Northern Lights Trilogy (119 page)

James laughed. Couldn’t stop himself from laughing. Could it be? Could Soren have stumbled upon a claim that was worth something and abandoned it before it was fully explored? He had heard stories of miners working for years on mines, mere inches from a gold streak as big as a man’s thigh.

The alchemist was staring at him. “That’ll be two bits for my trouble.”

“Sure. Sure!” James pulled out a coin and slapped it on the wooden counter.

“Want to sell that gold?” “Not yet.”

“That claim registered?”

“You bet,” James said. It would be. By day’s end. And if Soren was as foolish about letting the claim go as he was about his wife, he would lose two treasures by his own stupidity.

James was whistling as he left the land office, shaking his head at Soren’s ineptitude. He had let his claim lapse, and James had signed Kaatje’s name to the deed. If he was right, and there was more gold on that claim, Soren’s wife would be richer than Soren ever dreamed.
But before he found out, James had to ascertain what Soren had up his sleeve. James wouldn’t let him use Kaatje as he had in the past, only to be discarded again. He was as crafty as a traveling gambler; James was sure of it.

He was returning to his hotel, bent on the idea of a bath and a big meal, when he caught sight of Soren, crossing the street to the restaurant, presumably for supper. He looked James’s way as he crossed the muddy avenue and paused to wait for him. James bristled. Why would Soren wait for him? What would he have to say?

As James drew near, Soren said, “Saw Kaatje today.”

“Oh?” he returned, feigning indifference.

“Yes.” He leaned closer. “That thought must eat you alive.”

James seethed inside, squelching the desire to shove Soren to the ground, smash his face in the mud. But he was careful to keep his expression composed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Janssen.”

“I know it’s hard to give up a woman like Kaatje, Walker. But face it. She’s mine. Or she will be mine again shortly. It’s already begun.”

James stared him in the eye until Soren walked away, whistling.

What was he after? It had to be more than Kaatje. She had never been enough to keep him home before. Just what was Soren Janssen after?

T
he sudden rapping at Elsa’s cabin door startled her. The steady beat of Washington’s rain, her children’s rhythmic nap breathing, and the dim, warm light of her cabin had lulled her as she painted a new canvas with muted colors to match the day’s mood. She quickly stood, almost upsetting her chair, and went to the door. Odd, the knock. Her men always knocked twice, then announced who awaited her.

She twisted the brass knob and pulled the swollen door from its jamb.

“Karl!”

“Oh, hello,” he said, stifling a smile. “I’m here to call upon Master Kristian and Miss Eve. Are they at home?”

She smiled and gestured inward, closing the door behind Karl and shutting out the curious looks of her crew. “I will go and awaken them. They’re just in the next room.”

“They’re asleep? I’m sorry. I can come back later—”

“Nonsense. They’ve slept for two hours or more. If I don’t awaken them now, they’ll complain later that they missed Uncle Karl and will never go to sleep again!”

“Does Kristian even remember his uncle?” he whispered.

Elsa stifled a shiver as his warm breath tickled her neck. She
stepped away. “Very little, I’m afraid. It’s been so long, Karl.” She hoped her eyes told him that she had missed him as much as her son had. Suddenly embarrassed at being so forthright, she turned. “Have a seat. I’ll just be a minute.”

Elsa hurried from the room, wondering if Karl was watching her walk away. She sighed, wishing she had worn her gold waistcoat, rather than the drab day dress. She walked to Kristian’s narrow bunk bed. Eve slept beneath him. “Kristian, wake up. I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?” he asked, sounding so clear she decided he must have been well ready to awaken.

“Yes. Let us wake Eve, and then I’ll show you.

“Eve,” she said lowly, squatting to look at the tiny girl on the lower bunk. Her daughter wasn’t as ready as her son to rise. “Eve, sweetheart. I have a surprise for you. It’s time to get up. You can go to bed early tonight if you wish.” When the girl didn’t move, Elsa suppressed her irritation. She was so eager to get back to Karl! To see him again, talk to him again!

