Booker raised his hand as the serving girl approached. “Another beer for me and one for my friend.” He tossed her a coin.
“Sure thing.” She gave him a promising smile, then made her way back to the bar.
“And the next one is on me,” Rummy stated, putting his coins on the table. “I got paid today and am more than flush.”
Duran perked up at this. Maybe his run-in with the old sailor would serve his purposes after all. If he could get Rummy drunk without spending too much, there just might be a nice payday coming Booker’s way.
“What brought you to Duluth?” Rummy asked.
“The Mary Elise. I’m an able seaman on that schooner.”
“I know it well. I once served on her. Captain Wright still commanding her?”
Booker hid his disdain by tossing back the remainder of his drink. He wiped his mouth before answering. “He is.”
“Ah, a good man. A fair man. I hated leaving him, but I don’t make much of a sailor. I’m better working with the trees. I signed on with a logging company up north. Good group of men. Everyone knows their duties. It won’t be long before I rejoin them. We work mostly in the winter because of the boggy ground, don’t you know.”
“No, I can’t say that I did.”
“Well, I got me a job at the sawmill right now. So I’ve always got something to be workin’ at. Keeps me fed and in plenty of drink.”
The waitress returned with their beers. “Let me know if you’ll be needin’ something else,” she said, looking at Booker.
“I’m sure I’ll be calling on you,” he said.
“The Mary Elise was brand-new the year I went to work on her,” Rummy continued. “We had a crew of only six, since she was in pristine order. Captain Wright was a good teacher, but I am a poor student. You’ll have to be tellin’ him hello from me. Maybe I’ll just make my way over and tell him myself. That would be a grand thing, now, wouldn’t it?”
“I don’t think it would be wise. The old man’s wife passed away, and he’s not in good spirits.”
“Now, that is a loss. Mrs. Wright was a kindly woman. Good cook too.”
“Her daughter Elise takes care of those duties now.” Duran wasn’t sure why he mentioned that. Rummy Carlson presented a problem. He was a liability Booker couldn’t afford. If he got it in his head to visit the captain and gave up Booker’s real name, there would be trouble with the law before Duran could get away.
“Let’s have another one,” Rummy said after emptying his mug. He pushed his coins toward the edge of the table. “You’re fallin’ behind, Bob.” He lowered his voice and chuckled. “I mean Booker.”
Duran shook his head. “I can take care of my own. You probably don’t have the funds.”
“I have plenty. Been helping out at the lumber mill.” He lowered his voice and glanced around. “Got paid today.”
Booker decided it would be all too easy to take care of his problem. “All right, then, let’s get to it.” He slammed down the contents of his mug and placed it empty beside Rummy’s. “This round is on you!”
“Good night, Nick,” Elise said on the stoop outside the open cottage door. “I’m glad you could join us for supper. Thanks too for the flowers.” Her heart seemed to race, and she took deep breaths, trying to calm it.
“It was my pleasure.” He took her hand and placed a light kiss on her knuckles. He held her hand just a few seconds longer than necessary and rubbed the back of it with his thumb. “I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”
She felt her cheeks grow warm. “Nor I you.” For a moment she felt as if it would be impossible to move. Then Nick dropped his hold and turned to go.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
She nodded and watched him saunter down the walkway and disappear around the side of the house. Looking out over the lake, Elise hugged her shawl around her arms and gazed up at the moon.
I’ve lost my heart to him, Lord. I’ve never felt so wonderful and yet so confused. I promised Mama I’d take care of Papa. I know Nick loves what he’s doing, but he’s not always going to be content to remain first mate. Not after having commanded his own ship.
She paused in her prayer. She hoped he might trust her soon with the details of what had happened on the Polaris. She knew he blamed himself. He said it was his misjudgment. But she knew little else.
Help us, Lord. If we are meant for each other, then he will have to agree to remain on the Mary Elise and help Papa. He’ll have to forget about being a captain on his own ship.
She frowned. That wasn’t likely. Papa had often told her there was a certain type of man meant to lead and command, while others were equally designed to follow. Nick was a leader, and being put in the position of answering to her father for the rest of his life would be difficult, if not impossible.
Hugging her arms to her body, Elise prayed on. “You could make it work, Lord. I know you could. If it be your will.” The last few words seemed to echo back to her in the night skies.
If it be your will.
Chapter 13
Filled to capacity with Minnesota wheat, the Mary Elise was well on her way to the Soo Locks when Elise’s father sighted the bank of clouds building to the west-southwest and moving in fast. He ordered them to head for the safety of Whitefish Bay.
“The wind is churning up the lake,” he told Elise. “Ready the galley and stay put. I’m not sure how rough this is going to get.”
Elise wished she could lend a hand. Carrying grain was always a concern when storms came up. The load shifted back and forth with the ship’s rocking and often got out of balance and had to be trimmed. If not dealt with, the ship could capsize.
Elise knew the best thing she could do was stay out of the way. With the storm nearly upon them, she had let the stove go cold so as not to risk fire. She felt confident the storms would pass quickly. Papa had said nothing about expecting them to linger. He usually had an intuition for such things.
