Hawaiian Crosswinds Read online

  “He was speechless, because it was Oliver who first wrote him a message saying he was breaking the engagement. There’s someone else in San Francisco he wants to marry. The news hit Grandfather like a hammer blow. You know how Ainsworth had wanted the engagement made public before he left for the mainland. Now the entire matter is over. Then Candace comes to him with her firm decision. She says she had a showdown with Oliver yesterday. Told him if he didn’t break the engagement himself and board the steamer with Mr. Hunnewell, she’d go straight to his father with the ‘British scandal.’”

  Zachary was off with a small salute, and Rafe went on, faintly amused over Oliver’s plummet from the mountain of pride to the valley of humiliation over his treatment of Keno.

  Keno’s romantic victory brought Rafe satisfaction as the hackney moved down King Street in the direction of the hotel. This time, the better man won.

  His smile didn’t last long, though. The uneasiness returned. Ghost … the houseboat … unusual. He pushed the thought aside and entered the hotel.

  Rafe unlocked the door to his suite and entered to silence. He closed it softly, pondering things. Most of the questions that had plagued him since Hunnewell’s garden were now answered well enough, and the rest he’d leave to the marshal. He was able to put them aside on the shelf. He decided to rest until dinner with Eden.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Endangered

  A new doctor? Eden thought. Strange, nobody told me about him. She stopped in the doorway to the nurses’ lounge and turned her head to look back down the hall with a puzzled frown. Am I imagining things?

  She was almost sure she’d seen a man in a white doctor’s coat, from the side passage, enter the room at the end of the corridor. She knew all of the physicians on duty and while she’d not recognized this one, she’d gotten an impression of height and shoulders that did not match the older gentlemen.

  Her senses must be playing tricks on her. She heard no sound from the examination room. A shadow from the windy moonlit night … in a white doctor’s coat? Oh, come, Eden!

  She smiled ruefully. A ghost? She didn’t believe in ghosts.

  She looked at the time. Five minutes more and she was off for the day. She would meet Rafe tonight at the hotel for their last evening together for a very long time. Sadness filled her heart. I won’t think about it. She cheered herself by thinking, Who knows? My meeting with Rebecca may go so well I might come back early. Maybe I won’t stay there an entire year. Or—what if Rafe and I married, and then I went to meet Rebecca?

  She was surprised by her own thoughts. They must have been stirring around in her subconscious all along, ever since she and Rafe had decided that her term on Molokai wouldn’t be a long one, as had been her first intention. Well, even if she did not stay long, the work would go on. And the clinic was certain to be approved today when Great-aunt Nora and her father met with the queen. A victory at last! Dr. Jerome was thrilled. So was Dr. Clifford Bolton and Lana. Lana had said, “Now we have a cause to involve ourselves in that could be worth it.”

  Eden frowned. A strange comment for her aunt to make. Didn’t she and Dr. Bolton already have a cause? She had spoken as though the work here at Kalihi was ending, and another door needed opening in order to continue serving God in the medical profession. Come to think of it, neither Dr. Bolton nor Lana looked well recently. Bolton appeared to have aged, with more gray in his hair, and Lana had been losing weight and had darker areas under her eyes as though she was unhappy. Odd, because their wedding would take place next Sunday evening at the mission church, the minister being Ambrose.

  Dr. Bolton did seem to be taking great interest in the clinic, spending hours with her father discussing what could be done and how to send equipment to Molokai. Rafe had been most generous with his support, and Ambrose would prepare the printing press for shipment from the Gazette office. Keno would arrange getting it to the harbor to be loaded aboard the Minoa bound for Molokai. All of that business would take time. Today Rafe would be packing to board the steamer for the mainland. She wondered how long it would be before Rafe would return to Honolulu with Townsend.

  Even now her father was making plans to leave for Molokai within a week. After the meeting with the queen he would leave for the day to attend to some business at Kea Lani about orders for medical supplies.

