“What if Caldwell figures out we helped Rosalind after she leaves?” Sacha asked from where he walked behind them.
Alexei shrugged. “I don’t see how that would change anything. He wants to destroy us already, and he’ll want to destroy us all over again after we turn over evidence of him falsifying his seal numbers to the secretary of the interior. Why not give him a third reason to hate us?”
“If those ledgers are enough get Caldwell thrown in prison, we won’t need to worry about him anymore.” Yuri heaved out a breath.
“I hope we can get the charges to stick this time,” Sacha muttered.
“The government isn’t going to like that they got cheated out of two hundred thousand dollars in bounties last fall,” Alexei said. “It will stick, both for Preston and his brother. The question is, how much damage can the two of them do before the authorities come?”
Yuri grimaced. “Did Secretary Gray say how soon he was coming to look into the issue at Klawock and the new Indian agent requirement?”
Alexei shook his head. “He did not.”
Yuri looked down the road at the snow falling over the harbor. “I hope it’s soon.”
23
The Next Morning
Rosalind tried to keep the knife from trembling in her hand as she spread marmalade across her toast, but she couldn’t quite manage it. A quick glance at her father told her he hadn’t noticed, which was good, because it was all she could do not to spring out of her seat and ask if he’d discovered his secret ledgers were missing.
He hadn’t said a word about her being in the library or even going out last night. He’d still been gone by the time she got back to the house, and she’d hoped the servants wouldn’t say anything about her quick trip down to the harbor, but she could never be sure whether they would talk.
But so far that morning, neither her father nor Leeland had even acknowledged her existence. All they’d done was talk about their meeting last night at the hotel.
“McCrae seems eager to help.” Leeland shook the saltshaker over his eggs, dumping three times the salt Rosalind would have used. “I hope your brother can work something out.”
“He will. McCrae will make the perfect business associate.” Her father took a sip of his coffee. “His familiarity with Alaska rivals the Amoses’, but he has more ships, and he might even be able to undercut their rates. If Simon gives him the contracts he just took from them, it could be the beginning of the end for the Amoses.”
Leeland shoved his toast into his egg with a satisfied grunt, causing the orange yolk to smear across his plate. “It’s a clever strategy. Starve their business slowly enough, and no one can blame you when it dies.”
“It’s one strategy.” Her father took another sip of coffee, a bored look on his face. “Though I’m starting to think ridding Alaska of the Amos family might require a multipronged approach.”
Rosalind’s stomach clenched. Just what did her father have planned now?
She didn’t want to know. She just wanted to leave Sitka and disappear, but she should probably tell Yuri about this McCrae man and the shipping contracts next time she saw him. Then at least his family would know what was coming.
Leeland loosed a dark chuckle. “I’m sorry I won’t be here to see what unfolds next, but I really do need to get back to Seattle.”
Rosalind set down the toast she’d been about to take a bite of. “You’re leaving?”
“The day after tomorrow.” He reached out and settled his hand across the back of her neck. “Don’t be too disappointed, darling. I’ll be back in time for our wedding.”
She stilled beneath his touch, then took a small bite, trying to ignore the way the toast turned to sawdust in her mouth.
He leaned close until his lips were next to her ear. “Will you miss me?”
She nearly choked. “I... Of course. Very much.”
He chuckled and sat back, moving his gaze back to her father. “She’s not very good at lying, is she, Caldwell?
Her father sent her a brief glance. “No, but you’ll find that’s to your benefit. It’s impossible for a person who can’t lie to hide anything from you.”
The toast she’d just swallowed churned in her stomach. Was it impossible for her to lie? Or at the very least, to cover something up? Did her father know about the ledgers, and this was his way of leading into the conversation? Her abdominal muscles tightened, as though already anticipating the pain of his fist connecting with them.
“See that?” Her father nodded her direction. “Look how she squirms after being caught in a lie.”
Leeland turned to her again, his gaze heavy as he ran his eyes over her.
