by Kris Tualla
After several days Selby pulled Nikolai aside. “Would you like to take a walk? It’s a beautiful day.”
“On the arm of such a beauty, how can I say no?” he teased.
Stepping out the front door, Selby suggested Nikolai take the lead. “I have no idea where I am,” she laughed. “Show me Arendal.”
Wife and father-in-law strolled away from town and around the back of the estate. Nikolai started the conversation with, “Why did you want to talk to me alone?”
Selby chuckled. “I can see where Teigen gets his astute observation skills.”
“It’s about Matilda,” he ventured. “Isn’t it.”
“Yes.” Selby sighed. “Teigen is really worried. Has he said anything to you?”
Nikolai shook his head. “No. Not directly.”
“Can you tell me?” Selby asked gently, adding, “I won’t tell him if you don’t want me to.”
“There’s no secret, really. The doctor says it’s a combination of worry over the boys and inadequate foods.”
Selby smiled inwardly at the reference to Tor and Teigen as the boys. She’d never seen a pair of such manly men.
“Tor is safe in America, isn’t he?”
“For now.” Nikolai rubbed his brow. “But if the American soldiers learn to ski well enough, they will come back and fight the Germans.”
Selby’s heart sank. “And Tor will fight with them.”
“Everyday she prays that the war will end before that happens.” Nikolai cleared his throat. “I—I do, too.”
“As will I,” Selby offered. “But Teigen is relatively safe here in Norway.”
Nikolai scoffed. “So we thought. Until he was arrested and sent to die in that labor camp so far north that no one even knew where it was!”
True. “But he didn’t die.”
“We couldn’t know he would survive and be released,” Nikolai reminded her. “We thought it would kill him.”
Selby and Nikolai walked in silence for a few minutes.
“What can we do?” she finally asked.
“She needs meat. Beef, pork, chicken.” Nikolai lifted his hands in the same helpless gesture that Teigen often made. “But the Nazis take it all. They come to the farms and make notes of how many piglets are born, and then come back later when they’re grown to take them away.”
He heaved a frustrated sigh. “Sure, we try to hide some, but it’s hard to make a pig or a cow invisible. They must have shelter, they can’t be left out in the cold.”
“It’s that way everywhere…” The realization that she and Teigen would no longer enjoy the perks of living in well-stocked hotels punched her in the gut. “Our lives are certainly going to change now that the troupe has disbanded.”
The pair had circled the Hansen estate. Nikolai stopped and gazed up at the circular Viking tower. “This very spot has been our home for a thousand years.”
“Tor will come back.” It was as much a prayer as a statement.
Nikolai rubbed his forehead again. “I don’t know…”
Selby laid her hand on his arm. “Have faith, Pappa.”
“It’s not that…” Nikolai winced a little. “I’m not sure he wants to.”
Selby frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I love my son. And I couldn’t be prouder of him.” Nikolai’s face brightened. “Did you know that before the war he made the Olympic ski team?”
Selby smiled. “I do.”
Nikolai’s expression dimmed again. “He’s the type of man who gets restless, though. Always the first to act. Never foolishly, don’t misunderstand me. He’s a smart man. But he doesn’t have that same steady determination that Teigen does.”
“You want Teigen to inherit Hansen Hall.” The startling realization shocked her. “Am I right?”
Nikolai looked pained. “I can’t do that to Tor.”
Selby pressed her lips together and considered the situation. “Maybe after the war and Tor comes home, you could ask him what he thinks.”
Nikolai nodded slowly. “Yes. I should do that.” He turned his attention back to Selby. “Would Teigen take it?”
Selby’s heart lurched with sudden hope. To live here and truly become part of an ancient and honorable family would turn a dream, one which she never thought to dream, into reality.
“I’d make him,” she declared. “What better place to start a family—s-someday?”
Selby felt the blush her own words prompted. Someday. She promised Teigen that at the least.
Nikolai chuckled. “I’m glad we had this talk, Selby.”
She took her father-in-law’s arm and they walked toward the front door of the big house. “So am I, Pappa.”
*****
Teigen followed a rumor and was eventually able to talk a farmer into giving up one of his newly weaned piglets. If his father could manage to hide the animal until it was fully grown then his mother would have the meat her body needed.
He and Ben spent three days building a pen deep in the woods under an outcropping of rock. They even transplanted several pine saplings to further hide the pen’s presence.
“That’s the best we can do.” Teigen clapped dirt from his hands. “I hope it works.”
Until then, the chicken he bought his parents would provide them with eggs. And live in the wooden coop Teigen and Ben built and tucked inside the ancient chapel in the medieval section of the house.
“Sorry, Rydar. Sorry, Grier. It’s just temporary,” Teigen said to the oldest graves in the stone room as he carried straw inside and spread it over the centuries-old floor. “I’m sure you would do the same under the circumstances.”
Selby found him there. “We need to leave soon or we’ll miss the boat.”
“I know.” He looked at his wife. “But I hate to leave them.”
“We’ll be back,” she assured him. “Maybe someday to stay.”
Teigen found that surprising. “Would you want to live here?”
