The Work and the Glory (487 page)

Now his voice quivered with excitement, his eyes burned with intensity. “That’s what we’re offering here, Joshua. Those men with their painted faces stormed Carthage Jail and thought they had stopped the work. Levi Williams and his torch riders burned out a hundred of our homes and thought they’d broken the back of Mormonism. Well, what an enormous shock this will be to them! They’re driving us from the state, thinking that will end it. But give us ten years. Fifteen years! And then even a man as blind as Thomas Sharp will know that no unhallowed hand can stop this work.

“You may not want to put your hand to the work. All right. I honor your right to make that choice. I wish I could help you see what is afire in Will’s heart. In Alice’s heart. Then you wouldn’t be angry about this, you would be envious.”

“We made a promise to Walter Samuelson,” Joshua said, wanting to get back to the original issue. “He will never understand this. He will see it as a direct betrayal, and blame the Church for it. Wouldn’t you, under the circumstances?”

“I would. That’s what makes me sickest about this whole thing. I wish there was time to sort it out. I wish there was time to let Will and Alice go through with their plans and keep her parents happy. But there is not. I didn’t plan it that way. No one bothered to ask me if there was a more convenient time to bring this about.”

He stood and picked up his hat. “I’m sorry, Joshua. I truly am.”

For several long seconds, Joshua stared into the Apostle’s face. Then finally he nodded. “I believe you. Thank you for taking time to come and talk with us.”

“Does that mean the wedding will go on tomorrow?” Caroline asked, holding her breath.

“Is there any way I could stop it?” he retorted, the bitterness edging back into his voice again.

“Yes,” she said softly. “You can say no and there will be no wedding. Will and Alice will be married somewhere else and we won’t be there to see it.”

She was right. He knew she was right, and that was part of what was so maddening. This was how it always seemed to be. Circumstances brought on by this whole thing with Mormonism drove him into corners where there was no choice but to surrender and give in.

“Come with us, Joshua,” Brigham urged. “Become part of this. You could offer so much.”

He shook his head. “It’s not my cause, Brigham. I’m sorry.”

Brigham shrugged. “Destiny doesn’t force herself into any man’s pocket, Joshua. You’ve got to hold out your hands to catch it.” He turned to Caroline. “Thank you for letting me come. Tell Will and Alice I will be there whenever they decide to hold the marriage.”

She looked quickly at Joshua. “Now that we know we’re going ahead, the women are going to meet and make plans. Peter and Kathryn have determined that if Will and Alice are married, they will be too. We’ll let you know. But the baptism will be first thing in the morning, down near the ferry dock.”

“I’ll be there.” He looked back at Joshua. “I can see myself out. Good evening.”

Chapter 23

Mary Ann rapped her spoon on the table sharply. In a moment, the buzz of women’s voices died down and all faces turned to her.

“The Steed family women’s council is hereby called to order,” she intoned solemnly, looking around the room. There were ten of them in all in addition to her. Jessica Garrett was the oldest. Then came Caroline and Lydia, just three years’ difference in age. Melissa was next, followed by Rebecca and Jenny. Of the single ones, Alice sat in a chair beside Kathryn—these two being the focus of the meeting, of course. Rachel and Emily, the only two granddaughters old enough to be part of the council, flanked them on either side, both still dreamy eyed with the thoughts of a double wedding.

“We have before us a challenge the likes of which we have never faced before,” Mary Ann went on, keeping her expression serious but unable to hide the sparkle in her eye. “We have fed the poor, sheltered the widowed, clothed the orphaned. We have started our own linsey-woolsey industry, grown fruit and vegetables, milked cows, churned cream, sold butter. We have made quilts, knitted mittens, sewn clothes and curtains for the temple, and now, most recently, have become tent makers extraordinaire.”

“Hear, hear!” Jessica said.

“But never have we had quite the task that is set before us now.”

