Miss Anna's Frigate

by Jens Kuhn

  Reeman’s eyes widened. “So how did they do it?”

  “There are basically two ways. You can saw yourself a canal right through the ice. But then you need special ice saws which we do not have.”

  “And the other way?”

  “You blast your way through it.”

  Reeman startled. “You mean with gunpowder?”

  “Exactly. Mr. Reeman. And of that, we have plenty, do we not?”

  Reeman nodded.

  “However,” the captain continued. “As the ice here is much less thick, there might just be a third way...”

  “And that would be, sir?”

  Baker smiled mysteriously. “I’d rather think about it a little more first.”

  Anna arrived at the Kuhlins’ house only one hour after they had sent the messenger. Of course, the message hadn’t said anything about her needing to come right away, merely a notion about Tapper’s predicament and if she might have any idea about how he could proceed with the matter. However, Anna being who she was, found her curiosity stirred to such a degree that she decided to go herself.

  “I haven’t been doing anything useful for all these weeks,” she had said to Eric, who had flinched at her words like he had been hit. Anna had kissed him then, deeply, until she had felt him relax. “I did not mean it that way, darling,” she had explained. “Of course being with you has been wonderful and I would not have wanted to do anything else.”

  He had smiled warily then, knowing what she would say.

  “But I am not made for domestic bliss only, Eric. I need to feel more alive than that.”

  “Do I not make you feel alive?” He had asked.

  She had sighed and held his face between her hands.

  “Don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be, darling. I love you more than anyone. But I cannot give up this other life of mine. I need to be myself.”

  Eric had sighed, too, then. “I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t want to lose you.”

  “You will never lose me.” She had kissed him again then. “I’ll be back soon enough.”

  At the Kuhlins’ house Anna was welcomed warmly and served coffee with a tot as well as Tapper’s story.

  “I want to meet your girlfriend, Tapper,” she said finally. “I need her to describe these men in as much detail as possible.”

  “Do you think you might know who they are?” Charlotte asked.

  “Perhaps. It’s really quite far fetched, but I have observed two men at our inn lately who, well, let’s say I think they behaved suspiciously.”

  Tapper coughed suddenly, looking embarrassed.

  “What is it, bosun?” Anna asked.

  “Eh, sorry, Miss. Do you want to meet her, like right now?”

  “As soon as possible, I think.”

  Tapper blushed deeply under his beard.

  “Out with it, Tapper!” Commander Kuhlin said. “Is there a problem? Don’t you know where to find her or what?”

  Tapper cleared his throat. “Of course I know where to find her, sir. It’s just that...”

  Anna laughed. “Oh, bosun, I see. She is at work isn’t she?”

  Tapper nodded, looking at the floor.

  “Perfect!” Anna exclaimed. “A visit to the sauna is just the right thing in this cold. Come on, Tapper!”

  “Now, bosun, tell me, how did you meet this girl, what’s her name?” Anna asked on the way to the bathing house.

  “Karin.” Tapper was still embarrassed by all of this and he nearly regretted having gone to Kuhlin with this matter. It was always like this in the navy – if you volunteered for anything at all, you could consider yourself lucky if you came out of it alive. However, in this special case it was not so much his life that was in danger but his sense of decency. Which perhaps was uncommonly well developed for a petty officer.

  He looked at Anna and realized she was still waiting for an answer. “Eh, well I didn’t meet her at the sauna if that’s what you’re thinking.” He said at last.

  Anna smiled at him. “I am not thinking anything at all. I am just curious.”

  Tapper took at deep breath. “She is a friend of a friend of mine’s daughter.”

  “Ah.” Anna said. “I see, there is nothing to be embarrassed about then, is it?”

  “No.”

  “So why are you embarrassed?”

  Tapper stopped walking and looked at her. “Look, miss. I am not embarrassed about her, or her working at the sauna. It’s not that.”

  “So what is it then, bosun?”

