The Veil

by Diane Noble

  Once they were settled into the swing with two glasses of cider and a plate of dried fruit-filled cookie bars, they chatted for a few minutes about the unusually warm spring weather, Brigham Young’s latest sermon, and finally, about the importance of Lucas’s mission to England. Hannah watched John as they talked, noticing his aristocratic profile, his dark, gray-streaked hair, his well-groomed beard. The fine cloth and fit of his clothes spoke of a man who paid careful attention to detail. But there was something about his confident demeanor that also disturbed her. It was as if he had some secret knowledge about his place in the valley, in the Saints’ kingdom, that elevated him above all others.

  “Thank you for seeing me,” he finally said, meeting her gaze with a warm smile.

  “You said you have news of Lucas,” Hannah said.

  He leaned back in the swing, crossing his legs at the ankles. “Yes, yes. I did, and I have much to tell you.” He took a sip of apple cider. “But first—while I have you all to myself, Hannah—tell me about yourself.”

  She frowned and started to protest, but he held up a hand amiably. “It’s true. You’ve always got so many young men buzzing around you at services that I’ve never had a moment to even say hello.” He chuckled softly. “I know how highly Lucas thinks of you. I’d like to find out more.” He leaned back, crossing his legs leisurely.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not sure you’d be interested …”

  “On the contrary, my dear. I’m very interested. I’ve heard bits and pieces about your home in Kentucky. How you ended up in Deseret by default rather than choice. That you wouldn’t have agreed to trekking across the country except that you and Sophronia had to leave Nauvoo so suddenly.”

  Hannah laughed lightly. “All the Saints still in Nauvoo that winter hightailed it out as fast as we did.”

  “I heard Sophronia drove off some ruffians single-handedly so the two of you could escape.” He shook his head. “Now that’s a story I’d like to hear.”

  And it was a story Hannah loved to tell, despite her apprehensions about John Steele. “I was only ten, but I’ll never forget that night as long as I live.” And she began telling him about Sophronia in her shining glory, holding the thugs at bay with the Hawken so that Hannah could escape into the woods.

  “How did you finally get away?”

  “Lucas Knight showed up—” Hannah suddenly stopped, remembering how Lucas had miraculously appeared in the midst of the smoke and flames and terror. She ached with the memory of the sight of him that night, sitting tall on his magnificent black horse.

  “You miss him, don’t you?” John’s voice was soft. It was as if he were reading her thoughts.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Lucas Knight. Do you miss him?”

  “Yes, of course. We all do.”

  “But it’s different for you, isn’t it?” He was watching her carefully. “It’s different for you both.”

  Hannah fell silent for a moment. “Are you asking me if we’re courting?” She narrowed her eyes, feeling a sense of entrapment as she remembered what Lucas had said about their coming betrothal remaining a secret.

  John didn’t speak for a moment. “Yes. That’s what I’m asking.”

  Hannah suddenly looked up into his eyes and gave him a dazzling smile. “Why, I’m surprised at you, Brother Steele,” she said, forcing her tone to remain light. “Any feelings between Lucas and me really can’t be of any interest to someone like you.”

  John looked surprised, as if he didn’t know whether to be pleased or put off by her response. “What do you mean, ‘someone like me’?”

  “Well, someone of such importance,” she said sweetly. “I mean, you’re so busy doing Church business and all, running to all ends of the earth for Brother Brigham. People say you speak and act for him, that you are, in fact, his voice. Some call him the ‘Lion of the Lord.’ One could say you’re the voice of the lion.”

  Steele looked at her with piercing eyes then smiled benignly. “I had no idea you saw me that way.”

  “I’m not the only one who does, Brother Steele.”

  “Then you understand why I must keep myself informed of what is happening in the lives of the people in our valley.”

  “Of course I do,” she agreed smoothly. “But why should you care about my life, or Lucas’s? After all, he isn’t here and, from what I understand, won’t be for quite some time.”

  John Steele let out a deep and troubled sigh. “That’s part of the reason I’m here, Hannah. I am Lucas’s spiritual adviser, the only father he remembers.”

