Trade Winds (Choc Lit) (14 page)

‘From now on, if I catch that girl in here again, or if I hear she’s been within a mile of the warehouse, she’ll be sent back to live in the deep forests again. And this time she won’t be coming back. Is that clear? I shan’t speak of the matter with her, because she knows my views on this subject, so it’s up to you to tell her. No doubt she’ll listen to you more readily, since she never seems to take any notice of the slightest thing I say.’

Fergusson stomped towards the door and Killian only just had time to scoot down to the bottom of the stairs. He pretended to be on his way up when the door was yanked open. As he opened his mouth to greet his employer, Fergusson barged past him without a word, his dark eyes blazing. He slammed the door to the warehouse with as much force as he could muster. Killian looked after the man and shook his head. When he began to climb the stairs again, he found Holm standing at the top, frowning.

‘You hear any of that?’ he asked curtly. His usually placid expression had been replaced by one of deep worry.

‘A few words,’ Killian admitted. He couldn’t very well deny it, since it was likely anyone within a hundred yards had heard Fergusson yelling.

‘Well, keep it to yourself, right?’

Killian nodded. ‘Won’t breathe a word. But what of the young lady? Will you warn her?’

‘
Ja.
I already tell her in church, but she’s stubborn, so I don’t know if it will be of any use.’ Holm sighed. ‘Let’s forget it now, is not our problem.’

Killian followed him into the office. He knew Holm was right, but he had a feeling he hadn’t heard the last of the matter.

Chapter Twelve

Jess received the terse note from Albert that same afternoon and gritted her teeth in frustration. He told her in no uncertain terms to stay away from him and the warehouse for now. But how was she to learn anything about Robert’s activities? She needed answers.

She had managed to have a brief word with him after church the previous Sunday, but this had only reinforced her feeling that something wasn’t right.

‘As far as I know, the company has never been in trouble,’ Albert said, frowning in concern when she asked about this. ‘When your father died, all was in order and business was fairly brisk as I recall. I don’t know why Mr Fergusson should have claimed otherwise. Unless it was to discourage the young man from courting you? Most parents tell small lies in order to protect their children.’

Jess didn’t think protection of her had been Robert’s motive at all, but she couldn’t prove it. ‘Is he investing heavily in anything? Is there something underhand going on he wouldn’t want me to know about?’

Albert shook his head. ‘I’ve not seen or heard anything out of the ordinary. Besides, it’s his business so why would he be worried about you finding out? You have no say in such matters.’

That was precisely what annoyed Jess, but she knew he was right. ‘Well, all the same, I’d be grateful if you could be vigilant, please.’

‘Very well, I’ll keep my eyes and ears open, but please bear in mind that although your stepfather is not well liked, it doesn’t mean he’s dishonest. I really don’t know what it is you expect me to find.’

Jess didn’t know either. She only had a vague feeling that somehow Robert had cheated her, and she had to get to the bottom of it.

The question was how, if she wasn’t even allowed to see Albert? She had been so careful when she went to the warehouse, bringing only a maid. Either the girl had been bribed to tell her employer where Jess had gone, or he had set someone else to spy on her. It made her furious that she couldn’t do anything without him knowing about it, but didn’t it also confirm he had something to hide? If he didn’t, surely there would be no need to keep tabs on her or to prevent her from seeing Albert?

Well, she refused to let this stand in her way. She would just have to be even more careful in future.

As autumn arrived with a vengeance and the weather grew progressively colder, the foreigners living in Gothenburg began to congregate more often at Murdoch’s inn. Killian was told that Sweden was a bleak and godforsaken place for more than half the year, but as far as he could see, it wasn’t all that different from Scotland. The coming of winter didn’t bother him. He’d always enjoyed the wild weather and sudden snowstorms at Rosyth House, and looked forward to the freezing months ahead.

