“You’re looking for this Jake Hammond for her?”
“I’m asking around to see if I can do any good,” Landis stated.
“Why do you doubt it?” Ben probed casually.
“Kathy went to Log Cabin to see Bill. He did some checking around, but no news on Hammond. If he was ever here,” Landis added, then jumped up to refill his cup, scolding himself for revealing too much to Ben. After all, Landis had to keep his suspicions about Jake Hammond a secret…
When he sat down, Ben was eying him with intense scrutiny. “Am I wrong, or do you have some sneaking suspicion she’s lying?”
Landis stroked his black stubble. “Why would I doubt my wife’s claim?” he debated.
“She’s staying here for more than one reason; you want to keep an eye on her. For Sergeant Thomas or yourself?” Ben taunted.
“What would I have to do with Mounty affairs?” Landis retorted.
“They’re your friends. If they needed help, you’d comply. But you don’t quite trust her. I wonder how you’d feel if you located Jake Hammond and discovered she was being totally honest. I also wonder how she’d feel if she learned why she’s really here with you now,” he speculated gravely.
Landis grimaced, knowing he was saying too much. “Let’s drop it, Ben. If you want to help us, ask around for this Hammond character.”
Ben chuckled. “Me?” he said in amusement. “I make it a rule to mind my own business so others will mind theirs.”
The conversation ended abruptly as Kathy opened the door and returned, but didn’t sit down. Her eyes were red and puffy, indicating a battle of tears and anguish. She set to clearing away the dishes.
Ben caught her hand and smiled up into her sad face. “I’m sorry if I called to mind unhappy memories, Kathy. Landis explained about your problems. Is there anything I can do or say?”
Landis watched this tender exchange, pleased with Ben’s unexpected sympathy and insight. “You’re very kind, Ben. I’ll be leaving soon. Jack’s coming to take me to Skagway.”
“Jack?” he echoed, mutely adding, what about Landis?
“Jack London. He’s an old friend of mine. He’s going to take me home while Landis looks for my father.”
Ben cast a curious glance at Landis. “Why don’t you take her to Skagway or on your search? You know this territory better than most. It would give you plenty of time together, and alone.”
“I offered, but she seems to prefer her friend Jack. She’s afraid to trust herself alone in the wilds with me,” he jested, to cover his strange refusal to accompany his own wife. “With us gone so much, Kat wouldn’t be safe or happy here alone,” he added.
At his odd lies, Kathy’s face went scarlet and she inhaled sharply. Her reaction enlightened Ben, who pretended not to notice it. Landis shrugged and stood up, taking his dishes to the washpan. “You want to lay some traps today?” he asked Ben to ease the tension.
“If we want to make any money this winter, we’d best get at it,” Ben said. “That was the best breakfast I’ve had in years, Kathy. Thanks. See you tonight,” he stated lightly, then went to his room and closed the door.
Kathy looked at Landis. “Whyever did you say such things, Landis? If you’ll recall, you’re the one who refuses to take me along or keep me here. You embarrassed me. I think it’s best if I leave, now that Ben’s home I think we’ll all be more comfortable.”
“There’s no reason to leave so soon or to be embarrassed, Kat.”
“Isn’t there!” she disputed softly. “When you talk about me and treat me like some…some cheap harlot rather than your wife, what is Ben supposed to think? Did you tell him it was only a mock marriage?”
“I didn’t treat you any such way!” he argued.
“You did so,” she vowed stubbornly. “You sounded as if you could hardly wait to have me gone.”
“Kat, does it bother you this much what people think about us?” he demanded, his tone losing its harshness.
“Yes, I care what they say and think. What about my father, Landis? How will I explain my conduct to him? Either we have a real marriage or we don’t. Do you want me to go or stay?” she pressed him.
Landis wanted to shout: you don’t owe your father any explanations; he deserted you; and he lost his fatherly rights when he walked out and never looked back. Landis couldn’t recklessly send such knifing statements home.
“Well?” she entreated, tears flowing down her cheeks.
