The Forgiving Heart (The Heart of Minnesota Book 1)

by Riker, Becky

  “I understand, sir. Thank you.”

  Mr. Sodergaard nodded, seeming surprised at her submission, “Goodnight, Karlijna.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Karlijna was relieved to find the next day would be busy with meetings.

  There was no opportunity for Miss Sodergaard to carry on a conversation with Mr. Beauchamp until supper time. With that meal, came another business associate and his wife. Much to Karlijna’s relief, Miss Sodergaard was acquainted with the woman, and the two ladies conversed through the meal and until the company went home.

  Karlijna doubted she could make it through the evening without at least a brief exchange between the two, but she was blessed to find otherwise. Immediately following the guests’ departure, Mr. Beauchamp confessed his fatigue and took himself to bed. Realizing Miss Sodergaard was not wanting for her company, Karlijna took the opportunity to retire early as well.

  It was well that the girl had slept well Thursday night, for she needed all her strength for the following day. She awoke to the noise of someone pounding on her door. Looking over to discover Miss Sodergaard sleeping, she grabbed her wrap and went to open it. She was dismayed, but not surprised to see it was Mr. Beauchamp.

  “Yes?” she blinked owlishly at the man, wondering what time it was.

  “I need you to come and help me,” he looked angry that she wasn’t already at his service, “I plan to leave today so I need to get an early start.”

  Karlijna nodded, “Give me fifteen minutes. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

  The man grunted, but turned to leave.

  Karlijna hurried through her morning preparations. She didn’t care if she did look thrown together. He was going home and then this trial of a week would be behind her.

  It took less time than she had stated and Karlijna was down in the kitchen. Mr. Sodergaard joined them shortly and the business was completed quickly. By noon, Mr. Beauchamp was packing to return home.

  “You will take the noon meal with us?” Helga looked surprised as the man came down the stairs, suitcases in hand.

  Karlijna who had been waiting with that woman in the parlor, translated.

  “Of course,” he looked at Karlijna rather than Helga.

  “That will be wonderful,” the older woman gushed at the answer, “I’ll tell Cook to make something special.”

  Karlijna translated the message.

  Mr. Beauchamp didn’t try to hide his disgust, “It’s a little late to change her menu now, madam. She is working to put it on the table.”

  Karlijna took a deep breath and repeated, word for word, what the man had said. She hoped the remark, though mild compared to some of the things he said, was blunt enough to stop Helga’s effusiveness. Karlijna was to be disappointed.

  “Well,” Miss Sodergaard huffed, looking from the handsome, but cynical face of the man to the innocent face of the interpreter. She seemed as if she didn’t know where the remark had originated. “I guess Cook could change the menu if I asked her to.”

  Karlijna lifted up a prayer for mercy as she repeated this to Mr. Beauchamp.

  His eyes narrowed and he looked directly at Karlijna, “Well done, Miss Bergstrom. You didn’t alter my message.”

  “What did he say?” Helga demanded as her brother entered the parlor.

  “Dinner is ready,” her boss’ announcement was the answer to Karlijna’s prayer and she nearly jumped from her chair to get to the dining room.

  Once seated, Karlijna prayed again – this time that the conversation would center on business. It was not to be.

  “Who will be there to drive you home when you arrive back in France?”

  Karlijna dreaded Mr. Beauchamp’s answer.

  “Tell her one of my employees,” Mr. Beauchamp looked at Karlijna.

  Karlijna gratefully did so.

  “Do you have many employees?” She asked, never looking at Karlijna.

  Karlijna was relieved the questions were not personal, but she wished Mr. Beauchamp would look at Helga while answering. She knew the woman’s ire was going to be raised by the way things stood.

  “Yes,” his answers were not satisfying to Helga and she made no secret of her displeasure.

  “Surely,” she spoke through clenched teeth, though her voice was syrupy, “You can think of more to say to me than yes or no. We could have a conversation if you tried a little.”

