Based on what Mikhail had shared with her after Richard died, she never would have guessed. Why did someone who was so good at saving people’s lives carry around such guilt inside?
“I’m so sorry to hear about Richard.” Rosalind reached out and squeezed her hand. “Father told me what happened. You must be devastated.”
“Oh, right. I... ah...” She found herself unable to meet the other woman’s gaze. How much should she tell Rosalind Caldwell about Richard? They were friends, but not close enough that Rosalind had known her true feelings before leaving.
But one glance at the small, delicate woman standing in the middle of the grand library had her opening her mouth. Rosalind Caldwell was lovely, yes, but she’d been living in the middle of nowhere for several years. Did she have any friends here her age? Her father didn’t seem like the sort to let his daughter befriend fishermen’s and miners’ daughters.
“The truth is, I didn’t want to marry Richard. I never wished him dead, but I wasn’t going to...” Movement through the window caught her eye. “Wait. Are there people still on the Amoses’ ship? Don’t tell me the Revenue Cutter Service is still searching it?”
Rosalind looked out the window, a small groove etching itself across her delicate brow. “I’m afraid they are.”
“Aboard ship, they made it sound like these searches were just a standard procedure.”
“Usually they are, but Father’s not too keen on the Amos family, and neither is Uncle Simon.”
“Why?” The Amoses seemed nothing short of wonderful.
Rosalind sighed, the sound small and dainty. “Grudges. Money. Revenge. What else?”
“You almost make it sound like the Amoses stole something from your family, but I can’t imagine them doing that.”
“They didn’t steal, no. But the Amoses have never been swayed by Father’s wealth or power. That probably set them off on the wrong foot from the beginning. Then years ago, Sacha, who was captaining one of his family’s ships at the time, reported one of our ships for poaching seals at sea.”
Bryony scratched the side of her head. “I thought your family had the sole right to hunt seals in Alaska? How could one of your ships be poaching?”
“Only the bulls are allowed to be hunted, and only on land, after they’ve mated so that it doesn’t damage the seal population.” Rosalind turned away from the window. “Hunting at sea usually means killing a female, and the female might even be pregnant.”
“I see.”
“So even though only two seals were poached, the judge who heard the case ordered the entire shipload of pelts—most of which had been legally harvested—to be seized.”
A sickening sensation swirled in Bryony’s stomach. “How much did that cost your family?”
“About twenty thousand dollars.”
That was about twenty years’ worth of wages for a regular working man. “I suppose that explains why your family doesn’t like the Amoses.”
Rosalind’s shoulders rose and fell on a sigh. “It doesn’t stop there.”
“Don’t tell me the Amoses cost your family more money?”
“It didn’t exactly unfold like that, but after the poaching incident, Sacha Amos grew concerned about how many seals were being hunted, either on land or at sea. So last year he brought a scientist to Alaska to study the seal population over the summer.”
“Was he hoping to get the quota lowered?”
Rosalind rested a hand against the window trim as she stared at the town and water beyond. “He never came out and said that directly, and personally, I think he’s genuinely concerned the seals might go extinct, like the sea otter. But Father saw it as a direct threat to our company.”
“So in retaliation, your father is having all of the Amoses’ ships searched?” Bryony moved her gaze to where tiny people swarmed the deck of the ship that had brought her to Sitka.
“Technically my uncle is the one having the ships searched. He’s the governor. But yes, they’ve been making an example of the Amoses ever since Uncle Simon arrived. But searching ships like this isn’t merely uncommon. It’s unheard of, and the entire town is talking about it. On top of that, the RCS is holding the ships for days at a time while they conduct their so-called searches. This is causing all sorts of delays for the Amoses’ shipping schedule. There’s even...” Rosalind shook her head, then stepped away from the window and went back to the tea service sitting on the table in front of the settee.
Bryony followed her. “There’s even what?”
“There’s a rumor that Alexei lost a big contract down in Seattle because two of his ships were delayed so long here in Sitka.” Rosalind’s hand shook as she lifted the teapot. “The Amos family has rerouted their ships to Juneau so they don’t have to come to Sitka, but it’s only a matter of time before my uncle establishes an RCS station there, too, and searches those ships next.”
“I had no idea.” Bryony picked up the dainty teacup Rosalind poured for her, that sick feeling returning to her stomach. Why hadn’t Mikhail said anything about this?
“I’m afraid it gets worse. Yesterday the Amos family filed a harassment lawsuit against Uncle Simon and the RCS, and they also lodged a complaint with the secretary of the interior.”
