Sequel to "Make Me a Match"            Susan G.

   "Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match!  Find me a find!  Catch me a catch!..." Carolyn sang softly under her breath as she sorted some papers on her desk.  Then she caught herself and rolled her eyes.  "Oh really, Carolyn, get with it!"
   "Are you speaking to me, Madam?" The Captain appeared in front of her desk, looking quizzically at her.
   "No.  To myself." she grinned.
   "I just caught the last line of your song ... one about fishing?"
he questioned again.
   Carolyn chuckled, looking at her papers.  "Fishing for MEN!"  She rolled a new piece of paper into her typewriter, then glanced up.  "Captain, I'm sorry, but I've only got a few minutes now while Aggie and Claymore are out for supper to put down these story ideas before I forget them!"  She didn't even wait for his response, but started typing right away.
   He watched her for a moment, then dematerialized again.  Up on the widow's walk, he paced in deep thought.  The Captain had loudly declared that he believed marriage-minded women to be the bane of civilization.  He abhorred marriage ... but realizing he loathed that upstart with no real claim to the Gregg name even MORE, he had landed in the mess he was now.  Although his best instincts had told him not to interfere, he had gone along with Mrs. Muir's request to speak to that blasted ninny of a Claymore about taking Miss Burns out ... had gone so far as to convince the miserable doormat that he was a perfect candidate for marriage!  But still his own doubts persisted.  After all, during his lifetime, marriage was the ultimate threat to that which he prized most in life, namely his freedom and independence!  Actually, his views of marriage had mellowed somewhat over the last hundred years ... over the last year, in fact, with Mrs. Muir and her children!  But that was no excuse for what he had done!
   Frowning, he wondered what he could now to save the situation.  Should that benighted barnacle actually MARRY Miss Burns and, horror of horrors, father a child, then the line of Gregg pretenders would continue!  There had to be a way to scuttle this enterprise!  Perhaps he could appeal to Mrs. Muir for help?  She was compassionate to weaklings.  She might be willing to do something.  It was certainly worth an attempt!
   Carolyn finished typing up her ideas, then sat in the armchair in her room to finish her book.  The children burst in with Martha to say goodnight.  Jonathan jumped up on her lap, as did Scruffy, and Candy asked if it were true that Claymore was going to be Miss Burns' new boyfriend. 
   Martha murmured, "Little pitchers have big ears."
   "What does that mean?" Candy asked.
   "Well, it means that it might turn out like you said." Martha admitted. 
   "WHY does she want Claymore for a boyfriend anyway?" Jonathan wanted to know.
   Carolyn responded, saying lightly, "Well, a person doesn't have to have reasons for liking another person."
   Martha added, dryly, "Especially if the person the person likes is Claymore Gregg!" and Carolyn shot her a look.
   "I don't understand." Jonathan complained.
   Carolyn tried to answer Jonathan's question honestly, but simply enough for him to understand.  "What I mean, dear, is that people grow up and they see something special in each other, and they fall in love."
   "Not just grow up.  Sometimes it takes eternity to REALLY fall in love," came the Captain's voice in Carolyn's ear.  She blushed slightly, trying to ignore him. 
   "Oh." was Jonathan's response. 
   "Oh.  How about bed now?" Carolyn hugged him.  Then she realized that Aggie and Claymore were back at Gull Cottage, knocking on the door.  She hurriedly said goodnight to the children and went downstairs to offer the returning couple some cake and coffee.  They accepted eagerly, so Carolyn began getting the tray set up in the kitchen. 
   While she was working, the Captain appeared, and admitted his concern for the matchmaking he had been inveigled into doing. 
   "It's the best thing that ever happened to him!" Carolyn retorted, getting out the cups.
   "What if the fool proposed to her, and what if she says yes?" the Captain almost groaned at the thought.
   "Just because you're against marriage doesn't mean it's bad for Claymore!" Carolyn said, soothingly.
   "He'd never EVER have thought of it if I hadn't tricked him into it.  And out of hostility.  Not love.  Without any consideration for his happiness."  The Captain was beginning to warm to the idea of nobly rescuing Claymore from a fate he had successfully avoided himself in his own lifetime.
   Carolyn went to the fridge for the cream.  "Oh, it's time Claymore got married and realized happiness isn't everything in life!"
   There was a stunned silence, and when Carolyn glanced at the Captain, she saw a funny look on his face.  Astonishment, wonder, and a touch of comprehension.  Realizing she had maybe given away a little too much of her OWN personal life, she quickly added, "I didn't mean it QUITE that way."
   The Captain's look warned her that he was not about to drop the subject permanently, but that he was willing to put it aside while dealing with his own problem.  "Mrs. Muir, it's your obligation to discourage this thing between Claymore and Miss Burns."  He hoped that by wording it this way, she WOULD agree to intercede in this dreadful situation.
   Unfortunately, Carolyn did not see things his way.  She assumed a very self-righteous air, saying loftily, "I wouldn't DREAM of interfering!"  The Captain gave her a speaking glance, which Carolyn ignored as she picked up the tray and took it into the living room. 
