by Gordon Ryan
Katrina looked over at this woman who had so recently entered her life, just as Teresa turned to look at her. Their eyes met, and Teresa smiled warmly. She reached again for Katrina’s hand, and continuing to look into her eyes, asked, “Friends?”
Katrina allowed a wry smile to play at the corners of her mouth, and she shook her head in disbelief. What she was hearing didn’t seem possible. In the space of a few minutes, she had discovered her husband to be a bigamist, and now his other wife, who also was pregnant, was offering to be her friend. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or what to say. And she had no idea how this would work out, or if it would.
Her mind flashed to Harold’s behavior—the dirty business of leading Thomas into believing he was wanted for murder; his perfidy in secretly getting married on his initial trip to Mexico; his request that Katrina represent herself as his sister, instead of his wife. She wondered if he had ever told her the truth—about anything! And he must have lied in similar ways to this woman sitting beside her, who apparently didn’t have the slightest suspicion that Harold might have another wife.
The small joy she would derive from watching Harold squirm as he returned to find the two of them together had not yet crossed Katrina’s mind, as it would later in the day. But for the moment, she found it hard not to accept and even to like this woman who had only just met her, and who, within moments, had accepted Katrina as a sister—an unmarried and pregnant one at that. Teresa’s immediate offer had been, “How can I help?” Harold Stromberg had two wives, one of whom knew of the situation, one of whom thought of the other as Harold’s sister, and both of whom were going to have his baby. An eventful day, all in all.
Seeing Katrina and Teresa sitting calmly together on the verandah of the hacienda, filled Harold with consternation. He could see that they were engaged in amiable conversation, but as he closed the distance from the doorway to their table, overlooking the quadrangle inside the hacienda compound, his mind was racing. What they might have discovered about each other flashed through his mind, and he searched desperately for something he might say or do. Clearly, he had been caught, or was in danger of it.
“Harold,” Teresa said pleasantly, looking up from her chair to greet him. “Look what a surprise I have for you!”
“I . . . I . . . I see,” he stammered.
“Well, aren’t you going to give your wife a kiss, and one for your sister as well?” Teresa asked.
“Ah, yes, of course,” he mumbled, bending to kiss Teresa on the cheek and then stepping over to Katrina to kiss the top of her head as she remained seated in her chair, silently watching and trying to understand how the man she thought she had loved could be guilty of so much deceit.
“I told you that Katrina should stay with us. It was good that Mrs. Olsen no longer needed her assistance, don’t you think?” Teresa asked.
“Yes, ah, yes, of course,” Harold repeated, taking a chair from the wall and placing it between the two women, assuming his seat. “And how did this all come about?” he asked, beginning to regain some control of his thoughts.
“I went to New Hope and found Katrina. We’ve had a lovely day. I showed her the new house, and she’s agreed to live with us until . . .” Teresa also hesitated, unsure how to phrase her thoughts—“. . . until the baby comes. She needs family to look after her, Harold, and we can both look after each other. Won’t that be wonderful?”
“Yes, of course.”
Throughout the evening, Harold stumbled his way through introductions and most discussions. Don Sebastian returned from a trip down the coast to check on his holdings, and introducing Katrina as his sister, created in Harold an acute sense of embarrassment. He avoided looking at Katrina, but it was painful to imagine the loathing she must be feeling for him. Dinner was the longest ordeal of Harold’s life as Don Sebastian, Miguel, and Teresa all extended themselves to get to know this new person in Harold’s family, who was often at a loss to answer their questions about her and Harold’s early lives.
But Katrina stood the test well. She retained her composure and carried off the pretense that she was Harold’s sister very well. If Harold had not been worrying so much about how he was going to explain himself to her, he would have been proud of his young wife for her pluck.
As the evening ended, Teresa and Harold walked Katrina toward her bedroom, pausing for Teresa to give Katrina a quick hug and a kiss. “I’m so happy to have a new sister. I always wanted someone besides Miguel, since I grew up as the only girl on the hacienda. We’ll be great friends, I just know it.”
