by Riker, Becky
Leif grunted and went back to work. Michael knew it was a bad situation. He and Karlijna were going to be spending the next few days in close proximity – possibly having to pretend they were married. It would give him ample opportunity to get to know her but also to make a mistake. Michael was serious, though, about protecting Karlijna. He wasn't going to say or do anything without time on his own think and pray.
“I thought we were going to send her with you for protection,” Leif was speaking from across the store.
Michael raised his eyebrows, “You think she needs it?”
Leif laughed, “Probably not. I'd say God has a whole crew of guardian angels following her around. Now with this new threat, she needs them more than ever.”
“New threat?”
“You,” Leif was only half-serious, but he did laugh when Michael frowned at him and left the room.
The next morning Karlijna and Michael hugged everyone goodbye and climbed aboard a train headed for Göteborg. He informed her they would be speaking Swedish on the trip because as they drew nearer to Norway, people's allegiances were uncertain and English speaking people were often looked on with suspicion.
“Do you not think our accents will give us away?”
“If they do, people will not know what to think. You sound German and I sound American.”
Michael had hoped to find passage on a ship the same day, but instead they were forced to wait until the following morning.
“I need a room for tonight,” Michael informed the innkeeper.
The man looked with suspicion at the pair, “Is she your wife?”
“No,” Michael admitted, “she is the child of my uncle's house, going to America.”
Karlijna had known Michael was going to say this or she may have looked surprised.
“I feel like Sarah,” Karlijna admitted later, “when Abraham lied and told the king she was his sister.”
Michael sighed, “I'm afraid it is not safe for you to lodge in a room by yourself, and it is better than saying you are my wife.”
Karlijna pressed her lips together, “Abraham surely thought his way was the right thing as well.”
Michael shook his head, “I did not say you are my cousin, Karlijna. I told the truth and you know my uncle loves you as his child.”
Karlijna did not argue again. Thankfully, the inn had a room with two beds and there was no awkwardness regarding that.
Karlijna woke before Michael the next day. Keeping an eye on him, she changed quickly from the dress she had slept in. She would have let him sleep longer, but knew she must visit the public room down the hall, and he warned her not to leave the room without him.
“Michael,” she spoke from the side of the bed.
Michael stirred. She tried again. This time he woke up.
“You are a heavy sleeper,” Karlijna laughed.
Michael sat up and rubbed his eyes, “Sorry. I am usually not, but I had trouble sleeping last night.”
“Are you worried about everything going well?”
“No,” Michael swung his legs over the edge of the bed, “I just had a lot on my mind. Or I was restless.”
Karlijna wanted to laugh at Michael's appearance. His normally neat hair was standing on end, and his clothes were rumpled from sleeping in them. He seemed a bit crabby, though, so she didn't dare.
“I need to use the facilities. You asked me to wait for you.”
Michael scrubbed a hand over his face and stood up, “I'll come walk you down there, but please stay until I get back.”
Within an hour, they were ready to leave the inn. Michael took Karlijna's arm as they walked through the streets and to the harbor.
“How soon does the boat leave?”
Michael looked at his watch, “Not for an hour yet. Do you need something before we go?”
Karlijna shook her head. He still seemed a bit tense, and she didn't want to add to his stress by asking if they could get something to eat.
“How long is the trip?”
Michael shrugged, “I think it will be about eighteen hours.”
Karlijna wish she had thought to save a little food from their supper last night. All she had now was a small tin of cookies from Ingrid and some flatbread from Regina.
“Have you been to Britain before?” Michael asked.
Karlijna was glad for the distraction, “Yes, but not in several years. I believe I was eight.”
“Do you become ill on the ferry?”
“I don't remember that I did, but I was not ill on the way from Poland.”
Michael opened the door to a building Karlijna assumed must be a ticket office, “That may not have been very telling. You were probably too terrified to be seasick.”
Karlijna realized he was right.
Michael bought the tickets and they sat down on a hard bench to wait. Karlijna's stomach growled. She placed a hand over it in an attempt to silence it.
Michael looked at her, “Why didn't you say something? We could have stopped for breakfast before boarding. I just thought it would be better to wait to see how your stomach fared on the trip.”
Karlijna smiled weakly, “That was wise.”
“Except you may feel more ill for having not eaten,” he seemed irritated.
“I'm sorry,” she knew she was making things difficult for him, “I didn't realize that could be a problem.”
Michael looked at her with a frown that softened, “It is I who should be sorry, Karlijna. I didn't keep you informed of anything or ask your opinion.”
Karlijna lay her hand on his between them, “I trust you, Michael. You do not need to ask my opinion.”
Michael turned his hand and captured hers. They sat that way until the boarding whistle sounded. Karlijna thought it felt nice – safe. It was something Benard would have done were he here.
“Let's get on. I did not get us a sleeping berth because it was very expensive, but the lounge area should be comfortable.”
Karlijna followed him up the ramp, “There are places to sleep on this boat?”
