Page 11 of In Just a Year
Ben tore himself from Esther with the reluctance of a starfish leaving its safe rock. Flushed, she brought her hand to her mouth, covering her adorable lips that Ben just kissed.
“Ben! There you are!” Gideon strode toward them.
The hall was well lit, and Ben felt like a mouse about to back into a trap when Gideon’s eyes flared and gave him a big-brotherly stare. Head tilted backward, Gideon cast a tight look, pinching his lips. It only lasted a second, but it was enough for Ben to wish to retreat.
Except that he’d just kissed Esther.
He wasn’t going anywhere.
“I’ve been calling you.” Gideon gave Esther a delayed but polite nod while he addressed Ben. “Arnold wants to speak with you. Greg is also downstairs.”
Reluctantly, Ben followed Gideon.
Once Gideon was ahead, Ben stopped on the top stair and looked back into the hall. The same elegant corridor through which he’d run countless times, the path to the nursery where he’d played as a child was now the setting for his first kiss. It felt like the ground had shifted and the familiar took on new meaning. The same old wall sconces glowed upon the girl he loved as if the halls that knew him so well wanted to give him one more good look at the magnificent new beginning.
Esther leaned against the wall and tapped a finger on her mouth. As if she felt his gaze, she looked up.
Ben’s heart plummeted to his knees, and his stomach felt as though waves were crashing within it.
She dropped her hand and waved a little, just enough to make Ben’s world collapse and rebuild itself around her sweet gesture. Her face brightened with the most adorable smile, and Ben could have melted in the moment, for he’d never been happier in his entire life.
CHAPTER6
Ben followed Gideon downstairs and back to the Pearler’s dining room as if in a daze. He’d kissed Esther. He could dance like a snowflake in the air, so light felt his heart. She’d cast him a smile. It was alright.
More than alright.
She wanted it. She’d kissed him back! Surely her first, but he felt how receptive she was, welcoming him … on second thought, had she nibbled his lower lip? Ben’s heart flipped, and he knew he couldn’t last long without another kiss. Not long at all.
“Ben, we’ll talk later about what I interrupted upstairs, but brace yourself now.” Gideon pushed the tall door open.
The wake of Nagy’s surprise visit had turned the friendly family gathering into a summit. Everyone had gathered around the large mahogany dining table, which was stripped of its shiny damask tablecloth to make room for several large maps. In addition to the Klonimuses, Pearlers, and Solomons, Baron Gregory Stone had arrived, one of Fave and Arnold’s best friends and the owner of the fleet that Caleb had traveled to America on a few years earlier.
“Hello Benny,” Stone said. A well-groomed young man with a twinkle in his eye that hinted at his adventurous spirit, he stood next to Arnold, staring at a large world map spread on the table.
Of course, he’d call Ben Benny—the little brother. Not the youngest, that was Nati, but being the fifth out of six meant he’d always be considered around the level of a toddler by the big boys. Gideon, Arnold, and Fave led the pack in age … only by five years. No matter, Ben decided.
He surveyed the map that Stone held open on the large table.
“The Earl of Buckinghamshire opened up a route, and the boundaries are quite permanent now.” Stone traced his finger along the double lines that broke the entire country into smaller states, each outlined in another color. “The vicissitudes have been plotted here by the Marquis Wellesley.”
From the rugged peaks of the mighty Himalayas, standing tall as guardians of the land, to the neighboring countries of Afghanistan, Tibet, and Burma that bordered on the Indian subcontinent, every element on the map whispered tales of adventure. Ben was intrigued.
“Are these the ports?” Ben pointed at the three points on the Indian shores where the many thin lines from Europe over the Mediterranean Sea or around Africa converged.
“Yes, the strategic port of Calcutta is the eastern point, Bombay in the west, and further south to the ancient trading hub of Madras.” Stone spoke as if he’d been there many times, yet for Ben, these ports beckoned with promises of exploration, trade, and cultural exchange.
He’d never ventured far because his father always said there was enough in England for his sons to master, yet since Jews couldn’t study at English universities, Ben had enrolled at the Faculty of Mathematics in Edinburgh just like his older brothers. And when Gideon needed the papers for safe passage from France to England, only an English family member could deliver them. Ben had volunteered, considering the dangers for a British low since the end of the Napoleonic War, but the dangers for Jews flickered like embers, ready to ignite a blazing fire that would threaten their existence.
“Tell me, Fave”—Greg controlled his voice like the parchment of the map he held down so the ends wouldn’t curl and roll up—”what’s this path your grandfather mapped out? I’ve heard whispers among the crew that Bailiff Nagy has been asking questions about maps and routes.”
“He’s not working alone anymore. His lackeys followed us everywhere we went,” Gideon said.
Stone shook his head. “My sources tell me he’s narrowing down some countries where he thinks Jews hid treasures that belong to the English crown. He means you, of course.”
“That’s preposterous!” Gustav Pearler said. “If anything’s hidden, and I’m not saying it is, none of it was ever in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.”
Stone straightened and eyed Gustav curiously. “How did you know my source is the Deputy Keeper of the Jewel House?”
