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Ridiculous rumors about Mormons being polygamists can’t keep eighteen year-old Olive Banks from falling passionately in love with a Mormon doctor named Percival Terry. Shattered when she learns the rumors are true, she refuses to marry Percy until he promises never to choose a second wife. As a happy bride, she sets out with him in a wagon train bound for Deseret, the promised land of the Mormons. On the journey, sixteen year old Sophia is orphaned. “Olive, I’m not breaking my promise never to choose another wife. Brother Brigham chose Sophia for me. Olive dear, I must marry her tomorrow.
Citation preview
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A Girl in Love
“Understand? I love you so much, it’s agony to
think of life without you, but how can I understand
why your father has two wives? It’s wrong.”
“My father has four wives, but it won’t be that
way for us. We love each other. We belong togeth-
er, and I promise you will be the only wife I will
ever choose.”
A Wife Betrayed“You must understand. I’m not breaking my
promise. The elders of the church have chosen
Sophia for me. I have no choice. I must marry her
tomorrow.”
...
When he was with her, I could hear them
talking. When he was with me, I wondered what
Sophia could hear on her side of the wall.
My torment lent itself to madness.
Copyright © 2012 Nickolae Gerstner
Copyright © 1981 Nickolae Gerstner and Juanita B. Anderson
All rights reserved.
First Publication:
Popham Press
1981
Cover design:
Michael Wheary
Calypso Concepts
ISBN: 1477656065
ISBN 13: 9781477656068
A Girl in Love
“Understand? I love you so much, it’s agony to
think of life without you, but how can I understand
why your father has two wives? It’s wrong.”
“My father has four wives, but it won’t be that
way for us. We love each other. We belong togeth-
er, and I promise you will be the only wife I will
ever choose.”
A Wife Betrayed“You must understand. I’m not breaking my
promise. The elders of the church have chosen
Sophia for me. I have no choice. I must marry her
tomorrow.”
...
When he was with her, I could hear them
talking. When he was with me, I wondered what
Sophia could hear on her side of the wall.
My torment lent itself to madness.
Copyright © 2012 Nickolae Gerstner
Copyright © 1981 Nickolae Gerstner and Juanita B. Anderson
All rights reserved.
First Publication:
Popham Press
1981
Cover design:
Michael Wheary
Calypso Concepts
ISBN: 1477656065
ISBN 13: 9781477656068
About Longbourn
Lively characters, a convincing plot, and humor that would set Jane Austen
laughing.”
Madeline Baker
New York Times Best-selling author
About Dark Veil
“Derk Veil takes exciting twists and will keep readers guessing until the
last page. A great read.
Catherine Nelson, Rave Review
About No Bed In Deseret
“A good read that’s also unconventional and moving.”
West Coast Review of Books
About Ties That Bind
“Readers who dive into this lively story may not want to surface until the
end.”
Publisher’s Weekly
About Finder’s Keepers,
(Reader’s Digest condensed book selection, translated into 14 languages.)
“It’s my kind of book…a neat, suspenseful plot about the kind of people
you worry about, written with skill.”
Tony Hillerman
Books by Nickolae Gerstner
Dark VeilLongbourn
Books co-authored by Barbara Proninand Nickolae Gerstner
writing asBarbara Nickolae
Finders KeepersTies That Bind
About Longbourn
Lively characters, a convincing plot, and humor that would set Jane Austen
laughing.”
Madeline Baker
New York Times Best-selling author
About Dark Veil
“Derk Veil takes exciting twists and will keep readers guessing until the
last page. A great read.
Catherine Nelson, Rave Review
About No Bed In Deseret
“A good read that’s also unconventional and moving.”
West Coast Review of Books
About Ties That Bind
“Readers who dive into this lively story may not want to surface until the
end.”
Publisher’s Weekly
About Finder’s Keepers,
(Reader’s Digest condensed book selection, translated into 14 languages.)
“It’s my kind of book…a neat, suspenseful plot about the kind of people
you worry about, written with skill.”
