Everyone agreed.
While the others continued to congratulate Faith and Andrew, Connie and Tom slipped closer to the fire. Tom took hold of Connie’s hands. “In case I haven’t told you lately, I love you.”
She smiled. “You tell me every hour of every day in the way you look at me and the way you treat me, but still I love to hear it. I love you too, and I’m sorry it took me so long to see it.”
Tom shook his head. “I think it had to be this way because I was so blind to the truth of who God was. I know you stopped talking to me about my beliefs and yours, but you never stopped being my friend, and for that I’m so grateful.”
“I’m sorry that I stopped defending my faith. I was so confused about what that faith really meant to me. Now I’m confident and will happily discuss and argue points with you anytime—anywhere.”
“I don’t think there will be any need for arguments. I find myself in complete agreement with what you believe.”
“And why not? The same man led us both to the Lord.” She glanced past Tom and looked at her father. The expression on her face was full of love. “I’m glad they’ll be close by. I hope you truly don’t mind.”
“Not at all. I still have so much to learn. I know your father won’t lead me astray when I ask him questions. We will be so blessed to attend your father’s church.”
“Oh goodness, don’t call it that,” Connie replied. “Papa has always been quick to correct anyone who suggests such a thing. The church belongs to God alone. Soli Deo Gloria. To God alone, the glory.”
He thought about that for a moment. “You know, Gloria might make a pretty name for a baby girl.”
Connie blushed and looked at the floor. It endeared her to him all the more.
Chapter 25
On the twenty-seventh of December, Connie stood in the same pale-yellow gown she’d worn to her last ball in Washington, DC. Aunt Phinny had brought it with her so Connie could use it for her wedding dress.
Mama totally approved. “It’s just the loveliest gown. So beautiful against your complexion and eyes. Are you sure you don’t want us to create some kind of veil? Nancy said she has some extra tulle and lace. I’m sure between me and your aunts, we could come up with the perfect notion to go with it.”
“No, I don’t need anything else. I’ve already let the lot of you give me fussy hair.” She grinned. “But I like it, and I’m thinking Tom will too.”
“Well, then, I believe it’s time for us to join the guests and get this thing done,” her father declared from the door. “It’s nearly nine o’clock. If you wait much later, we’ll be serving lunch instead of a wedding breakfast. And frankly, I’m starved.”
They all laughed at this, and then Mama kissed Connie’s cheek. “Be happy, my love. Never go to bed with anger between you, and always put the Lord first.”
Connie swallowed the lump in her throat. “Oh, Mama, Papa, I’m so blessed that you’re both here. So many have lost their family or parents. I get to have you both here as well as my aunts and uncles and cousins. It’s such a joyous celebration, and I’m particularly excited to see how Cousin Meg gets along with Aunt Phinny. I just know Meg would love living with them in Washington, DC.”
“Well, don’t push. Let it develop or fall apart on its own,” her mother warned. “Now, come on. Your father is right. It’s time.”
Connie took her father’s arm while her mother made her way ahead of them. Connie looked up and saw that her father’s eyes were damp. “Are you crying?”
He smiled. “I suppose I am. I never thought about giving my daughter—my only daughter—away to someone else.”
“Oh, Papa, you know better. You aren’t giving me away at all. You’re taking on Tom as your son. You’re just getting to know him, but I’ve known him for seven years. I can tell you from experience that he can be quite opinionated and bossy, but I’m sure you can handle him.”
Her father chuckled. “I just hope he can handle you. I wonder if Tom has really considered what he’s getting himself into.”
She leaned close. “Shh. We don’t want to scare him off.”
He laughed softly. “It’ll be our secret.”
Everyone in the cramped front room stood as Connie and her father entered just behind Mama. Connie smiled at everyone, confident and not a bit afraid. This was the most important day of her life, and she didn’t want to shy away from a minute of it. She wanted to memorize what everyone looked like.
Near the fireplace, Tom stood waiting. He was so handsome in his dark blue suit and tie. He watched her as if mesmerized. Connie wondered if he was nervous. He looked completely captivated with her, but she knew Tom was very good at concealing his fear.
Papa handed her off to Tom and then took his place before them. He was the only one in the world Connie had ever wanted to perform her wedding ceremony. She had thought about it since she was a little girl.
“Please, everyone, be seated,” her father declared. “At least those of you who have chairs.” Everyone chuckled.
There was a rustling sound as people took their seats, but Connie found it impossible to take her gaze from Tom’s face. She was marrying her best friend, the man who had always been there for her when no one else was. The one she could tell her troubles to and feel neither condemned nor belittled. He was the only one in the entire world with whom she could imagine spending her life.
“Thomas and Constance—Tom and Connie—we have come here today to witness your joining in holy matrimony.” She glanced at her father, and he winked. “But first, let us pray.”
Connie thought it the most perfect ceremony. She made her vows and pledged her heart and life, then listened as Tom did likewise. She didn’t feel at all afraid to face the future. Her life with Tom so far had been full of adventure. She had no doubt it would continue to be so as they faced the next year and the ones after that.
They laughed and talked throughout the wedding breakfast with family and the boardinghouse ladies. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time. Bedelia Clifton had worn a fancy lace collar, and her sister, Cornelia, had placed a lovely pink bow and cameo at her neck. Even Alma stood faithfully beside Mrs. Weaver.
“Was the fussy hair your idea?” Tom asked Connie when they finally had a moment to themselves.
She smiled. “You know very well it wasn’t. The gown, however, was. Aunt Phinny brought it and several others that I had worn in Washington. This was always my favorite.”
“It’s the one you wore to the fund-raiser ball just before we left for Oregon.”
“Yes. How do you remember that?”