“Come on, darling.” Kristian hopped noisily to the plank flooring beside Elsa. “Kristian, I’ve told you a thousand times to climb down the ladder, not jump. You’ll go right through to the crew’s quarters next time.” Was that a muffled laugh she heard from the next room? Quickly Karl coughed to cover it up. Elsa smiled. She probably reminded him of his own mother’s reprimands years ago. Karl and Peder had been wild—active and playful. Much like Kristian.

She helped Kristian get his arm through one hole of his shirt and then pulled Eve’s lilac day dress over her slip. Then she combed both heads of hair.

“Now, Mama? Now?” Kristian begged, hopping up and down.

“Now,” she said with a grin. His enthusiasm was contagious. Not that she needed any assistance in that matter. “Look who’s here to see you!”

They both crowded around her to see Karl, and then Eve went back behind her legs when she discovered she did not know her visitor.

“Hello,” Karl said, his cello voice at once soothing and welcoming.

“Hello, sir. I’m Kristian Ramstad,” her son said formally, sticking out his small hand.

Karl rose, bowed, and shook his hand. “It’s a pleasure, Kristian. I’m Karl Martensen.”

“Uncle
Karl?” Kristian asked in surprise.

“Why, yes,” Karl chuckled. “You can call me that.”

“Uncle Karl!” he said in glee, encircling his waist with an exuberant hug.

Karl laughed, but his eyes were on Eve, peeking out from behind Elsa’s skirts. “And you must be Eve,” he said. Eve smiled shyly.

He pulled out a wooden box and forlornly stared at its inlaid lid. “What is it? What is it?” Kristian cried, his shyness suddenly forgotten.

“Why, I don’t quite remember. Why don’t you open it, Eve?” He gestured toward the box, and Eve slowly opened it. Music immediately began playing, and her tiny face lit up. She shrieked with joy when she saw the ballerina, dancing atop the highest platform—made of a child’s block with the letter
D
, presumably for
dancer
—a monkey scratching his head on a lower one with the letter
M
, and a man riding a bicycle on the other one painted with a
B.
She laughed with delight.

“What’d you get for me?” Kristian asked.

“Kristian!”

“That’s all right, Elsa. Now let me see… Did I bring something for Kristian?” he asked rhetorically, looking puzzled. He absently patted all his pockets and looked around the room as if he had lost it, then found another box at his feet. It was larger than Eve’s. Kristian greedily took it from him. Elsa smiled her apologies, but Karl seemed unperturbed.

Kristian ripped the brown paper from the surface and whooped his pleasure at the sight of his favorite Oriental game. “A mah-jongg! He got me a mah-jongg! Thank you, Uncle Karl!”

“You’re welcome, Kristian. Do you know how to play?” “I do! Jeremy Bergerson taught me when his dad’s ship was moored in the same harbor as ours.”

“Ahh. Which harbor was that?” “Renoit Bay.”

“Very good. Well perhaps you can get it set up while I take your mother for a stroll around the deck. It sounds as if the rain has stopped.”

“Better yet,” Elsa said, thinking of all the curious stares they would get from her crew, “why don’t you show me your ship? I’ve been anxious to see it.”

“Certainly. But I was hoping you would come aboard for supper. And the children, too, of course.”

“That sounds lovely. Where are you moored?”

“Just three piers north.” They were in Seattle’s busy harbor, about ready to set sail again. The central mast had been repaired at the lumberyard; the new boiler worked perfectly.

“When do you plan to leave for Alaska?”

Her question seemed to surprise him. “Why, just as soon as you do.”

“Oh yes.” He was there just to see them! Even though she knew they had planned to meet in Washington, the idea of it all thrilled her. For once, business was not pulling them apart to separate seas, but rather bringing them together. And they could remain together for a while!

“You had mentioned a race to Juneau…” he led. “I was only joking—”

“No, I like it. What if we do this,” he said, rising. “Tonight we dine on my ship. When we leave, we will race northward for the day. Whoever is in the lead at five o’clock will reef their sails and await the loser; then the loser shall feed the winner’s entire crew.”

“Their entire crew!”

“Their entire crew.”

Kristian clapped in excitement. “Oh yes, Mama! A race! Every day! We’ll be at Auntie Tora’s in no time at all!”