Tony Hillerman
Books by Nickolae Gerstner
Dark VeilLongbourn
Books co-authored by Barbara Proninand Nickolae Gerstner
writing asBarbara Nickolae
Finders KeepersTies That Bind
“Emotionally gripping. I loved it from the first page.”
Mary Higgins Clark
“Nickolae’s first novel displays ingenuity and daring.
Publisher’s Weekly
“An unusually expert and clever work...plotting is ingenious, eminently
readable and suspenseful.”
Charles Champlin, Los Angeles Times
“Well drawn and believable. A splendid read.”
Baltimore Sun
Dedication
Juanita B. Anderson(1900 to 1990)
She was the granddaughter ofOlive Harriet Banks.
Using her grandmother’s journal,She built the frame for this book.
I painted the picture. It is trulymore her story than mine.
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No Bed InDeseret
Nickolae Gerstner
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1
Chapter 1
5
I watched Pa, hoping to detect some sign of anger. I wanted him to
shout and pound the table with his fist the way he usually did when he was
about to give in. Instead, he continued to take deep puffs on his pipe.
We had finished the evening meal, and Pa was sitting on the sturdy
chair that had taken up so much space on the wagon when we made the
long journey from Ohio to Iowa. His huge frame always seemed to mold
into that chair. Now his long legs were stretched out, his eyes were half-
closed, and he smoked his pipe with slow deliberation.
I had braced myself, and then told him that Percival Terry was coming
to see him. “Please, Pa, for my sake, don’t send him away,” I begged, clasp-
ing my hands under my apron. “He must talk to you.”
Pa’s voice was much too calm. “Olive, understand what I told you be-
fore and tell you again now. You can never marry Dr. Terry. I forbid it, and
I don’t want that man in my house.”
Nickolae GerstNer No Bed iN deseret
2 3
I dug my nails into my palms, but that didn’t release the panic welling
inside me. I wanted to scream that he was being unreasonable, but I didn’t
dare. My last, thin hope was to convince him that I was grown up and knew
what I was doing. I struggled to keep my voice steady.
“Pa, why can’t you realize how much Percy and I love each other? We
belong together, and we would never let our lives be influenced by the
wrong other people do.”
He shook his head, a slow, determined gesture, and did not answer. I
was his pet, the one best able to persuade him when the family wanted a
favor. Now, when it was the most important thing in my life, he wouldn’t
listen to me.
Ted was bent over the fireplace, poking at the blaze. He was nineteen
and already a man. I wanted him to help me convince Pa to talk to Percy,
but Ted dropped the poker, jerked on his buckskin jacket, and mumbled
something about checking the beaver trap.
I adored Ted. His fun and friendship had helped me fight off the loneli-
ness that engulfed me during the dreary months after we settled in the des-
olate town of Kanesville, Iowa. I wanted his support again, but he bounded
out the door, avoiding any involvement in the battle that had raged all
winter.
Dorothy would be no help either. She sat, eyes downcast, helping Daniel
print his name on his slate. She and I were as close as sisters can be. Born
hardly a year apart, we slept side by side and shared every secret and every
hope, but Dorothy was too loving and gentle to take a stand in a conflict.
She stared at the slate and never looked up.
Little George wasn’t feeling well and had climbed up to the loft. Only
baby Joseph, making happy noises in his cradle, seemed unaware of the
tension.
Desperate, I turned to my mother. “Ma, you and Pa both know that
Percy is a good man. You liked him—you know you did—until you found
out about his religion. Please, listen to reason and ask Pa to talk to him.”
Ma finished putting bowls in the cupboard, then she pulled herself up
as tall as her tiny frame would allow, another bad sign. “You are only sev-
enteen. What you are feeling now will not last. It is a sin, a plain sin, the
way those people live.”
“They are not important. What matters is that Percy and I love each
other. He will never love anyone but me.”
In one, explosive movement, Pa rose from his chair and grabbed my
arm. “Olive, no daughter of mine will ever belong to a man’s stable of
wives. He is a Mormon, and he believes in polygamy. He admitted it right
here in this room. I will never let you marry him.”
