Noah shook his head. “I wonder what made him rush off like that?”
“No idea.” David shrugged, and then dismissed the matter by turning his back on the door. “We’ve got a decision to make. What are we going to do about this latest attack?”
Nods all around and mumbles of “That’s right,” and “We can’t ignore this one.”
This one? They’d suffered previous Indian attacks, then? Startled, Kathryn glanced up at Evie, who still stood at her side, hand resting on her shoulder. She gave a comforting squeeze.
“Why don’t you all sit down?” Evie crossed the room, her long skirts swishing smoothly around her ankles, and placed a hand on her husband’s arm. “Supper’s getting cold, and there’s nothing worse than cold dumplings. You can talk while you eat.”
The men returned to their plates. Noah and David made their way to the back table where Jason had been seated across from Captain Baker. Jason followed, and gave Kathryn a searching look as he slid into his chair.
A warm flush crept up her neck. How embarrassing to faint as though she were one of those ridiculous females whose behavior she had always found so annoying. They pretended a fragility they did not feel merely to appear weak and helpless before the men they hoped to entice. She had no patience for women like that.
On the other hand, the pronouncement of an impending attack by savage Indians directly after the shock of learning that she was stranded here until the arrival of the next ship was enough to make anyone’s head spin.
With a smooth gesture, Evie scooped up the captain’s and mate’s half-eaten dinners and whisked them away. “Noah, you sit there with David. I’ll fetch some plates.”
David gave her a grateful nod. “Louisa and the children will be along any minute. When the word came, she sent me ahead.”
The smile Evie turned on Kathryn held a touch of strain, understandable given the circumstances. “You’ll get to meet my friend.”
When she bustled toward the stove, Kathryn rose. She couldn’t sit there like a pampered lady and watch Evie work.
Beside her, Jason looked up with an expression of polite concern. “Are you sure you shouldn’t sit a while and rest?”
She found his conciliatory manner irritating. “I’m fine,” she answered pertly, and turned away with her head high. From the corner of her eye she saw him shrug and focus his attention on the men seated across from him.
Evie answered her offer of assistance with a grateful nod. “If you don’t mind, fetch clean plates and forks from that storage room.” She gestured with a tilt of her head while she scraped food scraps into a bucket. “Might as well grab a dozen or so. When word gets around, I expect people will start showing up to find out what’s happening.”
Kathryn headed for the doorway. “So your restaurant is a kind of public meeting hall or something?”
“It was the first business in town, so I guess people got used to gathering here.” She gave a delicate shrug. “And we have plenty of seating.”
That made sense. Kathryn stepped into the storage room and took a minute to get her bearings. The room was a lot bigger than she expected, and judging by the freshly-cut look of the floor slats, a recent addition to the original building. A lamp burned on a table by the door, and she picked it up to shed light on the deep shelves that stood against all four walls. Most were piled high with jars, bulging bags, and containers covered in oiled cloth. She found dishes stacked on a low shelf and retrieved a dozen or so along with a handful of utensils. The aroma of freshly baked bread permeated the room, and she discovered the source beneath a white linen cloth on the table beside the lamp. Another dozen loaves lay waiting to be served.
She arrived back in the dining room at the same time a woman closed the main door, one hand clutching that of a little girl perhaps three or four years old. Several of the men called a greeting to “Miz Louisa.” When she turned, Kathryn saw Evie’s friend was well along in pregnancy.
David leaped up from his seat and dashed toward her to take her arm and help her to a seat. A smile curved her lips, and her eyes sparkled above round cheeks.
“I’ve just walked all the way down the street with a child at each side, and you act as if I can’t make my way safely across the room.” Teasing laughter tinged her tone, but she indulgently allowed him to guide her toward a chair and hold her arm as she lowered herself into it.
Had Kathryn not glanced at Evie at that moment, she would have missed a look of intense longing that flashed across her face. Not jealousy of the attention her friend received from her husband. She had seen an equal amount of love in Noah’s eyes when he looked at her. Desire for a child, then?
