Summer of the Midnight Sun (17 page)

Helaina was silent, almost appearing to take offense to Leah’s words. Perhaps Helaina knew Jayce much better than she’d let on. Maybe she was in love with him and had planned to convince him to leave the land and settle in the States. The aching returned to Leah’s heart.
Lord, please keep me strong. Please don’t let this hurt me more
.

“I’m headed back to the doctor’s office right now. I’ve been helping out there in exchange for a room. You could come with me and talk to Jayce yourself. Perhaps if you share this good news of how his superiors want him to pick the team, he would be persuaded to come with you.”

Helaina nodded. “I have wanted to visit with him. I’ve held off, however. I wanted him to feel fully recovered before attempting to convince him to leave. I wouldn’t want to be the reason for a relapse.”

“Then come along. I’m done with my shopping.” Leah held up a small canvas bag. “We might as well see how he’s feeling.”

“But you will try to talk to him—after I’m gone?” Helaina asked. “Try to help him see how needed he is on this project.”

“I can try,” Leah said half-heartedly, “but I doubt he’ll give my words any weight.”

————

Leah and the doctor told Jayce that he was improving with each passing day. His restlessness at being unable to walk long distances caused him to be grumpy, however. The doctor had assured him the stiffness and aching would pass. The wound had been quite deep, after all, and Jayce was fortunate to have a leg to stand on. But even this explanation didn’t still the anxiety inside Jayce. He wanted to be back on his own—he wanted to be away from Nome.

“I’ve brought someone to see you,” Leah announced. A woman came in beside her and waited for the introduction. “It’s Helaina . . . Helaina Beecham, your teammate.”

“My teammate?” Jayce questioned.

“I was to be the assistant cartographer on the
Homestead
expedition,” Helaina announced. She moved forward and extended her hand. “Glad to finally meet you. I heard of your injuries when you first arrived but have hesitated to burden you with company.”

“I’m grateful for that,” Jayce said, giving her hand a brief shake. She looked like a frail thing, much too fragile for life in the north. He doubted if she weighed more than one hundred pounds and surely she wasn’t any taller than five foot. And he surmised all of this despite the fact that she wore a loose-fitting native kuspuk and denim pants.

“I heard that your injury was considerable,” Helaina continued. “I am sorry for that. Leah tells me that you met your fate while dealing with her brother’s sled dogs.”

Jayce eyed her warily. Jacob had already warned him about the woman. He was glad to have this advantage, certain that Mrs. Beecham knew nothing of their suspicions. Jacob hadn’t even told Leah, for fear that she might let something slip. Jayce watched her for a moment more before finally answering her.

“I was working with the dogs that were to be taken on the expedition. They were spooked, and I, unfortunately, was a stranger in a bad position.”

“Well, you appear to have recovered considerably, and that is why I’m here today. The exploration association would like for you to come to Seattle. We are both to travel there.”

“For what purpose?” This was exactly the information Jacob had shared. They had both mulled it over for some time, trying to reason what the woman might be about. There was no way she had received word via telegraph at the time she claimed, and there hadn’t been time for the mail to reach her from Seattle.

Helaina smiled sweetly and turned to Leah. “Might I have a chair? This will take a little time.”

Leah nodded and left to find Helaina something to sit on. When she returned with a wooden chair from the waiting room, Helaina nodded her approval. “Perfect. Now, where was I?” she asked as she took her seat.

“You were about to tell me why I need to go to Seattle.”

“Well, here is the wonderful news,” Helaina said, looking to Leah as if for confirmation. “There is to be a second expedition. It will leave as soon as the remaining members of the team are handpicked by you.”

“By me? Why me?” He looked to Leah. She seemed upset by all of this yet held her tongue, her distress evident in the way she worried the cuff of her sleeve. Had the Beecham woman somehow threatened her or coerced her to remain silent?

“You are the most knowledgeable about the lay of the land. This team will be staying on through the winter,” Helaina explained.

Jayce rubbed his stubbled chin. “I have no desire to stay in the Arctic through the winter. I’ve already promised Jacob to remain with him in Last Chance Creek and practice working with the dogs. We have several important trips already planned.”