  “Yes, I know that.”

  “He trusts me. Trusts my judgment.”

  “He’s told me as much.”

  “He asked me for permission to court you before he left.” Hannah remained silent.

  John Steele leaned forward earnestly. “I asked him to wait to speak to you about the matter until he returns from England. It would be a test of your love for each other.”

  Hannah nodded, trying to understand where the conversation was headed. “A test?” she finally murmured. “Why would you suggest that?”

  “It’s a matter of faith, dear. A matter of following the precepts of our faith as you enter into this sacred union.”

  “Do you mean taking seriously our wedding vows, our sealing as man and wife?” She frowned, trying to follow his obscure meaning.

  “Let me explain,” he said patiently. “Lucas received my blessing when he asked for my permission to be betrothed to you upon his return.”

  Hannah nodded. “Go on.”

  “I agreed, you see, because …” John leaned back and sighed again. “… his mission had much more to do with a test of his devotion to the Prophet and to the Church than with the mission itself. He will be returning with a young woman, handpicked, to be married in the endowment house.”

  “Brother Brigham is taking another wife?”

  “Oh no!” John Steele threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, dear me, no.”

  “Then I don’t understand what this young woman—what did you say her name was again?—what she has to do with Lucas.”

  “Her name is Evangeline, and she has everything to do with Lucas. And with you.”

  Hannah shook her head uncertainly, a sick feeling beginning to churn somewhere between her heart and her stomach. “Tell me, then,” she said, keeping her voice low, measured. “Tell me, what has it to do with me?”

  John Steele reached for her hand and held it in a gentle, almost fatherly way, between the two of his. “Celestial marriage is the most honorable state before God. Through it a man reaches his fullest potential, ultimately attaining godhood.”

  Hannah nodded. “I know this to be true.”

  “These precious, sacred unions of a man and a woman bound on earth through their sealing ceremony will also be bound in heaven.”

  “I know this also.”

  “And you know then that if you agree to marry Lucas, you will be his throughout eternity?”

  “Yes,” Hannah said solemnly. “I know about the sacredness of these vows.”

  He squeezed her hand. “What I have to tell you next may be more difficult to understand. But remember, it is part of the test of your faith. The same that will ultimately bring you to Lucas as his wife.”

  “Go on,” she whispered.

  “Part of Lucas’s progression to godhood is dependent on his belief in celestial marriage.”

  For a moment she didn’t speak. Finally, after swallowing hard, she managed to whisper, “You mean multiple wives, don’t you? You’re trying to tell me that Lucas has gone to England to bring back a wife.”

  “Yes, dear. He couldn’t bring himself to tell you.”

  “And he’s expecting me to become his second wife?”

  “Oh no. He would never agree to that. You are to become his number one wife. Evangeline—whom I told you was handpicked for Lucas—will be his second. You will marry in the same ceremony.” He rushed on. “I think you’
ll like Evangeline, or Evie, as her friends call her. I hear she is a delightful creature, pretty and educated. Since you’re close to the same age, I am certain you’ll soon be as close as sisters.

  Hannah stood abruptly, knocking over the table with the tray of glasses and cookies. The cider spilled, and the glasses shattered. “No!” she cried. “I will not marry Lucas. Not under those circumstances.”

  By this time, John was standing near her, trying to help with the overturned tray. Hannah stood with her back to the man, covering her face with her hands. Her shoulders trembled, and hot tears filled her eyes.

  “Oh, my dear, I’m sorry,” said John. “I had hoped you would stand firm through the testing. Satan will try to sway you, overpower what you know is best for Lucas, for you and his celestial brides, for all eternity. Please, give it some thought. Let me counsel you and help you understand the power that will be yours in the kingdom of heaven.” He turned her gently by the shoulders to face him. “Your kingdom, child,” he said earnestly. “Don’t you understand? You and Lucas will be creating spirit children throughout all eternity, populating your own world.” He lifted her chin, locking his gaze on hers. “You can give Lucas this gift.”

