Simon moved her aside and stepped into the open alcove on their side of the door. He pressed his back against it and placed a foot on the wall opposite. With all his might he pushed backwards and finally whatever had been blocking them gave way and the door turned. He stumbled back, but righted himself and pushed the door around. Elizabeth was close behind.
They were in the entry hall now and the German could have gone in any direction, up or down the grand staircase, down one of the cabin halls or—
“Outside!” Elizabeth called as she ran over to the doorway to the promenade.
He didn’t ask how she knew; he just followed.
They ran out onto the covered deck and into the cold night sea air.
Simon looked up and down the deck and saw two men in the distance.
“This way,” he said and ran after them.
As he got closer, he could see that the German had Niels at gunpoint and was motioning for him to climb over the rail. It was clear that the choice was either do that or be shot.
Simon called out to them and they both turned. When the German did, Niels took advantage of the distraction and reached for the gun. They grappled for it, but the German was bigger, stronger. He bent Niels back over the railing, one hand struggling for control of the gun and the other pushing Niels’ head down and back. His feet were lifting off the deck. He was just about to flip over the side when Simon grabbed ahold of the German and yanked him back around.
Simon barely registered the feet flying past his face as Niels tumbled over the railing.
He heard Elizabeth scream right next to him and lunge forward.
The German’s face twisted into a grimace of anger, his normally pale skin bright red. Simon had hold of his gun arm, trying to keep it pointed away from the ship, but the man was unreasonably strong.
The German’s other hand wrapped around Simon’s throat and squeezed. Simon couldn’t pull it away without letting go of the gun hand.
“Hold on!”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Elizabeth leaning over the railing. Was she holding Niels up? Could she? She seemed to move farther over the railing. In that instant, Simon started to let go of the gun arm, to let go of everything, to grab on to her. Suddenly, something, a fist, he realized, collided solidly with the side of the German’s face.
It was enough to make him let go of Simon’s throat. Simon turned and saw Elizabeth helping Niels pull himself up.
The German recovered from the blow and turned the gun toward Niels. Someone grabbed onto the man’s shoulder at the same time Simon hit him square in the jaw with everything he was worth. It was apparently enough.
The German flipped back over the railing, the gun falling from his fingers, and both plunged into the icy water below.
“Blimey.”
Simon glanced over at Edmund who stood stunned at the railing before hurrying over to Elizabeth and Niels. Niels was clinging to one of the support beams that held the deck above, his feet struggling to find purchase on the large rivets on the side of the ship.
Elizabeth was halfway over the side, straddling the railing like she was riding a runaway horse, holding on to Niels as best she could.
Simon moved to the other side of the pole and grabbed Niels’ arm. Edmund eased Elizabeth out of the way and onto the deck and grabbed onto Niels’ other arm. Together they pulled him back up onto the ship.
All four of them stood there gasping for breath.
Simon took Elizabeth by the arms. “Are you all right?”
She nodded and swallowed.
“Thank you,” Niels said, still breathless, and then looked at Edmund. “All of you.”
“Shouldn’t we tell somebody about …” Edmund’s voice trailed off as he looked at the ocean streaming past below.
Niels looked nervously at Simon.
“It’s complicated.”
~~~
Simon stood staring at the cold, empty fireplace in their sitting room. The others had gone to bed over an hour ago and, despite his assurances to Elizabeth that he would be along shortly, he knew he wouldn’t. Even though the German was out of the way and no longer a threat, Simon wasn’t resting easy.
After rescuing Niels, they’d spent the next half hour trying to explain who they were without saying who they actually were. Although, to keep the confusion level to barely manageable, they did tell Edmund Niels’ real name. It meant nothing to him, but it was one less thing they had to lie about. The trickiest part was explaining why they were doing what they were doing without actually saying what they were doing. In the end, the only person who didn’t mind the convoluted mess of a conversation was Edmund.
Edmund asked a few questions, and no matter how little sense their explanations made, he believed them. There was enough truth in them, Simon supposed, to keep them from falling completely apart, but Edmund never tugged any loose thread, never probed deeply. He trusted them. If they said they were working for the government and that Niels needed to be kept safe, that was enough for him.
It wasn’t that he was simple-minded, far from it. He said he trusted his gut and his gut trusted them. It was that simple for him.
Simon envied him that. The only thing Simon was sure of with such unwavering conviction was sleeping in the next room; and, as he paused to listen, snoring.
He smiled to himself and moved to peek through the bedroom door.
Elizabeth lay curled on her side, sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of the maelstrom inside him. He’d been faced tonight with the question that haunted him before they’d left: What would he choose?
He’d been ready to let the German go to save her. Let everything go to save her. He would have if Edmund hadn’t intervened.
Elizabeth mumbled something in her sleep and rolled over. Simon eased the door so it was nearly closed again and started back over to the sofa. But he stopped midway. He didn’t want to sit. He needed to move, but he knew that if he did so here, it would invariably wake her.
