Who was he fooling? Else Jensen possessed too much intelligence to consider Hemming Andersen and too much character to consider Henrik Ahlefeldt.
He guided his knife around the angle of the elbow and lowered his voice to a murmur to speak to his likeness. “Happy birthday to you.”
10
SATURDAY, APRIL17, 1943
The roller coaster hurtled around the bend and jerked to a stop. Else flopped forward in her seat, her laughter mingling with Laila’s.
They extracted themselves from the car and trotted down the stairs beside the fake mountain that housed Tivoli Gardens’ Rutschebanen roller coaster.
The idea to spend the day at Copenhagen’s hundred-year-old amusement park had bloomed inside Else with the spring weather. “One more time?” she asked Laila.
“Three times in a row is enough.” Laila smoothed her tousled dark curls. “Let’s let our stomachs settle.”
“Ourstomachs?” Else said in a teasing tone.
Laila laughed and headed past a construction site where a Ferris wheel was being erected, with carriages styled like hot air balloons.
“How about the bumper cars?” Else asked.
Laila shot her a glare. “Once was enough. When Else Jensen gets into a bumper car, she tosses friendship aside.”
She had certainly gotten in some good bumps. “Carousel?”
“Much better.”
“Come on.” Else strolled through the crowd. Happy screams rose from the rides, and sugary smells floated from the concessions.
To their right rose the enormous concert hall with its Moorish dome and spires. Else and Laila had already enjoyed a show at the open-air pantomime theater with its mechanical peacock whose colorful tail served as a stage curtain.
All the color and music and fun seemed out of place in a world at war, but Else wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m glad you stayed in town this weekend.” Laila circled a family coaxing a cranky toddler to her feet. “The boardinghouse is dreary when you’re away. Those undergraduates—so silly and rude.”
“I’m sure we were silly at that age too.” Else’s hand brushed against the fabric of her blue-flowered spring dress. “But you’re right—they aren’t good company. And Hemming goes away each weekend too.”
“Hemming? He isn’t much of a conversationalist.”
“No, but he’s sweet and considerate.”
Laila gave her an impish smile. “Do you have a crush on him?”
Else barked out a laugh and admired the fountain to her left. “Of course not. But he’s a good sort, and I hate how the others don’t even acknowledge him.”
“If you don’t have a crush on him, why are you blushing?” Laila’s brown eyes glinted.
Else pressed a hand to her cheek. Cursed pale complexion. Might as well admit it, so she let a smile flick up. “Thereissomething about him. Not just solid muscles, but solid character.”
“Your Viking warrior.”
Else gasped and nudged her friend. “Notmine. Can you imagine us together?”
“Kind of.” Laila smirked.
“A physicist and a shipyard worker?” Else stopped short to let a little boy run by. “Oh, I’m a horrible snob.”
“Hardly.” Laila nudged her back. “But you’re right. It wouldn’t last. I think the man only knows two words.”
