing she had drowned. John sat looking up at her wishing she would just quit.

“Does it matter, Annie? John Aubrey lived and produced and here we are.”

“Yes, it does matter, to me it does. I…want Jack Aubrey to be at rest and he isn’t. That’s why he’s still here. There is something unfinished.”

“Well, he almost finished you off! I can’t listen to this anymore!” He got up thinking he would go down and lock up his boat. He hadn’t been back since she almost drowned.

“Jack had nothing to do with what happened to me, John.”

“I’ll be back in a little while. I’m going down to the boat and lock it up.”

“It’s pouring rain, John.”

“I’ve been wet before!” he snapped and left, running down the stairs. By the time he had reached his boat he had cooled down and felt bad about the way he had talked to her.

Anne ran her hands through her hair and shook it out. John didn’t understand how important this had become to her. She looked at her screen at the dates she had entered. She felt she knew what had happened to Anne. The baby must have been taken somewhere. Surely there was someone to look after it when she left the dock. She reached in her blouse and fingered the pendant. The brooch had been left behind and must have stayed with the baby for it to end up around her neck.

She felt the air move around her and looked up. He was dressed in uniform tonight and sat in a chair by the window. He had that same small smile on his face she had seen before. She had to tell him and she hated to do it.

“You think I’m Anne, don’t you? I have to tell you something you need to know. I’m not Anne, I’m Annie Aubrey, yes, Aubrey. You were waiting for her to come by boat and there was a storm or something and the boat never made it. She had something to tell you Jack. She had a child, your child, a son. She named him John Aubrey. She drowned that night in the harbor. Your child lived and was brought up a seaman. John and I are many generations removed from you but we carry your blood. I’m sorry, so sorry.” She began to cry, watching his face change in his understanding. “You can go to her now, Jack.” He stood up, looked out the window, then as he turned to her she felt a warm flush of love from him. He bowed, straightened himself, and faded away.  Annie cried for she knew she would never see him again.

John had his boat locked and secured and walked down to the end of the dock. The rain pelted him as he looked across the harbor. The door opened.

September 12, 1820

He had waited on the deck for some time watching toward the distant shore, then gone back down to his cabin, removing the soaked rain gear. Looking at the bottle of port, he realized she would  not be coming across tonight. He had poured a goblet and started to take a drink when the bell sounded. He dashed back up on deck where some of his men were pointing out in the harbor.

The wind was driving the rain in his face and he saw the tip of the boat capsized and floating toward the ship, no sight of his men in the rough water. He hung onto the ropes straining his eyes in the storm; there was nothing to be seen but the boat slowly sinking into the harbor. His thoughts went to Anne, praying she was safe on shore. He held on to the ropes until the boat was no more and he was persuaded to go back down. He mourned the loss of his two men but of Anne he knew not.

September 12, 2006

John found himself on his knees, his salty tears mixing with the rain that poured down his face. He had experienced Jack’s agony. He got shakily to his feet and walked back to the B&B, back to Annie.

She had been standing at the window watching for him to return. When he rounded the corner she hugged herself. He was coming!

He opened the door and she ran into his arms, holding him tightly to her. Rain dripped from his hair and his face as he looked into her eyes. “Annie, Jack, never knew about Anne…I…saw…I was with him that night. The door opened for me again.”

“John, he’s gone to Anne now. The door won’t open again.” Their arms went around each other and as his lips found hers the scent of lavender faded away.

THE END

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