Darkness fell earlier each day and the cosy atmosphere of the taproom became a haven of light and leisure pursuits, including gaming. Killian had been careful not to overdo it with the cards and dice since his arrival in Gothenburg. However, he knew that if he wanted to be able to buy better cargos for his ship, he would need more money. Therefore, although he never initiated a game of any kind himself, he continued to play whenever someone invited him. By setting himself a limit for how much capital to use as a starting point and not exceeding this at any time, he managed to gather quite a little nest egg. As always, Lady Luck was on his side. So much so that his reputation quickly spread and he had to take even more care not to fleece anyone.

Quite how far his skills had become known was brought home to him when he ran into Miss van Sandt again one morning. She was coming down the stairs from the office just as he entered the warehouse. He looked up, surprised to see her there at such an early hour, and alarmed that she hadn’t paid attention to Holm’s warnings for her to stay away. Holm was obviously right − she was foolhardy and stubborn.

‘Miss van Sandt,
god morgon.
’ He bowed and waited for her to reach the bottom of the staircase. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said a frosty good morning as she swept past him on her way to the front door. Killian couldn’t resist a comment, and he was also determined to give her a subtle warning, so he said, ‘Give my best regards to your stepfather, won’t you?’

She stopped dead and turned slowly to face him, anger and mistrust warring in her quicksilver eyes. Killian smiled as she walked the few steps back towards him. ‘I thought I “paid” you not to mention my visits here to him?’ she hissed.

‘That was for last time and besides, he found out anyway. Although not from me, I assure you.’

Her right hand twitched as if she wanted to hit him, but he regarded her calmly, only raising his brows at her when she stuttered, ‘Why you … you … oh!’

He took pity on her and shook his head. ‘Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. If you found your so called “payment” so awful, I won’t make you do it again unless you want to.’

‘Why would I want to kiss a hardened gambler? You’re not exactly an acceptable suitor, are you?’ she shot back, her cheeks slowly turning pink.

‘Hardened gambler? You exaggerate, Miss van Sandt.’ It annoyed him that such rumours had reached her ears, and he was determined to be even more on his guard in future. He didn’t let these thoughts show, however, but stayed calm.

‘That’s not what the gossips say. I hear you are on a winning streak.’

‘You really shouldn’t listen to idle talk. Don’t you know that for each person who repeats the tale, the item in question is multiplied tenfold?’

‘So it’s not true then?’ she challenged, putting one hand on her hip. He smiled again, liking her spirit. It was obvious she was trying to divert his attention from the original subject of their conversation. She was doing a fairly good job of it too.

‘I play a hand of cards now and again with my friends, who doesn’t?’ He shrugged. ‘It’s hardly my fault if Lady Luck seems to favour me above the others at the moment.’

‘Hah, a likely tale.’

‘Well, you can choose to believe whatever you want, Miss van Sandt. The truth is that I don’t play beyond my means and never recklessly. If that makes me a hardened gambler, then so be it. What amusements do you pursue? Embroidery? Gossip? Meddling in affairs you have been warned not to stick your pretty nose into? I rather think I prefer a game of cards.’

‘You’re impossible,’ she muttered and turned to leave once more.

‘Ahem, did you forget something?’ he asked and she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening in consternation.

‘No, I did not,’ she stated firmly, but she stayed rooted to the spot.

He took his chance and stepped close to her, after first checking there was no one else about. Quickly he bent to give her a swift kiss, chaste but lingering a touch longer than he should have. ‘Please don’t come here again,’ he whispered. ‘I mean it. It’s too dangerous for you. Trust me.’

Her eyes flew up to search his, but he turned and left her there, hurrying up the stairs before he was tempted to do more than just kiss her. Her spirit had fired his blood, but he knew she wasn’t for him. He had no time for dalliance at the moment.

He just hoped she listened to his advice.

Jess ran into her mother as soon as she entered the house, so there was no chance of disappearing up to her room unseen to think things over.

‘There you are, Jess. Where have you been? Mrs Forbes has looked everywhere for you.’ Her mother looked distracted, as always.