“He has promised never to choose another wife, and—
Pa didn’t let me continue. “And those folks are thieves! I’ve heard more
than one story about them carrying off what is not rightfully theirs.”
It was hopeless. My despair gave way to rage. “You taught us to give
a man his just due and not condemn anyone, but now you are listening to
lies and rumors.”
I shouted at my father for the first time in my life. “You can’t believe a
man like Percy would ever steal.” I jerked my arm free of Pa’s grasp. “I am
going down the road to wait for him. I’ll tell him my father is too unfair to
even talk to him.”
Angry tears blurred my vision, and I rushed outside. I ran a few steps
and leaned against the barn, biting my hand to muffle a scream. I was un-
aware of Dorothy’s approach until I felt my shawl being draped around my
shoulders.
“Olive, it’s too cold for you to be out without this,” she said.
Nickolae GerstNer No Bed iN deseret
2 3
I dug my nails into my palms, but that didn’t release the panic welling
inside me. I wanted to scream that he was being unreasonable, but I didn’t
dare. My last, thin hope was to convince him that I was grown up and knew
what I was doing. I struggled to keep my voice steady.
“Pa, why can’t you realize how much Percy and I love each other? We
belong together, and we would never let our lives be influenced by the
wrong other people do.”
He shook his head, a slow, determined gesture, and did not answer. I
was his pet, the one best able to persuade him when the family wanted a
favor. Now, when it was the most important thing in my life, he wouldn’t
listen to me.
Ted was bent over the fireplace, poking at the blaze. He was nineteen
and already a man. I wanted him to help me convince Pa to talk to Percy,
but Ted dropped the poker, jerked on his buckskin jacket, and mumbled
something about checking the beaver trap.
I adored Ted. His fun and friendship had helped me fight off the loneli-
ness that engulfed me during the dreary months after we settled in the des-
olate town of Kanesville, Iowa. I wanted his support again, but he bounded
out the door, avoiding any involvement in the battle that had raged all
winter.
Dorothy would be no help either. She sat, eyes downcast, helping Daniel
print his name on his slate. She and I were as close as sisters can be. Born
hardly a year apart, we slept side by side and shared every secret and every
hope, but Dorothy was too loving and gentle to take a stand in a conflict.
She stared at the slate and never looked up.
Little George wasn’t feeling well and had climbed up to the loft. Only
baby Joseph, making happy noises in his cradle, seemed unaware of the
tension.
Desperate, I turned to my mother. “Ma, you and Pa both know that
Percy is a good man. You liked him—you know you did—until you found
out about his religion. Please, listen to reason and ask Pa to talk to him.”
Ma finished putting bowls in the cupboard, then she pulled herself up
as tall as her tiny frame would allow, another bad sign. “You are only sev-
enteen. What you are feeling now will not last. It is a sin, a plain sin, the
way those people live.”
“They are not important. What matters is that Percy and I love each
other. He will never love anyone but me.”
In one, explosive movement, Pa rose from his chair and grabbed my
arm. “Olive, no daughter of mine will ever belong to a man’s stable of
wives. He is a Mormon, and he believes in polygamy. He admitted it right
here in this room. I will never let you marry him.”
“He has promised never to choose another wife, and—
Pa didn’t let me continue. “And those folks are thieves! I’ve heard more
than one story about them carrying off what is not rightfully theirs.”
It was hopeless. My despair gave way to rage. “You taught us to give
a man his just due and not condemn anyone, but now you are listening to
lies and rumors.”
I shouted at my father for the first time in my life. “You can’t believe a
man like Percy would ever steal.” I jerked my arm free of Pa’s grasp. “I am
going down the road to wait for him. I’ll tell him my father is too unfair to
even talk to him.”
Angry tears blurred my vision, and I rushed outside. I ran a few steps
and leaned against the barn, biting my hand to muffle a scream. I was un-
aware of Dorothy’s approach until I felt my shawl being draped around my
shoulders.
“Olive, it’s too cold for you to be out without this,” she said.