  She pulled away from him, stepping backward. “The gift of godhood.”

  “By agreeing to celestial marriage.”

  “And if I don’t agree?”

  “If you were already married and did not allow Lucas to take another wife, Lucas would have the right to damn you to hell. It is God’s law.”

  “But if I do not marry him, this …” Her voice faltered. “… this Evangeline he’s gone to fetch, will become his first wife.”

  “Yes.”

  “And he will still achieve godhood.”

  “Yes, probably with many other wives. Again, it is God’s law, not man’s.

  “So my gift has no real meaning. He can achieve godhood without my blessing.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then he shall. Because I will have no part of such a marriage.”

  John Steele held her gaze. “I understand,” he said finally.

  “I would like to be alone now,” Hannah said.

  But John stepped closer and reached for her hand. “Hannah,” he said, his voice low. “Our leaders are wise and godly men. They listen for our Father’s guidance and choose paths for us all that will bless us, not condemn us.”

  Just then, Sophronia drove up in the carriage and turned into the long driveway at the side of the house. She halted the single horse, looking worried as she stepped from the vehicle.

  “Brother Steele,” she said as she walked to the porch, “what brings you out our way?”

  “Sophronia,” he said smoothly, “it’s always a pleasure to see you.” He took her hand and lifted it to his lips.

  Sophronia pulled it away briskly.

  “I believe I’ve outstayed my welcome,” he said pointedly to Hannah. He lifted a brow to Sophronia and, after an uncomfortable and silent moment, headed toward the walkway. At the gate he paused, looking back at the two women.

  “I would like to continue our discussion, Hannah, about celestial marriage,” he said. “I will come to call on Saturday next, and we’ll continue where we left off.”

  John Steele didn’t await an answer but strode resolutely to his waiting horse, mounted, and rode toward town. Sitting ramrod straight, reins in hand, he didn’t look back.

  NINE

  Before John Steele had ridden from sight, Sophronia had taken Hannah by the hand and turned her toward the house. “We have some decisions to make,” she said, steering her grandniece through the door.

  Hannah nodded mutely and followed her aunt to the kitchen table. Sophronia poured them each a cup of fruit tea and settled into a chair across from Hannah. As Hannah lifted hers to take a sip, the cup rattled in its saucer.

  Sophronia reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. “Tell me what he said.”

  Hannah felt fresh tears sting her eyes. “He said that Lucas has been sent to England to fetch a new bride.”

  “For himself?”

  Hannah nodded.

  “Do you believe him, child?”

  “I don’t know what to believe.” She let her gaze travel to the window and looked out at the Wasatch Mountains, the same mountains Lucas had traveled through weeks earlier. “The Church is his life. He’s sworn to be obedient to death.” She turned back to Sophronia.

  “But Lucas loves you, child. He knows how you—how we—feel about men taking more than one wife. I cant imagine that he’d ask it of you …”

  “Unless he had some reason to.”

  Sophronia let go of Hannah’s hands and took a sip of tea. “I wonder,” she mused. After a moment she spoke again, her forehead furrowed in thought. “Are you sure that Lucas knows about this bride?”

  Hannah considered the question then nodded. “Brother Steele said he did.”

  Her aunt let out a long breath. “For weeks I’ve been struggling with how to think of our brother,” she said. “And I’ve concluded we can’t trust him, Hannah.”

  “I know you feel this way, but he’s one of Brigham Young’s chosen leaders.”

  “He wants to marry you himself, Hannah. Think what such an aim might cause a man to do.”

  Hannah gave her a small smile. “Eliminate the competition?”

  “Yes. Not only send Lucas away but discredit him as well.”

  “By telling me the most hurtful thing he could think of—that Lucas is going to take another bride. Young, beautiful, and educated.”

  Sophronia nodded. “You’re in a dangerous position, Hannah. We both are. I’ve already told John he can’t court you. And if you refuse his advances …” Her voice trailed off uncertainly. “His pride is at stake if he pursues you and you refuse him the time of day.”

  Hannah nodded slowly. “Also his standing in the Church. He’s already told me that celestial marriage strengthens a man’s prospects for godhood.”