Grabbing his coat, he quietly let himself out. He had no intention of going anywhere in particular and was wholly unsurprised to find himself on A Deck where so much had happened so few hours ago.
In his mind’s eye, he saw Elizabeth hanging from the railing, willing to sacrifice everything to save Niels.
“She’s far too good for me,” he said softly and leaned against the very same railing she’d clung to hours earlier.
“Couldn’t sleep either?”
Simon started to turn around, momentarily startled, but he knew that voice.
“Hello, Edmund.”
He turned back to watch the black water below.
Edmund came beside him and mimicked his pose. Simon glanced over at him and saw his brow furrowed in thought.
“I suppose you have questions.”
Edmund shook his head. “No, not about … It’s stupid.”
Simon straightened and faced him. “I doubt that.”
Edmund shook his head again and smiled almost embarrassed. “You really love her, don’t you?”
Simon frowned in confusion. “My wife? Yes.”
“I just thought …” Edmund said. “I don’t know, that rich people didn’t love each other as much as poor people or something. But …” He glanced over at Simon. “I told you it was stupid.”
Simon leaned back onto the railing. “People are people, Edmund. Rich or poor, the heart wants what it wants, doesn’t it?”
Edmund nodded thoughtfully.
“You’re not going to America just for a job, are you?” Simon asked.
Edmund gave a small laugh. “No.”
“A girl?”
He nodded.
“I thought as much. Not many men will risk everything for the possibility of a job when they already have a decent one. But for a woman …”
Edmund blushed. “Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “I quit my job. I left my family. I left my whole life. I’m crazy, right?”
“Just in love.” Simon smiled to himself. “
If the woman I loved were out there,” he said, looking out across the water, “I assure you, no ocean could keep me from her.”
He glanced over at Edmund. “So, if you’re crazy, you’re not alone.”
Edmund nodded and then grinned.
“How about fathers?” he said. “Clara’s isn’t crazy about me.”
“That can be more difficult,” Simon said, matching his smile. “But you’ll do all right, I think.”
“Yeah?”
Simon nodded.
They both stared out at the ocean.
“If you had a daughter, you’d be okay if I—”
Simon frowned. “Let’s not get carried away.”
Edmund laughed. “Right.”
He took a small necklace from his breast pocket. “Spent everything I had on this,” he said. “Do you think she’ll like it?”
Simon admired the simple locket and smiled. “I do.”
Edmund grinned and stuffed it back into his pocket. “I hope you’re right.”
They watched the water in silence for a few moments.
“It must be hard for you,” Edmund said. “All this dangerous government business and her right there in the mix.”
“It is.”
“Why do you do it?”
Simon asked himself that daily and the answer was always the same. “Because it’s the right thing to do. And it needs doing. And no force on earth can stop Elizabeth when someone needs help.”
Edmund smiled and seemed to understand. He nodded and then he turned to rest his back against the railing. As he did, his expression changed.
Simon followed his gaze. “What is it?”
There was nothing on the deck but stacks of folded deck chairs.
Edmund shook his head and narrowed his eyes. “I just remembered where. I thought I’d seen that man before, but—”
“Where, what? What man?”
“Where I’d seen that man before, the German,” Edmund said, his eyes shining with excitement.
Simon stood up straight.
“I didn’t say anything before because I wasn’t sure. But … It was in the reception room. He was talking to someone. I couldn’t see who it was, but they gave him something.”
Simon’s entire being tensed. “What?”
Edmund shook his head. “I don’t know. I couldn’t see much. The person he was talking to had his back to me. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I was—”
“But you did see our man? With someone else?” Simon asked, his stomach tightening. “You’re sure?”
Edmund gave it some thought but nodded. “I’m sure.”
“Dammit.”
Simon started back toward the doorway.
“What’s wrong?” Edmund asked, as he trailed after him.
“We thought the German was working alone, but if you saw him talking to someone else …?”
“Then he has a partner?”
“And Niels is still in danger.”
Chapter Fourteen
ELIZABETH RINSED HER MOUTH and stared at her pale reflection. She looked sick. She felt sick. She’d been sick.
Another wave of nausea came and she splashed cold water on her face to try to push it back down. At first, she’d been sure it was just seasickness, but she’d never suffered from that before and the movement of the ship was almost imperceptible.
Then she’d decided she’d picked up a bug, but now she wasn’t so sure. Actually, she was pretty dang sure she’d picked up something, but it wasn’t the flu.
Something inside her, some little voice, had known all along what was happening, only she hadn’t listened. But this morning, when she’d felt yet another tidal wave of nausea and realized she was another day late, she knew.
And she wanted to cry.
What should have been the most wonderful moment of her life was the most frightening. She wasn’t responsible for just her own life anymore or for Niels’. In that instant, with that realization, everything changed. She understood Simon’s dilemma in a way she hadn’t before.
