Destiny - The Callahans #1 (26 page)

Tom Callahan and John Ryan, uncle and nephew,
by stroke of fate or fortune—or as Tom had told Katrina Hansen
nearly a year earlier on the deck of the
Antioch
,
intervention of the Lord—were sitting smack dab in the middle of
the richest gold strike in history and would amass their fortunes
before the rest of the world even knew of the find. But a
backbreaking fall, winter, and spring would ensue before that
occurred and they would be able to achieve their manifold
destiny.

Katrina sat patiently in the foyer inside the
main entrance to Holy Cross Hospital, watching as people bustled up
and down the corridor. Finally, a woman dressed in nun’s habit
approached and smiled at her.

“I’m Sister Mary Theophane. May I be of some
assistance?”

Katrina stood, nervous and hesitant about how
to proceed. “Sister, I would like to talk with you privately, if
possible.”

Escorting Katrina to a small room, off the
main women’s wing, Sister Mary offered Katrina a seat and then sat
down facing her, “Now, how may I help, dear?”

“Sister, I don’t really know how to begin . .
. I . . .”

“Sister Mary reached for her hand, smiling at
her, and studying her fresh, young face. “Are you with child, my
dear?” she asked, gently.

Katrina began to blush, surprised by the
inquiry. “Why, yes, yes, I am, Sister.”

Still holding Katrina’s hand, Sister Mary
sought to reassure her. “You needn’t be afraid,” she said. “We’ll
do all we can to see you through your pregnancy, and we’ll help you
find a suitable home for your child, if that is your wish.”

Confused for a moment by Sister Mary’s offer,
Katrina suddenly understood and had to stifle a laugh.

“Sister, I think I’ve misled you. I’m married
and carrying my husband’s child. I don’t need, uh, I mean, I’m not
. . . ,”

It was Sister Mary’s turn to blush. With an
embarrassed look on her face, and holding her hand over her mouth,
she at first didn’t know what to say. But after a moment she began
to laugh and shake her head. “Oh, dear,” she said. “I’m afraid I’ve
put my foot in it. I do hope you can forgive me. How may I help
you?”

The misunderstanding served to lessen
Katrina’s nervousness. She was surprised to find this tall woman in
a nun’s habit could laugh at herself, and she relaxed somewhat.

“Sister,” Katrina began again, “I hope I’m
not acting improperly, but I’ve come to inquire about a Mr.
Callahan. I believe he was in your employ not long ago.”

“Indeed he was,” Sister Mary responded. “Oh,
yes, and you must be young Katrina Hansen, or uh, Stommen, is
it?”

“Stromberg, Sister. Katrina Stromberg.”

“Yes, indeed. And what about Mr. Callahan,
Mrs. Stromberg?”

“Well, Sister, it’s about a document I
discovered a few days ago. My husband has gone to Mexico on
business, and I was searching for writing paper in our desk drawer
when I discovered this file,” she said, taking a large envelope
from her purse. “It is a detective agency report on Mr.
Callahan.”

Sister Mary remained silent, but was
listening intently, keenly interested in what the young woman might
have to say.

“Sister, I have been led to believe, by my
husband, that Mr. Callahan murdered someone and is being sought by
the authorities in Kansas City. Mr. Stromberg also told me that,
out of consideration for Mr. Callahan, he had informed Thom . . .
Mr. Callahan that he was about to be apprehended and suggested he
leave Salt Lake.”

Katrina hesitated, embarrassed to admit she
had caught her husband in a lie. “What Mr. Stromberg failed to . .
.” Katrina hesitated again, but then pressed on, determined to see
the matter through.

“Sister,” she said resolutely, “what my
husband didn’t tell me was that Mr. Callahan had never been charged
with that crime—that it was known he had acted in self-defense and
that he had never been wanted by the police.”

That much said, Katrina began to cry, and
searched her purse for a handkerchief. Then, wiping her eyes, she
continued, “My brother tells me Thomas has gone to Alaska, but
wherever he is, he thinks he is wanted for murder. Sister, it isn’t
right, and I came hoping you have some way to contact him and let
him know he doesn’t need to keep running.”