“I love you, Kat. But you’re setting yourself up for a painful awakening. You’re not being realistic about your father. You’ve conjured up this glowing image of him. What if he’s rotten? My God, Kat, he’s already hurt you terribly.”
“Please don’t make this any harder on me, Landis. I must find him. Please help me,” she begged, clinging to him.
“I promised you, if he’s here and it’s possible, I’ll find him.”
She hugged him. “I love you so much,” she whispered against his chest.
“I know, Kat; I know,” he murmured, unaware that his friend had been listening to the entire passionate exchange.
Ben wondered if Landis was cruelly toying with or ruthlessly using this special girl. Was she Kathryn Leigh Hammond, his daughter? How? What about Dory’s denial that he was the father? It didn’t add up; this girl was his spitten image, not Morgan’s! Landis couldn’t be right in his suspicions, not unless Kathy had been sought out and sent here for a critical reason. If this innocenteyed girl was not an American spy or his child, he dared not expose himself to her. Kathy’s prior words and quivering voice returned to plague him.
Ben felt trapped. It could be a fateful coincidence or a poisonous snare. Did Landis suspect him? Had Landis discovered a method to unmask him? The girl’s story was too pat to explain spying on Landis. Ben decided to watch them closely.
Ben waited a few minutes before he came out of his room as he sought to master his warring emotions and to reaffirm his belief he had never caused his friend or the Canadian Government any harm. That was the only way he could remain here, to safely glean his necessary information and to protect his friend. The reality of Landis’s identity provoked Ben; Kathy was Jurrell’s wife, not Clinton Marlowe’s.
“You ready, Ben?” Landis asked, his eyes still on Kathy’s face.
“I’ll fetch the traps,” Ben said, heading into the storage room. Ben resolved that nothing would harm either one, without just cause.
Kathy stood in the doorway, watching the men depart. She sighed heavily, then closed the door, certain this time her love was going trapping.
Fourteen
Those next few days proved incredibly serene for Kathy. She came to adore the genial Ben Weathers, listening intently while he wove colorful and amusing tales. She agreed to learn poker and whist. Each night they spent hours laughing, talking, and playing games. Ben made her feel right at home, totally at ease following that first awkward day. She cooked and cleaned while the men trapped. Noting the pelts they were bringing home to cure, she knew both men were working diligently. Landis didn’t make anymore of those strange trips, as if he were reluctant to leave her side. She must be right, else why did he constantly hang on her every word?
Landis…that first night with Ben in the cabin had been strained. She had curled into Landis’s arms and savored his kisses, but couldn’t bring herself to make love. She had imagined Ben lying in bed in the next room, the quiet cabin lending itself to any noise. Landis had been slightly miffed by her reluctance, but had understood her hesitation and seemingly accepted it. That second night had begun much the same with Kathy reluctant to surrender to his heady assault on her senses. With patience and stimulating persuasion, she had inevitably lost her will to his masterful one.
When Ben appeared to behave no differently that next morning, Kathy’s doubts and modesty gradually vanished. She was sure Ben could hear their softened whispers and happy laughter, but he never let on or made any comments. Why should he; they were married. But sometimes she w
ould catch his keen eyes on them…
By the third day, their arrangement seemed natural, as if they were a family. She surrendered herself to this happy setting, blossoming with love and happiness. Landis also seemed perfectly comfortable, laughing freely and displaying open affection to her. After that night, she went to Landis with heated passion. She briefly denied her quest, one which would take her husband from her side at this critical period.
Unknown to Kathy, both men were playing vital and guarded roles. Landis was trying to decide Kathy’s innocence and to get to know this girl/woman he had married, while Ben was trying to uncover the motives of both people. It appeared to Ben that Landis didn’t know about Ben’s real identity. Ben came to the conclusion Landis had emotionally entrapped himself while seeking Kathy as a protective cover for his missions and real name. Ben couldn’t rationalize Landis’s behavior, for he knew the marriage was invalid. Ben dreaded to imagine Kathy’s humiliation and pain when that fact came to light. Yet, Ben loved Landis as a brother; still, Kathy was possibly his child, one totally different from her traitorous mother.