He could see this news didn’t sit well with Helaina, but at the same time he thought a spark of something flared in Leah’s eyes. Could it be happiness at this announcement?

“But, Mr. Kincaid, this is a chance of a lifetime. You would be able to handpick the remaining team. The association values your opinion and believes you to be the most capable person to make these decisions.”

“I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken,” Jayce said, shaking his head. “I have no experience in such matters. They would never ask this of me.”

“You’re just overly modest, Mr. Kincaid. Your reputation precedes you.”

“Truly? And where did you hear of me, Mrs. Beecham?”

Helaina seemed momentarily surprised by this. She quickly recovered, however. “From the association, of course. As well as others. My own brother had heard of you, in fact. He thought you . . . well . . . ingenious.”

“I cannot imagine why. I’ve done nothing to merit such compliments.” Jayce made a pretense at struggling to sit up better in the bed. Leah immediately came to his side to assist him. He liked the way she fussed over him and the way her hair smelled of lavender.

“You shouldn’t wear yourself out, Jayce. If this is too much, we can go.”

“Nonsense. I’m doing quite well. Jacob will be here soon to help me with my walk, in fact.” He saw Helaina’s mouth tighten at the mention of Leah’s brother.

“I am glad that we had this opportunity to chat, Mrs. Beecham. I would be most grateful if you would send my regrets to the association and let them know that I won’t be joining them for the second expedition. It might be possible that I could come along next year. But the doctor assures me I would be risking my life to try anything so foolhardy this year.”

“I see.” Her tone betrayed an obvious displeasure. “I suppose there is nothing I can say to change your mind?”

“Nothing.”

“Even if I told you the second expedition would be called off if you refused to join?”

“I find that doubtful, Mrs. Beecham. The men who are funding and overseeing the Arctic exploration are not the type to put all of their eggs in one basket. Certainly not the basket of a lowly geologist. I know them well enough to state quite confidently that if they are planning a second expedition, it will go on without me. Geologists are easy to come by. I met quite a few when I worked in Vancouver for the last year.”

“Vancouver?” Helaina asked. “Exactly when were you there?”

“Most of last year. I came north as far as I could get by ship in February, then relied on help from natives to get me to Nome.” She frowned only more at this statement. Jayce couldn’t quite figure it out. Why should that news upset her?

“You really should tell me sometime how you managed to work your way across Alaska in the dead of winter. I’ve heard it to be quite impossible.”

“For a white woman, it might be, although I’m sure Leah could do it,” Jayce replied with a smirk. “I find it hard to believe, for instance, that the exploration team accepted you. You’re hardly cut out for living in the north. You’re skin and bones. A good Arctic breeze would blow you over.”

Helaina’s face reddened at this. She clenched her hands together tightly, further amusing Jayce. “I assure you, I am quite strong and capable.”

“You’ve been north before, then?”

She looked to Leah and then back to Jayce. “No, but . . .”

“You have experience in Arctic temperatures of fifty and sixty below zero?”

“No, but . . .”

“Then you probably have firsthand knowledge of winter survival skills?” He arched his brow and stared at her with an unyielding question to his look.

“Mr. Kincaid, I assure you I know very well how to take care of myself in any situation. I am not afraid to listen to the advice of others, but neither do I leave my choices to fate. I am well read on the explorations of other teams who have gone north and failed. I know what is needed and what is expected.”

“Ah, but do you know what is unexpected?” He looked to Leah and winked. The action unnerved her completely and thoroughly amused Jayce.

Helaina had clearly had enough. “I will inform the association of your decision, Mr. Kincaid, but I wouldn’t plan on being invited to join any future expeditions.”

“It’s no matter to me,” Jayce lied. “I live here year-round. I don’t need a sponsorship to study the vast northern wilderness. I make that my life. Unlike some people who must have badgered the association into taking them on this trip, they came to me. They courted and wooed me to join them, much as a man might do when seeking to entice a woman. If they choose not to invite me to another event, I will not be brokenhearted.”

Just then Jacob walked through the door. He took one look at Helaina and frowned. “What’s she doing here?”

“She came to persuade me to join her in Seattle. It seems there is to be another expedition north. They are putting together a team and want me to handpick the men.”