Alice raised her hand. “Mother Steed, I know that I am to blame for all of this. To get a wedding ready in one day would be hard enough, but two weddings? We don’t expect you to try to—”

“Out of order! Out of order!” Lydia cried out, laughing.

“Agreed,” Mary Ann said, giving Alice a stern look. “Miss Alice Samuelson will only speak when she is called upon.”

“But—,” Kathryn began.

“Out of order!” Jenny sang out, poking at her sister.

“The two young women in question,” Mary Ann warned, shaking her finger at both of them, “will please contain themselves until they are asked to respond.” She looked at Kathryn. “We have only one question for Miss McIntire. Do you wish to be married on the morrow with your soon-to-be sister-in-law?”

Kathryn colored and ducked her head. “Well, Peter is still trying to recover his breath, but yes.”

“Good!” Emily cried triumphantly. “Doing a double wedding makes it all the more challenging.”

“Now,” Mary Ann said, trying not to smile, “I would like to see how the council feels about this situation. Is there anyone here who thinks that one day is insufficient time for the Steed family women to pull off a fantastic wedding?”

“No!” Rachel and Emily shouted together. The rest shook their heads emphatically.

“Is there anyone here who thinks this task is too big for our council to handle properly?”

“No!” they all shouted back at her, warming to the game now.

“Then,” Mary Ann said primly, looking at the two laughing brides-to-be, “are there any further questions?”

Alice started to raise her hand again, but Mary Ann slapped the table sharply. “I didn’t think there would be. All in favor of going to work right now to make this the best double wedding in the history of the United States, if not the world, raise your hand.”

Again she didn’t give any time for a response. “Motion carries. The floor will now entertain proposals for how we proceed.”

Laughing in delight now, hardly believing that this was the quiet and thoughtful missionary mother who had come home from Nashville, several of them shot their hands up. She pointed at Caroline. “Sister Steed.”

“As prospective mother-in-law to Miss Samuelson, I would like to volunteer for the assignment to provide Alice with her wedding dress.”

Jenny’s hand jerked up. “And as sister to the other bride-to-be, I get to do Kathryn’s.” She pulled a face. “Besides, I’m the only one who can handle her when she gets difficult—which is all too frequent. But please, don’t let Peter know that, at least not until after the wedding.” She jumped back, barely escaping Kathryn’s playful slap. “See what I mean?” she said ominously. “Anyway, I claim the privilege of providing a wedding dress for Kathryn.”

“I’ll do the pies!” Melissa called out.

“We can’t take that old red rooster with us on the trail anyway,” Rebecca said. “I’ll make chicken and dumplings.”

Off they went now, chattering like a group of schoolgirls, making assignments, ticking off lists of things that would need to be done, naming people who would be invited and others who could help.

Rachel Garrett, who was only five years younger than Alice, leaned over. When Jessica had come home and announced that Alice and Will were going to be married right away, Rachel had asked her mother a lot of questions about what this decision would mean to the couple. Jessica had not tried to soften the realities of what Will and Alice would face when they told Alice’s parents about their decision. Now Rachel took Alice’s hand in hers. “You’ll have to get used to the Steeds,” she said with warm affection and not a little pride, “we’re really quite bossy.”

Alice laughed, but her eyes were shining with happiness. “I see that.”

“It will be all right,” Rachel said, squeezing her hand. “You have another family now.”

“I know,” Alice whispered. “And I am so glad.”

It was not yet eight a.m. when there was a soft knock on the door. The women gathered around Kathryn and Alice in Mary Ann’s parlor looked up as the door was pushed open. Benjamin stuck his head in. “I understand it’s bad luck for the grooms to see their brides. How about the grandfather-in-law?”

Mary Ann waved him in. “Normally,” she smiled, “that’s even worse luck, but since you’re going to marry these two, I think it will be all right.”

“Oh, yes, Father Steed,” Kathryn called. “Come in.”