‘Oh, I thought she said she was staying in bed this morning because she had a headache.’

Mrs Forbes never refused a glass of whisky the few times she was offered one. She was forever pining for Scotland and said this drink made her think of home. Last night had been one such occasion. Robert had brought out the bottle to celebrate some successful business deal he’d made that day, and he never liked to drink alone. Katrijna couldn’t stand the ‘vile stuff’ as she called it, which meant that Mrs Forbes was usually invited to have a glass instead. Invariably, she had a sore head the next day, and Jess had expected her to stay in bed until lunchtime.

‘No, she’s been up and about for some time,’ Katrijna said. ‘She’s quite cross with you, you know, and who can blame her?’

‘I’m sorry to hear that, I just went to the market. There were some embroidery threads I needed.’ Jess had bought these on her way back to the house, just in case anyone thought to ask where she had been. ‘I wasn’t alone, I had Margit with me.’ That particular maid was Albert’s niece, and therefore not likely to tell tales, so Jess knew she was safe in that respect.

‘Oh, well that’s good. Do go and find Mrs Forbes though. I really don’t want to listen to any more complaints this morning.’

Jess did as she was asked and for once Mrs Forbes accepted her explanation without suspicion. Since her companion winced every time the sun peeped through the clouds and spilled into the room, Jess figured the old dragon was still suffering. This made her less inclined to think too much about what Jess had been up to.

‘Did you hear any news while you were out?’ Mrs Forbes’s main interest was gossip, since nothing much happened in her own life. She made it her business to find out everything she could about any inhabitant of Gothenburg worth knowing. This was not a trait which endeared her to Jess.

‘Not much. There was talk of an engagement between Miss Vallgren and a Mr Forslund, but no definite announcement.’

Mrs Forbes nodded. ‘Yes, I heard that yesterday. Apparently he had to be forced into it. He had, shall we say, overstepped the bounds of propriety.’

‘Really?’ Jess wondered whether such a course of action would be the solution to her own problem, but somehow she didn’t think it would work. To deliberately become pregnant would be a huge gamble. No doubt Robert would find some way of discrediting her instead of making the man responsible pay for his actions. She suppressed a sigh. ‘There was also more talk of Mr Kinross’s winning streak,’ she added, wanting to see what reaction that piece of news would cause. It was Mrs Forbes who had told her of his gaming in the first place.

‘Doesn’t surprise me,’ the woman snorted. ‘He’s a bad one, mark my words. He’ll never stay employed with Mr Fergusson for long. Born to a life of leisure, that type, and probably never done a day’s work in his life.’

A few weeks earlier Jess would have been inclined to agree, but that morning Albert had mentioned in passing that he was very pleased with the work Mr Kinross was doing. He said the young man was making huge progress. This didn’t fit with the image of a dissolute gambler.

He could still be a scoundrel though.

She shivered, remembering with outrage that Mr Kinross had dared to make her pay for his silence yet again. However, she couldn’t deny she’d had the opportunity to leave. So why hadn’t she? An innate honesty made her admit to herself she had actually wanted him to kiss her again. She’d needed to know whether it would have the same effect on her as it had the previous time.

Well, there was no doubt about it now.

In fact, his touch turned her into a witless idiot, unable to so much as protest, but his next words had made her forget everything else. Albert had already begged her not to come again, but she had taken his words as those of an over-concerned uncle, dismissing his fears. Mr Kinross was a different matter. Did he know something she didn’t?

It was disconcerting that he knew so much about her affairs. He’d only been in Sweden for a few short weeks. How had he found out about her circumstances so quickly? Even if he listened to gossip as avidly as Mrs Forbes, there shouldn’t be anything to learn. Other than the old story about her and Karl of course. She wondered yet again whether Albert had let slip anything, but she simply couldn’t believe him capable of breaking her trust. He wasn’t a man who spoke without thinking. He was as loyal as it was possible to be. Besides, he had sworn to try to help her, although naturally he had to be careful unless he wanted to lose his employment.