When he’d come back into their room late last night and woken her, he’d told her everything Edmund had said, what they’d realized it meant. What he didn’t tell her was why he’d been up in the first place, but she knew. She knew the internal struggle he was having. His expression, no matter how inscrutable to everyone else, was an open book to her. And now she understood his anxiety in a way she hadn’t before.
She’d thought about this moment so many times in the last few months and how wonderful it would be. Now that it was here, she felt paralyzed. All she wanted to do was share this with Simon, but now she wasn’t sure she should. He was already under pressure pushing him to breaking; if he knew she was pregnant ….
He’d probably try to send her away, to use the watch and key and go as far from here as she could. And, God help her, she’d be tempted. But she couldn’t leave him. She couldn’t leave Niels. There were the thousands upon thousands of lives that might be lost if Niels died. She couldn’t live with herself if she let that happen. But could she live with herself if she lost her child trying?
A new sort of sickness took root in the pit of her stomach and tears joined the water running down her cheeks.
A knock on the bathroom door startled her.
“All right in there?”
She sniffled and scrubbed away her tears with the palms of her hands. “Fine! I’m going to take a quick bath.”
“All right. We’ll be up on the top deck.”
“Okay!” she said, hoping she sounded normal. Although what normal was anymore she didn’t know.
She took a bath and managed to pull herself together. It was only a few days, she told herself. She could keep the secret that long.
She left the bathroom and picked out some clothes from the wardrobe. She laid her dress on the bed and saw that a small, beautiful bouquet of flowers was on her pillow. The petals were small and delicate and a deep, rich blue, almost purple.
She brought them up to her nose and inhaled. They smelled almost like vanilla. Where had he found them? She smiled and put the small bundle on the nightstand.
He might not even know what was wrong, but he knew how to make her feel better.
She dressed and hurried up to the Boat Deck. She found Niels, Edmund, Simon and Dr. Hass standing by one of the lifeboats chatting. Simon kissed her cheek as she joined them.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
He looked confused.
She smiled at him and the words nearly came tumbling out. They sat perched on the end of her tongue waiting to be said. Somehow, barely, she managed not to say them.
“I am going for a late breakfast,” the doctor said. “Would any of you like to join me?”
They all declined and he said his goodbyes.
“He seems like a good man,” Niels said.
“Most of them do,” Simon said. “We can’t rule anyone out at this point, though.” He looked at Edmund. “Can you remember anything else about this other man?”
He shook his head. “I wasn’t paying much attention.”
Simon frowned deeply and sighed.
“I’m sorry,” Edmund added.
“No, no. You’ve helped us tremendously already.”
“I’d like to help more,” he said.
“We don’t even know what or who we’re dealing with.”
“Someone wants to kill,” Edmund started then lowered his voice, “do away with our friend here.” He jerked a thumb toward Niels. “I look after my friends. Look, I know I’m not a professional, but I’m good in a fight.”
And thank God he was, Elizabeth thought. He’d saved their bacon last night. As guilty as she felt about involving him, she was glad to have any help she could at this point.
“Being friends with us can be … dangerous,” she said.
He nodded soberly. “But you say he’s important.” He nodded toward Niels.
“He is,” Simon said.
“Everyone but me
seems to think so,” Niels added.
“It’s enough that they do.” Edmund looked at Elizabeth and then Simon.
“We’re dealing with very dangerous people, Edmund,” Elizabeth said. “Are you sure you want to be involved?”
“It’s the right thing to do, isn’t it? Something that needs doing?”
He glanced at Simon and something she didn’t understand passed between them.
“Yes,” Elizabeth said.
He smiled. “Then we’d better find out who our mystery man is before he tries to bump off old ‘Nicky’ again.”
He clapped Niels on the shoulder.
“That is one way to put it,” Niels said.
“All we have to do now,” Simon said, “is figure out which of the over two thousand people on board it is.”
“We know it’s a man, so that cuts it down some.”
Simon’s face was flat. “Yes, make that one thousand.”
“Where did you see him?” Elizabeth asked. “Maybe if we go there, it’ll jog your memory.”
Edmund agreed to try and they all went down to D Deck and the First Class reception room outside of the dining area.
“He was over there.” Edmund pointed to a corner of the room. “I came to listen to the music. A little highbrow for my taste, but the piano player was good.”
“Yes,” Simon said, impatiently, “and the two men?”
Edmund led them over to the corner sofa. “The German fella was sitting there. The other one was here in the chair.”
“With his back to you?” Simon looked back over at the piano. “And you were over there?”
Edmund nodded. He hadn’t been far away from them, maybe twenty feet.
“All right, good. Just try to remember. Anything could be helpful. Was it crowded?”
“Not really. There was a couple over there and a bunch on the other side.”
“And you couldn’t hear anything?”
He shook his head. “The music was too loud.”
“All right,” Simon said, trying to lead him through his memory. “But you noticed him?”
“His face. It was different.”
“Creepy,” Elizabeth supplied.
Voyage in Time: The Titanic (Out of Time #9) Page 13