Earlier in the day, she had gathered the men’s laundry. She figured she might as well put it to soak. She went through the pieces, looking for any particularly bad stains or tears. When she picked up one of Booker Duran’s shirts, she was startled to find blood splattered all over the front of it. She frowned. Had he hurt himself? That much blood surely would have required a doctor’s assistance. Then again, she recalled men receiving blows to the nose that caused an abundance of bleeding but needed no doctor. Booker seemed the perfect candidate to find himself in a fight.
She took the shirt to the table and wet it down, then smeared it with salt. Scrubbing salt against the stain would remove a good portion of the blood. She rinsed and repeated the action, even as the rocking of the ship increased. She wondered what kind of trouble Mr. Duran had gotten himself into. He always seemed to be looking for a fight.
The door opened, and a man pressed in with the wind at his back. “Miss Elise, your father says it’s lookin’ to be a bad one,” Sam declared. He battled the wind before pulling the door closed, then hurried down the galley steps. “Are the fires out?”
“All but the lamp.” Despite the lamps being secured, they took no chances on the Mary Elise. Sam put out the lamp in quick order while Elise left Duran’s shirt to soak apart from the other laundry.
“I’ll let the captain know the galley is secure,” Sam said, then left as quickly as he’d arrived.
With very little light, Elise took herself to her cabin and decided it would serve her best to pray. She tried not to worry when the storms came upon them, but sometimes she couldn’t help herself. Ships were damaged or lost with nearly every storm. Whenever a bad storm came when she was growing up, she and her sister would pile into Elise’s narrow bunk and pull the covers over their heads. Mama always encouraged prayer, but Elise would often entertain her sister with stories from the Bible to keep her calm.
“Tell me about those men in the boat with Jesus,” Caroline would ask. “The one with the bad storm.”
It was something they
could definitely relate to, and Elise loved the story. “They were out on the water when the storm came up. Just like today. Jesus had decided to take a nap.”
“Didn’t he know about the danger?” Caroline asked.
It was always the same question, and Elise would give the same answer. “Jesus knew, but He wasn’t afraid. He knew God would take care of everything.”
Elise stretched out on her bed and smiled at the memory. Caroline was always afraid and worried about the situation.
“But the men were afraid because the waves got to be really high . . . like now.” Caroline’s soft, frightened tone always melted Elise’s heart.
“Oh, these aren’t really high waves today.” Elise always said that, whether they were or not. “The waves that day with Jesus were much higher, and the men were afraid they would capsize.”
“But they didn’t, did they?”
“No. They got really afraid and woke Jesus up. They said, ‘Master, carest thou not that we perish?’”
“They thought they were going to die.” Caroline’s voice was edged with fear.
“Yes, but that was only because they didn’t understand that Jesus was in control. Remember, He got up and told the storm—”
“Peace. Be still,” Caroline interrupted as she always did.
Elise smiled at the memory. “Peace. Be still,” she murmured.
Such thoughts easily led her to wonder how her sister might be. Was she enjoying her tour of Europe? Had she purchased her great wardrobe and received beautiful jewels from her husband?
The ship shifted to port, nearly dumping Elise out of her bed. At least there wasn’t any thunder or lightning. Just the wind and rain, which was plenty bad enough.
She imagined her father in his oiled canvas coat, barking out orders, fighting the wind and the waves to get the Mary Elise to some safe cove. Gradually things calmed, and the terrible rocking ceased. She knew the worst of the storm had passed, but she could still hear the rain pummeling them. After another ten minutes, even that stopped, however. She rose from her bed and went to the galley. Everything was in good order. All had been secured prior to the storm and remained in its place. The boat, however, was listing to starboard.
Before long, Sam reappeared to light the lamps. “Captain says it’s all clear, but the load must be trimmed. The boys are already at work on it.”
“I’d best get back to my work,” Elise admitted as if nothing had happened.
“We’ll be headin’ for the Soo Locks,” Sam informed her.
Elise lit the stove to get it warming up. “I’ll put fresh coffee on. It’ll take a while to get hot, but let the boys know. I’ll have a snack for them too.”
“Aye, Miss Elise.”
She loaded wood into the stove and soon had it lighted. She put on the coffeepot before going back to her laundry. The baskets had fallen over, splaying clothes everywhere. Oh well, better now when they were dirty than later when they were clean. Elise put a big pot of water on the stove to heat up along with the coffee. Next, she started putting together ham sandwiches. The boys would have to work hard to put the ship right and deserved something heartier than cookies. After that was completed, she went back to the laundry and waited for the ship to be righted.
There was only a half hour of light left when they had their turn at the locks. Elise walked the deck, watching the entire process as they waited for the water to go down twenty-one feet so they could enter the St. Mary’s River.
“You’re looking mighty fine, Miss Elise,” Booker Duran stated as he came toward her carrying a shovel.
She bristled at his comment but decided not to take offense. “Are we trim now, Mr. Duran?”
“Aye. Fit and trim.” He grinned. “Just like yourself.”
She eyed him for signs of injury, but there were none. “I thought maybe I’d find you in stitches, Mr. Duran.”
