“I’ll send the lawyer around tomorrow first thing,” Uncle James said. “With assurance from the doctor that your wife is not in a family way, as well as the papers you’ll need to sign for the annulment on grounds of misrepresentation.” He stepped to the door, and Worthington eased across the threshold to the porch beyond. “You will sign the agreement for annulment, or our next meeting will be with the owner of the Oswego Daily Palladium.”
Worthington held Uncle James’s gaze for only a moment more before turning on his heel.
Elise’s uncle shut the door and turned to the others. “I’d say we have him right where we want him.”
“Well, there are other places I can think of to throw him,” Elise’s father declared, “but I suppose this will have to do.”
Elise crossed her arms, still contemplating why Duran would give up the information about her sister. “I was surprised Booker Duran has played what he supposed to be his trump card.”
“Your father fired him. Put him off the ship,” Nick explained.
Papa looked at her. “He threatened you and you didn’t come to me?”
“I wanted to tell you both,” she said, looking at Nick and then back to her father. “He threatened to tell Caroline’s husband about her belief that she was with child if we said anything about his bloody shirt. He wanted me to convince you and anyone else necessary that he’d been with me that night in Duluth. I believe he must be the killer of that poor man.”
“Not to mention the wanted posters from Buffalo. The sketch of the suspect was a rather good likeness of Duran,” Nick declared.
“Yes, but as I said, we have no real proof. We can offer him up as a possible suspect, but little more,” Papa reminded them. “But rest assured, I will speak to the authorities and tell them our suspicions.”
“I’m just glad he’s gone.” Elise let go of her father’s arm. “Poor Tom was so scared.”
“Speaking of which, I suggest we get back to him and the others. I asked Sam to stick around while Tom is doing his watch duty. No sense risking Duran coming back to get even.” Elise’s father turned to his brother-in-law. “Thank you for everything.”
“Of course. I will see to this annulment and be in touch. Hopefully before Christmas, but otherwise shortly thereafter. And Louis will take good care of Caroline on the trip to Duluth. Have no fear for her safety.”
Papa smiled at Louis. “I know she’ll be safe in his keeping. Nick, why don’t you and Elise head on back to the ship? I’m going upstairs to tell Caroline good-bye.”
“It’s much too cold out there to walk. I’ll have my driver take you back to the ship,” Uncle James said.
Elise’s father laughed. “You forget, we live our lives on the open seas. The wind and cold are just old friends.”
“We’ll be just fine,” Elise told her uncle. “We know how to bundle up. Look, I even bought some of those bloomers for riding—or in this case, staying warmer on a ship.” She raised her skirt to the knees in a most unladylike manner, revealing dark blue bloomers beneath. “I shall be quite warm.”
The men all laughed.
Later, as she and Nick made their way back to the ship, Elise was still contemplating the choices she had to face regarding her father and Nick. He hadn’t yet asked her to marry him but had implied that he would. She had no idea what she would say when the time came.
“You seem awfully deep in thought. Are you thinking about your sister?”
“Actually, no. But the thoughts are every bit as important. Even more so.”
“Perhaps I can help. You could share the problem with me.”
She laughed. “You are the problem.”
He looked stunned. “What has made me a problem to you?”
“I’ve fallen in love with you.”
His expression changed to pleasure. “Yes, I know. But that’s not a problem. You see, I’m in love with you, as well. So it seems we are in full agreement rather than contemplating a problem.” He put his arm around her as the wind picked up.
“But I also love my father.” She let him pull her close. “And I made my mother a promise to take care of him.”
“Again, I see no problem unless he dismisses me from working for him on the Mary Elise.”
“But, Nick, you are a ship’s captain. You need to have control of your own ship again. I see your restlessness. I know you’re unsettled.”
“I was unsettled. In fact, I wasn’t at all sure what I was going to do. Everything I have done for the past ten years has been to impress my father. I wanted him to see my worth, my value. I didn’t realize he already did. Our parting was so bitter and hurtful, and all I could think about was showing him up—teaching him a lesson. Instead, God taught me a lesson about pride and self-assurance.”
“But you need a certain amount of that to lead. Papa always said as much. He too is sometimes prideful and always self-assured.”
“Yes, but he’s tempered too. He knows the dangers of making decisions based on pride. I’ve learned those as well, but it cost men their lives.”
“You can’t let that defeat you from returning to take charge of your own ship.”
“Let’s just say I’m content to be a first mate for now. The rewards for such a position are great.”
“But it won’t always be enough, and I don’t want to feel forced to choose between my father or my . . . husband.”
“I pledge to you, Elise, I will never put you in that position. If I have to remain a first mate for the next thirty years, then so be it. I love you.” He paused and pulled her into his arms to face him. “I want very much to marry you.”
“I want that too, but I won’t desert my father.”
“You’ll never be asked to. I promise.” He reached into his trouser pocket and produced a ring. “This was my mother’s. I brought it back from Boston knowing that I wanted to ask you to marry me.” He gently unfastened Elise’s glove and pulled it from her hand. “Elise, will you marry me?” He slipped the ring on her finger and stepped back to watch her. “I pledge before God always to be there for you and your father . . . and never to ask you to leave him.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you, Nick.” She held her hand up to the light. “Yes, I will marry you.”