Selby shrugged. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens. Right now, we need to win a war. We can’t make any real plans until that’s accomplished.”
Teigen walked to the doorway and wrapped his wife in his arms, resting his chin on her head as he usually did. “Do you know how much I love you?”
“Not as much as I love you.”
“We’re going to get through this,” he whispered. “All of this.”
April 9, 1944
Bergen, Norway
“Bergen is starting to feel like home to me,” Teigen said as their ship sailed into the harbor. “So much has happened here.”
“It’s going to be odd not to be at the hotel.” Selby looked up at him. “Is Falko taking us to the flat?”
“He said so.” Teigen’s gaze combed the crowd waiting for the boat. “I think I see him.”
“There are more German ships than last time.” Selby shuddered visibly.
Teigen glanced at the trio of SS officers standing about twenty feet away. “Careful.”
Selby followed his gaze. She grunted her disdain but didn’t say anything else.
Falko met the trio at the bottom of the gangway. He hugged Selby and shook Ben and Teigen’s hands. “On to new adventures, eh?”
Selby looked sad. “We are, I’m afraid.”
Falko stepped back and considered Ben. “Have you grown, boy?”
Ben blushed. “Yep.”
He had. He was six feet tall at least.
“Keeping him fed is our biggest challenge,” Teigen teased. “I’m going to have to get a second job.”
“Speaking of that.” Falko motioned for them to follow him. They hefted their suitcases—Teigen carrying his own and his wife’s—and trailed along behind Falko. He didn’t continue speaking until there weren’t any Nazis in earshot. “We’re raising your salary.”
“Really?” Teigen glanced at Selby. “That’s good news, but why?”
“Because now that the troupe isn’t buying your room and board, you’ll have to be able to
afford that on your own.” He gave Teigen a pensive glance. “But you getting a job of some sort is a good cover.”
“What about me?” Selby asked.
“You’re the wife.” Falko shrugged. “That’s your cover.”
“Will I get a raise?”
Falko looked like she was pointing a gun at him. “Um…”
“I’m a lieutenant! He’s just a sergeant!”
Falko cringed. “He’s been promoted.”
Selby stopped still. “What?”
Falko threw up his hands in surrender. “It was Helgesen’s decision. Please don’t kill the messenger.”
“That’s not fair!” she stormed. “I want to have a word with him.”
Teigen understood Selby’s anger, but honestly her situation had changed—she was a married woman with a husband who was responsible for taking care of her. And now that the troupe was disbanded they were on their own and waiting for new assignments.
“Let’s all calm down for the moment,” he said gently. “We’ll get everything sorted out in time. But first, we do need to know where we’re sleeping tonight.”
Selby made a face at him but didn’t reply.
Falko looked like a man who dodged a bullet. “It’s not much farther.”
He started walking again. Selby stomped behind him with her arms crossed. Teigen glanced at Ben who looked as startled as Falko.
“There’s a boarding house that only houses resistance members so conversation there is safe. Bennett and Dahl already have rooms there.” Falko glanced over his shoulder. “Bennett is expecting Ben to stay with him, if that’s all right with you.”
Ben grinned. “That’s great!”
“Good. Saves you some money, Hansen.” Falko ran up the wooden steps in front of the narrow four-story row house. “Here we are.”
The house was clean and sparingly furnished. A sturdy middle-aged woman with ruddy cheeks rushed out of the kitchen, drying her hands on an embroidered towel.
Falko smiled. “This is Gunnhild. She’s the owner of the house.”
Introductions were quickly made and Gunnhild led them up to the second floor. “This room is for Mister and Missus Hansen. The boy is on the third floor with the single men. The attic is for storage.”
Teigen stepped inside and set their suitcases down. He looked at Selby, who seemed to have calmed down some. “What do you think?”
*****
Selby walked to the middle of the room and turned in a slow circle, trying to focus on the room and not the recent news.
Everything was neat and looked clean. Instead of a closet, there was a large old-fashioned pine wardrobe, painted with traditional Norwegian designs. A six-drawer dresser—also painted—stood on one side of the big iron bed, and a three-drawer nightstand was on the other. Two upholstered chairs completed the furnishings.
Selby looked back at Gunnhild. “The bathroom?”
“You have a toilet and sink through that door. The tub and shower are down the hall.”
I have been spoiled.
Selby forced a smile past that realization. “Thank you. This will do nicely.”
“I’m going to go get Ben settled,” Teigen said. “Do you want to come up?”
Gunnhild put up an imperious hand. “Sorry. No women are allowed on the third floor.”
“That answers that.” Selby was actually glad to hear the rule. “I’ll start unpacking.”
Once she was alone, Selby grumbled about the unfairness of Major Helgesen’s decisions. She jammed hangers into her blouses and shoved them onto the wardrobe’s rail. She yanked drawers open and stuffed her sweaters into them.
She slowed her pace when she started placing her lingerie into the drawers. The silk was too delicate and rare to risk damaging it.
She carried her train case into the small bathroom and started placing her toiletries on one of the shelves. The idea of sharing a tub and shower with strangers wasn’t a pleasant one after three years of rarified hotel living, but it was one she needed to get used to.
