The Doctor's Lady by Jody Hedlund Page A

had his wages from working at the tannery for Walt. Would he have enough time and money to have a ring made for her?
    His mind flashed with a vision of her gazing up at him with the adoring eyes of a real bride as he slipped the ring on her finger. Just as quickly, he shoved aside the picture. Under normal circumstances, her family—her mother—would never have agreed to the marriage, and Priscilla wouldn’t have either. Theirs was a union of convenience, and he’d do best to remember that.
    “And what about all the danger?” His voice was edged with frustration at himself and the helplessness of the situation. “Didn’t I scare you away?”
    “When I was fifteen, I made a vow before God that I would give my life in service to Him.” Her eyes lit with passion. “Don’t you think God will honor that pledge and give me the strength to do whatever He’s called me to? Even if I travel to the West?”
    He let out a ragged breath. If he took her and she ended up dying, how could he live with himself? “The trip is just too dangerous. I shouldn’t have asked you. The Mission Board shouldn’t have forced me to ask any woman.”
    “I might not be the ideal candidate, but I’m much stronger than you know.”
    He slapped on his hat, yanked open the door, and stepped outside. The blast of cool air was a welcome relief, a reminder of the sweet air in the mountains, the beauty of the West, the freshness of a new life, the passion to help a group of people he’d grown to love—all that he would give up if he walked away from Priscilla.
    She followed him onto the verandah. Her fingers circled his forearm, and she tugged him around until he had no choice but to face her. “Remember, we are in agreement that if the rigors of life in the West are unsuitable for a woman, you shall send me home.”
    The muscles in his arm relaxed, and the earnestness in her eyes beckoned him to rationalize the situation. “You’re right. If it’s too dangerous, I’ll find a way for you to return home.”
    If he gave the Board’s foolhardy plan a try and it didn’t work out, they wouldn’t be able to fault him. ’Course he’d do everything he could to protect her and make sure she survived the long trip. But he wouldn’t hesitate to send her back if she couldn’t handle the difficulties of living in the West. He would find a ship to take her home around the continent. He could even find a way to have their marriage annulled and give her the chance to start over again with someone else.
    She gave him a wavering smile. “Then it’s settled. We shall get married next Sabbath eve.”
    “Next Sabbath eve.” He could only pray that for both their sakes he wasn’t making the biggest mistake of his life.

Chapter
6
    I f she looked into anyone else’s tear-filled eyes, she wouldn’t be able to finish her solo.
    Priscilla shifted her gaze out the meetinghouse window to the darkening Sabbath sky, to the wisps of pink cirrus clouds that reflected the setting sun.
    “‘Yes, my native land! I love thee,’” she sang. Her fingers dug into the satiny ripples of her black bombazine dress, her wedding dress, the most fashionable her mother could have tailored on such short notice.
    “All thy scenes I love them well;
    Friends, connections, happy country,
    Can I bid you all farewell?”
    Her voice wobbled, and the ache in her heart threatened to squeeze her throat closed. When she’d picked the hymn, she hadn’t realized that it would be so difficult to sing and the words would bring her friends and family to tears.
    Since this was her last time to be with them before she left, she’d wanted the song to be her farewell. But she hadn’t known how hard it would be to say good-bye.
    She took a deep breath and lifted her voice to finish. “‘Can I leave you, far in heathen lands to dwell?’”
    When the strains of her song faded, the silence of the sanctuary was punctuated with sniffles.
    She couldn’t stop from glancing at Mother and