Chapter Eighteen Gertrude
Chapter Eighteen
Gertrude
Two days until the Oceanus is torpedoed
Survival. Dr. Brooks was right. People did impossible things to live. I’d taken incredible risks. And I would be wise to remember them.
I’d spent the night dreaming about Vienna and the woman who’d visited the bookshop with her rare finds. I wasn’t sure why she reminded me of the other passenger I’d glimpsed, but she did. There was no way the Viennese woman could have found me, right?
The hallways were quiet, as was the cabin next to mine. I slipped on my coat and opened my door. There was no one in sight. The ship was asleep.
I climbed the stairs to the dining room and found the steward already at his post. The dining room doors were closed, but I could hear the clink of glasses as the crew set up the breakfast service.
I moved toward the steward, who looked at me with a mixture of annoyance and concern. “Ma’am, we don’t open for another hour, but I can get you toast if you’re hungry.”
“That’s not necessary. I had a question for you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I met a woman Monday evening,” I lied. “A lovely brunette with a tall man who didn’t appear well. She told me her name, but I’ve already forgotten it. We’re to be seated together at breakfast, and I would feel the fool if I didn’t know it.”
The steward didn’t have to think long. “The man is Mr. Weller, and his companion is Miss Sigrid Stein.”
Sigrid. I didn’t recognize the name, but I was also using a false name. “You have an excellent memory for names.”
Pride flared in his eyes. “It’s my job.”
“She is from Vienna?” I asked.
“Yes, from what I understand. An actress.”
I digested the information. Two women from Vienna. What were the chances we would know each other? “Thank you. I truly appreciate your help.”
He seemed relieved to know he’d helped me and would also be rid of me. “Glad to be of help.”
I climbed the stairs to the top deck and stepped outside into the bracing wind. Storm clouds rumbled on the horizon, and ocean waves arched and rolled toward the ship. The dark water surrounded us, flexing its powers.
I can crush you, but I won’t, the water whispered.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and removed the coin Dr. Brooks had given me. Had the coin found me after all this time?
My mother often spoke of ancient gods playing tricks on humans and making them believe in coincidence. If the coin had found me, could others?
I strolled toward the bow, promising myself I’d only be outside a moment or two. I should have sensed trouble, but I didn’t.
As I rounded a corner, I saw the woman standing by the railing. Her dark hair was pulled back into a neat twist. She wore a dark suit that didn’t complement her pale skin. A breeze caught hints of her expensive perfume.
The scent conjured memories of the woman in the bookshop. As tempted as I was to turn and run, where would I go? We were trapped on this ship for three more days. I stepped toward her.
As if she sensed my approach, she turned and looked at me. “Good morning, Naida. I do love the moments before the sun rises, don’t you?”
Hearing my true name from the woman I’d met so long ago was chilling. I didn’t speak.
She continued to look out toward the water. “Funny that we would find ourselves on the same ship sailing to the United States.”
“You act as if you know me,” I lied.
Her grin widened. “So now we play pretend? I’ve done that many times and always enjoy the game.”
I’d thought about her from time to time since I’d escaped Vienna, but it had never occurred to me I’d see her again. The last time I’d seen her, we’d been sitting on a bench by the Danube River. Alfred was in Berlin, and I had a few days of peace to myself.
She’d sat beside me on the weathered bench as if finding me by the river was no surprise.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I’ve been watching you. I know you stroll down here whenever you can.”
“Why’re you watching me?”
“I think we could be of assistance to each other.”
“You can’t help me.”
“Don’t be so sure.” From her purse she pulled out a small book. “I have a gift for you.”
I wondered who else might be watching. Alfred had ensured the household staff tracked my movements. “I need no gifts.”
“All ladies like presents, no?”
I rose. “It’s not safe for us to be together.”
She captured my hand. “No one will see us here. And Alfred is in Germany, no?”
I stilled.
“Stay. I mean you no trouble.” She looked around. “Sit before someone notices us.”
I slowly sat. “I can’t be seen with anyone. Alfred doesn’t like it.”
“Alfred. Not such a hero, is he?”
I’d been alone and isolated for several years. Emotions buried deep churned, and I wanted so much to trust someone. But she was not that person.
She laid a slim volume in my lap. It was Shakespeare’s First Folio that I’d refused to buy three years ago.
“I no longer have money of my own to buy anything.”
“As I said, it’s a gift.”
Bitterness swept me. “I’ve never known you to give away anything for free.”
She shrugged. “That’s very true most days. But today I feel generous.”
“Why?” I smoothed my hand over the book. My uncle would have been thrilled to see this.
“I would ask one small favor of you in exchange for the book.”
I set the book between us. “I have no ability to grant favors.”
“Ah, but you do.” A breeze from the river pestered the strands around her face. “You’re having a party next week, from what I hear.”
I didn’t question how she knew. She’d always seemed privy to information and unique items. She was right, of course. At Alfred’s command, I was planning a large party for his associates.
“I would like an invitation for a friend and myself.”
“The guest list has already been selected. I have no control over it.”
“I think the hostess could find a way to sneak in two more people.”
“It’s all tightly guarded.”