He looked at her with what she had come to recognize as love mingled with admiration. “I remember everything about you that night. I thought briefly of telling you how I felt, but something about it just wasn’t the right time.”
She reached up to touch his cheek. “I’m glad you waited.”
He covered her hand with his. “It wasn’t easy, let me tell you.” He took her hand and drew it to his lips. He kissed her fingers with great tenderness. “I love you more dearly every day I draw breath.”
“I still can’t believe you’ve loved me all these years. I loved you too, as a friend, but I never suspected the way you felt.”
“I worked hard to keep it hidden. I knew there was too much standing between us, and I couldn’t bear to think of declaring my love only to have you refuse me.” Connie relished the warmth as Tom drew her in his arms. “I know it would have been my undoing.”
“Well, you needn’t worry about that, Mr. Lowell. I will be now and always happily your wife and love, excited by the possibility of all that we will see as we walk life’s paths.”
“You’re starting to sound like a poet, Mrs. Lowell.” He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her.
Connie felt all the butterflies and fireworks that had failed to come when Clint Singleton had forced his kiss on her. Tom’s kiss was more like a promise of things to come—a life of love that would forever bind them t
o one another.
“There you two are,” Nancy declared. “Come see your wedding cake. All of us had a hand in it, including Jack, who just put his hand in it.”
Connie and Tom pulled apart, laughing.
“You’ll just have to ignore the handprint,” Nancy said. “Now, hurry. We’re all in the dining room.” She left them with a quick backward glance and smile.
“I suppose we’d better follow, or they’ll all come see where we’ve gotten off to,” Tom said with a sigh.
Connie laughed and led him off to see the cake.
Two weeks later, they boarded the Morning Star with the Brownings and Faith. Captain Gratton welcomed them aboard, heartily kissed his wife, then ordered the men to make ready to depart. It was very cold, and the dampness chilled Connie to the bone, but Tom was more than happy to wrap his arms around her as they waved good-bye to the family standing on the dock.
“You know, Tom, Mercy and I were married at sea,” Connie’s father announced.
“I’d nearly forgotten that,” Connie replied before Tom could speak a word.
“I hadn’t,” Faith said. “I was there. I thought it very romantic, and for a long time I wanted to get married on a ship. Instead, I get to live on a riverboat—at least for a while. Andrew wants to buy a house for us in Portland.”
They waved to the family who remained. Captain Gratton signaled with the horn, and Connie blew kisses.
“Don’t forget, you promised to come see us,” Connie called.
“We will when time permits,” Uncle Dean promised. He put his arm around Connie’s cousin Meg. “We shall be quite busy while we get this one settled at the seminary.”
“Come see me when you get a chance,” Isaac added.
“When everything settles down, I’m sure we’ll find time to come,” Adam Browning called to his son. “Meanwhile, I’ll pray things go well with the farm.”
As the riverboat began to move away from the dock, Connie snuggled up closer to Tom. He pulled her tighter. “We should go inside. You’re freezing.”
“In a minute. I won’t see them for a very long time, and I want this moment to last.”
The riverboat found the current and began to move more quickly. Tom watched with Connie until the city was nearly out of sight. Everyone else had gone into the salon to warm up, leaving them alone on the deck. Tom turned his wife in his arms and saw that she was smiling.
“Are you ready to start this grand adventure, Mrs. Lowell?”
She nodded and stretched up on tiptoe to offer him a kiss. “I am. What of you, my darling husband?”
“Wherever you go, I’ll be forever by your side.”
Author’s Note
The Bureau of Ethnology was established by Congress in 1879. The purpose was to transfer archives and other materials related to Native Americans from the Interior Department to the Smithsonian Institution for safekeeping and further study. Within this bureau, it was decided to catalog and study the various tribes of the United States so that their history wouldn’t be lost. The Bureau of Ethnology changed its name to the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1897, and in 1965, the department merged with the Smithsonian’s Department of Anthropology.
As for the laws against interracial marriage, Oregon set some very strict guidelines. In 1866 a law was passed that read:
Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon:
Section 1. That hereafter it shall not be lawful within this state for any white person, male or female, to intermarry with any negro, Chinese, or any person having one-fourth or more negro, Chinese or Kanaka [Pacific Islander Native] blood or any person having more than one-half Indian blood; and all such marriages or attempted marriages shall be absolutely null and void.1
These Oregon laws against interracial marriage weren’t repealed until 1951, sixteen years ahead of the United States Supreme Court’s repeal of all anti-interracial marriage laws in the United States.
And sadly, although the Fifteenth Amendment passed in 1870 and granted all US citizens the right to vote regardless of race, many states still refused that right to Native Americans. The Snyder Act (passed in 1924) admitted Native Americans born in the United States to full US citizenship. However, the Constitution left it up to individual states as to who had the right to vote. It took over forty years for all fifty states to allow Native Americans the right to vote. Utah was the last state to legalize voting for Native Americans in 1962.
1. This is taken from “The Act to Prohibit the Intermarriage of Races,” The Oregonian, November 2, 1866. For more information, visit https://oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/act-to-prohibit-the-intermarriage-of-races-1866/#.Xnz1C4hKiUk
Tracie Peterson is the award-winning author of more than one hundred novels, both historical and contemporary. She is often referred to as the “Queen of Historical Christian Fiction,” and her avid research resonates in her stories, as seen in her bestselling HEIRS OF MONTANA and ALASKAN QUEST series. Tracie considers her writing a ministry for God to share the Gospel and biblical application. She and her family make their home in Montana. Visit her website at www.traciepeterson.com or find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuthorTraciePeterson.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Books by Tracie Peterson
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
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Author’s Note
About the Author
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Cover Flaps
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Forever by Your Side Page 26