Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie.
My gaze fell on the open window where I could see the handful of men huddled together on the other side. Aston Talbot. Emory Thayne. Winston Allred. John Talbot. Four men. Twenty two wives between them. Twenty three including me.
They were old, unattractive. They pushed out their chests and practically preened over their imaginary piety. I’d watched them my entire life, accepted the things they’d taught me before I knew better. And as I sat quietly watching them in my wedding dress I realized that I hated them. I close my eyes to blot them out.
Soft arms hugged me from behind.
“Jenny,” I sighed, the word too much like a sob.
My sister understood and held me more tightly.
I pushed back a little, trying to weakly laugh. “At least I’ll be nearby now,” I said. The tiny manufactured house had already been assembled for me within the boundaries of Jericho Valley, close to where Winston’s other wives lived so that he would not be required to travel far between homes.
Jenny didn’t smile. She smoothed my long braid and sat quietly by my side. “At least until they make plans for me.” My little sister looked at me mournfully. “There’s been talk. From Father and Bishop Talbot when they don’t realize I can hear.” She frowned. “Or perhaps they don’t care if I can hear.”
A cold feeling started to grow in my chest. “What sort of talk?”
“About marrying me to one of the elders of Delta City.”
“What?” I gasped, rising out of my chair. Several of my father’s wives turned and looked at me sharply. Delta City was our sister city on the other side of the state line, but was an even stricter community than Jericho Valley. The town was under the thumb of a man named Josiah Bastian who was purported to keep at least fifteen wives. Despite attempts at intervention by the state of Utah and the sound condemnation from Salt Lake City, they still married their daughters off long before the legal age of consent. union s were not infrequent among first cousins. And worse.
My hands clenched into fists so tightly my fingernails gouged my palms. My sister would not suffer such a fate. Winston Allred did not seem to be an unreasonable man. He might be eager to please the new bride he’d waited years for. I knew if he wanted to he could influence my uncle to discard this plan.
And Jenny would be safe, for a little while. Until I could think of something else.
Chapter Three
I tried to smile when my husband came for me. Winston’s face was open and pleasant as he firmly put an arm around my shoulders. The four women who were now my sister wives stood nearby, watching us with mixed expressions.
Delia was the first wife. She was a vague, amiable sort who seemed rather like my mother in her quiet acceptance of the events of her life.
Leah, the second wife, had a soft look about her and a habit of keeping her eyes trained to the ground as she spoke in a scarcely audible tone.
Mary only looked weary from the enormous burden of yet another pregnancy.
But Deborah was only two years older than me, though she had been fourth wife to Winston for six years. It was her expression which troubled me. Her eyes darted between my face and the man we all called husband now. At one point in the afternoon she had approached me anxiously and seemed on the verge of saying something when she was sharply called away by some of the older ladies of the congregation. As she reluctantly left, she had thrown me a long look of despair which shot through my soul.
Before I began my first night as a wife my parents bid me farewell. The lovely wedding gown had been hung away and I was clad plainly in a long calico dress sewn by my mother.
As the two of them reached for me for a final embrace, I found it was with some difficulty that I suppressed my boiling loathing for them. My father had for so long behaved as a god among men that he no longer knew his own cruelty. He smiled at me, likely believing he had done right by his faith. And right by me, permitting me to live a short while in the world before demanding that I keep my vow to return to Jericho Valley and marry. I allowed him to kiss me on the cheek and then I hardened my heart to him forever.
And my mother? She had been a teenage bride. This was the life she knew. The only possibility she saw for her daughters. With a sick feeling I realized one day years from now I might stand in her shoes. Giving away a daughter.
No! Lie. Lie. Lie. No.
As I walked into the early summer evening with my husband, I silently swore it would be different. I would make it different. Winston Allred couldn’t be all bad. He had waited patiently while I finished my schooling. In the frequent times he had called on me when I was home on break, he seemed interested in my studies and in hearing my opinions. He would help me. He would help Jenny.