Hours later, when the others had left, the candles had been extinguished and the ocean was glittering in the light of countless stars, Adaira still sat on the beach, luxuriating in the cool breeze tickling her skin. The breeze that blew free and unfettered. Free and unfettered just like herself.

"I did it," she murmured to herself. With lots of help, sure, but still... "I really did it."

"Yes. Yes, you did," a voice came from behind her. A moment later, Captain James Carter settled in the sand beside her. "You saved my life. Did I ever say thank you?"

"Hm..." Adaira put on a thoughtful expression. "No, I think you didn't."

"Oh. Then I suppose I will have to rectify that."

He leaned towards her.

"Huh? What are you doi—"

That was all she got out before he gently turned her head towards him and sealed her lips with a kiss.

It was like an exploding sun in the middle of the night. Those lips of his, normally used only to smile at her, now became dangerous weapons as he invaded her mouth and claimed it as his own. She was completely unable and, more importantly, unwilling to resist as he ravished her mouth and pressed her to the sand, still hot from the tropical sun. But not nearly as hot as she was starting to feel when he started kissing his way across her cheek, down her neck and towards her—

"Aah!"

"Shh..." The captain's breath tickled her skin, making her shiver. "You don't want your brother to hear, do you?"

"Y-you're right," she agreed, lips twitching. "You don't want my brother to hear. Not unless you really want to lose your foot."

"Minx!" Growling, he slid his fingers into her hair and pulled down her head to reclaim her lips once more. "Just stay where you are and obediently let yourself be thanked!"

"I-is this how you thank every lady you meet?"

"No." He pressed another kiss to the corner of her mouth. "Only the one."

Adaira's heart throbbed.

"So...thank you." His forehead gently pressed against hers, and that simple touch felt so much more intimate than anything that had come before. "Thank you for coming to save me. Thank you for your love."

A smile tugged at the corners of Adaira's mouth. "You don't have to thank me for giving you things that you give back to me twice over."

"Oh, but I do. So, thank you once again. It might have been your brother and his bodyguard who did most of the fighting, but without you coming for me, I doubt either of them would have lifted a finger to save me."

Adaira's smile widened. "You're welco—"

"Of course," he interrupted her, his eyes suddenly turning sharp, "in the process of saving me, you also risked your life countless times and made me bathe in more sewage than I want to ever think about. If you ever do something like that again when we are married, I will lock you in a room and not let you out for days! Understood?"

Outraged, Adaira opened her mouth to protest—then something occurred to her.

"Which room?" she enquired, eyes narrowed.

He grinned. "The bedroom."

"Oh my." An answering grin spread over her face. "Suddenly, I feel like making you bathe in sewage again."

His eyes narrowed. "Seems like it's time for me to discipline my wife-to-be."

And, without the slightest hesitation, he pulled her towards him, reclaiming her lips to begin his punishment.

***

Cautiously, I opened the door and peeked into the bedroom. When I saw Adaira lying in her bed, hugging her big pillow like a replacement captain, I couldn't suppress a smirk.

Tip-toeing over, I struck a fierce pose and lowered my voice to the best imitation of Rikkard Ambrose I could manage.

"Adaira Louise Jannet Melanie Georgette Ambrose! What are you doing out here on the beach, cavorting with this scoundrel?"

"Wuh...aaah!" Jerking up, Adaira pushed away the pillow with a guilty expression on her face. "This...this is a pure coincidence! I just fell asleep out here and we didn't... we..."

Only then did she manage to blink the sleep out of her eyes and register her distinctly unbeachy surroundings. By the time she turned her glare on me, my grin had grown to face-splitting proportions.

"You...!"

"...genius actress?" I suggested.

"Devious witch! Damnable ifrit!"

"I only hear compliments."

"Harrumph! You would!"

"Now, now, no need to be so grumpy." I patted my dear sister-in-law on her shoulder. "I just came to wake you up for breakfast. Granny Aatifa has outdone herself with her last farewell feast. If you don't come down soon, all the food will be gone. Oh, and..." Despite how much I tried to control my face, my lips twitched. "You should probably thank Captain Carter. If he hadn't carried you in last night, your dear brother might have stumbled over you when he stepped out of the house this morning to prepare the ship for departure. If my dear husband had found the two of you entangled on the beach..."

Adaira's face paled like a vampire on a diet. "Oh my."

"As a certain someone would say, indeed." My lips twitched again. "Then again, maybe you don't need to thank the captain after all. Self-preservation is a thing, after all."

Judging by the look on her face, she seemed to agree.

