The Mighty Airship Kaede. (The Mighty Airships of Earth. Book 1)

by Gary W. Feather

  The elderly Chinese woman behind the shotgun laughed and laid the weapon on the desk. She got out of her chair and waved at Seraphine.

  "Come in! Come in, you crazy girl and shut the damn door!"

  "Yes, dear Jeannette." Seraphine tucked the revolver back into her umbrella.

  Seraphine nonchalantly wiped the dirt off one of the two chairs in front of Jeannette's desk and sat down. She laid her umbrella beside Jeannette's shotgun because she suspected Jeannette knew what was hidden in it. The old woman knew most everything that went on in Toronto.

  Seraphine gave the woman her most practiced charming smile. The old woman snorted as she looked back at her. One eye had a knife scar that started there and ended at her ear.

  "Belle Star and Jesse James are in town. I saw them in the company of Jeremiah Klein," Seraphine said. "Did you know that?"

  "Yes." Jeannette picked up a teacup, but offered none to her guest.

  "They were watching a Japanese lady and a Japanese man as the pair walked into Custer's Hope.”

  "Really?" Jeannette placed her cup on the table. "Now I am interested."

  "So am I.”

  "I could put someone on it. To see who they are. Of course, if you're interested I may keep you informed about it."

  "Yes," Seraphine said.

  "It will cost you."

  "I know."

  "Right now. Since we are dear friends," Jeannette said, "forty franks. More later when you are given more information."

  "Deal."

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Wendy Goes To Town.

  Wendy checked her dress in the small mirror in the women's officer's quarters aboard Kaede, which was next door to the women's enlisted quarters. Elisa was watching her from the lower bunk as Wendy adjusted her bodice. She shared bunk beds with Lieutenant Elisabeth Stone, Kaede's nurse, and they shared the quarters with a few other female officers. Most of the new Navy's airships actually had small fold-up bunk beds unlike the Navy's sea-ships that had hammocks.

  Elisa had a smirk on her face. Wendy sighed and turned around. "What!”

  "Nothing, girl," Elisa said. "I just thought that you looked like you were on your way to a hot date...but I can't figure out with whom."

  "I d-don't have a date," Wendy lied. "I just,uh..."

  "You won't tell me what this is about?" Elisa said. "I was hoping we could be friends. It's not easy being a woman and an officer on an airship. A number of seamen--I mean airmen--are sexist or in some cases, superstitious."

  "I do like you." Wendy twirled her hair around her fingers. "I just--this is very personal."

  "Does it have something to do with you sneaking off or sneaking back?”

  "What? I-I don't. Unless I go to tend to nature." Wendy noticed her hand twirling her hair in the mirror and stopped herself. She tried to sound calm, but couldn't hide the alarmed tone in her voice.

  "Okay, Wendy." Elisa sounded hurt. "I didn't mean to intrude in your life. I just thought, well, you might be in trouble or something. I could help. I know people."

  Wendy thought for a minute realized that Elisa thought she might be pregnant or something equally as bad. "I'm fine. Thank you for worrying about me, but nothing is going on."

  "Okay. Just be careful."

  "I will, Elisa. I promise."

  Wendy smiled and reached up to grab her dagger that was on her top bunk bed. She lifted her skirt and pushed the seven-inch blade into her boot's hidden sheath.

  "Trust me, Elisa," Wendy said. "Grandmother Montgomery made sure all her pretty granddaughters knew how to defend ourselves, gun, blade, or fists."

  "Good for her." Elisa laughed. "But you be careful."

  "Always," Wendy teased. "Unlike you Canadian girls, we English girls had to sometimes fight to survive when them damn Martians invaded."

  "I know," Elisa said.

  Wendy waved goodbye to her friend and walked out of their quarters and down the hallway.

  #

  Wendy informed the officer on watch that she was leaving the airship and when she would be back. He handed her a letter to be given to Momiji from the first officer.

  Once off the airship she walked through the airport where other airships were docked.

  Oh well, Wendy thought. We never planned on being shot up so badly or getting captured by the Confederates. The gun ports are covered. Maybe no one will notice. I wonder if there are any spies around Toronto.