He was carrying both pieces of her luggage with one hand to offer her a hand up, “Of course. Have you never seen a boat like this?”
“It is much bigger than the ferries we took from Belgium to Ramsgate,” she did not speak anymore because she was taking in the details of the massive ship.
“Here is the lounge,” Michael had done something with her luggage, but she was not sure what. He did not sit down.
“Shall we get you something to eat?” he began walking.
“There is a place on board to do this?”
Michael stopped and looked at her, “You thought we would need to wait until we got to Edinburgh?”
She nodded, “I was wondering how many of Ingrid's cookies I had left.”
Michael laughed, “I think your trust is misplaced. I don't seem to be discharging my duties very well.”
Karlijna took his hand, “You are taking very good care of me – just as my own brother would. You are thinking of the big picture.”
Michael squeezed her hand before dropping it and continuing toward the dining area.
Karlijna was surprised that the food was palatable. She had expected it to be tasteless.
“This bread is good,” she looked inside her sandwich, “and I like the pepper in the sausage.”
Michael smiled at her and waggled his eyebrows, “Would anything have tasted bad to you now?”
“I was not starving, Michael. Not yet, anyhow.”
“Your brother is older than you, right?”
Karlijna appreciated the present use of verbs, though she realized there was little chance Benard still lived.
“Yes. He would have been nineteen last week.”
Michael put his sandwich down, “Was the day difficult for you?”
Karlijna nodded, “It was. As was Veronike's birthday. She was to have been five in October.”
“Does it do more harm to speak of them? I don't have to know anything, but I�
��ll listen.”
“It helps if I remember them in the good times – before the war.”
Michael picked up his sandwich, “So tell me something good.”
Karlijna thought for a moment, “The day Veronike was born it was raining very hard. My mother told me to run for my father, but I did not want to leave her and Benard was not yet back from school. My mother was quite disgusted with me, but she didn't continue to order me to my father. She told me to look out the window to watch for Benard.
“Did he get there on time?”
“Oh, yes,” Karlijna continued, “He arrived soon, went to get our father, and then came back. I never wanted to leave my mother's side, so my parents let me stay in her room. Veronike was not born until very early the next morning.”
“Were you still with your mother?”
“I was, but I had long since fallen asleep. I didn't even wake up through the delivery.”
Michael laughed, “I guess you must be the one who is a heavy sleeper.”
Karlijna nodded, “I used to be, but since we left our home, I have become a much lighter sleeper.”
“I hope you will begin to sleep better soon.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Karlijna slept in the lounge on the way over. Michael hardly did. He sat at her feet, watching her as she reclined on a sofa in the back corner.
Karlijna woke up to a pitch black room; she sat up – panicked.
“Shh,” Michael touched her foot with a gentle hand, “they've turned the lights out.”
Karlijna put her feet down and slid closer to him, “Why?”
Michael eased his arm around her and spoke into her ear, “We're hiding from the planes. Don't worry.”
She turned her mouth toward his ear, “Prayer is more effective.”
The ship continued its progress through the water and soon the lights turned back on. Michael removed his arm from her shoulder, and she scooted away from him.
“How much longer until we get to England?”
“We're actually entering at Edinburgh – that is in Scotland.”
“Scotland?” Karlijna wondered if he had told her of this part of the plan, “Why?”
“We have some . . .formalities. . .to deal with before we can get you out of Great Britain.”
“Formalities?” Karlijna could tell he didn't want to tell her, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
“I can tell you, but it will be easier for you if you don't know.”
Karlijna opened her mouth to object, but closed it again.
Michael shot her a questioning glance.
“I've said I trust you. Now it is time to put actions to my words. You know what the circumstance is, and you say this is the best way. I will have to trust that.”
“Thank you, Karlijna.”
He brought her to a building that looked like a courthouse. She had never been inside one before, but she imagined one would look very like the room in which she sat with Michael. They waited until Michael’s name was called and went to stand before a pleasant-looking man. He asked her a few questions, but she had difficulty understanding him. Though he was speaking in English, he was not pronouncing the words in a way that was familiar to her.
Michael turned to translate, “He asked if you wish to go with me, Karlijna.”
She smiled at the man and nodded vigorously, “Yes, I do.”
The man beamed at her and said something else.
Michael nodded and agreed as well. Karlijna wondered what he had to agree to as he was obviously not going home with her.
The man said something else with a slight chuckle. Michael looked a bit chagrined before pulling her into a quick hug.
Karlijna didn’t resist despite her surprise.
They had some papers to sign and then they left the building.
“Why was it so hard to understand him?” she asked as they walked toward their hotel. “I thought my English was improving.”
“He has a very thick Scottish accent,” Michael assured her. “It was even a little hard for me to understand everything he said.”
The day after Christmas, Karlijna was on a military airplane flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Having never flown, she wondered at this kind of transportation. The seating was uncomfortable, and the ride was very rough. She was the only civilian on the plane, and, more than once, she caught the eyes of the other passengers, both the men and the women, studying her.