He looked at her oddly. “Why would that be?”
“I’m doing laundry today. Your shirt was covered in blood.”
He gave a hearty laugh. “You should see the other fella.”
“You got into a fight?”
“The whole tavern was fighting. It was just a good time. No harm done.”
She looked at his face. There wasn’t even a bruise. “Well, you seemed to have come out of it without a mark.”
“I always do. I’m taller than most, so they can’t reach my beautiful face.” He laughed again and threw the shovel over his shoulder. “I’m touched that you’re worried about me.”
“Well, when you see that much blood on a man’s shirt, you figure the worst.”
He leaned closer. “Never fear for me, Miss Elise. I’ll be just fine. I’m good at taking care of myself and them that belong to me.” He gave her a wink and moved on.
Elise felt rather fouled by his nearness and familiarity, but she drew a deep breath and pushed her ill feelings aside. At least he wasn’t injured in a way that would interfere with his duties and cause problems for her father and the crew.
Supper waited that night until nearly eight. Meals were usually delayed when something like the locks passage was on the agenda. The men ate as if they were starving, and everyone seemed to grab for everything at the same time. Elise had made a huge pot of beef stew. She’d also baked biscuits and served them with honey. There wasn’t so much as a scrap left of anything after she served the dessert of lemon cream cake.
After supper, the men on duty went to their jobs while the others went to bed. Elise washed dishes and put the kitchen in order, then resumed her time on deck. She loved it when the evening was quiet and the world seemed to slip by in the soft wash of the river.
She stared out over the rail and marveled at how long the light lasted. During the summer it stayed light well into the evening and left one with the feeling of eternal summer. But September was nearing, and each completed trip was a marker against time that seemed to be slipping by much too quickly.
“You seem reflective,” Nick declared, coming to stand beside her. “You hardly said two words at supper.”
“I guess I feel the approach of winter even though summer is still with us. I can’t help feeling that sense of ending, like a good book you’ve spent hours reading and know you’re just a few pages from finishing.”
Nick smiled and nodded. “I can understand that, but really, there’s plenty of time left for sailing.”
“I know, but maybe it isn’t the sailing. Maybe something else in my life is ending. Or maybe something for someone else, like my father. I just don’t know.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She shook her head. “It would do little good. I can’t even form a thought around these feelings. It might be foreboding, and if it is and it’s from God, I know He will direct me in time.”
Nick smiled and gave a nod. “I agree. Let’s talk of more pleasant things. Will you see your uncle when we’re back in Oswego?”
“No doubt I will. Even when we don’t go to the house to see the family, my uncle will come to us and talk business with Papa. I will probably send Sam to buy groceries, but sometimes I like to arrange them myself.”
“If you don’t go shopping, what do you usually do?”
“Enjoy time to myself.” She smiled and looked out toward the waning moon. “Sometimes I just like to sit and read.”
“The book you’re about to finish, eh?”
She laughed. “I suppose so. It’ll soon be September. A few trips after that, and we’ll be looking for the end of our shipping until next spring.” Here they were, talking about her feelings. She hadn’t intended it, but it just seemed the natural flow of conversation.
“Most of the men will join the logging companies unless Papa has asked them to stay on and help make repairs to the Mary Elise. I’m glad you’ll be one of them staying on.”
“Why is that?”
She shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure myself. I know your presence has been helpful to my father. I think he’s truly enjoyed
your company.”
“I noticed that he seems a little less morose.”
She had sensed the change as well. “We had a long talk about Mama. I think he’s turned a corner on mourning her. He knows she would never want it. I’ve encouraged him as best I can, but God will have to do the rest. Papa has to find his will to go on without her.”
“I can’t imagine how hard that must be for him. To find the love of your life, make a family with her, and spend every day working together, only to lose her so soon.” He shook his head. “It makes me rethink my own plans.”
“For a family?”
He nodded. “I had never thought much of it. Of course, the right woman hadn’t yet come along.”
The way he spoke made her think that perhaps she had come along now. Was he suggesting that to Elise? Was he saying that his feelings for her were just as strong as hers were for him?
She wasn’t sure she was ready to hear a declaration of love. Things were happening much too fast. “Tell me about your family. You told us so little at supper the other night.”
Nick seemed happy to change the conversation topic. “My mother was a great beauty. I was told she was sought by suitors far and wide before she settled on my father. She had hair the color of spun gold and eyes as blue as a fair summer’s sky. She was petite like you and could sing. She used to sing at various gatherings she and Father hosted. She would also sing to my sisters and me when she visited us in the nursery. Which was quite often. She loved being a mother. My father often chided her to leave nursery work to the governess, but Mother insisted she wanted to care for her own children. Whenever we were sick, she was there to wipe our brow and still our tears.” His voice took on such a loving tone that it increased the ache in Elise’s heart for her own mother. “She loved to read to us too. I remember her reading Aesop’s Fables and Bible stories.”
“I was just remembering one of the Bible stories our mother read to me and my sister. It came to mind during the storm. It’s the story of the disciples being with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee when a storm comes up. I used to recount it to Caroline when bad storms came upon us and Mama was busy with something else.”
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