  Wendy laughed to herself as she headed further from the airport toward the hotel.

  Spies? This isn't one of those cheap female novels that Elisa always reads, with spies, adventures and a brave pirate or bandits to save me from the bad guys. Actually, wouldn't be interested in him. Isn't that the problem I've had all my life? I join the women's auxiliary to get away from the man my parents wanted me to marry. Now I'm on my way to meet a woman I love, who isn't even white. My parents would have a heart attack.

  Wendy walked along distracted by her personal thoughts. All at once a man appeared in front of her. He grabbed her arm with one hand and squeezed her breast with the other.

  "How much for the night, hussy?"

  "Let go of me!" Wendy twisted around to get behind him and tried to punch him in the kidney. He dodged it.

  "I love fighters.” He punched her in the stomach.

  Wendy covered her belly and forced back her last meal.

  What did he have in his hand? Was it metal? Brass knuckles? Oh God, I might get raped tonight. Why did I go out alone? It was stupid.

  She had been in a few fights before and got hurt. This was quite the pain.

  "Want another one?" he asked.

  "Leave her alone, you mangy cur!" someone shouted. Next came the sound of a trigger being cocked back. A man with a revolver stood not ten feet away. He had the gun aimed at her attacker. The man turned and sprinted off.

  The man uncocked the revolver and put it in his holster with the speed of a professional gunman. He was dressed in blue slacks, vest and jacket with a white shirt and tie. He also had a fancy black Stetson on his handsome head.

  "Oh, uh, thank you, sir," Wendy said with her hand still on her belly.

  "Are you okay, miss? You should be indoors and not this close to the airport. There are a lot of pirate types who would rob you...or worse."

  Wendy wondered who the man was. He doesn’t sound English, Scots, or Irish. Someone from the states?

  "You're right,” she said. “I shouldn't have gone alone. Do you know where Custer's Hope is? I'm supposed to meet some friends there. Oh, uh, I'm sorry, I should introduce myself, Wendy Montgomery."

  "Howdy, Miss Montgomery. My name is Jeremiah Klein from Houston, Texas. That's in the Confederate States of America. And, like any southern gentlemen, I would be happy to escort you to that hotel. If you would allow me."

  "Oh, uh, thank you, Mr. Klein." Wendy took his offered arm. "That would be very kind of you."

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The Play...

  "I saw him once. 'A was a goodly king," the actor playing Horatio said.

  "'A was a man. Take him for all in all.

  I shall not look upon his like again," said Booth, the actor playing Hamlet.

  Momiji and Hirohira looked down at the stage from one of the balcony seats.

  "Are you familiar with William Shakespeare's plays?" Momiji asked while holding a small pair of bifocals.

  "I've read some of them and I saw King Lear performed as a Kabuki play in Edo. Shoji Gemba was behind it," Hirohira said. "But I'm familiar with this play."

  "Ah, yes. I saw Shoji Gemba's King Lear and Henry V performed in Kyoto once. Quite good, really."

  Hirohira said only, “Huh,” because he wasn't sure what else to say. He looked at his program booklet.

  "Are we being followed, Hirohira-san?" Momiji said in Japanese.

  "Maybe," Hirohira said in Japanese. "I'm not sure. They are sitting in a balcony to our left. You would have to lean forward to see them."

  "Oh," Momiji said
. "Do you think I should?"

  "If you appear to look down with the bifocals as you glance at them. Or maybe you shouldn't. We might not want them not to know we know."

  "Oh. Very true." Momiji turned her attention back to the play.

  "If it assume my noble father's person,

  I'll speak to it though hell itself should gape

  And bid me hold my peace. I pray you all,

  If you have hitherto concealed this sight,

  Let it be tenable in your silence still,

  And whatsoever else shall hap tonight,

  Give it an understanding but no tongue.

  I will requite your loves. So, fare you well.

  Upon the platform twixt eleven and twelve.

  I'll visit you."

  "Our duty to your honor," said the actors with him.

  The silk curtain came down to end Act One, Scene Two. Behind, the crew worked to change things for the next scene.

  As this happened, a couple walked into Momiji’s balcony to join them and sat in the two empty chairs. They bore the look of wealthy Europeans; one was a man in his early fifties and the other a woman in her thirties.