Most of the people were either wounded military or nurses on board to care for them. Karlijna wished there was something she could do to help but didn’t know what. Some of the men seemed unaware of their surroundings, and she supposed they had suffered head trauma.
For a good portion of the day, the plane flew on. The young passenger tried not to think of the miles of sea beneath her, nor of the enemy ships always anxious to remove a plane from the sky. Night fell and a ripple went through the passengers. They would be landing within the hour.
Karlijna gathered her two pieces of luggage to herself as the plane touched down in Connecticut. She knew she was to report to the person in charge as soon as she got off the plane. Michael had told her where she would find him.
With no trouble at all, the young lady was able to locate the Captain’s office. He called to her to enter as soon as she knocked. Rather than speaking, she handed him her papers. Michael had said they would explain everything.
The man glanced at what she gave him and nodded. He then said something to her, but she couldn’t catch the words.
“I am sorry,” she interrupted him, “My English is not vell. Please speak more slow.”
“Okay,” he agreed, seeming a little annoyed, his voice got louder as he talked, “You need to wait with the other wives. There will be a train heading to Chicago soon.”
Karlijna tried not to panic. He needed to know she was not a wife and that she was going to Minnesota, not Chicago.
She tried to explain, “I am going to Minnesota to be vith Michael’s family. They won’t know to get me from,” she tried the word, “Shee-ca-go.”
Another man entered and asked the captain what was going on. Again, the captain spoke quickly, pointing at Karlijna while he enlightened the other soldier. Karlijna caught Michael’s name, Minnesota, and Chicago.
The newcomer turned to her and spoke slowly. His voice was kind, “Do you speak English at all?”
“Yes,” she nodded as well, “but I listen slow.”
“You’re going to Minnesota?”
“Yes,” she was relieved.
“Chicago is on the way to Minnesota.”
She smiled up at him, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he retrieved the paperwork from the captain and took her elbow, “you can wait here with the other wives.”
He showed her into a room filled with women and a few children. She thought to tell him she was not a wife only after he had left her to help someone else.
Sitting down on a hard bench she swallowed back a sigh. Though the trip had been more pleasant than the frightening train rides she took just a year ago, she was still apprehensive about her journey and destination.
Forcing her mind from the unpleasantness of those memories, Karlijna thought back to her last day in Sweden. She had said goodbye to all her friends in the village and was packed to leave. She intended to spend the remaining few hours visiting only with Leif and Ingrid, but a knock on the door after supper had changed her design.
“Mr. Sodergaard,” Ingrid’s voice held a mixture of surprise and distaste when she opened her kitchen door.
“May I come in, Mrs. Anderson?”
She did not answer but opened the door wider and stepped aside. He stepped through the doorway.
“Karlijna,” he held his hat in his hand, “I have come to apologize. . .again.”
Karlijna shook her head, “Thank you, but it is not necessary. You have already given your regrets. There is no more to be said on the subject.”
The man laid his hat on t
he table and withdrew an envelope from his breast pocket, “I received this yesterday.”
Karlijna took what he offered her and removed the letter from within. It was written in French and then translated in Swedish at the bottom. Karlijna’s eyes widened as she read.
Dear Sir,
I have received news of the most disturbing kind. A respected member of your community has informed me that there are being spread slanderous lies about myself and the young lady in your employ. This person has detailed what is being said about Miss Bergstrom.
You know, Mr. Sodergaard, that this is a great lie. You are aware that nothing untoward ever occurred between myself and your employee. This is the case for two reasons: one, that I am a gentleman and, two, that we were never alone together.
I suspect your sister, whose behavior during my stay bordered on improper, began the rumors because of my rude treatment of her. I do not apologize for my behavior toward her except how it has harmed a true lady. To treat Miss Sodergaard kindly would have given her reason to hope affection from me.
I would that this letter be published in your newspaper. If you do not take it upon yourself, others will as I have sent copies of this letter to two esteemed people of your community.
Sincerely,
Armand Beauchamp
Karlijna looked up, eyes wide, at her former boss.
“I hope you know,” she croaked out, “I was not the one who sent him the letter.”
Mr. Sodergaard shook his head, “I did not think you were. It would be beneath you.”
Leif and Ingrid were now reading the letter with as much amazement as Karlijna had felt.
“I’m begging you, Miss Bergstrom,” he spoke through tense lips, “Please do not let this letter be printed.”
Karlijna shook her head in confusion, “What am I to do? I do not even know who sent news to him, much less who has the other copies of this letter.”
Mr. Sodergaard took her statement as willingness to help, “You must go to Mr. Spilde, the editor of the paper. He will not print it if you ask him.”
Ingrid rose abruptly and planted her fists on her hips, “How dare you come here and ask such a thing,” Leif touched her arm, but she was not to be calmed. “At your sister's and your hands, this girl has suffered humiliation, lost her income, and been unable to find employment. She is now leaving the area because you have allowed the slander to continue. Now you ask for her help,” she pointed to the door, “Leave my home at once.”