  “It’s just that...damn it. I haven’t been that intimate with her yet! And now I am supposed to see her there like – you know what they are wearing. And then you...”

  Anna tried not to laugh. “What about me?”

  Tapper blushed. “Yeah, what are you going to wear?”

  She was laughing now. “You are not supposed to wear anything in a sauna, Tapper.”

  Suddenly he laughed as well. “That’s the problem.”

  “Don’t worry, Tapper. You will be fine.”

  “I doubt it,” he muttered but continued to walk.

  When they arrived at the bathing house, Anna turned towards him. “You know, bosun, you don’t have to go inside if you don’t want to. I can do this alone perfectly well. I’ll just ask for her and introduce myself.”

  Tapper hesitated. “No, miss. I am going in.”

  “You want to see her as well, don’t you?” She smiled at him, her eyes glittering.

  They paid their fee to an old woman sitting behind the door. Anna paid extra for some towels and then they entered. First they came to a room that contained wooden benches and shelves along the walls. Some of them held other customers’ clothes, but most were empty. They hung their coats on wooden pegs under the shelves and then Anna started to take off her dress. Tapper turned to face the wall and fumbled with his breeches.

  “Don’t be shy, bosun,” he heard her say with a chuckle. “You will see it later anyway.”

  Tapper turned then and saw her standing naked, smiling at him. Her breasts really are big, he thought, fighting down another blush. But he realized, almost with relief, that he could look at her like this without a problem. Probably because she wasn’t the type of woman he liked best. While her face was more pretty than beautiful, her body was truly delightful – if you liked a woman with lots of curves, hills and ravines. She looked soft and something about her made him want to touch all that flesh. But then he thought about the thin, slender body of the girl who would be inside, his Karin, and that made him smile and hurry with the removal of his own clothes.

  They entered the sauna proper. The hot humid air pushed against them heavily and made them gasp as they came through the door. Anna’s eyes started to tear and she closed them to blink away the moisture. There were only two other customers in the room and they weren’t those they were looking for. Two sauna girls were there as well.

  Tapper saw Karin directly. She was sitting on the lowest bench, a wooden bucket of water at her feet. She was very short and slender with a body almost like a boy’s, except for her waist and hips and small perky breasts. Her face was round with pale blue, almost grayish eyes. Her hair was blond and thin and because it was wet it lay plastered against her cheeks and neck. She wore the usual thin linen dress which clung tightly to her body because of the moisture. To Tapper she looked positively lovely.

  When she saw the new customers enter, she got up to greet them. Recognizing Tapper, she blushed deeply and gasped. “Oh.”

  It was first now, that Tapper realized what she must be thinking, seeing him enter with another woman. A naked woman. He suddenly felt completely at a loss. It was Anna who had to save him. She smiled at the young girl in front of her and said: “You must be Karin? Our bosun here has told me so much about you. Now I see why he likes you so much.”

  Karin blushed deeper but stood silent, clearly not knowing what to do with this situation.

  “May we sit down with you?” Anna continued. />
  “I suppose so...” Karin looked at Tapper, who still stood like frozen. Anna followed the girl’s gaze and put her hand on Tapper’s arm. “Come on bosun, try to relax, will you.”

  Tapper moved slowly towards the bench, his eyes all on the sauna girl. “I’m sorry to burst in here like this,” he finally managed to say.

  Karin raised an eyebrow. “You were to see your commander, were you not?” She said sceptically.

  “So he did, and the commander asked for my help,” Anna explained.

  Karin still looked unbelieving.

  “You see,” Tapper started, but then his voice faltered and he clutched at the towel he had placed in his lap so it would cover what now apparently was stirring after all. “God, you are so lovely!”

  Karin, brightening, smiled at him. “It’s just the heat, Carl, it’s how I look at work...”

  “But I mean it, dear, I wouldn’t want you otherwise, ever!” He blushed. “I could stay here all day, just looking at you.”