She didn’t reach for the book. “Yes, big important men will be there. My friend would like to meet them. Meetings are hard to get these days. Everyone is so nervous. And my friend is American and finds he’s less welcome than he once was in Vienna.”
If Alfred were to find out about this conversation, I’d pay dearly. She rubbed my forearm where the flesh still bore the bruises from his tight grip. “I can’t help you.”
“What is it you want?”
“Freedom.” The word escaped my lips before I could think.
“If you help me, I can help you escape.”
The waters drifted past, peaceful and slow. “I don’t see how.”
“It’s very simple. I know people who could get you out of the city. If you could get to the river again, there would be a boat waiting for you.”
The idea of sailing away from Vienna was tantalizing. And the thought alone was dangerous.
“I cannot.”
“Just two invitations to the party, and I’ll help you escape.”
“He would kill me.”
“Alfred is a dangerous man. He has a reputation for violence. If you stay with him, it’s a matter of time before he kills you. The way I see it, you have nothing to lose.”
Raising my chin, I stared at the water. “This is a trick. Alfred has sent you.”
She shook her head slowly. “He did not. I’m here because you can help me.”
I said nothing.
“Take the book. Slip the two invitations between the pages and return it to this bench. I’ll be here tomorrow night. If you do that, I’ll find you safe passage out of the city. You can sail the Danube River to the Black Sea and disappear. The chaos of the party will be the perfect time to escape.”
There would be hundreds of guests and staff in the house for the party. It would be chaos. And Alfred would be distracted with his guests.
She stared at the waters, her face calm and relaxed. “Can you acquire a maid’s uniform? No one watches the maids when they’re leaving.”
The uniforms had been ordered. It was important that the staff all look the same so they could go as unnoticed as possible. My stomach churned at the idea.
“Get me those invitations, and there will be a boat waiting.” She rose and faced me. “Think about it. This might be your only opportunity to escape.”
I never responded, but I took the book and left.
The next day, I slipped into Alfred’s office and took two handwritten invitations.
That night I returned to the river with the volume and the invitations.
She wasn’t there. And for several seconds, I expected to see Alfred.
This had been another trick, another reason to punish me.
But when the night remained silent and no one appeared, I set the book on the bench and left.
Now as we stood on the deck of the Oceanus, I watched her manicured fingers tapping the railing.
“I didn’t think you’d make it this far,” she said. “You are cleverer than I’d imagined. I’m told you barely made it to the boat in time.”
Her familiarity was unsettling.
My past crashed in around me, and I could feel the air leaving my lungs as the ship rolled under my feet. Knowing I’d been recognized left me nauseous. A door opened, and a steward with an armload of towels passed us.
My mind raced.
“I hear Alfred was in rage when you vanished. He had all the train stations searched, alerted local police, and notified the army. He told everyone that you weren’t in your right mind. I know he’s still looking for you.”
My husband would search to the end of his days to find me. Not out of love, but because of the wish I’d made. “What do you want?”
“Several weeks after the party, he sent police to question me. I spent a week in a prison cell until he came to see me.”
If that was all he’d done to her, then she was lucky.
She flexed the stiff, gloved fingers. “He struck a deal with me. Find you and report back to him.”
“Why would you do it? You’re free now.”
“He has a great hold over me.”
“What?”
She sighed. “Perhaps I’m a selkie, and he has taken my skin hostage.”
“This isn’t a fairy tale,” I said.
“No, it’s not. Either way, I have no choice but to fulfill his request.”
My mind shouted caution even as I asked, “How did you find me?”
“I followed the rivers and the oceans and spoke to the people I knew along the way. Remembering a quiet, bruised, and battered woman of means was not difficult.”
“What do you want? I have no money.”
“I want freedom too.” She studied my rounded belly. “Did you know about the baby when you left?”
I had not. “Alfred must never know about the child.”
“He would move heaven and earth for you and his child.”
“Leave me in peace. There’s nothing I can give you.”
“Peace isn’t in my future or yours. We’re both trapped.”
“We don’t have to be.”
She sighed. “I have a proposal for you. I will trade your freedom again if you give me the child.”
I gripped my belly. “No.”
“Alfred wants me to deliver you to him, or he’ll find me and kill me.”
“He wouldn’t let you go. He’ll kill you.”
“Perhaps, but I have family and friends who have been taken to a camp. They will only be released if I return with you.”
Alfred would think nothing of taking a family, especially with Roma roots, to get what he wanted. Though the explanation sounded plausible, I couldn’t believe she wasn’t lying. “And you believe him?”
Her eyes darkened. “I have no choice.”
My fingers curled into a fist. “I’m not going back.”
“Your husband would accept your child in your place. I could tell him you died giving birth. The child would settle my debt to him.”
“He won’t release your family. Or you. You have struck a devil’s bargain.”
She stared out over the water, her gaze growing distant before she leveled it back on me. “The man I’m traveling with also made a bargain with Alfred to escape Austria. And he can attest that Alfred’s reach is far.”
My inability to love this child did not mean I would treat it so cruelly. “I’m not giving you this child. I couldn’t condemn anyone to that life.”
“Consider my offer,” she said. “You were willing to make deals within the bookshop and at the river. This exchange is no different. I suspect now that you’ve had a taste of freedom, you would hate to give it up.”