"Anyway." I clapped my hand and moved towards the door. "You should probably get ready and come down to eat, or else there won't be much left of breakfast. And you're probably going to need your strength for the journey home."

"Home?" Adaira's head jerked up, her eyes alight with expectation. I could almost read the words in her eyes: Home! Home, where I can marry James!

My smile morphed into a smirk. "What, did you think we were going to stay here for an extended holiday? You know your brother as well as I do. What do you believe he thinks of holidays?"

Adaira tried her best to disguise her chuckle as a cough. She didn't quite succeed. I snickered.

"So, in the mood for breakfast now?" I enquired.

Translation: ready to head home and get hitched?

"I'll be down in a minute!"

"Great." I skipped over to the door. "I'll be going down to steal the most delicious food before you arrive, then. Toodeloo!"

"Oy! Don't you dare!"

But I was already out the door, chuckling as I heard the sound of rustling clothes and muffled curses from behind me. Still grinning, I made my way down the corridor and towards the room from which the delicious odour of breakfast was beckoning. I had just reached the double doors when I heard the noise of a door opening behind me.

"What is so amusing, Mrs Ambrose?" a cool voice entered my ears. If the voice itself hadn't been a big enough hint as to the identity of its owner, the two strong, rock-hard arms that wrapped around me from behind a moment later sealed the deal.

"Why, teasing your sister, of course, Mr Ambrose, Sir." Smirking, I half-turned to look up at him. "Due to the lack of my own siblings around me, I have to feed my addiction somehow."

"Ah. Then by all means, feed."

"You're not going to object to me annoying your little sister?"

"After how much of the reverse I had to endure during my early days?"

"I'll take that as a 'no' then."

"Indeed. Although, instead of feeding your addiction, you might like a feeding of a different kind?"

And, pushing open the door to the breakfast room, he pointed towards a table laden with exotic delicacies that made my mouth drool.

"You take the words out of my mouth, Mr Ambrose!"

"Keep them. I have enough of my own."

"Somehow, I sincerely doubt that. But right now, I don't really care! Come on! It's breakfast time!"

And, without wasting another second, I rushed over to the table. The next few minutes...well, suffice to say that, by the time I was done, half the food in front of me had disappeared. After weeks of nothing but dry travel rations, this was simply heaven! I probably wouldn't have resurfaced from my personal paradise till the table was empty if a noise from the door hadn't gained my attention.

"Ah, Adaira!" Beaming, I used a spoon to gesture towards one of the few free chairs around the table. "Do take a seat. There should still be some food left."

"Don't listen to her, dear," Granny Aatifa, who, along with most of the others, had joined me some time during the meal, decided to spoil my fun. "There is still plenty of food left in the kitchen."

"Well, thank you." Nodding towards the older woman, Adaira moved towards the table, where Captain Carter had pulled out a chair for her. "Although if there were none, I guess it would be my fault. I am rather late, it seems. Everyone is already here, except..." Suddenly, she frowned. "Where is Karim?"

"Oh, well..." I coughed.

She held up her hand as her eyes flicked to her brother and her lips twitched. "Wait, no, let me guess. He's...working?"

"Now, now," I said, making sure to sound admonishing. "No need to make it sound like my dear husband is a merciless slavedriver."

"So, is Karim working?"

"Well, as it happens, yes, but that's pure coincidence."

I did my best to keep up my righteous tone, but judging from the way Mr Rikkard Ambrose's gaze was boring into me, it wasn't working.

"I'm sure." Adaira's lips twitched.

My dear husband sent a chilly stare at his little sister. "Just for your information, Karim got up early to direct the men who are loading the ship for our return trip, so we can return to England as soon as possible." He looked meaningfully between her and Captain Carter. "Unless you would like to stay here longer, or return to India?"

"Um...forget what I said." Hurriedly, Adaira filled her plate and sat down beside her intended. "Let's dig in, shall we?"

"Now that's what I like to hear!" Clapping her hands, Granny Aatifa lifted a bowl and started shovelling more food onto Adaira's plate until she nearly disappeared behind the newly created hill. "Here you go, dear. Eat up! You look like you're really tired from yesterday."

I stuffed food into my mouth to suppress a snicker at the flush that appeared on Adaira's cheeks. She tried her best to avoid looking at Captain Carter, and failed utterly. "Ehem, yes, well...yesterday was quite strenuous."

"You poor dear! What happened?"

The food Adaira had just deposited in her mouth stuck in her throat and she choked. "Cough, cough, I...I..."

"Yes, do tell," I joined the conversation at just the right moment. "What happened? You look a little frazzled."