“Auntie Evie!”
The little girl flew across the room, arms opened wide, and threw herself at Evie’s skirt. Evie immediately set down the plate she’d been scraping and knelt to gather the child in a tender embrace. Her eyes closed, and she buried her face in dark brown curls and breathed in slowly as though the scent were heavenly. When she opened her eyes, she sought out Noah. Her expression affirmed Kathryn’s guess. Evie longed for a child of her own.
The embrace ended, and Evie held the child at arm’s length. “But where’s John William?”
“His grandpa took him home. He said he wanted to come here to see you, but he was not allowed.” She lowered her voice and leaned forward as though confiding a secret. “His grandpa was cross with him.”
“Was he now?”
The child gave a solemn nod.
“Well, perhaps he was in a hurry. Go and sit down by Mama, and I’ll bring your dinner.”
She ran off, and Evie smiled at Kathryn as she straightened. “John William is Will Townsend’s grandson,” she explained. “His parents died when he was an infant, and Will is raising him. He stays with Louisa during the day while his grandfather works at the mill.”
Kathryn worked under Evie’s direction by fetching half-full bowls from the tables and returning them full from the stove. The men who remained mumbled their thanks and she was the object of many bashful glances, though on the whole they seemed to have gotten over their initial enthusiasm at her presence and retreated into a communal shyness. Thank goodness for that. A quick smile or two was easy enough, and much preferable to the weighty stares of before.
When she set the final bowl on the corner table in front of Noah, Louisa aimed an entreaty at her. “Won’t you join us? You too, Evie,” she called across the room. “This table needs a stronger female presence. I feel like a trout in a salmon stream.”
Kathryn couldn’t help but return the infectious grin. She had already eaten and probably should return to the Faulkner House with the tray she promised to bring Miss Everett, but when Evie arrived at the table with the teapot and the cup she’d emptied earlier, what could she do but accept? Besides, the two men seated here, Noah and David Denny, were clearly leaders in Seattle. What they had to say about the possibility of an Indian attack would no doubt be vital information.
Evie slid into the chair beside her husband, and Louisa had already been seated at the opposite end of that side of the table with the little girl stationed between her and David. That left only the chairs on either side of Jason empty. Not a place she would have selected, had there been another choice. Embarrassment for fainting still itched beneath the calm surface she projected, and bordered on humiliation at the realization that she had come to in his arms. A distinctly uncomfortable position in which to awaken. Judging by the speed with which he had deposited her in the chair, he enjoyed the situation as little as she. Before sitting, she slid her chair slightly away from him to create a satisfactory distance between them.
This position placed her directly across the table from Louisa, whose smile became warm. “We haven’t been introduced. I am Louisa Denny, and this is Emily Inez. We just call her Inez.”
The child, who barely sat tall enough to see over her plate, paused with a dumpling on a miniature fork to flash a pair of appealing dimples. “Pleased to meet you.”
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Kathryn returned the little girl’s smile. “And you, Inez.” She looked up. “I am—”
“Kathryn Bergert, lately from San Francisco, and cousin to Madame Garritson.” Louisa displayed a set of dimples that matched her daughter’s. “I know all about you.”
“Madame is a distant cousin of my father’s,” Kathryn hurried to say, and then added, “By marriage.”
A look of understanding arose in the woman’s eyes. “I see.”
From the other end of the table, Evie gave her an astonished look. “How could you possibly know all that? I met her barely an hour ago.”
Louisa answered while spreading butter on a piece of bread. “Letitia.”
“Ah.”
The two women nodded at one another.
“Who is Letitia?” Kathryn asked. Since her arrival she had met no one but Madame.
