Northern Lights Trilogy

by Lisa Tawn Bergren

  Elsa knew that a large part of his job was to oversee the overland trade that Americans were doing in Panama. There was talk of a canal someday, but for now a huge amount of cargo was carted across the isthmus via railroad, saving shipping companies weeks in transit time. Adrian worked constantly at bettering the labor force, the equipment, the track, and the relations with Panamanians.

  Within minutes they were at the local docks. Riley helped Elsa, and then the children, to the rough, salt-eroded planks.

  “Lewis and Smyth,” he said to two of the more burly sailors, “I want you to accompany the captain and her children about town and north to Aspinwah. You can have extra shore leave in exchange for your time now.”

  “Riley, I don’t really think that is necessary,” Elsa protested under her breath. She was as tall as her wiry first mate, and she looked him in the eye.

  “Cap’n, we’ve been through this.”

  “But, Riley, I know this town. I know the people.”

  “You knew Yokohama too.” He referred to that day in Japan when Mason Dutton had kidnapped her right outside the trade building in which Riley had been doing business. The memory still obviously agitated her friend. But after almost two years, his overprotective nature was getting a bit tiresome.

  “Will you ever forget that day?” She knew she could insist they go on alone. She was, after all, still captain. And yet as much as she hated it, it was probably wise to have an escort with her.

  “No, Cap’n. And I don’ think you should e’er do so either.”

  “Very well, Riley. We will return at, say, four o’clock? To get back to the ship.”

  “Aye, aye, Cap’n.” He nodded once, acknowledging her command, but Elsa could see the glimmer of pleasure at her acquiescence in his eyes. As much as it irritated her, it was why she insisted he be her first mate; Riley always looked out for her and her children.

  “Come along, boys,” she said to the two bodyguards. “I’ll buy you a meal in town.” They followed behind, and Elsa balanced Eve on her hip as she took Kristian by the hand. On the boardwalk that led to Cristobal’s main thoroughfare, the ground felt leaden and foreign after weeks aboard the Majestic. But oh, how happy she was for the new sights and smells! She found herself staring into shop windows with the same eagerness as her children. Quickly they made their way to the restaurant they had not eaten in for over a year.

  After lunch, Elsa asked Paul Smyth to hire a coach for them for the day. “An open one,” she added. “I do not care to be inside on a day such as this.” The afternoon’s heat combined with the tropical humidity made Elsa’s dress chafe at the collar. She was unaccustomed to fussy clothes such as these; aboard ship, she wore simple cotton dresses with split skirts. Still, she was determined to greet Isabella in proper attire.

  Smyth soon pulled up outside the restaurant, and David Lewis helped her and the children into the carriage. She settled upon the leather-covered bench, melting under the hot sun’s torturous glare, and David then climbed on the back. Smyth flicked the reins over a mismatched pair of horses, and they were off. A mile north of town, past fields of sugar cane, at the top of a long, grassy hill that overlooked the Caribbean Sea, stood the Taylors’ understated, elegant home built in the Spanish colonial style. Even the sight of its soothing adobe made Elsa feel a bit cooler. Outside, under a canopy of thick vines and beside a small table, sat Isabella, Adrian, and a man who looked vaguely familiar.

  Her driver pulled the horses to a stop at the end of the lane beside the house, and the trio at the table rose.

  “Elsa!” Isabella called in delight. “Elsa Ramstad!” She hurried over to the wagon and pulled Elsa into her embrace as soon as she descended. “And this cannot be Kristian and Eve!”

  “It is!” Kristian said earnestly, as if the woman were truly confused. “Is Michael at home?”

  Isabella laughed, the light sound of it bringing another smile to Elsa’s lips. “He is down at the beach, Kristian. He hooked up a rope to a tree down there and sails high over the water, then drops in. If your mother approves, you may join him.”

  “May I? May I?” he asked, his eyebrows high. Something in his expression reminded her of Peder, and a pang of melancholy shot through her heart.

  “Is it safe?” she asked Isabella.

  “Quite. No more than a few feet deep. Michael will show him.”