   Later, after Aggie had run out the door to meet up with and marry Stuart, Carolyn felt wretchedly guilty seeing a depressed Claymore.  But the Captain was feeling good enough about everything to say something to cheer him up.  After speaking about what Claymore would have been expected to purchase for his "betrothed", the Captain added solemnly, "When it comes to affairs of the heart, Claymore is like that.  His heart rules his head."
   Carolyn had to bite her tongue hard to keep from smiling as Claymore bravely decided he might be able to get over his disappointment.  But she couldn't contain her laugh when he stopped in the doorway and said that his only regret was ordering the wrong entree for supper! 
   As Claymore closed the door behind himself, Carolyn looked at the Captain, still grinning, and said, "Well, they're both happy now."
   "Yes.  Separately." he said, significantly.
   "Well, Aggie IS going to get married," Carolyn reminded him. 
   "But not to that parsimonious skinflint!  Speaking of which..."
   "Captain, it's late, and ..."
   "Madam, I wish to speak with you!" he scowled.
   Resigned, Carolyn nodded and saluted smartly.  "Aye, aye, sir.  Where, sir?"
   Narrowing his eyes at her pertness, he jerked his head.  "In our cabin." and he disappeared.
   "OUR cabin?" Carolyn muttered to herself.  "OUR?  Why does he SAY it like that?"  She went in to the living room and picked up the fallen tray, cleaning the cake crumbs off the carpet as best she could.  Claymore had obviously knelt on some and ground them in.  She carried the dishes into the kitchen and put them in the sink, then returned to the living room.  As she was trying to get the stain out of the rug, a clap of thunder made her subside onto the carpet and glance up with a look of exasperation.  "Excuse ME, but when I finish swabbing your deck, I will come!" The answer she got was a low rumble.  "And the mess was YOUR fault anyway!" she reminded him under her breath.
   Instantly the stain dissolved before her eyes.  She stared open- mouthed.  "How did you DO that?"
   The Captain appeared again.  "Madam, may we PLEASE have our discussion now?  On the upper deck?  Now that we have taken care of your housekeeping duties?" his voice was milder. 
   Relieved he hadn't ordered her upstairs, since she would then have felt obliged to stall yet again, Carolyn moved to the stairs.  But at the foot, she turned back.  "I forgot about the new edition of the Schooner Bay Beacon.  I wonder if it came yet?" and she started looking around the hall table.
   "Why would you waste your time reading that?" came the disdainful comment.  "We had nothing to do with it this week, therefore there is probably nothing of interest in it."
   Carolyn grinned, thinking of her abortive attempt to have, as Candy had said, ‘a REAL job'.  "Actually, I was wondering if Mark managed to find someone else to do his work, or if he had to buckle down and do it himself."
   "High time that pup did something himself." the Captain growled.  "What did he think you were, his slave?  At his beck and call night and day?  Madam!" he suddenly barked.
   Carolyn jumped, and looked at him, startled.  "Yes, Captain?"
   "You were not comparing me with that slothful barnacle, were you?"
   Puzzled, Carolyn said, "No.  There's no comparison, Captain!  Why would I compare you two?"
   More gently, the Captain muttered, "Well, from what I just said, with him telling you what to do, and then with me ... I, of course, do not expect you to be following my every order every moment of every day!"
   Raising her eyebrows, Carolyn drawled, "You don't?  Now that you mention it, Captain...."
   He scowled again, and her laughter pealed out.
   "Mrs. Muir?" Martha's voice came from her room behind the stairs.  "Were you saying something?"
   "No, Martha!" Carolyn called back.  "Sorry.  I just thought of something funny.  Where's the Beacon?"
   "I'm reading it.  Do you want it?"
   "No, that's all right.  I'll read it tomorrow.  Goodnight."
   Carolyn ran up the stairs, still chuckling at the Captain.  She checked on the children, then went into her own room.  The Captain was seated on the chair by the fireplace, holding last week's edition of the Schooner Bay Beacon, which featured him on the front page. 
   "You know, we did a marvellous job with this article, madam." he commented.
   "I didn't write it." Carolyn reminded him.  "It's all yours."
   "But if it hadn't been for you, it would never have been written."
His warm gaze caught hers.
   Carolyn smiled slowly, and sat down opposite the Captain.  "Well, I really felt I had to do something for you.  You have given me so much.  The scrimshaw, the shawl ..." she hesitated, then plunged ahead, "and yourself as a friend ... I felt I wanted to repay some of your kindness.  And there's really nothing I can give you ... so when you mentioned this, I knew that a retraction might take some of the pain out of that recollection.  I admit, though, that I hadn't thought to plaster it all over the front page!" she tried to pass off the moment lightly.
   "I see."  The Captain was uncharacteristically silent, ignoring her final sentence.  He pulled on his left ear thoughtfully, then said, "I thank you, Mrs. Muir.  I do hope that you didn't feel it necessary to refuse Finley's offer to keep you on the Beacon team on MY behalf."
