Chapter 24
Sitka; the Next Day
Done at last. Yuri stepped back from the bookshelf and arched his back, stretching out his muscles as he surveyed his work. The final two bookshelves stood finished, filling up the last wall of the temporary library.
He didn’t want to think about how long he’d spent yesterday and today measuring, sawing, and hammering, all while hoping Rosalind might stop by the library. He’d even worked through lunch earlier, just to make sure she didn’t show up during the short time he would have been gone.
But she hadn’t stopped by, not even for a few minutes.
Yet someone from the Caldwell household had been here.
The floor was filled with crates of books, and the inside folds on over half of them were stamped with Preston Caldwell’s name.
Yuri had found them there when he’d walked into the library that morning.
Did that mean Rosalind had stopped by after he left yesterday?
Clearly he’d missed her, and that rankled, because all he wanted to do was ask her why she’d turned those ledgers over to his family.
He stared at the front door, willing it to open and her to walk inside wearing both a smile and a dress that reminded him of spring.
Over the past week, Rosalind had swept the floors of the building and cleaned the windows and scrubbed the old woodstove in the corner. Plus, she’d shelved all of the donated books as soon as they arrived.
He’d assumed it wouldn’t be difficult to find her here this week, but clearly he’d been wrong.
He glanced at his pocket watch. A quarter past four. But he wasn’t ready to give up just yet on the possibility of Rosalind stopping by. Maybe he’d start shelving books. He wasn’t sure quite how Rosalind had the books organized, but surely he could figure it out.
He headed to the closest crate and bent to pick up the first book.
It was a biography of English abolitionist William Wilberforce. Did Rosalind have a section for biographies?
It took him only a few seconds of searching to find the biographies and set the book in its proper place. Then he bent to pick up the next one.
The door creaked open, and he snapped his head up. “Ros—”
The name died on his lips when he saw Alexei step inside.
His brother raised his eyebrows. “Expecting someone else?”
“I was hoping for it, at least.” He nudged one of the crates with his foot. “Rosalind had these donations sent here, and I was expecting her to stop by and shelve them.”
Alexei ran his eyes around the room, then let out a low whistle. “The library committee was busy while I was gone.”
“Most of it was Rosalind, though Angus donated the lumber and helped build some of the shelves.”
“And you built the rest? You did a good job.” Alexei bent to pick up a book from the crate, then turned it over in his hands. “It’s hard to imagine Caldwell letting his daughter get involved with something like this, or letting any of his books go, really.”
“She said we could have the books her father didn’t use. I don’t think he’ll notice most of them are gone.”
“Still . . .” Alexei shelved the slim volume in the poetry section. “I take it you haven’t seen her since she dropped off the ledgers?”
“No. I’ve been watching for her.” He picked up another book and turned it over without really seeing the title. “I don’t like it.”
They worked in silence for a few minutes, sliding books into place. Even though it was still afternoon, darkness had already fallen, giving him even less hope that Rosalind would arrive.
Had her father discovered what she’d done with the seal ledgers? Was she lying injured in her bed, perhaps this time with her wrist fully broken? Or maybe a broken leg?
“I wasn’t sure what to expect when I left you in charge of the library committee, but you’ve done well.” Alexei slid another book onto the shelf. “Or rather, mostly well. I’ve gotten several complaints about the library’s name.”
Yuri grimaced. “Caldwell wanted it named after him.”
“Preston Caldwell wants everything named after him.”
“I know, but he tasked Rosalind with making sure it got done, and I was worried . . .” His throat closed, leaving the words to hang between them.
Alexei turned to him. “Are you saying you think her father would have hurt her if he didn’t get his way?”
“I’m sure of it. Besides, I said the name was temporary. I plan to change it the second Rosalind is away from here.”
“We need to talk about that.”
“Me helping Rosalind?”
“More like how long it’s going to take you to help Rosalind, and whether you head straight to San Francisco after you’re done, which would probably be best, because if Caldwell’s not behind bars by then, he’ll be out for your head.”
His stomach suddenly felt as though a lead ball had lodged inside it. “What do you want to know?”
“The shipyard transfers to us on February fifteenth. Originally I wanted you down there next week, at the beginning of the month, but that was before I knew about Rosalind. How long will it take for you to get her somewhere safe?”
Yuri shelved a copy of The Lives of the Twelve Caesars with more force than necessary. “First we need to go to Washington, DC, to see if we can change solicitors and get her money moved to a bank her father doesn’t know about. But after that . . .” He licked his lips.
“What?” Alexei raised his eyebrows. “Is there a relative she can live with?”
“Not if she wants to stay hidden.”
Alexei reached for the last book from a crate, then scooted the crate to the side and slid another crate over so both of them could reach it. “So what’s the plan? To leave her in a large city where she can blend in?”
“That’s one option.”