  Mr. Sodergaard frowned at his sister’s speech, but when Karlijna looked at him, questioning, he raised his eyebrows and gave a little nod in Mr. Beauchamp’s direction.

  Karlijna realized this was to be the end of all peace. Mr. Beauchamp would not let such a statement go.

  In as clear a voice as she could muster, Karlijna repeated what the lady said.

  “You’re dreading what I’m going to say, are you not?”

  Karlijna translated this into Swedish. The look of surprise on the siblings’ faces was, she knew, less than what was to come.

  “You can tell her or not,” Mr. Beauchamp continued, “that I make no effort to converse with her because I have no desire to do so.”

  Karlijna did not look up from her plate as she said this to Mr. and Miss Sodergaard.

  A small gasp escaped the lady’s lips, but the Frenchman was not finished.

  “If your young lady here had not been so kind, you would have known it from the start.”

  Again, Karlijna interpreted his words accurately.

  “I find your cloying manners and prying questions nauseating.”

  Karlijna had tears in her eyes as she quietly repeated this. Her voice was so low that her employer had to ask her to repeat herself.

  She lifted her face and tried again, but he stopped her.

  “I’m sorry, Karlijna,” his voice was kind, “I think we got the message.” The man turned angry eyes toward his guest.

  Mr. Beauchamp had just realized what he had been doing to the girl, “Miss Bergstrom, he touched her arm, “I apologize. I didn’t realize you were interpreting everything I said.”

  She looked at him and nodded, “I should have warned you,” she acknowledged, “that I had been instructed to do so.”

  Mr. Beauchamp looked sorry for the young lady, but not shamed. He finished his meal and thanked the cook. With as little speaking as possible, he left the house. Karlijna did not need to accompany him as, he assured her, there would be French speaking people at the port.

  Mr. Sodergaard led the young woman into his office and ordered her to sit. Shortly after, he brought in a glass of water.

  “I apologize, Karlijna,” he sat next to her, “I had no idea that would happen.”

  Karlijna sipped her water, not out of thirst, but for something to do.

  “You did try to warn me.”

  Karlijna set her glass on the table and looked up to him, “I wish I would have warned Mr. Beauchamp. He was as surprised as you.”

  Mr. Sodergaard laughed derisively, “It is what he earned. I hope he is ashamed of himself.” There was a slight pause, “I am ashamed of myself, Karlijna.”

  “You?” she turned in her seat to better see his face.

  “My sister’s prodding was inappropriate. It was unprofessional of me to allow her to use you that way.”

  Karlijna saw a little humor in this, “You would have your interpreter ignore her requests?”

  He laughed softly, “I don’t know how we could have improved this, but ignoring Helga probably wouldn’t have helped anything. I will tell her things must be different next time.”

  Karlijna’s throat constricted, “Next time?”

  “Yes,” he rose and went to his desk, “there will most certainly be a next time. It cannot be helped. Though the war has slowed travel to a crawl, some business is best done in person.”

  Karlijna shook her head, “I don’t think I can do this again. I am more than willing to . . .”

  Her speech was cut short by Miss Sodergaard’s strident voice calling for her brother.

  “Roald,” she w
as angry, “where are you?”

  Mr. Sodergaard gave her a brief smile and a pat on her hand before exiting the office.

  “What do you need, Helga?” he did not sound sympathetic toward his sister.

  “To start, you can tell me why that little witch got away with that. Both of you sniveling men acted as if she was the one who had been offended.”

  “We put her in an awkward position, Helga. You must admit that.”

  “Her!” the woman all but screeched, “You put her in an awkward position? Did you ever think what kind of humiliation I was suffering at her hands?”

  “Quiet down, Helga. She is still in the house. She has had to deal with enough. . .”

  “I don’t care if she does hear me. She’s had to deal with enough. . .” the woman’s voice rose and fell as though she was pacing, “Did you not hear the things she was saying to me? Did it not occur to you that my feelings might be hurt?”

  “Surely you cannot blame her for that, Helga,” his voice incredulous, “The other night we insisted she tell us exactly what Armand was saying and now you are angry because she finally did.”

