The Wishing Star (38 page)

Even Joseph Smith reacted to the excitement. He took to the auctioneer's block, and the Saints responded with enthusiasm. Under his hand, town lots were going from a hundred dollars to three and four thousand.

Some days Jenny joined the crowd just to feel the excitement and hear people's comments.

Emotions were riding high, and cautious ones said, “Doesn't seem proper for the Prophet to be buying and selling.” The answer came back: “The prosperity of the Lord is His blessing for being a good Mormon and keeping the ordinances of the Lord. What's more fittin' than for Joseph to help the Lord dish it out.”

Jenny spent June with the Walker family. Matilda Walker had been ill with the summer fever, and it had taken all Jenny's skill with the charms and potions to nurse her back to health.

She left the Walkers with their praises ringing in her ears, but she also left exhausted, feeling as if life had been abandoned for the month's time.

As she often did after a nursing job, she stopped on her way through town to see Tom at the stables. She found him agitated and angry. “What's upsetting you?” she asked, settling herself beside the cold forge to watch him sort and clean his tools. When he raised his head she saw the tight, white line of anger around his mouth.

He continued to rattle his tools before replying. When he lifted his head again, he caught her gaze and held it. “How would you like an Indian for a sister-in-law?” She gasped and he added, “That's right. A plain old uncivilized squaw who can't even speak English.”

“Tom, you're trying to shock me. If you choose to love an Indian, why, I'll accept her.”

His face softened and he managed a crooked grin. “Sorry. I suppose the Lord is just trying my patience and willingness to obey the Prophet. Joseph's goin' to be sending me to Missouri right soon. And he's told me, since I'm not married, that I'm to marry an Indian when I get there. The Lord commanded that this be done. It's pleasin' to Him.”

“I can't believe he intends you to just marry the first Indian you meet,” Jenny soothed.

Tom snorted and flung a file to the trash heap. Looking at Jenny with a sheepish grin, Tom apologized, “I didn't mean to unload on you. It's just that some of these revelations try body and soul together. Jen, things are goin' bad in Missouri. I know Joseph is waitin' for direction before we all head west, but we can't go there until some of these troubles get solved.”

“What's going on?” Jenny asked slowly.

“When the Saints were run out of Jackson County, most of them settled in Clay County, with the blessing of the residents. But now the same tide of feelin' is sweepin' Clay County; in short, we're not welcome there anymore.

“Joseph is aware of this. Just in March, he sent men to Missouri with fourteen hundred and fifty dollars to buy land up in the northern part.

“They say the land isn't as fair as the southern part of the state, but it must do, and it's cheaper. Jenny, the people are sufferin' for want of food and clothin' as well as freedom. I fear that any day now we're goin' to hear that the Missourians have run our people out of Clay.”

Jenny listened and studied Tom's face. Puzzled by his rambling explanation, she began to realize he was talking over the whole situation in an effort to understand why Joseph was pressuring him.

Tom paused in his work. “There's that revelation sayin' the Indians will be white and delightsome when they accept the gospel. Joseph's obviously tryin' to hurry things along by havin' his men marry the natives.”

“But you said the Lord promised blessing if you were to do so.” Jenny watched his face twist. As she pondered that expression, she realized that for the first time, Tom's whole manner revealed a skepticism he wouldn't yet admit.

When she arrived home, Sally met her. “Oh my, does Andy ever have a surprise for you!”

Jenny frowned. “I can't even begin to guess.”

“Is there anyone on earth you are terribly lonesome for?”

Jenny's mind immediately flooded with thoughts of Mark Cartwright, but she restrained herself. “I wasn't aware of being lonesome, but you've made me think. Does it have to do with the name I gave Andy?”

“Oh, shy one you are! Just for that, you'll wait.” She gave Jenny a quick squeeze and went to rescue her crying child.

Jenny carried her valise upstairs to her room. After settling her clothes in their proper place, she opened the window and leaned far out. Soft breezes wafted woody perfume from the trees pressing the fringes of the Morgans' property. The late June air bore the scent of every growing thing imaginable, and Jenny was overwhelmed with the need to be out of the house and among the trees.