His lips had barely touched hers when someone began yelling.
“Fire! Fire!”
“Thankfully it wasn’t a bad blaze,” Nick told Elise’s father as they stood at the rail of the Mary Elise, looking down on the portion of the dock building that had been burning only an hour earlier. The fire department had done an excellent job of getting the fire under control before it could burn the entire area. “Someone was thoughtless with their smoking, or perhaps a bum tried to make a fire.”
“It’s certainly possible. Fire’s a terrible threat—one of the biggest fears for sailing men,” Captain Wright declared.
“God was definitely good to us.” It was Nick’s watch, and he knew the captain would soon head off to bed.
“He is. Despite all that we’ve endured these last few days, God has offered great protection.” Elise’s father looked at him and smiled. “I see my daughter is sporting a new ring. I presume you asked her to marry you.”
“Yes. Just as I asked you permission to do.” Nick’s smile faded. “She was very concerned, however, about you.”
“I told you she would be. She’s all caught up in that promise she made her mother.”
Nick nodded. “So she said. But I assured her I was content to act as first mate for as long as you needed me. God is teaching me valuable things here, and I will not take them lightly.”
“And as I’ve already told you, I intend to retire from the Mary Elise. It isn’t the same without my Mary, and now that Caroline will need me, I want to be there for her. I could never leave her to fend for herself in Duluth, so at least for a time, I’ll quit the lakes. But I have a feeling it will be permanent.”
“I can’t imagine you sailing for most of your life and then just giving it up.”
Wright rubbed his beard. “I never thought that day would come, but isn’t it funny how a man can, after yielding all to God, find himself moving in directions he never thought possible?”
The question tugged at something deep in Nick’s heart. “God always manages to have His way.”
“And aren’t we grateful for that?” Wright said, laughing.
“This is going to be a shock for Elise.”
Still chuckling, Wright nodded. “I’m thinking she’ll get over it, since you’ll be there to draw her focus.”
“No matter what, I’ll be there for her. I give you my pledge.”
“And I will hold you to it.” Wright slapped Nick on the back. “For now, however, I am still the captain, and I need to prepare for our departure.”
Nick watched him go. He was a good man, better than most, and yet from their talks, Nick knew he had once been godless and difficult. In his case, the accidental meeting of a young woman had begun his transformation, and God had completed the rest. Nick felt he could claim the same story for himself.
Booker Duran stretched out as best he could and opened the bottle of whiskey. He would have revenge on the Mary Elise if it was the last thing he did. He smiled and thought of all the times others had crossed him or gotten in the way of his plans. He never let one of them get off without some form of punishment.
“They’ll learn,” he muttered to himself. “Never cross Robert Wayfair, no matter what name he goes by.”
He took a long drink and then another, hoping the whiskey would warm him against the chill of the night. He closed his eyes and eased back against his pack.
They’d pay. They’d all pay.
Chapter 24
Nick didn’t like the looks of the deteriorating weather, and neither did the captain. The snow had started after they’d cleared the Soo Locks earlier in the day. It had fallen lightly for hours, but as the day progressed toward evening, the snow increased. Both men knew that November storms on the lakes could be some of the worst. Both also knew the odds were great that the ship would take on damage if they couldn’t get to safety.
“The wind has been gusting up to twenty knots with this front movin’ in,” Captain Wright declared to Nick as he came to check in. The captain was going over the charts, and Nick joined him at the table. Elise was busy in the galley, making supper.
The entire trip had seemed cursed. One thing after another had gone wrong, and strange things had been happening. Food had gone missing, ropes had been cut. Tom had fallen and nearly gone overboard when breaking up ice at the bow. He’d been alone and the snow had gotten heavy. He’d lost his footing on the icy deck and fallen back against the windlass. As he struggled to stand, the ship dipped low and threw him forward. He said it felt as if someone or something was actually trying to push him over the rail. In his position, all he could do was hang fast to the rail, and when he was finally able to get upright with the help of Sam, no one else was there. Sam hadn’t seen a soul.
Just today, while everyone had been at lunch, something had brought down one of the sails. Everyone was spooked.
Now it was obvious this cold front was going to bring more than the light snow they’d experienced all day. Nick had felt uneasy since early that morning, and he knew Captain Wright had too. They’d discussed several ports where they might take cover if things turned bad, but since the snows had been light and the sailing uneventful, they had pressed on.
“We will take cover, but this is a rough area,” Wright said, still studying the map. “There’s just not a lot of choices to be had.”
“I’m sure it’s best to wait out the storm,” Nick said. “What about here?” He pointed to a place on the map. “The depth is good and there’s a hint of protection from the winds.”
“I was thinking the same. If we can reach it.” Wright looked at Nick and then back to the map. “I told you I was just as guilty of bad decisions as others. I hope and pray this isn’t one of those times.”