  "Oh, how do you do?" the man said.

  Hirohira politely stood up and performed a traditional European bow. "Greetings, sir and lady. We were told another couple had also reserved the balcony. I am Izumo Hirohira of the Honorable Samurai house Izumo of the Sushima province. And this..." Hirohira gestured to Momiji who nodded politely with a friendly smile. "This is Miss Sakusa Momiji of the Sakusa Ranch in Santa Barbara, California.”

  "I am Furragus Gano Le Trosne, the French Ambassador to Canada," the man said and turned to the woman. "This is my charming wife, Seraphine Julie Le Trosne."

  Hands were politely shook and small talk exchanged. Seraphine began a conversation with Momiji that Momiji found dull. At the same time Momiji noticed that the French woman seemed to always find a way to chat with Hirohira a little and in a flirtatious manner.

  Maybe I'm imagining things. Or maybe I'm jealous. Momiji covered a smile with her hand as the thought occurred to her.

  The curtain rose again and the play continued, but Momiji couldn't shake the feeling of finding the French lady annoying or troubling in some other way that she couldn't identify. Hirohira, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy her company. Momiji worried that he would forget his bodyguard training and be distracted by the...nymph? She herself realized that she had forgotten about the play and wasn't sure what scene it was.

  Booth as Hamlet was speaking on the stage. Nearby stood the ghost of Hamlet's father played by a man heavily covered in white powder.

  "Rest, rest perturbed spirit! So, gentlemen,

  With all my love I do commend me to you;

  And what so poor a man as Hamlet is

  May do t' express his love and friending to you,

  God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together,

  And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.

  The time is out of joint. O cursed spite

  That ever I was born to set it right!"

  The curtain came down and everyone applauded.

  That's the end of Act One Scene Five, Momiji thought. What happened to me? The time is out of joint. Is that what is wrong with me? My imagination? Mmmm.

  #

  "Be careful with that woman, Hirohira-san," Momiji said to Hirohira as they walked home together.

  "What?"

  "She was flirting with you." Momiji gently squeezed his elbow. "You did notice that, didn't you?"

  "Yes."

  "We don't need someone getting into a duel with an ambassador while we're trying not to be noticed. And I don't trust her. She seems fake to me."

  "Fake?"

  "A liar?"

  "When I bent to kiss her hand," Hirohira said. "I noticed she smelled like she had fired a gun recently."

  "Really?"

  "Yes, Doctor Sakusa." Hirohira smiled. "She also has a callous on her thumb. People who regularly cock a revolver tend to have them." Hirohira showed her the callous on his thumb.

  "Oh?" Momiji said. "Does that mean you're on to her, or actually more turned on by her?"

  "Maybe both," Hirohira said.

  Momiji laughed as they neared the hotel. Inside the building they found Wendy and a strange man waiting for them. Wendy introduced them to Jeremiah Klein and told how the two of them had met.

  "A lady should have an escort with her when she ventures out, especially in the dark,” Jeremiah said.

  "Yes, uh, I suppose you're right, Mr. Klein," Wendy said. "It was very foolish of me. I'm sure Mr. Izumo could help me next time."

  "I'm sure." Jeremiah Klein tipped his hat to all three of them. "Nice to meet y'all. Is that one of them Colt revolvers?"

  "Yes, Mr. Klein," Hirohira said. "An 1884 Colt Katana."

  "Mine is a Colt Peacekeeper," Klein said.

  Neither men moved their hands towards their guns when they spoke of them, but Hirohira felt a tension in the air. He had the feeling that the other man was thinking about drawing his Colt right there in the hotel--to test who was better. He had met the type before. They didn't kill for revenge or money. They killed to see who the best was, and that was all they lived for. Klein tipped his hat again and walked out of the hotel.

  "Uh...Am I the only one who felt some kind of weird tension between Klein and Mr. Izumo?" Wendy said.

  "No.” Momiji said. Hirohira noticed that Momiji was looking at him as if she knew he had something to say.

  "I think--I feel that he was wanting to draw his gun on me," Hirohira said.

  "For no reason?" Wendy said.

  "Maybe.”