  Herald would be remaining in Honolulu under the marshal’s jurisdiction until further evidence from San Francisco was supplied. The matter of Dr. Chen’s death and the journal remained in the hands of the police. As of yet, none of Chen’s relatives had filed complaints about the journal and Herald may not be charged with a crime. She sighed. She was so grateful that Dr. Jerome had not been involved. Her love for Rafe was strengthened, if that were possible, because of his honorable treatment of her father. He’d done everything possible to protect his character and shield him from notoriety.

  She looked down the corridor to the examining room. Perhaps Dr. Jerome had hired a new assistant.

  Her father was already warming toward Rafe. She could see it in his decisions. He was moving in the direction of finding someone to fill her position in the Molokai clinic, rather than struggling to keep her at his side. That was a tremendous change in his attitude.

  Eden finished with her favorite patient, a young girl, and decided she’d best quicken her pace if she were to meet her father and Great-aunt Nora at Iolani Palace. She believed Zachary would attend as well. Her heart beat with enthusiasm. This was the moment she’d long been waiting and praying for.

  She went to gather her things, including the box that contained her dress and shoes. She smiled. And afterward, this evening, how pleasant and exciting to have a romantic dinner with Rafe at the Royal Hawaiian. She shook out the modest dress, one of light blue with lace trim, high neckline and tight at the wrist. The windows had no curtains and looked out brazenly into the hall. She decided on her father’s little office where there would be privacy in his absence.

  She walked down the corridor toward his office, humming to herself. Mrs. Rafe Easton. Mrs. Eden Easton … well, it didn’t quite synchronize, but the man who came with it made up for her new upcoming initials, E. E.

  She approached the examining room and slowed her steps. The impression of someone having entered there earlier was still so vivid that she hurried to her father’s office, anxious to be on her way.

  She shut the door and slid the bolt in place … there. She was acting silly, but at least she could turn her back to the door now and not worry about her spine tingling.

  She shook out the dress, smoothing any slight wrinkle. She looked at her hair in the little mirror, thinking she would arrange it in the cascade of curls at the back for dinner, since Rafe liked it that way. She looked at her diamond engagement ring in the light and it shivered with beauty and excitement.

  Unexpectedly the door handle rattled, then a tap sounded on the door. She caught her breath.

  “Yes? Who’s there?”

  “Zach! Eden?”

  “Yes, just a moment.” With relief she unbolted the lock, opened the door, and stepped back. She blinked hard. It couldn’t be, but it was. Uncle Townsend stood there in a white physician’s coat smiling benignly at her.

  Townsend was a big man with wide shoulders and a strong torso, still handsome for his age with golden hair and a cleft in his chin.

  He put a finger to his mouth, pushed past her, and shut the door.

  “Shh,” he said, almost in a boyish fashion, still smiling. “Where’s that dear, dear brother of mine, the world’s greatest wanderer?”

  Her fears dissipated somewhat, but he’d just lied to her, making his voice sound like his son Zachary, and what was the reason for that deception? Maybe he thought she wouldn’t open the door if he identified himself. And what was he doing in Honolulu?

  “Dr. Jerome is at Iolani Palace,” she told him without showing any agitation over his presence.

  “Doctor Jerome? Still can’t call him father?”


  She hesitated. Can Silas call you father? she could have quipped.

  “Don’t be afraid. For goodness’ sake, Eden, I’m your uncle. I’ve practically raised you from puppyhood.”

  That wasn’t true, but of course he was her uncle, and in her later childhood he was often at the breakfast and dinner table. But still— his smile seemed odd, almost like that of a stranger. His eyes, too, looked hard, as if they didn’t see her as Eden. He had changed. It gave her a chill. Had it been Townsend, then, that she’d had small glimpses of watching her?

  “What are you doing here in Honolulu?” she asked, keeping her voice calm. “We heard you were in San Francisco.”

  His smile was oddly rueful with a tinge of wickedness that tightened her spine.

  “Smart of me, wasn’t it? It was deliberate. I wanted Celestine and Parker Judson to see me there, then I left immediately for home.”

  “Uncle Townsend, you need help. You must see Grandfather. Let me send someone after him.”

