Chapter 12

The passing of the front brought a chill to the air, so I lit the heater for an hour or so as we ate supper. Vegetable curry, rice and toasted pita bread; (I supposed I would have to get used to much less meat than I was accustomed to) ... as the wind howled outside.

Bridget wasn't smiling, but there was a glint in her eye as she looked at her friend. "So you finally stopped fighting it, then?"

Grace frowned a little, but then smiled and met her gaze. "After what Maeve said last Sunday ... but I just can't, somehow, grasp how it's going to work."

"Amor vincit omnia," Bridget returned, "at least, it will if you trust each other and work at it."

Grace nodded, but continued to look pensive.

"You're very quiet, Skipper," Bridget turned her attention to me.

I shrugged. "I couldn't believe I was worthy of her – still can't. It just got that I couldn't deny it any longer."

"What!" That was Grace, looking at me with an expression of profound shock. "Not worthy of me?

"Sure! Attractive, intelligent, brave ... a skilled professional, and an obviously naturally talented sailor..."

"Excuse me a minute," Grace said to the other two, then laid a kiss on me that should have had me carrying her off to my ... er, our ... cabin if I had been physically capable of picking her up, of course.

"Oh, and sexy, too. I didn't mention that, did I?"

Bridget and Eric laughed as Grace blushed and buried her face in my neck. I looked at Eric. "I think an anchor watch is in order until the wind drops. We could each take a couple of hours, but I suspect everyone would prefer to sit up in pairs ... am I wrong?"

The other couple were shaking their heads when Grace pulled away enough to look me in the face to say, "Well, I'm certainly not going to bed alone tonight!" Then blushed again, hotly and hid her face against me again when the other two laughed.

"Shall Bridie and I take the first watch?" Eric offered.

"Sounds good," I said, "we'll take on at about one, and by five the wind should be low enough we could get another couple of hours..."

"I've been thinking..." Grace put in, "would anyone mind if we took off for Lerwick tomorrow, if the weather permits?"

I looked at Eric, who shrugged, "Should be okay," he said, "stop off at Fair Isle overnight, then Lerwick the next day ... But head winds, I think..."

"Yes," I agreed, "and, what, a thirty-six mile passage?"

It was agreed, and Grace and I made our way to my cabin. Making love with Grace had always been different; more in some way than with anyone else. That evening, though, was revelatory. For the first time since my operation, I was on top, but you can be sure I wasn't energetic. We joined and moved together slowly, almost languidly, looking into each other's eyes, soaking up the sensations, joining heart and soul as well as our bodies.

According to the anemometer, the wind had dropped, but you couldn't have told it when we took over watch from Eric and Bridget. Grace made coffee, tea and toast and we ate and drank in the saloon. By the time we'd finished, there was a perceptible change in the sounds of the wind and we sat close together, reading, until by four o'clock it was down to force five, and backed to North-north-west. I got out the chart and laid the course.

"I think the weather-gods must favour us," I commented, "we might even be able to make good the course for Fair Isle. If not, we won't be far off."

So we went back to bed, to cuddle and doze until seven. To my surprise, we dropped off to sleep and Bridget had to come and wake us for breakfast. The wind had backed further to north-west – it was still force five, but down to seventeen knots. They wouldn't allow me to work on deck, so it was down to me to boil water for breakfast and to fill flasks, fry bacon, sausage and Sosmix for sandwiches. We left Otterswick, sailing free on a reach, with Eric at the wheel, turning north as soon as may be. There are tidal races between Sanday and Ronaldsay, so we were to pass the latter island to the west. We put one tack in before reaching Masewell Rock, and that let us clear Ronaldsay easily before setting course for Fair Isle, on a reach.

As soon as we were clear, Grace took me by the hand and we went below to the saloon, leaving the deck to Bridget and Eric.

She sat and patted the seat next to her; I obeyed the implicit summons and sat next to her.

"Do you still want to marry me?"

Once, to a question like that, I would have responded with a sarcastic comment, but not that day. "Believe it; yes, I do."

"I've been talking to Bridie. If you wish, we could be married under Scottish law in only two weeks from providing the Registrar with the necessary documents."

