Chapter 6

Cheyenne was a bustling railroad town still growing over the heads and under the feet of the people who'd settled there. As the territorial capital, it had been chosen by the Union Pacific Railroad to be the headquarters of the railroad's mountain region. There was also an army fort just a few miles out of town. The future looked bright indeed for the town of Cheyenne.

Kat was overwhelmed by the noise, the people, the motion of it all.

Seb edged closer to her. "I thought the ride from Hidden Canyon to the train was crowded with all those new settlers. Then I thought the train was ridiculously crowded. Now?" He made a broad gesture at the dozens of people on Cheyenne's streets. Their fellow passengers clomping down the steps of the train depot, with new passengers clomping up. Horseback riders trotting past. Newspaper vendors and food vendors hawking their wares. The train hissing and steaming. Voices surrounding them until it was a din. Wagons taking on supplies from the train while other wagons jostled for position to add crates to the boxcars once space opened up.

"I thought two babies made life hectic." She looked at Seb, and they laughed.

She let the crowd press and urge her forward until it was their turn to descend to the street. "Let's look around town and find the church and a parson. We'll have to buy horses, but the town isn't so big that we'll need the horses right away. We'll buy them once we find a homestead."

"Are you ready for a wedding, K-Kat?" He then got a very strange look on his face.

After a long night and most of a day on the train, it was finally time to get married.

"I am ready, and what are you looking at me like that for?"

"I just realized I don't know your name."

A giggle slipped through Kat's lips, but then she lost all traces of humor as she realized what she had to admit. And she'd better do it here and now, not wait for when they were standing before the parson. Seb's reaction needed to come out now. "I'm ... well, I'm Katherine Wadsworth."

"Wadsworth?" Sebastian's head jerked up. "From Chicago?"

A shudder at his expression surprised her. She'd left the name so completely behind her.

"You've heard the name?"

"So you're part of the famous Wadsworth family?"

"Yes. Um, I'm a widow. I was married to a Wadsworth."

Sebastian tilted his head a little. "You're a widow?"

Kat shook her head. "We really don't know much about each other, do we?"

"No, we don't. Wadsworth is your married name then?"

"Yes. I married into the Wadsworth fortune."

"I've noticed you don't talk much about your past, but we've been talking for days now. How come you've never told me this?"

With a shrug, Kat said, "That name was always trouble. It just got the wrong kind of attention whenever it came out. Even back in Chicago, while Jeremy was alive, we both got in the habit of not saying his name very often. Then I was announced to be a Collins on the wagon train, and I never corrected that."

"You were supposed to be married to me even back then. And now you're going to be a Jones. That name doesn't grab much interest."

"His father and uncle controlled it together. When his father died, Jeremy, an only child, and his uncle Patrick became equal partners. But Jeremy was never quite ruthless and greedy enough to suit Uncle Patrick, so Jeremy never ran anything. Then Jeremy died, and my owning half of all that money suited Patrick even less. I was suspicious of the events surrounding Jeremy's death. I made a lot of accusations, which made it easy for me to be thought of as hysterical. Next thing I knew, Patrick pronounced me as insane and had me locked up."

"I knew Jeremy Wadsworth."

"You knew Jeremy?" Kat was shocked.

"Yes, he went to George Washington Institute with me. In St. Louis. We weren't well acquainted, but he was good friends with Marcus Coleman, a student I knew well. I knew Jeremy enough to say hello."

"Marcus Coleman, that's the name you wrote on that packet you tried to get us to mail when you thought you were dying."

"Yes, the two of us, we were both inventors and spent most of our time in a laboratory at the Institute."

"Jeremy did go to St. Louis to college, but that was before I met him. His grandmother lived there, and he stayed with her through his college years. He studied literature and for a time considered going to seminary and becoming a pastor. His father, Douglas, didn't approve. His father was cut from the same cloth as Uncle Patrick. When Jeremy was drawn back to Chicago to learn the family business, he met me. I'm a nobody, plain little Katherine Pendergast. My father was a doctor in a modest neighborhood in Chicago. Ma helped him until she died when I was sixteen. Then I stepped in and did nursing work with him. I brought no family fortune or powerful connections. Jeremy and I met at church, and we loved each other. I'd heard of the Wadsworth name and knew Jeremy was connected to them, but there was nothing wealthy or powerful or ruthless about Jeremy. I didn't know he was an heir to the fortune until after we were married."