  “So Rafe can harass me about Matt Easton and poor Nora? Lies, my dear Eden, all lies, and misunderstandings. Your poor old uncle can prove it. Look, I can’t let anyone know I’m here right now, not even Ainsworth. But I have contacted Rafe and Zachary. They were surprised to hear from me, but they’re pleased, too, especially Rafe. He wants to see me and so we’ve arranged to meet at Zach’s houseboat, then go to Hanalei. Once there, I can explain everything to Rafe’s satisfaction. But I need a little help from you. I’ve got a buggy waiting now to take us to Zach’s boat.”

  Eden didn’t believe him about Rafe. Rafe would be the last man he’d want to encounter right now. “Where’s Rafe now?” she asked pleasantly. Don’t rile him. Stay calm. Trust in God. She called on Him quickly, even as Peter while sinking into the Sea of Galilee—Lord, save me!

  “Oh he’s already at Hanalei. He’s waiting for us.”

  He’s lying to me. Rafe can’t be at Hanalei. He had wanted to go there, he’d told her, but there wasn’t enough time. Because he will be boarding the steamer in the morning.

  Her heart begin to pound. She mustn’t let him notice.

  “My Hanalei,” he said with unexpected bitterness, his phony smile gone. His blue eyes snapped. “I built it. I made it what it is today.”

  She wasn’t about to contradict him.

  His eyes widened. Sweat popped out on his forehead. “Rafe will understand before this is all over.”

  I don’t believe either Rafe or Zach is with him. They don’t even know he’s here. No one does except me.

  He’s stepped over the line of sanity. He’s out for revenge on Rafe and he’ll destroy me and Hanalei to hurt him even as he destroyed Matt.

  “Uncle Townsend,” she said quietly, “I’ll go with you. But first, let me get my hat, it’s windy out. I’ll need my handbag too.”

  She turned slowly, hoping against hope she could reach the door and fling it open. Even one scream for help might alert Lana.

  Every step was an agony of suspense as she drew closer to the door handle while he watched, waiting for her hand to grasp it.

  His arm came hard across her collarbone and throat, drawing her back against him, while his other hand clamped a cloth tightly over her nose and mouth. She couldn’t breathe anything except the strong fumes. She recognized the odor of chloroform. So that was the reason for the doctor’s coat, and entering the examining room— her consciousness was ebbing away. …

  Rafe, dressed smartly in dinner clothes, looked at the time. Eden should have arrived by now. He paced. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

  I should have gone to Kalihi to pick her up, but she wanted to come here.

  Frustrated, he left his suite and went down to the lobby and to the desk. “Are you sure there’s no message?”

  “Certain, Mr. Easton. Is there a message you would like us to send?”

  He considered. He looked around the glowing lobby with chandeliers, fancy ball gowns, coats, and ties.

  “No, but can you bring a coach around front?”

  “At once, sir.”

  A short time later when he arrived at Kalihi Hospital he found Dr. Jerome away at Kea Lani, and even Dr. Bolton and Lana had left for the evening. When he asked the nurse on duty about Eden Derrington, she raised her brows.

  “Oh I heard she left about an hour ago. Lana said her niece would be having dinner with a handsome gentleman tonight. Oh—” She flushed. “You must be him.”

  “I hope so,” he said dryly, and turning left he went down the steps.

  He stood in front of the hospital, mulling things over. If Eden left an hour ago she must have gone on to Kea Lani for some reason, and was delayed there, perhaps by Dr. Jerome or her Grandfather Ainsworth. He could either go there or return to the Royal Hawaiian.

  Rafe went back to the hotel.

  “Any messages?”

  The clerk looked at him tensely. “No, sir, nothing.”

  By ten o’clock that evening when the bells struck on the downtown clock, Rafe, lounging in a chair, looked up and laid down the book he’d been reading—or trying to read. He drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. He’d come to an earlier conclusion that Eden had chosen not to keep the dinner appointment. She must have assumed that he wouldn’t mind, and that “dinner with a handsome gentleman” could wait while she worked with Dr. Jerome on the trip to Molokai next week.

  True, the conclusion he’d settled on might not be wholly rational, but some of his dealings with Eden in the last year—at least when it came to Molokai—had not been all that rational. Not that he’d ever tell her so. Nor would he admit to himself that he was extremely irritated that she had broken their date on the eve of a year’s separation!