Halfway to their room, Harold excused himself and walked back toward Katrina’s room, tapping lightly on the door. Katrina opened the door, stepping back inside as Harold entered and carefully closed the door. He stood silent, facing Katrina as she glared at him, her eyes blazing and her manner defying him to condone his actions. Katrina spoke first.
“And when did you plan to tell me of this charade, Harold, after the children were born?” she demanded.
Harold started to answer but ceased as Katrina held her hand in front of her face, palm facing Harold and fingers spread apart, turning her head so as not to hear his answer. “Not a word,” she demanded through clenched teeth. As she continued to speak, it was clear to Harold that she had taken the day to make some sense out of her discovery and to decide on her course of action.
“I have honored my agreement to perform as if I were your sister, Harold,” the words coming in staccato, “and I will continue to do so as long as it is necessary. But, you will not see me alone again until this charade has ended and you have made your choice. Is that clear?” she demanded.
Harold nodded his head slowly, his eyes on the carpet in front of her feet.
“I understand it all now, Harold—your excommunication, the family’s decision to move to Mexico. I have no understanding, however, of what thought you took for our vows in the temple—my church membership, my feelings, or those of our coming child. This is not the way of the Lord, Harold, and I will have no part of it.”
Harold interrupted her. “Katrina, the Lord is pleased . . .”
“No, Harold,” she spat out. “The Lord is not pleased and neither am I. I will write my father and request his assistance in this matter. Whether I will stay or not is uncertain. Until that decision is reached, I will not dishonor you in front of your . . . ” she hesitated briefly, waiting until Harold raised his head to meet her eyes, “ . . . your new family,” she said, lowering her head a moment before resuming her stare directly at Harold—“as you have dishonored our family, Harold.”
She waited silently as Harold stood quiet, unable or unwilling to respond. “I think you should leave now,” she said.
“Katrina, I . . .”
“Good night, Harold!”
“Good night, Katrina. I am truly sorry it had to take place this way.”
“Harold,” she said, folding her arms across her chest and continuing to stare directly at him, her five-foot-six frame as intimidating as she could make it, “I am truly sorry it had to take place at all.”
Chapter 17
By early December, the Strombergs’ new home was completed, and Harold, Teresa, and Katrina had moved in. Teresa had noticed, but had not made mention of her observation, that Katrina took pains to avoid Harold. The two women, on the other hand, formed a firm friendship, riding through the countryside at every opportunity, with Teresa teaching Katrina about horses and Spanish saddles. By the end of December their occasional rides were accomplished in the buggy Teresa had originally used to bring Katrina into the hacienda. In her seventh month, Katrina’s pregnancy no longer permitted horseback riding.
A week before Christmas, Magnus Stromberg arrived with the second contingent of colonists, bringing the total in New Hope to just over three hundred people from about eighty-five families. The residents of New Hope kept to themselves a good deal, but they did patronize local artisans, shopkeepers, and businesses in Mazatlán, a situation that enhanced the loca
l economy, just as President Diaz had anticipated.
If the local residents knew anything of the practice of polygamy among Mormons of an earlier day, nothing was made of it now. There had been some notice taken of the inordinately large number of women and children as compared to men. However, nothing had been said and no challenge to the colony’s practices had been issued.
When Magnus arrived, accompanied by his wife, he stayed for a few days with Don Sebastian. In a frank discussion, Magnus explained to Señor Cardenas that he did indeed have three other wives with their children, and they were also being relocated to New Hope. They had been members of his household for many years, and he wanted to live out his life in Mexico without fear or pressure from church or government sources. Don Sebastian, while voicing his religious disagreement over the issue, nevertheless was a compassionate man and most understanding of Stromberg’s desires.
Moving in temporarily with Harold, Teresa, and Katrina, Magnus brought his first wife into the household as well, arranging temporary accommodations for his three other families in New Hope, in housing that Harold had prepared prior to his father’s arrival.