Elsa laughed and shook her head. “That’ll be a lot of food you’ll have to shell out for my crew, Karl,” she warned playfully. “But you’ll only use two of your boilers, not all three, to make it a fair race.”

“Three?” He raised his eyebrows and then lowered them in mock confusion. “Whoever told you I had three?”

Elsa smugly crossed her arms. “I am yet the owner of Ramstad Yard. Kristoffer informed me of his task as builder of Karl Martensen’s latest design, as he has on every ship that comes out of Camden-by-the-Sea.”

Karl grinned and stared into her eyes. “Two boilers. But all masts.” “Fair enough. Your ship is heavier and will lag behind our

Majestic.
”

“So you think. I take it we have a wager?” “A wager indeed.”

Elsa fussed with her hair and combs for a long while before supper, wanting to get the gentle wave just right. When it fell yet again, she groaned and stared at herself in the mirror. “What are you doing, Elsa Ramstad?” The thought of leaving the
Majestic
for Karl’s
Fair Alaska
made her hands perspire and her mouth dry.

She had to admit that her reaction to Karl was more than that of a dear friend. He was the equal she was beginning to wonder if she would ever find, a potential suitor that, as a friend, could be a perfect match. But could they ever get past their troubled history? To Elsa, it seemed like a dim memory now, but it was still present. Not because it bothered her any longer; he had long since proven himself to her as a good friend above all else. He had always been a gentleman, his resolve to never hurt her again showing in his every action. But it also seemed a barrier of sorts that kept him from her. Would his intentions to remain pure keep them apart forever? What if…what if Karl was the one she was meant to love?

“All buttoned up?” Mrs. Hodge asked, ducking her head into Elsa’s room. Elsa was glad to have her back aboard the
Majestic
to care for the children. “My, don’t you look lovely!” She came all the way in, followed by Kristian and Eve.

“Can’t we go with you tonight, Mama?” Kristian asked with a begging tone. “I heard Uncle Karl invite us, too.
Please.
”

“Now, now,” Mrs. Hodge said. “We’ve been all through this. Your mother has obviously let you stay up until all hours, and it’s time to get back into a suitable routine. To bed by eight, up at sunrise. If you’re living aboard ship, you ought to live as the sailors do. Besides, I’ve gone and made my finest pumpkin pie. If you’re good, I’ll even whip some cream.”

“Winning them over with food again, Mrs. Hodge?” Elsa teased.

“Whatever wins them, I say. It’s good to be back with you, Elsa. I’ve enjoyed my time at the house, but I was surprised when I found that I not only missed you Ramstads, but also the sea.”

“It grows on you,” Elsa said.

“You children go and wash your hands before supper,” Mrs. Hodge said. After they scampered off, she turned to Elsa, taking the ivory comb from her hand. In seconds she had the stubborn segment of hair perfectly in place, firmly secured with the comb. “Peder gave that comb to you, didn’t he?”

“He did,” Elsa said, feeling guilty all of a sudden for her excitement over supper with Karl.

“He’d be glad you’re wearing it tonight. Moreover, he’d be happy you’re having dinner with Karl.”

Her reassurance eased Elsa’s heart. But one thing held her back. “Mrs. Hodge. Tell me. What if it was more than just supper with an old friend? What if I found myself with…feelings for Captain Martensen?” She held her breath, afraid of Mrs. Hodge’s answer.

“I’d say it was high time.” Mrs. Hodge stared into her eyes via the mirror. She put a hand on either shoulder. “You’ve honored his memory, Elsa. You’ll continue to honor his memory. Why, you and the
children just visited his grave. One can’t ask for more than that. Peder would not have asked for more.” Elsa nodded once.

“You see? Peder Ramstad will always hold a special place in your heart. Always. He will always be your first love, your husband, the father of your children. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for another.”

Eric insisted on rowing her over to
Fair Alaska
, apparently chagrined at the thought of escorting his beautiful captain past the rough-and-tumble crowd that frequented the wharf. “Besides,” he said, “it’ll give me time with a crew besides these louts,” nodding at those on deck.