  “Oh, please, Mama,” Kristian begged.

  Kristian was an incredible swimmer for his age, and Elsa assumed Michael must be too. If Isabella trusted her son… “All right,” she gave in. “Be sure to take off your finery before swimming!” she called after his slim form that was racing away from her as fast as he could go.

  “Go, go!” Eve begged, reaching after her brother.

  “Oh, sorry, darling. You’re not old enough to go without me.”

  “Never mind swimming,” Isabella jumped in. “Come up to the house, Eve. I have a wonderful assortment of dolls and a tea set just your size.” Isabella and Adrian’s tiny daughter had died of consumption, Elsa remembered. She wondered at the pain of losing a child, surely an even greater pain than losing a spouse, putting a tiny body in a grave. No doubt, Elsa would have clung to Eve’s toys and clothes too had a similar tragedy befallen her.

  Isabella raised a hand. A maid appeared from the shadows and after a brief word took Eve up to the house, presumably to play with toys. “Elsa, Elsa,” Adrian said, interrupting her thoughts as he drew near and took her hand with both of his. “It is a delight to see you.”

  “And you, Adrian,” she returned.

  He gestured toward his companion. “I believe you know Lucas Laning.”

  She looked to Luke in surprise. “Mr. Laning! It’s been years.” She found herself looking over his shoulder for his captain, Karl Martensen, and, knowing it was rude, forced her gaze back to him as he took her hand and kissed it.

  He looked back up at her with a smile in his eyes. “He is not here.”

  Elsa pretended confusion. “Pardon me?”

  “Your friend, my captain. Karl Martensen.”

  “Oh yes, of course.” She battled to keep the sorrow at such news from her voice. It had been so long since they had seen each other. What a delight it would have been to chance upon him here! “He is off to some other waters, I take it?”

  “He took a steamboat around the Horn and is on his way to San Francisco. I am overseeing the shipment of parts for two shallow draft ships across the isthmus and tomorrow will accompany them to Alaska. Karl is using the giant steamboat for those travelling to Alaska on holiday, and the two smaller boats for business along the river ways.”

  “A wise plan.”

  “Indeed,” Isabella said. “Come. You must be desperate to escape the sun. I am! Let us go back to the table and drink our tea.”

  “That sounds divine,” Elsa returned.

  Isabella linked her arm through Elsa’s. “Tell me. Tell me where you have been, where you are going.”

  “Well, I just returned from Bergen.”

  “To see your mother?”

  “Yes. I tried my best to convince her to come home with me, but she wasn’t willing.”

  Isabella nodded in an understanding way. “I miss my own dear mother. It is terrible to be so far away from loved ones.”

  “But I am so thankful to have been able to see them. To introduce my children to their grandparents—we saw Peder’s parents, too—and aunts and uncles and cousins. Many never have such a chance after leaving their home country.”

  “That’s one of the good things about shipping,” Adrian interjected as they sat down at the table. “Since coming here, we have seen none of our family.”

  “But friends from far and wide come through here,” Luke said. “It is a good place for that.”

  Elsa studied Karl’s first mate. He was handsome, with dark, almost black hair, and eyes to match. He and Karl would be a striking duo, she thought, just as Peder and Karl once were. He returned her look with interest, and Elsa quick
ly drew her attention to Isabella.

  “Does it feel like home yet?”

  “It does,” Isabella said. “We really could not be happier.”

  Adrian sat back and raised his glass of iced tea toward Elsa. “If you people with Alaska connections could get us more ice, it would be perfect.”

  “I had heard there is a company doing just that. The Greater Alaska Ice Company, I think.”

  “And expanding a ship a month,” Lucas added.

  “It’s not fast enough,” Adrian said. “There are many in these parts who would pay a good bit for regular ice shipments. We were fortunate to get a new block last week.”

  They chatted on for the next hour, about shipping news, the weather, politics, until Isabella suggested they go and check on the boys. Elsa agreed. As they entered the house together, Elsa asked, “Wouldn’t a dip be fun? Why don’t we join the boys? I know that Eve would love it.”