For one moment, as she started for the stairs, she hesitated. Not since her last encounter with Adela, just before she joined the church, had she walked in the woods, nor had she again met Adela. Jenny shivered. Despite her best resolve, the memory of that one sabbat still invaded her dreams.

But the call of the woods won out and Jenny fled toward their serenity, wandering carefree and nearly happy. As the afternoon wore on, Jenny gathered mint and wildflowers as an excuse to barter time alone.

Jenny relaxed, forgetting her initial reluctance to enter the woods and the afternoon passed. In a dreamy mood she circled deeper into the trees. The sun-warmed air softened and sweetened with new smells as she walked around the moist swamplands.

Jenny didn't realize she was lost until she spied the little log cabin just beyond the marshy meadow. Stopping to study the building, she tried to guess where she was. As she peered at the cabin, the outline of a tall man was visible in the doorway. “Well, at least it is inhabited,” she murmured, looking around to get her bearings.

Jenny tried to retrace her steps, but discovered the lush undergrowth hid the trail and familiar landmarks.

When frogs began their evening chorus, she turned and fled toward the cabin. She was muttering to herself, “Be grateful that Adela can't see you now. Fine witch you are! You can't even find your way home, let alone call down the powers.”

The cabin was just across a marshy section, and she had to plunge through ankle-deep water to reach it. When she was nearly to the door, Joseph stepped out onto the stoop. He was pulling on his coat, and he stiffened when he saw her.

“Jenny Timmons, what are you doing here?” For a moment Jenny was surprised and distracted by the hard expression in his eyes. As she searched for words, the conviction that he suspected her of spying swept across her.

“I—I—” she stuttered and then laughed, “Oh, Joseph. I'm not trying to discover all those secret things you men are supposed to talk about when the women aren't around. I'm lost.” She pointed to muddy boots. He studied her for a moment, then swung the door open.

“Come in. You'll find nothing more interesting than a quiet spot where we men have our prayer meetings.” The one room was plainly furnished with a cot, a table, and a scattering of chairs. “I would offer you tea, but I have none,” he said. “There's not even a fire, but you could rest for a moment before I send you on your way.

“Jenny, I have meant to talk to you. It has been a month since you joined the church. We need to have you baptized, and I haven't seen you in meeting.”

“I've been nursing again,” she explained, and saw his quick frown.

“That also merits some discussion,” he added with a nod. “I've been hearing more about your charms and amulets and all the potions you use.”

Jenny sat down on the chair Joseph indicated, accepted the towel he offered, and wiped her feet.

“It smacks a little of witchcraft,” he said slowly as he continued to watch her. “But anything that keeps down the fever will be demanded by the people. I can't complain unless you go into competition with me.”

She stared at him hard, trying to understand what he meant. He was beginning to relax, and the grin on his face became friendly. Abruptly he crossed the room to her chair and squatted close to her. “Jenny, tell me the real reason you wanted to join the church.”

Shaking her head and looking away from him, all those visions of the sabbat filled her mind. She put the towel aside and looked up. The expression on his face was changing and his eyes glowed with a sweetness she didn't understand.

“Dear Jenny,” he said. He took her hands and lifted her up. With his hands on her shoulders, he held her only inches away from him. The unexpected touch left her nearly swooning, unable to think of anything except his closeness.

Now he was saying, “You don't have to explain. I know. Jenny, I want you to realize that I understand you better than you do yourself. Do you trust me enough to follow all the directions from the Lord without question? During the next few years, the Lord will reveal many marvelous things to us.” His voice dropped to a whisper as he said, “Trust me. I'll have you yet.”

She was wondering whether she had heard correctly. But just as her foolish heart began its hurried, hopeful beat, his words snapped her to attention. “Jenny, one of the first responsibilities you have in your new church is to get married.”