On the fourth day, Ben entered the cabin to find Landis chasing Kathy. She was giggling and darting around the furniture to avoid his grasp. Landis was grinning in playful mischief as he eagerly pursued her. Kathy shrieked in delight and raced to hide behind Ben, coaxing, “Help me, Ben.”
Ben’s arms stretched outwards, forming a guard between them. “Too bad, Landis; I’ve got her now. You’ll have to battle both of us.”
Ben and Kathy laughed gaily. Landis halted his approach to place his hands on his hips, standing with legs apart. His gaze and tone were mocking. “You two joining forces against me in my own cabin?”
“You asked for it, Jurrell,” Kathy coyly announced.
“My brother and my wife! No wonder I stay home. Think I would trust you two conspirators alone?” he jested, making no move toward them.
“Why, Landis Jurrell, you crude rake,” Ben sang out, chuckling. Ben vanquished his alarm, concluding there hadn’t been any strange emphasis on Landis’s taunting statements. Still, Landis was perceptive and cunning, and Kathy did look like him.
“Well if you’re gonna steal my wife right under my nose, then I best turn in,” he remarked. As he moved backwards, he tripped and fell over a chair. He crashed loudly to the floor, then remained still.
Kathy panicked, falling for his crafty deception. She raced around Ben and hurried to kneel beside her husband. “Landis! Are you all right? Speak to me!” she squealed in panic, paling and shaking.
Before she could react, Landis seized her and pinned her to the floor. “You’re far too trusting, Mrs. Jurrell,” he taunted, eyes gleaming with devilish victory.
“And you are too cunning and dangerous to be trusted,” she retorted, laughing merrily. “Perhaps I wed too hastily and unwisely.”
“You don’t say?” he challenged, a beguiling grin focused on her.
“No, I don’t say. I’m the luckiest woman in the world. Isn’t that right, Ben?” she entreated, smiling up into her husband’s eyes.
Concern flooded Ben, recalling an afternoon talk with Landis. Ben knew a sudden need to send Kathy home had to do with Landis’s talk with the Mounty they had encountered. After watching them for days, Ben wasn’t convinced of Landis’s love and loyalty. It had to do with the way Landis furtively watched her and the way Landis seemed determined not to yield totally and presently to her callings of love. Jake Hammond had Landis tensed and worried. What was the cunning and relentless Landis after, to win Kathy or to use her to capture Jake, or perhaps both? If certain vital matters weren’t pressing both men, Ben would expose himself. His confession would halt Landis’s intense search and force a decision about his daughter. If Landis was using her, Ben would be here to comfort and protect her. Ben realized he loved his daughter deeply, but he had worked too hard and too long to destroy his mission this close to its climax. Supposedly wed to Jurrell, what could harm her in the next few weeks?
Possibly it was dawning on Landis—the undercover Mounty—that Kathy couldn’t lead him to Jake. Defeat on any level didn’t suit him, the real Sergeant Clinton Marlowe. What would Landis/Clint do and say when he discovered Jake Hammond had lived and worked with him as Ben Weathers for two years? Would Landis think he had been duped by both Ben/Jake and Kathy? When the truth came out, would their love be destroyed by the father she was seeking?
“You two gonna lie there carrying on like that all night? How about some cards and brandy?” Ben suggested, squatting down beside them, concealing his turbulent thoughts.
Landis groaned playfully, “You really know how to spoil a fellow’s fun.”
Kathy giggled. “He didn’t win fairly, did he, Ben?”
“Not in the least, Kathy. Next time we won’t be fooled by his tricky mind,” he declared sternly, meaning far more.
“Don’t you two start in on me again,” Landis wailed in humor.
“Somebody has to be on my side. Who better than Ben?”
Ben smiled. “Let’s play some checkers.”