  “Oh, let’s do. The cove is very private, and I have a bathing dress you could borrow.”

  Elsa laughed. “I would never fit into your tiny clothes.” Isabella was petite whereas Elsa was quite tall. “If it’s private, I’m sure I’ll be fine in my bloomers, if Adrian has a shirt I could borrow.”

  “Very well.” They turned into a tiny playroom filled with fine miniature toys. Eve sat at a small table, serving tea to a stuffed bear.

  “Want to go with us, Evie?” Elsa asked.

  She practically fell over her chair in hurrying over to her mother.

  And Elsa picked her up with a smile. They followed Isabella out a side door to a long, covered, tiled patio. They stopped at a bathing house to change clothes, then went on down the hill.

  Following a winding path, they walked down the hill to a small, secluded cove. Elsa sighed. It was idyllic, surrounded by a dense tropical forest. Palm branches waved along a white sand beach that formed the tiny harbor. The women could hear the boys before they could see them.

  When Elsa caught sight of Kristian, her heart stopped. He seemed to hang in midair for seconds as the momentum of the rope counteracted gravity. Then he fell with a “whoop” to the water five feet below. Still on the path above the boys, they could see down to the sandy bottom of the cove; there appeared to be no reef, just endless sand. In the deep shadows of the afternoon, it was cool, but once they were out on the point where the boys played, the warm sun caught them again.

  “Want to go out on the rope?” Isabella dared.

  “But it’s not deep enough.”

  “Not where the boys let go. You have to ride it to the end. Then it’s six, seven feet.”

  “If you will first,” Elsa returned.

  “Come on, Mama!” Kristian called. “It’s fun!”

  Elsa disrobed as Isabella marched up to the rope. She grabbed hold and swung outward without a second glance. Elsa’s breath caught as she let go, and Isabella fell to the water in a slim line, holding her nose. She came to the surface at once, her long, auburn hair floating about her in waves.

  “Come, Elsa! It’s your turn!” She swam over to the bank and reached for Eve.

  Elsa walked over to the rope still swinging toward the bank and grabbed hold. “Watch your mama!” she cried, picking up her feet and swinging outward. “Hoo-hoo!” she yelled, falling to the warm tropical waters. She stayed under for a moment, relishing the feeling of total immersion. When she came to the surface, the boys, Isabella, and Eve were all clapping. Kristian and Michael raced toward the bank to be next.

  Eve cried, reaching for her.

  “All right, Eve. I’m coming.” Elsa swam over to the bank. Directly underneath, the water was only a few feet deep. Elsa took her from Isabella and swung her around, getting her more and more wet as they circled. Eve giggled so much that Elsa giggled with her. Then Elsa waded out to Isabella, who floated on her back.

  “Doesn’t it feel divine?” Isabella asked.

  “Divine,” Elsa agreed.

  Isabella turned her head to the other end of the cove. “Did you see the men followed suit?”

  For the first time, Elsa noticed the two small figures at the other end of the intimate cove, swimming as if in a race. “Guess it sounded good to them, too.”

  “Adrian takes a swim every day.” Isabella threw her a teasing glance. “Too bad that handsome Lucas Laning is so far away. You could get a better look at him.”

  Elsa crossed her eyes at Isabella.

  “Why would you want a better look at Mr. Laning?” Kristian asked, suddenly beside them and dog-paddling.

  “Maybe Mrs. Taylor doesn’t think he’s a good swimmer,” Elsa evaded.

  Isabella choked on a laugh and then dived underwater.

  “Do you want to go back to shore?” Elsa asked her children.

  “Yes, please. I would like to collect sand dollars and seashells!”

  Elsa laughed. “Where will you put them? The Majestic is about to sink under the weight of your collection.”

  “Mama, you’re silly.”

  Elsa accompanied him to the shallows and watched until the boy walked out of the water. Michael immediately joined him in the hunt. Then she returned to Isabella, who was floating in the water. “What was that all about?”

  “Nothing,” Isabella said, raising an eyebrow. “I merely thought you might be ready to enjoy some male companionship again.”