The room spun; she couldn't believe her ears. Woodenly she said, “Married? I don't want to marry, I—” She shut her hasty lips before they betrayed her. Disappointment flooded through her. His new command made her realize that his past caresses meant nothing. Her back stiffened and her chin lifted. Plainly, he was saying that those kisses had been an impulsive liberty; this was his signal that they had best be forgotten. “Joseph, church is one thing and a person's love life is another,” she said frostily.

“You don't understand, Jenny. All the revelations haven't yet been written down and presented to the people, but God is making it very clear to me that it is His will for marriage to be the basis for a new and everlasting covenant in the hereafter. You see, we are not to be just human. Through His provision of exaltation, we shall become as He is right now. With kingdoms and powers, we shall possess more earths than you've ever dreamed about.”

His voice deepened. “There are spirits already waiting in the spirit world. We need to provide bodies for them. That's part of our mission here and now. Together with them, we'll inhabit new worlds. Later, one of the most important teachings in the church will be about marriage. For now, the only thing you need know is that God wills you to be married.”

Jenny was filled with the shock of Joseph's proclamation as he guided her to the right path and walked through the woods with her. Only when Jenny saw the lights of the Morgans' kitchen was she able to salvage her composure.

As she hurried toward the house, one word Joseph had said rang through her mind.
Power
—that word made all the difference in the world.

She forced a cheerful smile and opened the back door into the house. Mark was there. Slowly the events of the afternoon receded, like a dark stormcloud pushed by the wind. Against that backdrop, Mark was an oasis. She found herself clinging to his hand as she studied every familiar feature of his face.

It was easy to say, “Mark, it is good to see you. I'd not realized just how good it possibly could be.” When she saw the flush of pleasure on his face, the wounds inflicted by the afternoon began to heal.

Chapter 28

During July, Sally determined to further the courtship of Mark and Jenny. At the same time Andy set out to make Mark into a financial advisor acceptable to Joseph and the first presidency. Jenny watched with amusement as the tug-of-war for Mark's attention lurched back and forth.

But Jenny had to admit, even secretly, that she had expected Mark to press his suit immediately, since it was obvious she was responsible for his being in Kirtland. To Jenny's confusion and even dismay, Mark was seldom at the Morgan residence except to consult with Andy. Even Sally's frequent dinner invitations didn't cause him to linger long in the soft summer evenings.

While Jenny was secretly troubled, Sally's annoyance boiled over one evening. After Mark and Andy escaped the house immediately after dinner, Sally shook the butcher knife she had been drying and exclaimed, “Do you have any idea of what you are getting yourself into? That Mark is not good husband material. Why I picked someone like Andy, who loves work more than wife, I'll never know. Haven't you taken lessons from the Morgan household?”

Suddenly she burst into tears, and Jenny's indulgent chuckle died away. “Oh, Sally! I'm sorry to take your problem so lightly. I didn't realize you felt this way about Andy being gone so much.”

Sally blew her nose and wiped at her eyes. “It's all right,” she muttered, shamefaced. “I'm angry because he carried off Mark right after dinner again.”

Try as she might to forget the problem, Sally's words had an effect. As the days passed, Jenny's irritation over Mark's neglect developed into full-blown hurt. Jenny knew of no way around the problem, and the matter might have hung there in limbo if it hadn't been for another meeting with Joseph.

The day Tom was to leave for Missouri, Jenny had gone to the stables to bid him good-bye. Watching his gloomy face as he tightened the last pack on his horse, she said, “You know, you don't have to go. You are free to do as you wish about this whole affair, including marrying an Indian woman.”

He looked at her, and she noticed the thinness of his features. “You are mistaken,” he said shortly. “Joseph holds the keys of the kingdom. He is to be as God to us. Not one of us will reach heaven in the hereafter without his approval.”

“Maybe heaven isn't that important,” Jenny said slowly.

His hands stilled on the straps, and he looked at her in surprise. “Jenny, I don't think you have any understanding of hell. It's—”

With a half-laugh, she interrupted him, “I only fear things that go bump in the night. Besides, a good God wouldn't send people to hell.”