Alexei pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just don’t say it will be San Francisco where you’ll be.”
Yuri’s throat felt gritty as he shelved another book. “I’ve considered it.”
“Her father will find her there, especially once he learns you’re living there too.
But even if you weren’t going to be there, San Francisco is still too close.
You need to put her somewhere in the middle of the country, away from water.
Maybe Saint Louis? Or better yet, Omaha?
It’s big enough for her to blend in, but landlocked and small enough that it won’t be high on Caldwell’s list of places to search. ”
“Actually, I want to take her to Belton, Texas.”
Alexei blinked. “Where?”
“Belton, Texas. It’s between Dallas and Austin. Rosalind supports a Woman’s Commonwealth down there. She sends them a hundred dollars every month.”
Alexei frowned. “A Woman’s Commonwealth? What’s that?”
“It’s a community where women and their children live and support each other, away from abusive husbands.
They work, raise their kids, sell things they make on their farm, and protect each other.
Rosalind’s been supporting the community for a few years, but I didn’t know much about it, so when I was in San Francisco, I hired an investigator to find out more. Just got his letter the other day.”
Alexei sat back on his heels. “And you want to take Rosalind there?”
Yuri rubbed the palm of his hand over his breastbone. “It seems like a place she might be able to heal. And like a place her father won’t think to look for her.”
Alexei gave a sharp nod. “It’s a good plan.”
It was. In fact, maybe it was too good of a plan, because he couldn’t think of a way to talk himself out of it—or of a way to somehow have her closer to him, since he was going to be stuck in California.
“How long do you think it will take to escort her to Washington, DC, and then take her to Texas?” Alexei shelved another book.
Yuri shrugged, sliding the book in his own hand onto the shelf in the novel section. “It’s two weeks just to get to Washington. But hopefully once we’re there, the banking details will only take a day or two, and then we can board a train to Texas. So maybe a month, but possibly less.”
Alexei rubbed his jaw. “The moment the deed to the shipyard transfers, someone needs to be on-site in San Francisco.”
“I intend to run the shipyard like you said, but I won’t be able to get there by the beginning of March.
But maybe Sacha is the best man to get things started.
I know what a dry dock in need of repair looks like, but if you expect me to catalog the supplies needed to fix it, I’d get it wrong ten times over before I got it right.
Sacha will know right away, and he’d be able to interview new workers and figure out who knows a thing or two about working on wooden ships. ”
“Sacha has two adopted children and a baby on the way. I don’t want to uproot him from his family.”
“Then send everyone down there with him for a few weeks. Ainsley and Finnan will think of it as an adventure. And Maggie can still return here in plenty of time to have her baby.” Yuri slid yet another book onto the shelf.
“Maybe that will work.” Alexei gave a small nod, then turned to him rather than reaching for another book.
“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I just received word from Jonas. He’s coming to Sitka with Kate and Nathan.
There’s been an incident in Unalaska, and the judge, Marshal Hibbs, and Dr. Hollis are all headed there for an investigation and trial.
Jonas will fill in for the Marshal while he’s gone, and Kate and Nathan will fill in for Dr. Hollis.
Evelina is staying in Juneau to continue running the Indian school and trading post.”
“It will be nice to see everyone, plus we can give Jonas the seal-harvesting ledgers while we’re waiting for Secretary Gray to arrive.
When is everyone supposed to get here?” Yuri bent down to retrieve another book, then paused.
He was nearly to the bottom of another crate, but the books at the very bottom didn’t look like normal books.
They looked like journals or ledgers, nearly identical to the ones Rosalind had given him two nights ago.
Alexei was busy giving him some kind of estimate about when the others would arrive, but Yuri nodded toward the crate. “Alexei . . .”
“Are those more ledgers?” Alexei crouched beside him, then picked up one of the books and opened it. “This one is for two summers ago.”
Yuri opened the other one. “So is this. It has more seal tallies.”
“And mine has the bribe amounts and dates.” Alexei rubbed his jaw. “She must not have had a way to get them to us directly, so she hid them here.”
“Or meant to give them to us and didn’t get the chance.” Yuri swallowed as he flipped through the ledger. “Do you think her father knows? Do you think that’s why she’s not here today? Because he found out what she did?”
Alexei just shook his head. “I don’t know, Yuri. I’m sorry.”
“Could we . . . That is . . . do you think it’s possible to . . .” Yuri licked his lips. “To send someone to check on her somehow?”
“And just how are we supposed to do that?”
“Perhaps someone can drop off donation forms from the library for Rosalind to fill out? I bet Caldwell will want credit for giving the library so many of his books, and we need an official way to track who gave what.”
Alexei blew out a breath. “We could probably send Bryony over. Caldwell might even let her talk to Rosalind for something like that.”
“I hope so.” He had to at least know she was safe—and that she was still planning to leave Sitka with him in a few more days.