Christmas might have been a joyous occasion for all, except for the tension that Teresa noted between Katrina and her father, Magnus Stromberg. There was no evidence of affection, and, given the relationship that Teresa had with her own father, it seemed odd to her that Magnus never embraced his daughter or even paid much attention to her. Teresa came to the conclusion that Señor Stromberg disapproved so of Katrina’s unmarried status and her pregnancy that he couldn’t bring himself to forgive her.
Determined to ease young Katrina’s burden, Teresa tried all the harder to build the friendship the two young women had formed, and Katrina responded warmly, confiding her feelings, as much as she could, to the gracious and loving Spanish woman.
The most startling discovery Teresa made regarding Katrina’s strange behavior, came quite by accident. By the second week in February, Magnus and his wife had already moved into their unfinished home in New Hope. Accompanied by Miguel, on horseback, Teresa returned home unexpectedly one afternoon from a buggy ride to her father’s house. As they entered the house, they heard angry voices upstairs, coming from Katrina’s quarters. Not wishing to interfere in a brother and sister quarrel, they actually smiled at each other for a few moments, recognizing the argument as similar to those they’d had in earlier years. Miguel excused himself, saying he’d return the next day to talk to Harold about their cattle buying trip. Teresa slowly mounted the stairs, intent on reaching her own room without further embarrassing Harold and Katrina.
Perceiving, however, that Katrina was near tears, Teresa moved quietly toward the sound of the quarrel, waiting for an opportune moment when she might intervene and try to calm things down. It was evident that Harold and Katrina were arguing over Katrina’s baby, confirmation to Teresa that the Strombergs were continuing to struggle with the idea of Katrina’s condition.
“I refuse to agree to that, Harold,” Katrina screamed.
“But there’s no other way, Katrina. The baby’s name will still be Stromberg,” he said.
“As well it should be, Harold, it’s your baby,” she cried.
Teresa paused at the door, her hand on the door knob, stunned by the accusation she had just heard. She turned, retracing her steps to her bedroom and closed the door behind her, totally confused by the revelation. Harold’s baby? His sister? Unsure how to deal with the issue, Teresa retrieved a woolen shawl to ward off the evening chill and went back downstairs, quietly leaving the house and walking to the stable. Roderigo had unhitched her horse and was grooming him following her ride with Miguel.
“Roderigo, prepare the buggy, please. I’ll be going out again.”
“Sí, Señora,” he replied.
Pushing the horse, Teresa overtook Miguel about two miles from her father’s house, and explained that she felt she didn’t want to intrude on Harold’s argument with Katrina, and so she had decided to return to the Cardenases’ hacienda to spend the night. She’d return home in the morning, she said. Miguel laughed, calling her a coward for avoiding domestic issues in her own household.
Instructing one of the Cardenases’ household staff to ride over to her home and advise Harold that she would not be home until the morning, she went up to her old bedroom where she remained all evening and through the night.
Teresa’s stay at her father’s hacienda stretched into four days, with Harold appearing the first morning for a scheduled trip with Miguel to buy cattle. They would be gone about ten days according to Miguel, and in the brief meeting Teresa had with Harold, he discerned nothing out of the ordinary, and Teresa did not divulge her newfound knowledge.
Late on the evening of the fourth day, one of the servants from Harold’s home awoke the Cardenases’ household with news that Miss Stromberg was having her baby. Teresa was awakened by the disturbance downstairs and descended the stairs to discover what was happening. Calling for the midwife to get ready and instructing Manuel to rig the buggy, Teresa raced back upstairs and got dressed.
When Teresa and Carmen, the midwife, arrived at Teresa’s home, Katrina was in deep labor.
“She’s nearly six weeks early,” Teresa told Carmen.