  "Well," Momiji said. "I'm glad you got here safely."

  "Why are you here?" Hirohira asked.

  "Oh, uh." Wendy pulled out the letter. "I have a message for Momiji from Commander Matsuo."

  "Okay, Wendy-chan," Momiji said. "Let's go up to my room to talk. Other people are showing up in the lobby and we are supposed to be keeping a low profile."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Of Love.

  The three of them went back up stairs. Wendy watched as Hirohira checked Momiji's room for intruders, dynamite, poisonous snakes, and so on before he let her enter. He seemed very thorough to Wendy and she approved, especially after recent events.

  "I think that we might want to explain to Hirohira-san why we want some privacy," Momiji said.

  "Um, I think that's true," Wendy said.

  "Good."

  "Though I don't like it." Wendy stroked a lock of her hair.

  "I know, my love," Momiji gripped Wendy's hand.

  Wendy listened in horror as Momiji told Hirohira in a matter of fact way about her and Wendy’s relationship. Wendy knew her face must be bright red. He simply nodded and agreed to give them some privacy.

  "That was embarrassing." Wendy shut the door and breathed deeply. "How can you say that so casually?"

  "It was the truth. And he was bound to notice." Momiji flirtatiously raised her eyebrows thrice.

  "I know. Never mind." Wendy made a move towards Momiji as if to kiss her. Momiji pushed her away. "What's wrong?"

  "We need to talk first, my love. Do you want this? Will you just run off the first time there is trouble, such as your parents finding out? I want you, but I don't want my heart broken. Again."

  "I don't want your heart broken by me, darling." Wendy sat on the bed and looked up at the Japanese woman, which she usually didn't while they both were standing. I think I have truly found someone to love in my life, but I feel we will be torn apart by other people. My parents, family, society, something of that order that is supposed to be proper. I don't want to choose between you and family."

  "I understand your love of your family, especially your parents." Momiji held the English woman’s hand and raised it to her lips. Oh, she’s going to kiss my hand! So…romantic! Oh! She kissed it. Wendy barely heard Momiji add, "But will you give in to y
our fears before you even have something to be afraid of?"

  "What?" Wendy said.

  "They don't know, yet." Momiji kissed her hand again. "They might not ever know, but if they do, you won't face them alone. I will help you." Her voice changed to a sensual growling tone, "I can be quite persuasive."

  Wendy laughed.

  "I have learned that, darling," Wendy said.

  Wendy kissed Momiji's lips and hooked her ankles around the Japanese woman's calves to pull her close. Momiji leaned in and gripped the back of Wendy’s head. They kissed deeply.

  Momiji unbuttoned Wendy's dress from behind and kissed a spot on the nape of Wendy’s neck.

  “Why do you Japanese see the nape of the neck as so erotic? Wendy asked Momiji.

  “Does this excite you?”

  Momiji’s lips caress the nape of my neck. “Yes.”

  “Then we’re not the only ones.”

  Momiji nibbles on the nape of my neck. “Yes! Oh!”

  Momiji’s hands moved to softly remove Wendy’s dress as her lips moved around Wendy’s neck. Wendy felt her corset being undone behind her and felt her breath heave as they were freed.

  #

  Hirohira turned down the covers of his Western bed. Unlike Momiji he wasn't used to Western beds, he preferred normal bed. Futons or Japanese beds were rolled up when not in use and unrolled to sleep on. He was more used to chairs and high tables for they were in use somewhat in Japan, but Western beds weren't. He had taken off his gun belt and was thinking of undressing to sleep when there came a knock at the door.

  He pulled the Colt Katana out of its holster as he turned. He walked cautiously towards the door. The person knocked again. He slipped to the side, standing near the doorframe. He didn't want to offer himself as any easy target as he opened it.

  The person was quiet at first, probably wondering why he wasn't there. The knob turned. The door opened. A woman casually walked inside.

  "Hello?" It was the French lady he had met at the theater, Seraphine. "Hello, Mr--eek!"

  Seraphine noticed him standing to the side of the door with his revolver pointed at her.

  He lowered the gun. "Sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you, Mrs. Le Trosne. Are you okay? Where is your husband?"