Kit put his hands on the boys’ shoulders. “I understand, and I’ll try to do something about that, but no more playing with guns.” He straightened and turned to Hallie.
“Yoo-hoo, Christopher!Yoo-hoo, over here!”
A look of true horror replaced the expression Kit had been wearing. “Aunt Maddie...”
Hallie turned toward the high-pitched voice at the same time Kit did. Lee Prescott stood on the deck, helping a short, middle-aged woman climb on board. Her hair, a mass of curls the exact color of a ripe persimmon, waved from beneath the wide, flat brim of her straw bonnet.
But to Hallie the most astounding thing was the woman’s apparel. She was clad in an emerald-green version of Amelia Jenks Bloomer’s reform dress.
Like Queen Victoria with her scepter, she raised her green parasol imperiously. “Get over here, young man, and greet your aunt properly!”
It amazed Hallie that a grown man could actually look like he was a nine-year-old in trouble. Kit slowly walked toward his aunt, looking like one of the twins. As he passed Hallie, she dismissed that thought, because no child could mumble such an inventive string of curses.
Not wanting to pass up such a prime opportunity, she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear, “Now I understand where you get your obnoxious habit of ordering everyone around. It runs in your family.”
Hallie could tell exactly when her words penetrated his blue mumbles because he paused and his shoulders stiffened.
His aunt placed her gloved hands on Kit’s forearms and she looked up at him. “Humph! Don’t look suicidal to me. Could use a bath, though.” She shoved her parasol into Lee’s stomach. “Here, young man, make yourself useful and hold this.”
She dug through her purse, pulled out a pair of spectacles, and held them up toward the sun. She helped herself to the handkerchief in Kit’s top pocket and snapped it open. Ash and soot flew through the air. Tossing the linen square overboard, she used her overskirt to polish the lenses. Then she pushed the frames on her noble nose and studied her towering nephew, looking him up and down. “Still smoking that godforsaken pipe, are you young man?” Before Kit could answer, she went on, “Filthy habit, gets ash on everything!”
“Aunt Maddie, there was a fire. Didn’t you see it when you docked?” Kit stared at his aunt.
“A fire? Oh, that’s right,” she said absentmindedly. Then her expression changed. “Good heavens! Don’t tell me your house burned down. If I have to stay in a hotel after spending four extra weeks on that floating vermin den Charles Taber calls a ship, well, you can bet—”
“Calm down, Maddie, my house is fine,” Kit interrupted. “Only a third of the city burned, Happy Valley and the business district. My place is on Fern Hill, that one over there.” He turned and pointed to one of the unburned hillsides. “Come, I’ll take you home.”
“Just a minute, Christopher. Who are they?” Maddie pointed at Hallie and the twins, and again without giving Kit a chance to answer, she drew her own conclusions. “Well, good for you! It’s about time you forgot that flighty Taber girl you were stupid enough to marry. I’m glad you picked a strong one this time. Just look at her! She’s tall and... good God, are those twins? Never mind, don’t answer that, I can see they are! That’s all the better, means she’s fertile, too.”
Hallie heard Lee’s laughter, and if she weren’t so stunned, she probably would have been laughing too.
Kit grabbed his aunt by the arm. “Hold it, Maddie. I’m not married.”
“Oh.” Maddie’s exuberance deflated.
Kit led her over to where Hallie still stood, flanked by her twin brothers. She had never seen anyone quite like Kit’s aunt. While she felt overwhelmed and somewhat uncomfortable about the woman’s assumption, something told Hallie that, mouthy and bold as she was, Kit’s aunt would be a friend.
“Aunt Maddie,” Kit said, “this is Hallie Fredriksen and her two brothers, Gunnar and Knut.”
“Which is which?” Maddie asked.
“I’m Hallie.”
Maddie laughed, a hearty deep laugh. Her laughter faded, but she still smiled warmly at Hallie. “I love your ensemble, my dear. Shows extreme good taste.”
Hallie grinned. “Thank you. I like yours, too.” She felt one of the twins fidgeting with her pants leg. “This is Knut.” She put her hands on the little boy’s shoulders and then turned to the twin on her right. “And this is Gunnar.” Hallie smiled sweetly at Kit as she identified the boys for Maddie.
Kit wasn’t smiling. “I’ve been named guardian of the Fredriksens.”
Maddie perked up. “Really?”
“Hallie has two sisters too,” Kit added, completely oblivious to Maddie’s sudden brightness.
“How old are they?” Maddie asked.
“Dagny’s sixteen and Liv’s nine—”
“Oh, that’s good. They’re too young.” Maddie removed her spectacles and gave Hallie a sly wink. “Well, Christopher,” she said, tapping him with her spectacles. “I want to get settled in and you are in desperate need of some soap and water. Haven’t changed much in twenty years. I still have to tell you when to bathe.” Maddie turned. “Do you know what he used to do?”