(Actually, the law is, 'not less than fifteen days before the day of the wedding')

"I want what will make you happy. The legal document does two things as far as I'm concerned; it's a demonstration of my commitment to you and it gives the child my name. He or she will be my son or daughter, despite their D.N.A. So, for me, the sooner, the better."

"Okay," she breathed it with a sigh. "When we get to Lerwick, we can set things in train. Eric and Bridie need to be back on Mainland by Sunday sixteenth, and I'd like to anchor at Stromness by then. They can get to Kirkwall easily from there, and we can occupy ourselves in and around until, say, June first."

"Just one question..."

She cocked her head, as if to say, 'okay, ask away.'

"Why Stromness? I don't have a problem with it; I was just wondering why. You don't have to say if you don't want to."

"Oh, it's not secret. It's one reason I wanted to come this way. My great-grandfather served in the Navy here in the first World War, and my grandfather died here when Royal Oak was sunk early in the second World War. So I want to sail in Scapa Flow, and lay at anchor there, and ... sort of ... commune with the spirits of the place. You know, like we did in the Ring of Brodgar. I never knew them, but I hope they'd be pleased. Does that sound silly?"

"Not at all. And it shall be as you wish, God willing."

We were nine and a half hours from the anchor breaking free in Otterswick to dropping it in South Harbour by Fair Isle, during which we trailed the mackerel line again. When we had three, we felt we had enough for our evening meal By the time we were anchored, we were ready to eat, though, we had to wait for Bridget and Grace to prepare our meal. Eric and I kept out of the way, stowing the sails, generally tidying up and making sure the anchor was holding ... not that I had any doubts of it after the previous night. The ladies were talking quietly as they worked and Eric poured us both a measure of his excellent Scotch to sip as we pored over the charts and sailing directions.

Over the meal, Grace opened a discussion. "Bridie and I had a chat as we were cooking, and we've got an idea to float. Bridie?"

"Aye. Eric and I have been engaged for nearly a year. Our families, both of them, have been suspicious of our involvement in our church. They're very traditional, you see. They've come round to the idea of our marriage, but they want a big fuss in the parish church, and not until July. What we were wondering, is ... would you be okay with a joint civil ceremony? Our church can't marry people officially, but we can say vows in their presence, which we'd prefer anyway ... Eric knows some of the Registrar's staff and while they won't bend any rules, they might be willing to ... expedite things a little, if approached in the right way."

Eric and I looked at each other, then at our would-be partners. "Is that what you want, Grace?" I asked.

"Bridie?" Eric added.

They both nodded. "We've been friends since we were eighteen", Bridie said, "and it'll be fitting that we can be each other's witnesses."

"What about your families?"

"Immediate family only," Grace said, "my parents, Bridie's parents and sister." She paused, then, "Ted ... I'm sorry ... I didn't give an thought to your family..."

"My parents died over five years ago," I said, "I've a brother in New Zealand that I don't even exchange Christmas cards with. There's a reason I've been living alone ... sort of, mostly, alone ... on a boat." I stood, extricating myself from the table, and went up on deck to perch on the forward coach-roof by the main mast. Straight ahead of me, the sun was dropping, about to touch the land ahead of me; fiery red, colouring the clouds above.

I would have known Grace was approaching even without the slight sound of her shoes on the deck. If anything was needed to convince me we were meant to be together, the sense of 'connection', the awareness of each other's presence ... how to explain it? She sat beside me, and laid a hand on my shoulder, saying nothing, just ... being. We watched as the sun dipped below the horizon, leaving the dusk-glow in the sky. I covered her hand with my own.

"Thanks," I said quietly, without looking round.

She stood and moved in front of me, holding out her hands; I stood, too, and wrapped her in my arms.

"Eric says it's over ten hours sailing to Lerwick, and we should make an early start..." she spoke into my chest, but I could hear her perfectly well.

"Yes," I answered, "dawn is at ... four forty, I think. And I want to sleep holding my love in my arms."

"You're so sweet..." She spoke, and I could hear the smile in her voice.