“Letitia Coffinger.” She set down the butter knife. “She and her husband own the dry goods store next door. She saw Carter bringing you up from the docks, and as soon as she could, paid a visit to the Faulkner House. When she’d learned all she could from Madame, she came straight to my kitchen to relay what she’d heard. She’d barely been gone ten minutes before the messenger arrived bidding us to come here.” Her gaze slid to Jason. “I know a bit about you too, Mr. Gates, though not as much.”
“Small towns are the same the world over.” Though Kathryn did not turn her head, she spied a good-humored grin on his face out of the corner of her eye. “A good thing I haven’t been free with information to Madame.”
“Wise on your part, but extremely frustrating for those of us who rely on clothesline chatter for our news.”
“Clothesline chatter?” Noah snorted. “Gossip, you mean.”
She inclined her head. “If you insist.”
“Speaking of news.” He glanced over his shoulder at the nearest table, where the men were focused on their plates, and then went on in a lowered voice. “What do you make of this latest attack?”
David’s expression became grave. “It’s alarming, but not really surprising. If the report we heard is factual, those men over in Alki were tromping through the woods, exposed. They should have taken greater care.”
“But they had a man missing. They couldn’t sit back and do nothing.”
“Maybe if they’d taken a bigger posse they would have presented a more intimidating presence.” David shook his head, worry forming crevices on his brow. “After what we learned from Salmon Bay Curley, they should have been more cautious. We all should.”
Beside her, Jason posed the question she wanted to ask. “Who is Salmon Bay Curley?”
Balancing his fork on the rim of his plate, Noah provided the answer. “A Duwamish Indian friend of ours. Last year he told us he overheard some of the newcomers bragging about killing a white man and dumping his body in the forest over near Lake Union. We put together a search party and found the remains, or what was left of them. They apparently waylaid him in the woods, robbed, and murdered him. His skull was—”
His glance slid sideways to connect with Kathryn’s, whose horror had blossomed as the tale unfolded. Whatever he had been planning to say remained unvoiced.
He cleared his throat before continuing. “Anyway, we never found out who the fellow was. Probably a seaman from one of the San Francisco sailing vessels. Here in Seattle we’ve taken care not to venture too far alone since then.”
Louisa tore her bread in half and laid part on Inez’s plate. “That’s why we live in town now. We used to have a cabin in a peaceful clearing, but with David working all day long, Inez and I were alone most of the time.”
Kathryn didn’t bother to suppress a shudder. What kind of place had Papa sent her to?
“Are we safe here?” She glanced around the cabin, suddenly fearful. Would ferocious Indians attack them while they ate?
Evie leaned across the table to rest a hand on her arm. “Of course we are. We’ve never had any trouble in this vicinity. Why, we have Indian friends who live right here in town.”
“We do.” Though he agreed in words, David’s expression remained troubled. “But even those friends are starting to worry. I think we need to do something.”
Beside her, Jason leaned back in his chair. “What do you propose?”
“Yeah, Denny, what are you thinking?”
The voice came from the next table over. David turned his head to see who had spoken. Kathryn glanced around the room. Every eye was once again aimed in her direction, but this time she was not the focus of the men’s attention. They were all looking at David, waiting for his answer.
He twisted around in his chair to face the room. “A couple of us have been talking, tossing out ideas.”
A burly man seated near Big Dog slammed a fist on the table. “I say we strike first.”
“Yeah.” A flannel-clad blond near the door nodded. “Can’t stand the thought of sitting around waiting for one of their raiding parties to swarm the streets. We ought to go after ’em and show ’em we aren’t afraid.”
“Are you nuts?” Noah shook his head, disbelief etched on his features. “Didn’t you hear what happened to the posse from Alki? A man’s dead because they stormed into the forest looking for trouble.”
“They weren’t prepared like we’d be,” the blond answered.
Red stood and turned to look at the man. “They were armed, according to Lawson. Sounds pretty prepared.”
“Seems to me that’s what the Navy’s here for,” commented Big Dog. “If there’s any attacking to be done, shouldn’t they do it?”
