by Diane Noble
But as she turned her head away from the canopy of stars, she wondered how long the sadness of missing him would last. Forever, seemed the only answer to her bleak question.
The following morning, the McClary party readied to pull out of Fort Bridger. There were solemn good-byes among the children from the Farrington train, and Hannah spent a moment with each of them, assuring them of her love. They would remain in her heart always, she told them.
Matthew gave the signal and led the way on his horse, hurrying them this first day out. He said there was news of a California-bound company just a day or so ahead that he wanted to catch.
Hannah drove the lead wagon, and Amanda Roseanne drove the second team with Sarah at her side. Fae sat on Megs lap next to Hannah while Sophronia rested under the canvas cover of the wagon bed.
They had traveled a distance from Fort Bridger when Meg pointed to a knoll up ahead. “Look!” she said. “There’s somebody up there!”
Hannah followed Meg’s gaze. The morning sun was streaking toward the west, and the rider and his horse gleamed in the bright light.
The horse was tall, and its black hide shone in the sun. The rider wore a hat, pulled low over his forehead, but there was no mistaking his identity. The horseman and his stallion stood perfectly still, watching the small wagon outfit creak and sway its way up the hill.
Hannah popped the whip over her teams backs. She hoped the animals knew where they were going, because she wasn’t watching. Her eyes were locked on the man astride the tall black horse she knew was Spitfire.
Finally Hannah halted the team and climbed off the bench. At the same time Lucas kicked Spitfire to a trot, reining the horse to a halt as he neared her. He slid from the saddle, and with a small cry, Hannah ran to his arms. He held her so close she could feel the thudding of his heart and feel his cheek on her head.
After a moment, Hannah pulled back slightly and looked up at him, her eyes watery. “Oh, Lucas!” She bit her lip to keep from crying.
He took her hand and lifted it to his lips. “I don’t intend to ever let you go again, Hannah. Ever.”
She settled into his arms, feeling the rough cloth of his shirt against her cheek. Then she thought about the crossroads she’d earlier pondered, and looked up at him. “Do you mind if our forever begins in California?”
He raised a brow and smiled into her eyes. “Anywhere, my darling. Just as long as we’re together.”
“Then let’s go to California,” she said, feeling she could dance all the way there if necessary.
He circled his arm around her shoulders, and they turned back to the wagon.
“Mommy!” shouted Fae as Hannah approached.
Hannah stopped and turned to Lucas. “There’s something else I need to tell you,” she said as she took her daughter into her arms.
He grinned. “I thought there might be.” And he touched little Fae’s dark hair with the back of his fingers.
Just then Sophronia looked out the canvas opening. “I see our family’s complete,” she sighed happily. “God bless us, each and every one.” Her gaze took in everyone from Matthew, still astride his horse, to Amanda Roseanne, from Sarah to Meggie, then back to Lucas, Hannah, and baby Fae. “Now,” she said sternly, “let’s get these wagons moving to California! I want to get there while I’m still spry enough to enjoy bathing in that big ocean!”
Mattie McClary chuckled at his aunt’s words and shouted the order to move out. The dust kicked up, and the oxen bawled and complained as they pulled the heavy wagons forward. Wheels creaked, and the jangle of yokes and chains carried toward him.
They had gone just a short way when Mattie craned around in the saddle to look back. Hannah, her hair filled with the light of the morning sun, her face shining with love, caught his gaze and smiled.
He remembered their mother’s prayer of blessing on that long-ago day back at Wolf Pen Creek. She’d said she was placing Hannah in God’s hands because she would be safe there, safer even than in a mother’s heart.
Sometimes, she’d said, folks don’t know they belong to God. They don’t know they are in his big hand … where even their names are written forever. And when Mattie had asked if Hannah would ever know, his ma had said someday he would need to tell her.
He glanced back again at Hannah, driving the team with little Fae at her side and Lucas Knight riding next to her wagon on the tall stallion. Hannah was looking heavenward, a look of joy spreading across her face.
Hannah knew! Oh yes, she knew.
AUTHOR’S NOTES
The Mountain Meadows Massacre is a historical event, though historians have yet to agree on the true reasons behind the unprovoked killing of the wagon train families. In this work I have attempted to tell the story with as much historical integrity as possible.
The Veil’s characters are largely fictional; however, many are based on actual participants of the massacre, both the victims and their executioners. Names have been changed, and in some cases the characters are compilations of historical figures. Lucas Knight and Hannah McClary are entirely the authors creations, but many of their experiences in The Veil are taken from accounts of Latter-day Saints who lived during this fascinating yet brutal era.
Many quotes in The Veil that are attributed to Brigham Young and other Mormon leaders are taken from actual sermons and writings. These are documented quotations, many of which were printed in newspapers and Church records of the day. Those quotes dealing with the practice of blood atonement are particularly significant in the unfolding of events leading to the massacre.
A number of books were helpful in developing the historical foundation for the novel, these in particular: Juanita Brooks, Mountain Meadows Massacre, Arthur King Peters, Seven Trails West, Irving Stone, Men to Match My Mountains; Sandra L. Myres (editor) Ho for California! Women’s Overland Diaries from the Huntington Library; Francis Parkman, The Oregon Trail; Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith; Anna Jean Backus, Mountain Meadows Witness; Harold Schindler, Orrin Porter Rockwell: Man of God/Son of Thunder, Fanny Stenhouse (for more than twenty years the wife of a Mormon missionary and elder) Tell It All: The Story of a Life’s Experience in Mormonism (foreword by Harriet Beecher Stowe); John D. Lee, Confessions of John D. Lee.
The latter reference, Confessions of John D. Lee, was especially helpful in researching the events leading to the Mountain Meadows Massacre. John D. Lee (on whom the character John Steele is loosely based) was executed for his role nearly two decades after the massacre. Historians agree that Brigham Young and church elders set up John Lee as a scapegoat after a first trial failed to convict and an enraged nation clamored for justice. After his second trial, Lee was indeed convicted, then executed by firing squad at the massacre site. None of the other Danites who participated in the massacre were ever brought to trial, though many are listed by name in Lee’s Confessions.
Some 120 people lost their lives at Mountain Meadows in September 1857. The story of The Veil ultimately belongs to them, especially to the children … those who died and those who lived to tell what they had witnessed. Their names are engraved on a granite monument at the massacre site in southern Utah, just outside Cedar City.
Diane Noble
Diane Noble is an award-winning author of more than two dozen books. Diane lives in Southern California with her husband, Tom, a history professor and part-time writer.
Diane would love to have you drop by her little corner of the Web at www.dianenoble.com, where you can send her an e-mail.
THE VEIL
PUBLISHED BY WATERBROOK PRESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. all rights reserved.
The characters and events in this book are largely fiction
al. for further information see the Preface and Author’s Notes.
eISBN: 978-0-307-45931-2
Copyright © 1998 by Diane Noble
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.
WATERBROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.
v3.0