“Sí, Señora. We will do what we can,” Carmen said and went to work examining Katrina. Within moments she had identified that the baby was coming breech and told Teresa. The development was withheld from Katrina, who was experiencing painful contractions and unsure of how to proceed. Both women tried to calm Katrina down, Teresa sitting by her side with a damp cloth, and Carmen waiting at the foot of the bed, preparing to help deliver the child.
Hours later, as light filtered through the drapes drawn over the window, signaling the arrival of dawn, Katrina slept soundly, the ordeal having exhausted her strength. Carmen had gone away with the stillborn son, and Teresa remained, fitfully dozing in a chair at the bedside. A small groan from Katrina awoke Teresa, who moved closer to the bed, reaching out to stroke Katrina’s pale face.
Katrina opened her eyes and reached for Teresa’s hand. “The baby?” she asked, her eyes now wide in anticipation.
Teresa held Katrina’s hand and sat without speaking, not knowing how to deliver the news. Looking into Katrina’s tired face, now filled with anxiety, Teresa felt a great wave of affection for this woman she had accepted as a sister. Choking with emotion, Teresa couldn’t speak, but her tears said it all. Katrina also began to cry, and the two women sat for awhile, holding hands and sharing the grief.
Teresa’s mind reeled also with another concept—the relief brought about by knowing that the baby’s death provided a partial solution to the problem of its incestuous conception, something that had weighed almost constantly on her mind for the past four days.
“Katrina, perhaps,” Teresa tried to say, “ . . . perhaps it is for the best,” she said.
“What?” Katrina asked, confused at such a statement. “Why?”
“Your brother’s child, I mean. Perhaps God took the matter into his own hands.”
“What do you mean?” Katrina asked.
“Katrina,” Teresa pleaded, “. . . I overheard the argument you had with Harold. Your brother’s child, Katrina . . . perhaps it’s for the best.”
Understanding slowly dawned on Katrina. Not yet having come to terms with the loss of her baby, and weak with fatigue and sorrow, she had now to wrestle with this new accusation. Her mind raced: Somehow, Teresa has discovered the baby is Harold’s, and since she has the impression he is my brother, of course she would assume . . .
“He’s not my brother, Teresa. He’s . . . he’s my husband.”
Now it was Teresa’s turn to sit stunned. She stared in disbelief at Katrina for several long moments, then stood up from the bed, and moved to the window. Throwing open the heavy drapes and allowing the blinding light to diffuse the darkness of the room, Teresa asked incredulously, “Your husband?”
“Yes, Teresa,” Katrina said w
eakly, “He’s deceived us both.”
For long moments Teresa stood looking out the window as Katrina lay silently on the bed, her breathing coming in shallow drafts, her eyes closed as exhaustion took its toll. Finally, Teresa turned and walked back toward the bed. Watching Katrina sleep, she whispered softly, “Our husband . . . Our husband.”
Before Harold returned from his trip inland, Katrina had recovered quite well physically, although the emotional toll had yet to fully register. The two women had shared much during the intervening days between the death of Katrina’s son and his father’s return.
Some deep concerns were broached and the merits and demerits of plural marriage were thoroughly explored during their discussions. In the end, Teresa understood that Katrina had not known of Harold’s deception until her arrival in Mexico, and in fact, until the moment Teresa had introduced herself, Katrina thought that Harold’s reason for presenting her as his sister had been his concerns over the establishment of the colony and the need for him to be gone so frequently. Teresa saw no need to inform Katrina that most of Harold’s absences had been to stay with her in her father’s hacienda, north of Mazatlán.
That both women were religiously opposed to plural marriage created a bond of sorts, beyond that which had been established as a result of the simple fact that they liked each other. Katrina, though several years younger than Teresa, and not of the nobility, was nevertheless a woman of growing intellect and charming disposition. Teresa found herself constantly in awe of Katrina’s ability to accept people and conditions with a positive outlook. Katrina’s early acceptance and even friendship toward Teresa had proved that no hostility existed. Teresa wasn’t certain, had she been the first wife, that she could have accepted Katrina in the same way.