  Karin laughed. “You know, I wouldn’t mind it, actually, what with all the women you seem to know quite intimately...”

  Anna chuckled. “Actually, Karin, seeing the way he looks at you, I think you could put him into a Botticelli painting and he would still only notice you.”

  “Botti..what?” Karin looked bewildered.

  “Never mind, dear. My name is Anna by the way. And the commander really asked me to help in this little matter of yours.”

  “But you are...are you saying you are some sort of police?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “She’s a spy, Karin.” Tapper said, keeping his voice low, although the room was big enough for them not to be overheard.

  The girl looked at Anna. “Are you, really?”

  “Well. Let’s say I have been conducting a little cloak-and-dagger business before.”

  Karin widened her eyes. “I’d never known that there could be female spies!”

  “You have no idea.” Anna smiled at her.

  “And is that how you met? You and the commander and Carl?” With the first shock having died down, the girl’s curiosity had finally taken over.

  “Yes,” Tapper said. “She was, well, a passenger on our boat for a while last summer.”

  “So, please, Karin,” said Anna finally. “Would you care to describe the two men you told the bosun about as thoroughly as you can?”

  Chapter 10 – Complications

  The king, of course, was continuously briefed about the unrest in his country. The problem only was that he did not care very much about it. Living quite in another reality altogether, one that was dominated by thoughts of him successfully battling the dominance of Bonaparte – as well as the design of new fancy uniforms and medals for his starving troops, he neither saw the danger closing in on him nor made any real plans to counteract it.

  In fact, Gustavus Adolphus could not imagine his loyal subjects even thinking of such a thing as replacing him. Let alone his officers. Thus it wasn’t after the news of the military coup at Karlstad reached the capital that countermeasures started to be discussed.

  First of all, the police were to seek out and question certain people who were thought to be capable of pulling off such a horrendous plot. There being quite a lot of possible suspects, this was, however, a strenuous task, and one that held very little hope of leading to any results before it would be too late.

  So the king needed a second plan of action. He still did have loyal troops. Döbeln’s coastal army for one thing, but the general was very much occupied with defending the Åland islands against the Russians. Other troops were further south, at Norr-köping, a little less than 130 miles from the capital. With Karlstad being more than twice as far away, there was still time. Adlersparres mutinous troops would need at least two weeks to march to Stockholm, probably longer in this weather.

  However, there were lots of potential mutineers in the capital as well. And the king wasn’t safe until he could be sure of the loyalty of all the officers in his vicinity. Thus, it was probably better for him to travel to Norrköping in person in order to make a stand there.

  But could he just leave the capital without admitting defeat?

  Anna Wetterstrand paced restlessly across the room while Eric af Klint sat on the bed watching her. He was not at all happy with this situation, but he knew he must hold his tongue or he would lose her. Knowing this did not make it any easier, though. It wasn’t as much the thought of what she could be doing if she took up her clandestine activities again. Things like letting other men touch her. He sort of could accept that, or so he thought, as long as he knew that it was him she loved. No, it was the danger she was going to get herself into again. The possibility that she could be hurt, or die. And the fact that he could do absolutely nothing about it.

  Anna stopped walking and looked at him. “Eric, darling, please stop frowning like that or you will get permanent wrinkles.”

  That made him laugh. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  Anna sat down next to him on the bed and took his hand in hers. “I know this isn’t easy for you, Eric. But...”

  “I know.” Eric lifted her hand to his face and brushed it lightly with his lips. “I knew from the beginning that you would...” he hesitated. “...start spying again.”

  “It’s what I can do to help in this war. To help the king.”

  “I know,” Eric said again. “And I would not want you not to, really. Not for me...or us.”

  “Eric, I understand if you...”

  “No.” Eric let go off her hand and cupped her face in his hands instead. “I love you, Anna. Whatever you do, I always will. You do what you need to do and I will be there for you. Now or later. Whenever you need me.”

  He saw her eyes fill with moisture.