Besides, after I meet the other occupants of this floor, they won’t be strangers anymore.
“Selby?”
“In here.” She set the last jar of face cream on the shelf and closed the lid on her case. Teigen’s face appeared in the doorway. “Did you get Ben settled?”
“I did.” He peered at her. “Are you all right?”
Selby blew through her lips. “No. But I will be.”
Teigen stepped aside and let her pass. “Are you unpacked?”
“I am.” She set her empty train case beside her empty suitcase and faced her tall husband. “Can you please put these on top of the wardrobe?”
He obliged easily. “Did you leave me any room?”
That made her laugh. “Of course. You don’t have a lot of clothes, but the clothes you do have are huge.”
“True.” Teigen smiled at her. “By the way, we’re having supper with Dahl, Bennett, and Falko tonight. Helgesen’s treat.”
Selby wrinkled her nose. “Well the man’s done one thing right.” She opened the door of the wardrobe. “Welcome home, husband. Do you want help unpacking?”
Chapter
Forty
During supper in the private dining room of a nearby hotel Falko filled them in on the latest Milorg news. “Estimates claim seventy thousand men have gone into hiding to avoid Quisling’s draft.”
Teigen wagged his head at the number. “I knew some men would bolt, but had no idea it would be so many. I assume Milorg’s seeing that they’re fed and housed?”
“Yep.” Falko flashed a wry grin. “It’s a good thing King Harald made it out with the treasury when Hitler invaded. Not all the governments-in-exile were so quick to act.”
“Exactly,” Dahl concurred. “We don’t have to worry about funds. Just about getting them back into the country.”
Teigen lifted his glass—water with a drop or two of aquavit. “A toast to the Shetland Bus.”
“We have more new resistance volunteers than we know what to do with, at the moment,” Dahl said after they drank. “But we’re coming up with ideas.”
“What kind of ideas?” Selby asked.
“The Linge men working with Gunnar Sønsteby are doing sabotage raids around Oslo. We could do things like that around Bergen.” Dahl looked at Selby and frowned. “Did we meet him?
She shook her head. “No, we met Jens Hauge.”
“Oh. Right.”
“There’s another option that a lot of men are choosing. Harald’s created a new Norwegian police force and they’re training in England. For cleaning up the country after the war.” Falko finished off his glass of watered aquavit.
“He hopes Hitler will be defeated?” Bennett asked. “Or he knows?”
“The evil bastard’s been fighting for five years and he’s losing ground,” Teigen answered. “I think we can all see how this ends. We just can’t see when.”
“As long as he doesn’t get the atomic bomb,” Selby murmured. “God help us if he does.”
“And—” Dahl pointed his fork at the supper group. “Hopefully he doesn’t do even more damage once he realizes he’s going down.”
Falko pressed his lips into a grim line. “We just need to keep fighting. In any way we can.”
“Can I go to England and join the police?” Ben asked.
Teigen looked at the youth, surprised. “I thought you wanted to be an artist.”
“I can do both.”
Falko shrugged. “Sorry, kid, but you have to be eighteen.”
“My papers say I am. Almost.”
Teigen put down a metaphorical foot. “No. You’re going back to your real identity when this is over, remember?”
Ben’s brow twitched uncertainly. “Do I have to?”
Selby’s jaw dropped. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“Because…” Ben looked like a trapped rat. “I—I don’t want to leave you.”
Teigen grabbed Ben’s hand. “You’re not going any
where, do you understand? You’re stuck with us.”
Ben’s wide eyes were fixed on Teigen’s but he said nothing.
“Your name may change from Hansen back to Isaksen, but you’ll always be part of our family.” Teigen squeezed Ben’s hand. “Unless you decide otherwise.”
Ben voice was very small. “I won’t. Ever.”
“Good.” Teigen let go of Ben’s hand and smacked him on the shoulder. “Now eat up. This might be your last free meal for a while.”
April 17, 1944
Bergen, Norway
Someone was pounding on their door.
Teigen came out of the washroom. “I’ll see who it is.”
Selby held her robe closed and folded her newspaper on her lap.
Falko stood in the hall looking like he was about to burst. “Did I catch you shaving? Sorry. But this couldn’t wait.”
Teigen stood soap-faced with a towel in one hand and the razor in the other. Falko had an amazing grasp of the obvious.
“What couldn’t wait?”
“We have an opportunity,” he answered esoterically. “So go finish up. Helgesen wants to see you.”
Teigen looked at Selby.
“You heard him,” she said in a resigned tone. “Your presence is needed.”
Teigen faced Falko. “I’ll be down in five minutes.”
With his shave finished and his shirt donned, Teigen hurried down the stairs.
“Let’s go.” Falko practically ran from the boarding house.
“Hey—slow down,” Teigen barked.
They rounded the row of tall houses and Falko tipped his head toward the harbor. “See what’s arrived?”
A huge gray warship rested in the center. Voorbode was painted on her prow.
“Foreboding?” Teigen translated. “That’s an odd name.”
“Could be appropriate if things turn out right.”
Teigen turned his startled regard to Falko. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ll see.”
*****