When Landis was cuddled against her sated body later that night, Kathy realized that since Ben’s return, Landis hadn’t gotten up any night, after thinking her asleep, to make notes to conceal in his hiding place. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t left the cabin on one of his mysterious trips. She knew he had taken the papers with him one day. Evidently they were business reports and he had turned them over to his unknown boss. Kathy frowned as she recalled checking the hole again to see if other papers had been placed there. It had been empty. She knew Landis would be furious if he caught her snooping, but she wanted to understand him and his work. She had been careful to re-adjust the picture and the tattletale string. She drifted off to sleep with questions about what those secret papers contained…
When Kathy stirred the next morning, Landis wasn’t beside her. She got up and dressed. She found him eating breakfast with Ben. “Why didn’t you two awaken me?” she mildly scolded them.
“You needed your sleep; you were mighty restless last night,” Landis murmured, drawing a curious look from her.
“Did I keep you awake?” she apologetically asked, blushing.
“No. Something bothering you, Kat? Or just bored?” he inquired, his gaze unsettling her.
“No,” she replied, her brow raised quizzically.
Someone knocked on the door. Landis went to answer it, almost as if he was expecting someone. It was the Mounty, Trace Blitch. They chatted a few minutes, then Trace left without coming in. Ben and Kathy had continued their conversation, unable to hear the men’s muffled words.
Shortly after Landis closed the door, he said he had forgotten to tell Trace something. He grabbed his jacket and headed after the Mounty, his open parka flapping after him. “Ill be back,” he called over his shoulder.
“More coffee, Ben?” Kathy asked, pouring herself another cup.
“Yes, thanks.” Ben handed her the cup just as Landis opened the door and walked in, his parka now securely fastened…Ben grinned.
Landis told them he was going to change into warmer clothes before going out again, he had said it was exceptionally chilly and damp. He closed the bedroom door behind him. When he returned, he was dressed in snug-fitting black pants over longjohns and a creamy shirt in thick linen. A furry jerkin covered much of his shirt, it’s missing sleeves evincing arms with their bulging muscles. He had pulled on knee-high boots in shiny black. Not ready to leave yet, the top few buttons on his shirt were still unfastened, allowing Kathy a glimpse of his brawny chest with crisply curling black hair.
“You going somewhere?” Ben asked.
“To Dawson,” he freely announced, buttoning his shirt.
“Can I go?” Kathy excitedly requested. “I haven’t been out of this cabin in weeks. I would love to see this infamous Dawson.”
“Not this time. You remain hidden until the Mounties capture those men who attacked you. You can pack while I’m gone; I’ll take you hom
e when I return.” Landis and Ben exchanged unreadable looks.
Kathy felt as if Landis had knocked the wind from her. “You’re taking me back to Harriet’s?” she asked, waiting for his reaction.
“I must, Kat,” he pressed, drilling his gaze into Ben’s.
There was a curious interaction going on between them which Kathy couldn’t grasp. “Aren’t you going along, Ben?” she queried, focusing her attention on him.
“I’d rather be alone, if you don’t mind, Ben,” Landis quickly injected. “I’d appreciate you staying here to protect Kat until I come home. You two can get better acquainted,” he casually suggested.
Kathy’s gaze flew to Landis and froze on his blank face. “You’re serious?” Kathy persisted, looking and sounding as if she had just received a death sentence for an unpardonable crime. She was home!
“Ben and I are getting busy, and I need time to search for your father. We can’t leave you here alone while I’m traveling and he’s trapping. You’ve been stuck here a month. I’m sure Harriet and the others miss you,” he explained calmly. “I’ll come to visit as soon as I can, or when I have some exciting news,” he added to calm her.
Kathy watched him as if hypnotized. His meaning was all too clear. He was politely trying to send her on her way, out of his. She realized why he hadn’t discussed this in private; he didn’t want any fuss. “Leave when you get home?” she asked, her voice unsteady.
“I’ll be gone for several days. Ben’ll take care of you. I’d best get packed and going,” he nonchalantly delivered this stunning news.
Landis entered the storage room to load his pack with supplies. He dropped it on the living-area floor as he retrieved his parka. When he was all bundled up, he placed the pack-board on his back and secured it around his waist. Kathy noted his thick sleeping bag, an extra blanket, a canteen, and a large pack which contained camping gear and staples. Besides his hunting knife and pistol, he slung a rifle over his shoulder and dropped two boxes of ammunition in his pocket.
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