"You were married to a man who inherited half the Wadsworth fortune? And now you're marrying me?"

"Yes, and I'll never get that money, nor do I want it. Jeremy hated how greedy and unkind his family was. He was too kind for that world. When he died, I was devastated. I threw around some accusations, challenged Uncle Patrick about it—privately then, and publicly later. It made him furious, and he called me insane. When I was still deep in mourning, I found myself under lock and key at the Horecroft Asylum, and Uncle Patrick had taken control of the reins of the Wadsworth empire. I think they've built half of the tall buildings in Chicago."

"And that's where you met Ginny? At the asylum?"

"Yes, I found her wandering the halls one night, which I tended to do myself. I realized she was escaping and stuck to her like a burr."

"So you hadn't known them much longer than I had when you scooped me up out of that alley."

"I met Beth about four days before you did."

"And you've been blocked from an inheritance worth a fortune?"

"Now that you know just how much money should be mine, do you still want to marry me, even if I reject that money?"

Sebastian smiled. "I reject it right along with you, and yes, I still want to marry you." Then his smile faded. "That's a powerful family with a dangerous reputation. I can see why you're afraid of your uncle. But you'll be a married woman soon. He'll have no power over you."

"No power beyond that of a man who takes what he wants and is a law unto himself. And he would crush me like a cockroach to keep me away from his wealth."

"Yep, no power beyond that." Seb shuddered. "We'll stay clear of him. Now, let's go see about finding a parson and a homestead."

Because they came upon it first, they headed for the land office, where they picked the homestead closest to town, a fifteen-mile ride away. The area close to town was getting well settled. When the land agent found out they weren't married, he encouraged Kat to claim the parcel next to Sebastian's. He said women, especially in the equality state of Wyoming, did it all the time, then got married and built their cabin double-sized so it straddled the property line.

Kat had no great aspiration to be large landowners, nor were they sure they'd stay anywhere for more than five years. She also didn't want to tell the man her real name. "One homestead is enough," she said.

The land agent pushed and showed them a piece of land up against some wasteland in the foothills of the Laramie Mountains. The rugged land would likely never be homesteaded, so they'd have the use of a large stretch beyond their claim.

For their nonexistent herd of cattle.

Kat couldn't get too excited about their wasteland or mountain or whatever they were supposed to have the use of. Lots of trees, though, to use for building material, and Cheyenne, there on the grasslands of eastern Wyoming, was a bit sparse of trees.

She gave Seb a pleading look. "I'd prefer just the one homestead." They hadn't discussed it, and if she had to, she would drag him outside and explain that she wanted her name kept off a land record.

"One homestead is plenty," Seb told the man. "Thank you."

"You folks are making a big mistake." The land agent shook his head, as if the younger generation were going downhill fast.

Once they'd left the land office, Kat muttered, "I guess we missed our chance to be land barons."

Seb only laughed and took her hand.

The land agent had also given them directions to his church, telling them the parson lived right next door to the church.

Minutes later, Seb and Kat walked up the two steps to the parsonage. Seb paused and turned to her. "We're going to make a good marriage, Kat. You've told me your father was a doctor. Mine was a schoolmaster. They were both good men, and our mothers were good women. We've come from two fine marriages, haven't we?"

"Yes. We should know how to make a happy home." With a hard little jerk of her chin, she took his hand and said, "Let's get married."

He knocked firmly on the door, and it wasn't long before it swung open.

The parson was a skinny, stoop-shouldered man with wild tufts of white hair and gold wire-rimmed glasses.

"Parson, we would like to get married." Seb sounded quite sure.

Kat worried the parson might want them to take a little more time to think about it. Instead, the man favored them with a beaming smile that eased Kat's heart and made her feel as though she was facing a kind man with a generous faith.

"I'm Parson Roscoe. I'll call my wife, who can act as a witness. You young folks go ahead over to the church." He waved his hand in the general direction, but they'd just walked past it and so knew where it was. "I'll put my suit coat on and get my prayer book. My wife and I will be only a few paces behind you."

They barely beat the parson to the church door.

His wife was as plump as he was skinny, but her smile was a match for his. "I love weddings. Are you young folks going to stay around Cheyenne?"

"Yes, Kat and I just homesteaded west of town."

"I hope you can join us for church services Sunday morning. We have a prayer service and singing on Wednesday nights, too, and a woman's sewing circle that meets Tuesday mornings. The church is always at the heart of the goings-on in town."