Sister Mary again reached for Katrina’s hand.
“I’m certain this was hard for you, my child. Rest assured, I have
known of young Thomas’s innocence for some time. But thank you for
having the courage to come forth. I assure you that I will notify
Mr. Callahan that he is not being pursued by the authorities.”

“Thank you, Sister,” Katrina said, standing
up. Before leaving she said, “Would you communicate one more thing
to him for me?”

“Yes, my child?”

“Please tell Mr. Callahan that I’m sorry for
the insult my husband has paid him and for the disruption in his
life.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Stromberg. Thomas will be
pleased to know of your concern. Good day to you. Please call on me
if I can be of any further assistance.”

There would be some scrub brush and marshy
lands to contend with, but all in all, Harold Stromberg felt the
land Don Sebastian had offered his father would prove excellent.
Mr. Bowen who had accompanied Harold, concurred that the land was
quite suitable for farming and that grazing for cattle was
excellent.

Harold had spent three days in Mazatlán and
then another two at the Cardenas hacienda north on the coast before
undertaking actual inspection of the proposed site. He had not felt
the time wasted, however, for he had spent most of it, accompanied
by Miguel Antonio, in the company of the lovely Teresa Maria. The
courtship, now that the couple had openly acknowledged their
engagement, proved most satisfactory to each party. Their mutual
admiration was evident to everyone, and Don Sebastian had reported
the same in a telegram to Magnus Stromberg, Harold’s father.

That is not to say Harold’s conscience didn’t
plague him. Even though the second marriage had his father’s tacit
approval and fit in under the guidelines of the Order he was
prepared to follow, he couldn’t help reflecting on the impact such
an arrangement was going to have on Katrina or how he would
actually break the news to each of his wives about the other. His
feelings became more acute when his father advised him by telegram
that Katrina was pregnant. He knew also, that his original marriage
would have to be kept secret for some time after the colony was
established in Mexico, if they were to avoid inflaming Teresa’s
family and prevent coming into conflict with Mexican customs and
Catholic propriety. How that would all work out, Harold preferred
to leave in the hands of his father and Don Sebastian, but for the
present, Harold was quite content to work toward his marriage to
this exceptionally beautiful and aristocratic woman.

Teresa Maria Cardenas, though born in
Mazatlán, Mexico, was of direct Spanish descent and, according to
custom, had spent much of her youth in Spain, undertaking her
education under the tutelage of family and professional associates
of Don Sebastian. Well versed in Spanish, French, and English,
Teresa actually knew more about world politics and the practical
economics of farming and ranching than Harold, for Don Sebastian
had not been inclined to allow his only daughter to function as a
mere household decoration, as was the case with so many of his
peers throughout Mexico. He had provided her with a most thorough
education and was enormously proud of her.

As for Miguel Antonio, Don Sebastian was
depending upon his only son, who was an able rancher, to carry on
the family name and legacy. The marriage of his daughter into this
American family would, at least down Teresa’s line, dilute the
purity of their Spanish pedigree, so carefully protected since
Captain Cardenas had explored the area over three and a half
centuries ago. Many Cardenas offspring existed throughout the
territory, but none with proven or acknowledged family lineage
records, other than those from marriages that had been sanctioned
and blessed by the Catholic Archbishop of Mexico.

Unknown to either Miguel or Teresa, Don
Sebastian had conferred with Mexican President Diaz, and the two
men had reached an understanding regarding the political benefit of
establishing marital ties between the Cardenas line and a prominent
Yanqui family, such as the Strombergs. Seeds of revolution
continued to plague the Mexican government, and President Diaz,
ever mindful of retaining power, felt that an American colony
situated deep in Mexico, might one day provide leverage to compel
U.S. military support should it ever be required to put down a
full-scale insurrection. The sacrifice of Teresa Cardenas’s noble
heritage was a small cost to pay for such insurance.

Harold now understood that his father and Don
Sebastian had arranged this marriage some time ago and that he had
been the only one unaware. Teresa had long since prepared her
trousseau, and the marriage bans had been officially posted several
weeks before Harold’s arrival. The customary three-year engagement,
typical in Spanish families, had been waived on the basis of Don
Sebastian’s declaration that the marriage had actually been
arranged several years before. Given his status, Don Sebastian’s
public explanation that it had been in the interest of both
families to keep the agreement confidential was entirely
acceptable.