  Enough! He tossed the book aside and stood.

  Wait a minute. Eden had wanted this last dinner together as much as he had. She was the one who sent a message last night reminding him of it. Not that he needed to be reminded. So what had happened?

  Don’t let your male pride get in the way, Easton.

  Be rational about this. Think it through.

  He paced, tapping his chin. She hadn’t shown up at the meeting with the queen today. That too was most unusual, not a bit like Eden when she’d worked so hard to get Great-aunt Nora to arrange that meeting for Jerome.

  Something was wrong. He had to find out what it was before he boarded the steamer in the morning. He couldn’t depart until he was satisfied she was all right. But why wouldn’t she be all right?

  There was no reason why he should think otherwise except for that absurd talk about Zach’s ghost. A ghost aboard his houseboat … prowling?

  He narrowed his gaze. It wasn’t just Zach. Eden had gone to Ambrose about an uneasy notion—no, she hadn’t told Ambrose she’d seen a ghost. That was Zach’s play on words, bringing her unease closer to his own, and what the Hawaiian boys had said about a light, a prowler, or a “ghost.”

  So Eden’s unease in seeking out Ambrose early this morning on her way to Kalihi may have centered around a genuine fear of being watched, or followed by someone of flesh and bone.

  He scowled. That changed everything. Why hadn’t he thought that way earlier? Why hadn’t she come to him about it? She knew he would be at Iolani today. The logical thing was that she’d been unable to come. That idea turned him into knots. She’d been unable to keep their dinner date. And there his mind slammed into a brick wall. … Because someone was watching, and following her?

  The one thing that gave him a sense of calmness was that the nurse had said she’d left an hour earlier. So Eden had been at the hospital today, perhaps up until five o’clock. Then why had she missed the appointment with the queen? Did the nurse actually see Eden leave at five? Or was she merely stating Eden’s routine hour for leaving? The nurse said she’d heard that Eden had left around five.

  He made up his mind. The ship didn’t depart until eleven in the morning. It was now just after ten o’clock. He wouldn’t go to bed until he found Eden.

 
Fool, you’ve already wasted too much precious time. Wasn’t it clear that something was wrong from the beginning?

  He grabbed his dinner jacket and his hat and started to leave, then stopped. Fancy clothes slowed him down. Quickly he changed into the comfortable, rugged garb he felt at home in.

  If this ordeal turned out to be nothing more than an overreaction over the woman he loved, so be it. He’d rather board the steamer without sleep knowing she was safe than wonder and worry all the way to San Francisco.

  Rafe left a message at the front desk for anyone asking for him. He’d return in time to collect his baggage in the morning.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Back to Paradise

  Rafe opened the front door at Hawaiiana Pineapple Plantation, went through the entrance hall, and turned up the lamps as he headed toward the back bedroom. The door was wide open and Keno fast asleep.

  Rafe entered and shook the bed. “Up, Keno.”

  “Huh—what?”

  “I need your help. Eden’s missing. I’ve got to find her before my ship leaves in the morning.”

  Keno sat up, blinking into the lamplight. He shook the cobwebs from his brain. “What! Eden? Missing!” He tossed the cover aside and tumbled out.

  Rafe paced, explaining the odd set of circumstances and his concerns while Keno pulled on his clothes.

  “Have you talked to Ambrose?”

  “Not yet. You do that, and I’ll stir up a hornet’s nest at Kea Lani.”

  “What if she’s there asleep?”

  Rafe narrowed his lashes. “After putting me through all this worry? I’ll see she has an ‘awakening.’”

  Rafe turned and hurried out, calling back, “Meet me at Kea Lani. If she isn’t there, we’ll need to make plans.”

  When Rafe arrived at Kea Lani, he was invited in to speak with Dr. Jerome. His concerns only intensified.

  “It’s after eleven o’clock and she’s not home? I was under the impression she was with you,” Dr. Jerome cried. “She was to have dinner with you at the Royal Hawaiian. What could have happened?”