  Karlijna didn’t hear the woman reply, whether because she had nothing to say in retort or because the words were too softly spoken, the young girl couldn’t say.

  “If Mr. Beauchamp was really saying those things,” the woman finally spoke again, “it was probably because that foreigner you hired was poisoning him from the beginning.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Helga,” her brother scoffed, “your pride has been injured and you’re taking it out on the girl.”

  “You’d better be careful,” Karlijna could hear the woman’s shoes clicking on the tile near the front door, “She’ll poison other things as well. Pretty soon you won’t have a business to run.”

  With that statement, the door opened and slammed shut. Karlijna could not help feeling a great sense of relief over the woman’s departure. She had brought disharmony from the time she walked through the door. Karlijna could only hope that things would return to normal now that she was gone.

  Mr. Sodergaard returned to his office to find a white faced girl still sitting where he had left her.

  “I’m going to have Olaf drive you home,” he offered. “Take Monday off as well. You could use the rest.”

  “Thank you, Sir,” she rose from her chair and walked to the door, “I’ll just get my things.”

  Monday morning Karlijna offered to help in the store since she would not be needed elsewhere. Leif protested at first, but finally agreed when he saw she needed something to keep busy.

  In the afternoon, Karlijna had a pleasant surprise. Regina came through the door with her children in tow.

  “How nice to see you,” she walked around the corner and reached her hands out to her friends.

  “We came to show you the children’s new coats,” Regina smiled broadly as she looked down at her offspring. They were all wearing blue woolen coats.

  “They are lovely,” Karlijna began walking them back to her small room to visit.

  “ Leif,” she called to him as he helped Mrs. Torkleson find thread, “I’m taking a short break.”

  “Alright, Karlijna,” he called back, “Take them into the kitchen and get something warm to drink.”

  Karlijna changed direction and did as she was told.

  “I can’t thank you enough,” Regina began as the women sat with the children at Ingrid’s table, “I had no idea where we were going to get coats for them.”

  “I was happy to help,” Karlijna poured some tea, “I only wish I could do more for you after all your family did for me.”

  Regina’s eyes widened, “There is more, I suspect, that you have done.”

  “What is that?” Karlijna waited to be enlightened.

  “The week after we made the coat for you, three women came to us to ask us to make some for them. They have all paid as well as you did.”

  Karlijna had hoped her little attempts at advertising would pay off.

  Regina further surprised her, “We have not been without work since.”

  Karlijna clasped her hands together, “I am so glad, Regina. I prayed you would have means of support,” she smiled broadly, “God does provide.”

  Regina looked at her perplexedly, “You are a strange girl, Karlijna.”

  Startled a little, Karlijna laughed uncomfortably, “Why is that?”

  “You are a Gentile, yet you care for the Jews. The way you talk about your God, I can see your faith is real, yet. . .”

  Karlijna smiled, “Yet what?”

  Regina looked as though she was afraid of offending, “Most Christians don’t want to associate with Jews. They call us dirty Jews, Christ-killers, all sorts of things. If you believe we are the ones who killed your Jesus, why do you treat us kindly?”

  Karlijna lifted fervent prayer to God before answering. She had been praying for an opportunity to share her faith with her friends, but there had never been an opportunity until now. After giving each child another slice of bread to busy them, she told Regina about her faith.

  “I am glad you asked me, Regina. Maybe you aren’t aware that most of the early Christians were Jews and that my Jesus was also a Jew.”

  Regina looked uncertain, “I did know he was a Jew, but I thought all His followers were Gentiles.”

  “Jesus is the promised Messiah, Regina. The Old Testament is full of the prophets telling of his coming. Finally, He came and fulfilled all those prophecies, but not like the world expected.”

  “A baby?” Regina knew enough of Christian culture to realize what her young friend was talking about.

  The younger woman nodded, “Yes, a baby. Then as he grew and began ministering to people, they expected him to set up a kingdom on earth, but that wasn’t what he planned.”