Only on one occasion had Harold been bold
enough to broach the subject with Teresa and to ask directly if she
were in agreement with their fathers’ arrangement of the
marriage.

“Harold, I can think of no greater honor than
to be the instrument in the merging of our two great families, and
as for myself,” she said, lowering her eyes and glancing at Miguel
Antonio, discreetly positioned on his horse off to one side, “I
couldn’t be more pleased, if my father had allowed me complete
choice in the matter.”

Harold was flattered by Teresa’s response.
The idea of being married to this darkly beautiful and exotic woman
sat increasingly well with him. Whatever reservations he might have
initially entertained were quickly being swallowed up in the
adventure of spending time, galloping side by side on spirited
horses, across her father’s vast holdings. For increasingly long
periods of time, he was able to quite comfortably put Katrina out
of his mind and attend to the business at hand.

So, in the third week in August, 1896, nearly
six weeks after Harold Stromberg’s arrival in Mexico, with not so
much as a single kiss having been exchanged between them, Harold
Cumberland Stromberg and Teresa Maria Vasquez Cardenas were married
in all the pomp and glory of a Catholic ceremony in the magnificent
cathedral in Mazatlán, Mexico, the ceremony performed by the
Archbishop of Mexico, himself, Father Hernando Portolo.

The guest list included Mexican President
Porfiro Diaz, with whom Don Sebastian had labored long and hard to
assure that the Cardenas name was retained among the inner circle.
Diaz held some residual animosity toward the United States over the
events of the Mexican-American War of 1845, and the loss of the
territory of Texas to the United States. So he might have opposed
Don Sebastian’s plan to sell off part of his Spanish land grant
territory to the gringos from the north, but Diaz recalled that the
several other American colonies, located just south of the United
States border, had been largely assimilated into Mexican culture by
the second generation. The presence of this colony might also serve
to help strengthen the local economy and raise the standard of
living of the Mexican people in the area. Besides, the land
purchased by the Strombergs was deep enough into Mexico so as to
ease Diaz’s mind on the potential problems. And, finally, the
thought of using the colony as justification for requesting U. S.
military support to forestall potential rebellion capped his
decision.

By the middle of September, Harold and Teresa
had returned from their honeymoon. They had taken a two-day cruise
down the Pacific coast on a sailing ship to a quaint little
village, where for a week, the proprietors of the inn waited on
their every need. On the ninth of September, Harold again bid a new
bride adieu, and sailed, together with Mr. Bowen, back to San
Francisco. From there, they took the train to Salt Lake City, where
Harold made a detailed report to his father. Offering his heartiest
congratulations to Harold on his marriage to Teresa and expressing
full satisfaction over the success of his son’s trip, the elder
Stromberg announced that it only remained to arrange for the
relocation of about sixty families who had expressed their desire
to join the Stromberg colony in Mexico.

As had been the case with Katrina, two weeks
after Harold’s departure, and just a month after the ceremony,
Teresa Maria proudly informed her father that she was with child
and that in late spring, the first Cardenas-Stromberg heir would
appear. Don Sebastian was overjoyed.

Father Lawrence Scanlan’s heart was heavy as
he took his morning walk, the hint of fall hanging in the air over
the Salt Lake valley. Scanlan had developed a reputation among the
Mormon population of Salt Lake City of being even-handed in his
approach to the question of polygamy. Not that he condoned such
marriages, for as preceptor of the Catholic church in Utah, Father
Scanlan had often condemned the practice of plural marriage to his
parishioners.

But, in his dealings in the public forum and
with the leaders of the Mormon church, he had maintained a quiet,
respectful demeanor, intended to soothe, rather than inflame the
anti-Mormon fervor that had raged over polygamy in the non-Mormon
population of the Valley prior to the Manifesto.

The issuance of the Manifesto by President
Woodruff had been hailed by Bishop Scanlan as a great step forward
and one that God approved. On that point, both Catholic and Mormon
leadership were in agreement.