  “I love you, too, Eric. And soon this war will be over.” Her voice was throaty with emotion.

  Eric kissed her then, softly first, but when he felt her mouth opening to him in response he drew her closer and drowned in her warmth, her moistness and her flesh. As he always did.

  “What are you going to do?” he asked her later. They were lying on the bed, holding each other loosely as if they wanted to hold on to the touch of each other a little longer.

  Anna sighed. “I’m not sure. I am certain the two officers Karin eavesdropped on in the sauna are the same ones which have been sitting down here in the dining room these last few days.”

  “But they are only low ranking officers,” af Klint said. “They can’t be dangerous to the king.”

  “No. At least not as long as they don’t just shoot him or something.” Anna agreed. “But they might lead me to someone a little higher up.”

  Eric lifted an eyebrow, quite satisfied with his moderate reaction. “Are you going to seduce one of them?”

  Anna giggled and started to stroke his back. “Actually I was thinking of just following them. Or have them followed. I think I am going to try and find one of my old contacts.”

  Eric liked that. “Good. I’d be a lot calmer if you weren’t in this all on you own.”

  Anna smiled. It wasn’t as easy as that, however. She could not really be sure which of her old contacts still were loyal to the king, or if they’d started to side with the coup makers.

  “It’s not even sure they will be eating here tonight,” she said after a while.

  “So are you hungry? Because I am starved.”

  It was, however, bosun Carl Tapper who eventually followed the two young officers while Anna and Eric ate their dinner without even getting a glimpse of the potential traitors. The bosun had stayed behind at the bathing house after Anna had left, stayed behind, as Karin lovingly had put it, to be thoroughly taken care of as well as to be rid of that monstrous beard of his.

  “But it keeps me warm at sea, the beard does,” Tapper tried, although he knew he did not stand a chance.

  Karin only smiled at him while she rubbed the wet sponge softly over his chest. He was sitting in a tub of warm
water, feeling positively blissful. The young woman leaned over him, her head only inches from his face. He could see her small firm breasts through the thin cloth of her wet dress.

  “You smell very sweet,” he said. Then he blushed.

  She brushed his ear with her lips and whispered, “just wait until you get to taste me.” Watching him blush deeper yet, she moved back only to return with a shaving knife. “So let’s see how you really look.”

  She had just finished shaving him and was admiring his clean face when Dillquist and Winther entered and sat down on the wooden bench nearest the stove.

  “Look,” Karin whispered, her face very close to Tapper’s. “Here they are.”

  Tapper turned his head slowly as to kiss the side of her neck while he watched the two officers. They were too far away to be overheard, still Tapper spoke in a low voice as well. “We cannot send anyone to Anna, can we?”

  Karin shook her head. “You could go, perhaps, but who knows how long they’ll stay here? You might miss them.”

  “Do you think I should try to follow them when they leave?”

  “I think that’s what Anna would have done.”

  Tapper chuckled. “I think she’d rather tried to seduce them right here.”

  Karin’s eyes widened. “She would?”

  Tapper nodded. “She hasn’t much shame she doesn’t.” He watched her expression change.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  Karin hesitated. “Carl, I shouldn’t ask...but...,” she blushed.

  “You want to know if I..?” Tapper smiled at her. “I haven’t. But I know others of my boat’s crew who have...”

  “Oh. But doesn’t it bother the gunner? They are together now aren’t they?”

  Tapper considered this. “I am not sure,” he said ultimately. “I think it might bother him some. But I guess he just loves her...”

  “Do you love me, Carl?”

  “Aye,” answered Tapper, realizing that he really did. “Aye, I do.”

  Two hours later Dillquist and Winther left, followed by Tapper, who felt all spongy after having been in the sauna for so long. He still wasn’t sure if this spy business was a good idea, but neither he or Karin had been able to think up a better plan of action. So follow them he did, trying to keep as great a distance between them and himself as possible. It helped that it was dark outside, the street only being lit by the occasional lantern above a door or a glowing window.