She sent me a baleful glare that told me there would be vengeance later. Then she turned back to Granny Aatifa with a hesitant smile on her face. "I, um, was just a little tired from the long journey and didn't notice it before, but I guess it caught up with me yesterday."

It caught up with you? Ha! Rather, he caught up with you. Mwahaha!

"Is that so?" Eyes narrowed infinitesimally, my dear husband scrutinised her from across the table. "And was 'it' wearing a captain's uniform?"

"I think when we get back to England, the two of you had better get married without delay," I piped up in a far-too-chipper voice. The cheeky grin on my face probably didn't help. "You know, just in case."

"That isn't...we didn't..." Giving up in the face of her brother's intensifying glare, Adaira ducked behind her food and started eating. "I'll shut up now."

Probably a good idea.

"Married in England, dear?" Granny Aatifa spoke up, distracting me from my amusement at Adaira's embarrassment. Turning my head, I watched as the older woman leaned over towards my sister-in-law with a concerned look on her face. "You mean you aren't already married?"

Adaira blinked. "No, why?"

"Well, dear..." The old lady hesitated. "I only learned a little bit about your situation from what you and the others mentioned in passing, but isn't your father planning to marry you off to someone of his choice? That is why you ran away from England in the first place, isn't it?"

A frown marred Adaira's brow. To be honest, I understood why. I was curious what the old lady was leading up to as well. "Um, yes?"

"Well, if you return to England still unmarried, what's to stop him from executing his plan?"

Crap!

Abruptly, everybody froze in place and silence descended over the room.

Holy crap on a popsicle. She...she's right!

"I'm right, aren't I?" Granny Aatifa's expression darkened. "I thought as much. That's bad. Very bad. The only way you could stop him would be..."

"...to get married before starting the journey back home!" Adaira finished the sentence, her eyes widening.

"Yes."

"But...but...there aren't any vicars here! Heck, I'd even take a catholic priest and chance my mother trying to strangle me! But there isn't anyone! What are we going to do?"

All of a sudden, a sombre atmosphere descended over the formerly cheerful breakfast room. I looked around, scanning everyone's faces for any sign of a brilliant inspiration. Adaira was clearly doing the same with a great deal more desperation—only to find not a hint of an idea on anyone's face.

Well, Mr Ambrose might have had one, but he sure as heck wouldn't show it on his stony visage.

Oh well. I suppose that only left my own idea. I was so going to get in trouble for this.

Taking a deep breath, I cleared my throat. "Maybe..."

Adaira's head whipped around to stare at me. I almost regretted speaking up. Almost.

"Yes?!"

"I might have an idea."

"Well? What are you hesitating for? Go on and say it!"

I cleared my throat. "Ehem...it occurs to me that vicars aren't the only ones who can officiate weddings."

Adaira blinked. "They aren't?"

"No," I told her, trying my very best not to look at a certain someone. "As far as I know, ship captains can do it, too."

"But there aren't any ship captain's around here." Adaira frowned. "True, we came here on a ship, but you know what a big cheapskate my brother is. He'd never hire a ship captain while he is there himself to serve as the acting captai—oh."

"Oh indeed." I nodded and, as one, everyone turned to Mr Rikkard Ambrose. Mr Rikkard Ambrose, who looked like he had just bitten into a bucket full of realisation-flavoured lemons.

------------------------------------------

My dear Readers,

Oh my... poor Mr Rikkard Ambrose. I don't think he's looking forward to his new duties.

A little historical note, here: for this chapter, I researched the matter of ship captains being able to marry people and, funnily enough, it is actually a misconception with a long history that they have the legal power to conduct weddings, likely created by romance novels and later on by movies. According to my research, captains cannot do this, neither in England nor in any countries with a similar legal system like the USA.

There does, however, exist something called the "common law marriage", which, in the 19th century, could be done in the US as well as any British colony—basically just two people getting together and declaring their intent to marry informally, with no need for a priest to be present. If they subsequently live together for a time, this would be a legal marriage in the British colonies—although not in England itself, funnily enough. Likely, this was due to the fact that in the colonies, a vicar was not always available to marry people. So, although Lilly is mistaken and Mr Ambrose does not have any special ability to marry people due to his captain status, the marriage would still be legal as a common law marriage.

So, Mr Ambrose is going to have to bite the bullet and go conduct a wedding. Applause, please! ;-)

The reason I decided to write the story as I did was that I think it isn't likely Lilly or Mr Ambrose would know obscure details about British marital law only applicable in the colonies. Also, Mr Ambrose as officiator was too bloody brillint to not use it. I hope you all agree? ;-)

COUNTDOWN: 3 Chapters left!

Yours Truly

Sir Rob