“There was no reason to stop before now. The snow was light, and the wind was too. This storm front is what’s bringing us trouble. We had no way of knowing. When we checked with the folks at the locks, it looked safe enough to proceed, and the Weather Bureau wasn’t concerned.”
“I trust my gut more than I do that newly formed group of scientists. What do they know about the taste of the wind or the feel of dropping pressure?” Wright asked. “You and I have both felt there was trouble coming. This trip has been a problem from the beginning. Anchors don’t just drop, and ropes don’t cut themselves. Someone is causing this.”
“But who? You said yourself you’d trust any of these men with your life.”
“And I do.” The captain shook his head. “If Duran were still on board, I’d think it was him.”
“And that would be a natural assumption, but he’s not here.”
The captain rubbed his bearded chin. “Or is he?”
“What are you saying?” Nick thought maybe the stress of things had gotten to be too much for the captain.
“That fire in Oswego . . . it made a good diversion. Anyone could have snuck on board. It wouldn’t be my first stowaway.”
“By why would he want to be on the Mary Elise?”
“Who’s to say? It could be nothing more than the law was closing in on him. I’m sure I don’t know.”
Nick considered that. “Let’s say he did stow away on the ship. Where would he likely be?”
“There are plenty of hiding places on the Mary Elise. He could slip out and cause havoc, then disappear again. No one expects him to be here. No one is looking for him.”
“Then maybe we should.” Nick was beginning to see his point. Duran had promised to get his revenge. “I’ll get a couple of the boys, and we’ll start searching the ship. We’ll make a pretense of trimming the cargo and go below.”
“The way these waves are building, a pretense won’t be needed. I’m sure the load has shifted. I can feel the slight list to the port side.” Captain Wright shook his head. “I’ll let Elise know our suspicions. You let the boys know as you can without making a formal announcement. If Duran is on board, he already has the advantage. Let’s do what we can to take that from him.”
Nick nodded and pulled his thick knit cap back on his head. “Aye aye.”
He headed for the stairs, wishing he could stop and speak with Elise for a few moments. Instead, he opened the door and stepped back into the freezing snow and ice. It was clearly worse than when he’d come indoors.
He made his way to Sam, who was at the wheel with Ollie, keeping watch for him.
“Sam, I need to speak to you and Ollie.”
Elise was certain her father had come to tell her to let the stove go cold. She smiled up at him as he crossed the galley. “I’ve already stopped feeding the fire. It’s dying down.”
He nodded. “That’s good. We’re going to find a place to hole up, but that’s not why I’m here.” The waves sent the ship rocking hard to starboard. Elise stumbled, and her father caught her. “We think we have a stowaway. We think it’s Duran, given the things going on.”
Elise pulled back. Her eyes widened. “Well, that would certainly answer a lot of questions.”
“I don’t want you walking the ship unless Nick or I can be with you. Stay completely away from the rails.” He paused, as the rocking was clearly growing worse. “Better still, lock yourself in your cabin. Don’t come out unless Nick or I come for you.”
She nodded. “As soon as the stove is completely out.”
“Douse it. We can clean it up later.”
“All right.”
“Be quick about it, sweetheart.” He kissed the top of her head. “I have to go.”
“Please be careful, Papa. I love you.”
He nodded but said nothing more.
Elise watched him leave, wondering how Duran could have gotten back on board without the watch knowing. Then she remembered the dock fire back in Oswego. Everything had been out of
control, and the watch had left the ship to try to help with the fire, as had she and Nick. Duran could have used that time to get on board.
It was a terrible feeling to imagine him there, watching . . . waiting. He had promised to seek his revenge, and she’d been foolish to think it had ended with telling Caroline’s husband about the baby.
She doused the stove, secured the food, then put out the lamps one by one. She lit a lantern, then went to her cabin. Her nerves forced her to check through the room for any place even the smallest man could hide. There was no one. She locked the door, went to her tiny desk, and took a seat. Papa had built a secure slot for the lantern, and she placed it in this apparatus and turned the flame low. If the waves grew worse, she would blow it out, but for now she needed the light.
She pulled out her Bible and held it close. The room was already growing much colder. She opened the Scriptures. She had a special marker for times like this.
“‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,’” she read from Psalm forty-six. “‘Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled. . . .’”
But this time it was neither the sea nor the storm that troubled her most. It was Duran. The very thought of his being on board to torment them—perhaps even to kill them—bothered her most. She’d seen her father manage the bad weather and difficult seas, but this was an evil man intent on revenge.
Her gaze fell again on the start of the psalm. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. She sighed and hugged the Bible close. “Oh, God our Father, You are the only refuge we have. This is a very bad situation with Booker Duran and the storm around us. Please, please deliver us.”
Nothing about this storm was normal. The winds whipped from one direction and then another. The snow turned to icy pellets and beat them fiercely as thick ice formed around the ship. The men fought to get the ice off while seeing to other instructions the captain gave. And all the while, they kept watch for Booker Duran in the fading light.
Waiting on Love Page 24