“That’s quite an honor, Jayce. You going?” Jacob asked, as if he didn’t already know the answer.

Jayce shook his head. “Nah, I couldn’t be bothered. This leg is giving me too much trouble anyway. I’m sure heading home with you is the right choice.”

Helaina squared her shoulders and lifted her chin ever so slightly. “Well, I should go send word that you will not be joining the team.”

“You do that, Mrs. Beecham,” Jayce said, moving gingerly to the edge of the bed. Leah reached out to help him once again. He looked up and smiled at her. “Ah, my pretty nurse has come to see me properly cared for.”

Leah halted in midstep, almost as if she were afraid to touch him. Jayce thought her hands trembled as she moved forward to assist him. More and more, he was convinced that the past was not behind them, but rather, it had crept quite intricately into the present. And who could tell what that might hold for the future? Especially after he spent the winter living in close proximity to her.

“Come, Jacob. I’m ready for my run,” Jayce said, laughing.

Chapter Fourteen

H
elaina couldn’t put the thought of Jayce Kincaid from her mind. Things he had said caused her grave confusion. First Leah had told her that Jayce had been in Alaska for many years, with no reason to go elsewhere. Then Jayce himself had said that he’d been in Alaska at the very time he had thrown her brother from a train outside of Washington, D.C. And the ease in which he made the statement indicated he was telling the truth. All the things Stanley had taught her to watch for when people were lying were clearly absent: Jayce looked her in the eye and never looked away, and he didn’t stammer or hesitate even once when relating his story.

“But he had to be in Washington,” she told herself. “Stanley didn’t just throw himself from the train. And he knew Kincaid well enough to have his picture sketched out.” Helaina took the picture from her purse and unfolded it. It was clearly Jayce Kincaid.

She spread the picture out on her bed, then gathered her other materials. Everything pointed to the fact that Leah and Jayce were lying. She knew Jayce had been in England from summer through Christmas of 1914. This had been confirmed by the men at the British Museum. He had stolen from them, then returned to the United States. But Jayce said he’d been working in Vancouver with the exploration association. That would be easy enough to prove or disprove.

Helaina continued to study her notes. In February, Jayce had nearly been apprehended by two agents. Instead, he had killed the men and left them bleeding in the streets. Then in April, Stanley had caught up with him again. Her brother had nearly met the same fate as his friends.

But Jayce said he had headed to Alaska in February. He had gone by boat for as far as he could, then relied on dog sleds and native guides to get him to Nome. It just didn’t make sense. Leah had told her at one point that Jayce had come to their village just prior to the eighteenth of May, but that he’d been in Nome for several weeks before that. It just didn’t fit what Helaina knew to be true.

So exactly what was the truth about this situation?

There has to be an answer,
Helaina thought. She feared that now it would be difficult, if not impossible, to get Jayce to Seattle. She knew she wouldn’t find success in enticing him there, and the time for having Dr. Cox insist on such matters for health reasons was clearly behind them. No, short of drugging him and paying thugs to haul him off to some ship for her, Helaina was out of choices.

The other problem was trying to figure out what Jayce planned to do once his leg was completely healed. Would he stay in Nome or return to Vancouver? Or would he go back into the interior, as Leah suggested? Helaina would have to find out, and quickly, if she was to stay ahead of the mastermind.

She tossed the papers back into her large traveling bag and walked to the window. Looking out she could see part of the street. It was such a hopeless little town. Full of all sorts of unfulfilled pledges and dreams. She longed for home more than ever. New York or Washington—it didn’t matter. Although at times like this when she was truly troubled, she always appreciated spending time with Mrs. Hayworth. She’d been a source of comfort and care for many years, and her calming presence seemed to reach deep into Helaina’s soul. Still, Helaina was convinced that it couldn’t be her faith in God that brought this about as much as familiarity.

Jacob Barringer believed in Christian philosophies, and he was anything but calming. In fact, he was quite an irritant. His smug, pompous attitude was enough to make Helaina want to check out his background for criminal activities. Maybe once she returned to Washington, D.C., she’d do exactly that. But first she had to deal with Jayce Kincaid.