   Carolyn smiled again, and said gently, "No, Captain.  Not SOLELY on your behalf, anyway.  Besides, it freed me up for Aggie's visit!"
   "Ah, yes.  The man-hating Miss Burns.  So nearly Mrs. Claymore Gregg." and the Captain shuddered.
   "Captain, I TOLD you she's not a man-hater!" Carolyn protested.  "But it was nice of you to speak to Claymore about it ...  I'm just sorry it didn't work out for him."
   "Not I!" the Captain was adamant.  "I warned you that if it were meant to be, it would happen without any help from anyone else!"
   "You not only believe in reincarnation, but you also believe in predestination?" Carolyn grinned.
   "In some instances.  I know how I spent my life searching for that special someone ... and never did find her."  His eyes added the ‘until now' that his lips would not say. 
   Carolyn's eyes dropped before the ardour in his.  Without looking at him, she whispered the name, "Vanessa?"
   There was a silence, and she finally looked up to meet his eyes again.  "Belay that, Madam.  Yes, I thought she was special.  But I was wrong that time.  Some things are not made clear until much later."
   "I'm sorry, Captain." Carolyn spoke hesitantly.  "I just..."
   "I DID tell you that you have no cause to think of Vanessa again, did I not?  She is in the past..."
   "But you saved her things ... and you wouldn't let me look at them..." Carolyn sounded almost forlorn and she looked at her hands which she was twisting in her lap.
   "And YOU said something downstairs tonight that sounded as if your marriage wasn't the happiest time in your life." the Captain adroitly turned the conversation away from his past loves to hers.
   Carolyn briefly thought about her marriage, then a sudden question seared through her.  Perhaps the Captain only felt he loved her because he was quite safe from marriage now?  Surely not!  Oh, surely not!  After a moment, Carolyn looked up at him again and tried to smile.  "Like you said before, Captain, ‘for a long term arrangement, I much prefer the present'."
   "My dear," his voice was infinitesimally tender, sending shivers of delight down her spine, "my present was worth nothing until your arrival ... now my eternity has been enhanced by your present and your presence."
   "Oh, Captain ... thank you." she breathed, her eyes shining at him.  "And I'd like you to know that it is the same for me.  I don't think I could carry on without you.  Ever.  There is so little I can do to show my ... appreciation ... for you being here.  I remember hearing something in a movie once ... I'm not sure of the context, but it was something about ‘giving up eternity to spend a lifetime with you.'  I want to thank you for sharing some of my lifetime with me!"
   The Captain cleared his throat, then said gruffly, "I wonder if that sea slug will ever find someone in HIS lifetime ... Miss Burns was not the right someone."
   "Now you ARE changing your mind about marriage?" she followed his lead away from the serious to the teasing lightheartedness that characterized so many of their conversations.
   "I, madam?  Change my mind?  I confess that sharing Gull Cottage with you and the children has altered my values and feelings about marriage somewhat, but ... change my mind?"
   "It has been known to happen.  Occasionally.  Aggie is with Stuart now, and she was never happy when they parted.  Captain!"  At this moment, Carolyn realized the Captain must have had something to do with the sudden phone call from Stuart.  "YOU arranged for Stuart to phone!"
   "Well, you wouldn't help me when I appealed to you in the kitchen.  I had to do something.  Naturally it was the right thing." he spoke a trifle arrogantly.
   "Naturally." Carolyn sighed.  "I thought Aggie and Claymore had a lot in common, but I know she really loves Stuart..."
   "And an insipid relationship bears no resemblance to the real thing." the Captain said.
   Carolyn nodded.  "For marriage and happiness to coincide requires the right mate..."  Her eyes fastened on his face again, a wistful look in their depths.  Oh, if only ...!  She swallowed, then again changed the subject, saying, "I wonder whether Claymore will be out tomorrow about that survey?"
   "I'll soon drop him overboard...!"
   "Captain!"  
   "Yes, Madam?"  His eyes twinkled roguishly at her.
   Shaking her head and laughing softly, Carolyn chided him gently, "You should be nicer to the poor man.  Instead of terrifying him every time you see him ..."
   "I TOLD him yesterday that ..." here the Captain grimaced slightly, "I LIKED him.  I'm afraid that will have to do for a few more years.  I can't possibly be any nicer than that."
   "Oh, I don't know."  Again Carolyn hesitated, then, eying him somewhat timorously, she said, "Umm, Captain, I wondered..."
   "Yes, Mrs. Muir?"
   She fidgeted a bit, and her cheeks grew redder.  Finally she murmured, "Oh, nothing."  She wanted to hear words of love from him, but couldn't bring herself to say any more than she had to him.  So how could she ask him to speak?  It would have to be enough just to KNOW.  He had said she enhanced his eternity ... what more could she ask for?  "It's late, Captain.  We should say good night."
   His eyes gentle, he stood.  Giving her a long and loving look, he bowed slightly.  "Good night, my dear."
   "Good night, Captain." her eyes lingered on his, too.  Then he vanished from her sight, but never from her heart.