  “Then why all the talk about the Messiah coming to save us?” Regina sounded a little angry.

  “He did come to save us, but not here. He was saving us from the consequence of our sins.”

  “How could he do that? The only way to atone for sin is by a blood sacrifice,” Regina’s voice was confident.

  “Exactly,” Karlijna knew this was the crucial point. She leaned forward and took her friend’s hands in her own, “The blood sacrifice was Jesus. He died because of our sins. Every sin that ever has or will be committed was on his shoulders as he died. “

  Regina narrowed her eyes, “Jesus was there because the leaders didn’t like what He was saying.”

  Karlijna shook her head, “It is true, the Jews stirred up trouble against Him, but even that was in God’s plan.”

  “So we really are Christ-killers,” Regina’s voice held a guilty tone.

  “Actually,” Karlijna rose to refill the coffee cups, “the Romans were the ones to crucify Him.”

  Regina frowned, “Really?”

  “Really. But that isn’t nearly as significant as the fact that all of us killed Christ. He wouldn’t have been there at all if I hadn’t sinned, if you hadn’t sinned. It doesn’t matter who nailed him to the cross, it was my sin that made it necessary for Him to be there at all.”

  There was silence for a period while the women drank their coffee and the children licked the remaining butter from their sticky fingertips.

  Regina rose from her place and began putting her children’s outer garments back on their bodies, “You’ve given me a lot to think about, Karlijna.”

  Karlijna was not disappointed or surprised to find her friend was not able to accept the truth of Christ’s sacrifice yet. The girl had been praying and would continue to pray for Regina and her family’s eyes and hearts to be opened to the truth. Until then, Karlijna would show them Christ through her actions.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Tuesday morning was cold. The biting wind pressed against Karlijna as she trudged to work. Arriving at Mr. Sodergaard’s house had never been such a relief.

  Olaf waited at the door, “Come in , Miss,” his voice was as sharp as ever, “Yo
u’ll let in the winter.”

  “Thank you, Olaf,” she knew his bark was worse than his bite and had grown fond of him despite his apparent aloofness.

  Before she had even divested herself of her coat, Mr. Sodergaard called to her from the parlor, “Come in here, Karlijna. You have visitors.”

  Karlijna was surprised and pleased to find Pastor and Mrs. Neilson sitting on the davenport.

  “Hello,” she greeted them as she entered and sat on the chair facing them. “This is a pleasant surprise.”

  There was a brief and uncomfortable silence. Karlijna noticed the look passing between husband and wife.

  “Is something wrong?” Karlijna felt it was best to see what they were there for immediately.

  Pastor Neilson cleared his throat and looked uncomfortably at Mr. Sodergaard. That man took the hint and rose.

  “I’ll be in my office, Karlijna. Please take as long as necessary.”

  He shut the door behind himself.

  Karlijna’s eyes followed him out but turned back to her guests as soon as they were alone.

  “Miss Bergstrom,” the pastor began, “I hope you know we are not given to gossip, either listening to it or carrying it ourselves.”

  Karlijna was surprised by the topic that had clearly brought him here, but she nodded, “I believe you walk with the Lord, Pastor, and that such a thing is beneath you.”

  He nodded gravely, “I think you will understand why I am bringing this to your attention. It is not to give credit to accusations, but to make you aware of what is being said and,” his look conveyed an apology, “to give you the opportunity to make things right if it is true.”

  Karlijna’s heart picked up speed, “What is being said about me?”

  Mrs. Neilson had been quiet up to this point, but she leaned forward and covered Karlijna’s hand with her own, “We cannot tell you where the information came from, but there is a rumor spreading that you,” she paused and took a deep breath, “spent the night with a French visitor to this house.”

  Karlijna’s breath caught in her throat. She closed her eyes and forced down the bile that threatened to erupt, and, after a few moments, managed to inhale slowly.

  “I do not wonder,” she told herself to be calm, “at your source. I had thought it beneath her,” it was impossible to keep the anger from her voice, “but I was apparently wrong.”