As he walked across the room, Mary Ann motioned to the others. “We’re done here anyway,” she said. “We’ll go across to Joshua’s house and make sure everything is ready.”

Without a word, Lydia, Melissa, Jessica, Rebecca, and Jenny all gathered up their things and followed Mary Ann silently out the door, shutting it behind them.

Alice watched them, a little surprised at how swiftly they had gone. Then suddenly she understood. She turned to Benjamin and smiled warmly. “What have you and Mother Steed been cooking up?” she asked.

“Who, us?” he asked innocently. Then he shook his head. “I just came from Joshua’s house. You can thank someone that the weather is nice, because we already have more people than the house can hold.”

“We do?” Kathryn asked.

“Yes. I’d say there’s over a hundred at least, not counting family. They are waiting to accompany us to the river for the baptism.”

“A hundred!” Alice gasped. “But . . .”

He grinned. “We Steeds don’t take days and days to get the word out. Twelve hours’ notice is more than sufficient.” He got a chair, brought it over, and set it beside Kathryn’s wheelchair and motioned for Alice to sit. As she did so, he retrieved another chair and set it down a few feet in front of the two of them. Then he made one last trip. The sitting room in Benjamin and Mary Ann’s home had been turned into the brides’s preparation room. He moved to the lamp table in the corner, the one that sat beside his favorite chair, and he took the Bible from it, then came back over and sat down.

For several moments, he looked at the book, rubbing his fingers lightly over the black leather cover. Finally, his head came up. His face was soft, the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth deepening with the love that filled his heart. “There are some things I wanted to say to you two while we’re alone and before we start this very hectic day.” He laughed softly. “I thought I’d better do it where no one but you can see me getting all weepy-like.”

Instantly he knew he had made a mistake, because even as he spoke, tears sprang to his eyes. And just as quickly, both Alice and Kathryn were blinking back their own tears. He swallowed quickly, and then went on in a voice strained by his attempts to stop it from breaking. “I don’t need to tell you that in every single respect, Mary Ann and I consider you as our own flesh and blood. So do the rest of the family.”

They both nodded, not trusting their voices either.

“Kathryn has been part of the family now for several years. Alice has become one of us just in the last few months. But you are family. You are . . .” He stopped again, and finally shook his head. “You are family.”

He straightened, cleared his throat, brushed quickly at the corner of one eye with the back of his hand. “Now, if you’ll forgive an old man, I have a couple of things I’d like to say. First, to Kathryn.”

She nodded, leaning forward slightly, surprised at how the joy inside her could actually make her hurt when she tried to hold it in.

“There are times when life makes you wonder. Things happen—terrible things sometimes—and you start to question why God allows it. When tragedy strikes we often come to one of two conclusions. We decide that we must have done something very wrong and God is punishing us, or that he isn’t pleased with us—”

Kathryn was nodding gravely.

“Or we want to blame God for letting it happen.”

“I did that too,” she said slowly. “Sometimes I wanted to shake my fist at the heavens and demand to know why. Why me?”

“I understand. But the way you have handled it has been a wonderful example to all of us, Kathryn.”

She shook her head, flushing a little under the directness of his praise. “I’m not much of an example,” she murmured.

“Oh, but you are, Kathryn,” Alice exclaimed. “You were one of the main reasons why I decided I wanted to become a member of the Church.”

Kathryn turned to her in wonder. “Really?”

“Yes. Someday I hope my faith will be as strong as yours.”

“If only you knew,” she murmured. “I’m a long ways from perfection.”

Benjamin chuckled. “I’ve noticed that too. Which brings me to what I want to say to you, Kathryn.”

She pulled a deep frown. “Uh-oh.”

He smiled at her. It was brief and fleeting, for he was quite serious now. “When I marry you and Peter in a few minutes, I’m going to use one word several times. It is the word
cherish.
Cherish is more than love. It is a stronger, deeper feeling. When you cherish something, it becomes a treasure to you, more important than almost anything else.”