  Her frankness made Elsa blush. “That’s nonsense. I am surrounded by men every day.”

  “Men you command. When was the last time you were around a man who simply commanded your attention? A man as handsome as Lucas Laning,” she added in a whisper.

  Elsa snorted in disgust. “I am around men I do not command all the time.”

  “When? Where?” Isabella’s entire countenance was one of complete assurance. “Men with whom you do business? When was the last time you went on a stroll with a man who was your equal? When was the last time you went to a ball?”

  “I have been to many society dinners in the last couple of years,” Elsa protested. It was as if Riley and Isabella were conspiring against her.

  “But when was the last time you were with a man alone?”

  “It isn’t proper to be alone with a man.”

  “Oh, come now. You’re a grown woman. A widow.” Her tone softened. “Is your sorrow not…easing after all this time?”

  Elsa searched the tropical shoreline and then the fluffy clouds that passed above them, thinking. “Not enough to consider anyone else. Sometimes I wonder if I shall ever be over Peder.”

  “It’s been two years?”

  “Yes. I’ve counted every day. In here“—she gestured toward her head—“I think I should be past it, over losing him. But in here,” she said, bringing her hand to her heart, “I cannot imagine letting go of the loss. It’s almost as if that’s the only thing I have left of him.”

  Isabella sighed along with her, and they silently turned toward shore, pausing when it was waist deep. Elsa crinkled her toes, burying them in the fine granules.

  Isabella studied her, obviously weighing her words. “Sometimes, my dear friend, the only way out of sorrow is to plunge into happiness. Peder would want you to be happy, not holding on to his memory like a shield.”

  “I am happy. I have my ship, my children. It is a good life.” She pulled Eve closer.

  “But not a full life. I know your heart. And it is big enough to love still another.”

  Elsa swallowed. “It might be big enough. But I don’t know if I could withstand the pain of losing another love.”

  Isabella nodded. “When we lost our baby daughter, I thought I would never recover. But I know now that if I was blessed enough to carry another, I’d embrace that new love. Despite the chance that she, too, might die.”

  Elsa gave her a sorrowful smile and looked down toward where the men walked along the beach. “But Lucas Laning. I don’t feel the stirrings in my heart for him that I believe you should feel for a man.”

  “Then he is not the right one.” Isabella took her
hand and Elsa met her glance. “But, Elsa, darling, when you feel those stirrings again, promise me.”

  “Promise you what?”

  “Promise me that you will not ignore them. Consider them God’s thumbprint, a gentle push.”

  Elsa’s heart raced at the thought. Could she dive into a relationship again? Could she risk losing another piece of her heart? For the first time, she thought about the pleasure of a man’s touch, the warmth of an intimate conversation between a couple bound by marriage. She yearned for that kind of love again. She missed it.

  “Promise me,” Isabella repeated.

  “I promise.”

  Karl felt badly about not contacting the Kenneys when he reached San Francisco. But I’d feel worse if I got in any deeper. He still had not thought of a way to dissuade Mara from her apparent feelings for him or how to speak to Gerald. Every time he tried, Gerald misconstrued his meaning, reading into Karl’s comments that he was indeed pursuing his daughter, and acted very pleased at the thought. Karl felt flattered that the Kenneys apparently wanted him as a son-in-law, but that was the last thing Karl wanted. He decided it was better to stay away until he thought his way out of this mess.

  He walked into the carpenter’s shop, his mind on Mara, but his task the steamship. The carpenters and woodcarvers in San Francisco were some of the finest in the world, and he was there to have his new ship outfitted in grand fashion. Especially the small ballroom—Karl wanted carved panels on the walls. He knew the Italian carver, Antonio Marzilli, would be perfect for the task.

  Antonio greeted him warmly, and looked over the blueprinted plans.

  After a quick assessment, he said, “It will take two months.”

  “Two months? I cannot wait here that long!”

  Antonio threw him a puzzled glance. “Why not? You have friends here, no? It is a fine city in which to wait.”

  Karl sighed. There was no possible way for him to avoid the Kenneys for two months. Word would reach them that he was in the city, and they would be terribly hurt.