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“Valentina Montgomery took the captain’s clothes, left the room, and locked the door behind her. The wedding downstairs was so loud that the captain wasn’t let out until the next morning. By then, he’d nearly frozen to death.” He looked around at the faces at the table with an expression as though he expected sympathy. Instead, he got an explosion of laughter.
When she could catch her breath, Toby said, “And I take it that from there they fell madly in love.”
Dr. Huntley took Victoria’s hand and kissed it. “Yes, they did.” He raised his glass in a toast. “Here’s to good food, to friends, and to life. But most of all, to love that endures forever.”
They drank to the toast, then Ken said, “Shall we have dessert?”
Jilly made pots of Assam tea, and everyone filled their plates with lemon cheesecake, molasses cookies called Joe Froggers, slices of fruity yeast cake, and bowls of vanilla custard laced with brandy. Afterward, there were cheeses, raisins, and nuts, followed by more tea and glasses of port.
After the dinner, Caleb insisted that there be dancing. They went into the living room, with its low beamed ceiling. All electric lights were turned out, with only candles remaining. Caleb pulled Victoria into his arms and led her in a dance that had to be a few hundred years old. The others stood back and watched as they performed it perfectly. “It’s your turn now,” he said to the others when the music stopped.
He pulled a packet of pipe tobacco out of his pocket, then pushed on a corner of the old fireplace, and a door popped open—which astonished them all. Inside were three pipes that looked very old.
“How did you know that door was there?” Toby asked.
“Captain Caleb’s son, the first Jared, didn’t want a life at sea, so he stayed home and built houses that his wife designed. Unfortunately, what they did together has been lost to history.” He sounded almost bitter.
That was an interesting historical tidbit, but it was no answer at all. “But how did you—” Toby began, but Caleb cut her off.
“I think you and your prince should dance,” he said, showing that he had no intention of answering her question. He took one of the pipes, packed it, and sat down on the settee next to Victoria, while Jilly and Ken took chairs next to each other. The music began and the older people were content to watch Toby and Graydon glide about the room in their beautiful clothes.
It was late when Toby and Graydon finally sat down. She looked at Dr. Huntley. “You wouldn’t happen to know if a couple of people named Tabitha Weber and Garrett Kingsley actually existed, would you? I’m not sure of the year, early 1800s by the clothes.”
Caleb took his time answering. “They were real and their story was pure tragedy.” When he looked up at Toby his eyes seemed to be very old—and there was grief in them. “Garrett was Captain Caleb’s younger brother.”
Toby looked at Graydon. “The captain was Jared’s ancestor. And related to you, I guess.”
“Through Valentina Montgomery,” Jilly said. She was her family’s historian and she was beginning to work on their connection with the Nantucket Kingsleys. “The captain never married Valentina, even though they produced a child together.”
Dr. Huntley winced, looking as though someone had hit him. “Foolish, stupid man,” he muttered, then looked at Toby. “But I believe you wanted to know about Tabby and Garrett. May I ask how you know of them?”
“I, uh …” She glanced at Graydon and he nodded encouragement. “I had a few dreams about them.”
Caleb looked at his pipe. “In the house called BEYOND TIME? Did you know it used to be called—”
“NEVER TO SEA AGAIN,” Toby said.
Caleb’s eyes widened. “Yes, you are right. Not many people know that.”
“What I want to know is whether or not she married the man she loved,” Toby said, and she couldn’t help glancing at Graydon.
Caleb took a breath. “There was a great scandal at Parthenia’s wedding,” he said. “You see, Tabby was seen under a tree with Garrett Kingsley, and both of them were half undressed.”
“Oh,” Toby said and her face began to redden. It had only been a dream, but she had been kissing Garrett. Had she given in to his entreaties and rolled in the grass with him?
Caleb, sitting directly across from her, was watching Toby intently. “The incident seemed out of character for Tabitha. It was more what a modern woman would do.”
“I think you should tell us the whole story,” Ken said. “Can I assume that the young lovers were forced to marry?”
“No, they didn’t marry. At least not each other,” Caleb said. “You see, Tabby had a mother who made sharks look kind. But then again that family had lost all their men to the sea. She didn’t want Tabby to marry a Kingsley, as it was said that all of them were dedicated to the sea.”
“She made Tabby marry Silas Osborne, didn’t she?” Toby said.
“Yes,” Caleb answered. “That night, there and then, at Parthenia’s wedding, she made her daughter marry that—”
“Truck-bellied, brocky man,” Toby said softly and she began to feel very sad.
“I’m confused,” Ken said. “Who was this guy Osborne?”