Kathryn had been watching a battle play across Louisa’s face. Now she snapped upright. “I don’t believe what I’m hearing. How can you even consider attacking anyone? We’ve spent five years assuring our Indian friends that we are peaceful.” Her eyes flashed around the room, the fury in them belying her words. “And we are.”
David cleared his throat, and a respectful silence fell over the men. “I was thinking of something a little more defensive. Like building a blockhouse.”
Big Dog straightened. “You mean a fort?”
“A small one, yes, but big enough to shelter the townspeople, and sturdy enough to stand up to an attack. Something we can build quickly.”
“Where would we put it?” asked Red, settling back into his chair.
“Somewhere near enough for everyone to get to quickly,” said Noah. “What about the knoll at the foot of Cherry Street?”
Thoughtful nods around the room. Kathryn wanted to ask about the location, specifically how far it was from the Faulkner House, but she couldn’t bring herself to enter the conversation. This, after all, was a Seattle matter, and she was merely a visitor. Nor did she have any intention of being here long enough to see the completion of whatever fort they decided to build, unless they intended to have it finished by the time the next ship left for San Francisco.
“We’ll need a load of timber for that. It’ll take time to cut and mill that much.” Big Dog cast a cautious look at Jason. “That’s time away from our jobs.”
A quick glance over her shoulder revealed a carefully composed blank expression on the face of the mill’s new manager. Whatever thoughts lurked behind those taciturn eyes remained unknown except to him.
When she turned back toward the room, she intercepted a silent communication between Louisa and David. Louisa gave a nearly imperceptible nod, and her husband addressed the room.
“I have a large consignment of timber rafted down on the beach, waiting for transport to San Francisco. I think it’ll be enough.”
Noah leaned toward his friend. “But you’ve put in weeks of hard labor cutting that wood. Not to mention losing the sale means several hundred dollars of cash money out of your pocket.”
David rested an arm across the back of little Inez’s chair. A tender smile hovered around the corners of his mouth as he looked down on her silky curls. “What’s money compared to the safety of our families?” His glance swept the room. “Of our
town?”
Admiration flared within Kathryn. What a magnanimous gesture. If she were ever to find a man as unselfish and honorable as this one, she could actually see herself giving up her independence to marry him. Louisa was a lucky woman.
Lawson, the man who had brought the message that prompted this conversation, spoke from near the door. “When can we get started?”
Noah answered. “How about first thing in the morning?”
“What about our shifts down at the mill?” Red asked.
Big Dog shook his head, his expression solemn. “Yesler won’t like us slacking off there, even if the reason’s important.”
As one, the men turned toward Jason. Kathryn leaned slightly away from him so as not to get caught in the intensity of their stares. She could almost feel sorry for the poor man. He had not yet set foot inside the sawmill and already he was at the center of a potential controversy between his employer and the men he had been hired to lead.
“We’ll have to work around our other responsibilities, of course,” David said smoothly. “With all of us pitching in during our free time, we’ll make good progress.” He aimed an assuring nod at Jason.
Jason maintained his stoic expression for a long moment. The room grew quiet while he studied the man across from him. Finally, he dipped his head in a sign of agreement.
“I’m in,” he announced. “If someone will tell me where Cherry Street is, I’ll be there when I leave the mill tomorrow.”
A measure of tension evaporated from the room, and the men murmured approvingly to one another as they returned to their meals. Noah and David turned relieved smiles toward him, which let Kathryn know that they’d been concerned. Were they afraid he would oppose them?
A companionable silence fell over the table as everyone returned to their meals. She picked up her teacup and sipped the now-cool liquid. By throwing his lot in with the men in this room, Jason had been accepted into their company. Beyond that, he had apparently joined the ranks of the acknowledged leaders, David and Noah. Though she sat at the table beside them, Kathryn felt like an outsider, and was surprised to realize the feeling stung.
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