  Sophronia grimaced. “And it’s said that virgins are more valuable in that respect than any other bride.” She paused thoughtfully. “It’s a dangerous spot to be in, child. I’ve noticed how some of the others watch you. Even if Brother Steele doesn’t have his way with you, there will be others waiting.”

  Hannah leaned forward, taking Sophronia’s hand again. Her own pain over Lucas was lessening as she considered her aunt’s words. “This isn’t easy for you, is it? Doubting the Church and its leaders after all these years.”

  Quick tears moistened Sophronia’s eyes. “That’s why I’ve been poorly, I think. When we started out, following the young Joseph, the Church seemed new and alive. What a wonder it was to consider that God had restored his Church in these latter days! And that I was alive to witness it! I was willing to give my life for our cause, for our people.”

  Hannah brought Sophronia’s frail hand to her cheek. “And now?”

  The older woman shook her head slowly. “I feel I don’t recognize it anymore. Who ever heard such a thing as a man taking so many wives? Or a man having the ability to condemn a first wife to hell for refusing to let him take a second, or third … and on and on?”

  “You want to leave, don’t you?”

  “I’ve pondered it considerably, dear. But I always wind up back where I started. Where would we go? I broke all my ties to the past when the Mormons took me in after Haun’s Mill.”

  “We are family, Sophronia. The two of us. You’re my mother, my friend, all the blood kin I want or need.” She smiled. “And I have the feeling we could live anywhere, do anything we set our minds to. If you want to leave, just say the word.”

  Sophronia met her gaze evenly. “I don’t think it’s a matter of wanting to, child. I don’t think we have a choice, unless you can think of another way to avoid a celestial marriage to John Steele.”

  Hannah nodded and slowly lifted her cup to take a sip. But as Sophronia stood and reached for the kettle to pour more tea, Hannah’s thoughts sobered. What they were abo
ut to undertake was more dangerous than she wanted to consider. Her aunt, though strong willed and as tough as nails, was still an old woman, unfit for travel of any great distance. Hannah figured their best chance to get out of the territory would be to head into the mountains by horseback, cross the Weber at the Red Fork, and ride on to Fort Bridger. She’d heard the trail discussed enough that she felt they could find their way. Once at Bridger, they could join up with a wagon company heading west to Oregon or California and disappear in their ranks. The more travelers in the party, the better.

  The greatest danger of all would come if it was discovered that she and Sophronia had become apostates and fled … She shuddered.

  “Child, what are you thinking?” Sophronia looked worried as she poured the tea.

  “It’s a dangerous thing we’re planning,” Hannah said gently. “Are you sure you want to risk it?”

  Sophronia settled again into her chair. “For the longest time I’ve felt as though I’m suffocating, Hannah. And now, just thinking about getting away, suddenly I can breathe again.” She patted her niece’s hand. “Its worth the risk, child. Its worth it.”

  “Then we’ll plan to leave as soon as we can.”

  “In the dead of night,” Sophronia added, a long-absent sparkle returning to her eyes.

  “Yes,” Hannah agreed. “And we’ll ride northeast.”

  “I thought so,” Sophronia said, rising from the table. “Now, I think I’ll start packing.” She headed slowly down the hallway toward her bedroom.

  “Don’t forget the Hawken,” Hannah called after her. “And the balls and powder.”

  Sophronia turned and gave her a sly grin. “We’ve still got two rifles, dear. They’re both waiting by the door. I’ve been planning this getaway for quite some time.”

  “You have?” Even after ten years together, Sophronia still amazed her. Hannah couldn’t help smiling.

  “I made good use of my resting time during the past weeks. I’ve been mapping out every detail of our trip.”

  Hannah’s love for her aunt swelled inside. “You knew then that it would come to this.”

  Sophronia nodded. “Oh yes. From the minute our dear brother asked to court you, I knew, Hannah. I made up my mind that day.” Then without another word she turned to continue down the hall. After a moment, Hannah heard her aunt singing to herself as she packed.