Kat looked around the small church, probably room for thirty people to sit. Forty if they were a very friendly church. "I just realized I don't know what day of the week it is. We've been traveling, and I've lost track."

"It's Monday."

"We're not even sure where our homestead is. I hope it will be possible to attend church. I've missed it. We lived a long way out in a small community through the last year and just had a Bible reading and sang together on Sundays. We will be here if it's possible."

"Fair enough."

Kat and Seb walked down the church's center aisle, Mrs. Roscoe beside Kat, and Parson Roscoe beside Seb. Kat remembered her first wedding and the tidy little march she'd taken while on her father's arm, up to the front to meet her husband. Jeremy's father hadn't approved and hadn't attended. His mother was dead, as was Kat's. It was a quiet ceremony, but she'd had a bouquet of posies and had worn a new dress. Jeremy was in a fine black suit, standing up front waiting for her.

She remembered Beth and Jake getting married in front of the wagon-train members, all of them beside a campfire.

She had to fight a laugh. They certainly did things more casually on the frontier.

They reached the front, and Parson Roscoe eased between everyone to stand up front. Mrs. Roscoe settled on the front pew as if it was her designated place.

"Tell me your names, youngsters."

Kat's smile froze. She'd told no one her real name except Seb. Was she safe out here? She didn't think she had anyone searching for her like Thaddeus Rutledge had searched for Beth and Ginny. But her uncle was a powerful man. If he wanted to find her, she'd have her real name signed in a church register to tell anyone who cared to look that she was married. She'd avoided this at the land office. Now, without much choice and realizing she'd hesitated a bit too long and everyone was staring at her, she said, "Katherine Wadsworth."

Seb might have hesitated for a bit, too, and said, "Sebastian Jones."

It was a firm reminder that someone had shot him. He had no idea who and whether they might try again.

He slid an arm around her waist as if he knew what they'd both just done, what they'd both admitted and put on record. Hiding had been safe. She was only just now realizing what they'd given up by leaving Hidden Canyon.

Then, committed to facing the future—though a bit afraid—she inched closer to Seb and faced Parson Roscoe and his beaming smile.

"Dearly beloved..."

The vows were profound, but she made them without a qualm. In fact, she wished he'd spoken them a bit faster.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. What God has joined together let no man put asunder." Parson Roscoe raised one hand and swept it in an arc that covered them both.

"We have a registry book where marriages and baptisms are recorded." He gestured at a book so crisp and new, she had to wonder how long the church had been here and how long it would last—and who might end up with that book in their clutches.

Kat signed her full name. As Katherine Wadsworth appeared on the page, she wondered if she should have instead said her name was Katherine Pendergast, her maiden name.

It was too late. She wasn't sure the marriage would even be legal with her name written down improperly.

Seb signed after her, and they both gave almost matching sighs, then turned to smile at each other.

"Hello, Mrs. Jones. Thank you for marrying me."

"You are most welcome, Mr. Jones. It is an honor to be your wife. Now we should probably find food and a room for the night."

And that set off a blush. She'd been married before. She knew what it all meant. But they'd decided to wait on marital intimacy. Only just now had she sounded overeager. Would her overly warm, no doubt pink face make Seb think she had changed her mind about giving their marriage time to grow into a true one?

The tangle in her mind was too much. Kat shoved all her worries aside, took Seb's hand, and strode out of the church, the Roscoes' congratulations ringing in her ears.

All she could do was keep moving forward.

Now here they stood outside the church, a married couple.

"Let's go spend the night at the Drury Hotel." He pointed at the three-story hotel just across the street. "I hope they serve supper."

"It looks expensive."

"We'll call it a honeymoon." Seb swung their hands and smiled at her, then dragged her across the street. Although, honestly, she came along willingly.

"Tomorrow I'll need to find a general store and order some odd things."

"I remember the odd things you ordered and took into the canyon."

"I need more of all that and other things I have thought of since. I suspect they'll have to be shipped to Cheyenne. With the train running, it may not take very long."

"What things do you need?" Kat asked.

"Oh, sheet iron, although I may be able to get that at the blacksmith shop. A forge and bellows so I can bend my own iron. Zinc. Ammonia or the chemicals to make it. Agglomerate blocks. Carbon plates. Maybe some porous pots. I'll need wire and a wire cutting tool. A lot of things."

"I regret asking."

"I could use a lab assistant."

"I assist rather well," Kat said, "if I'm given specific, direct orders I can understand."

Seb chuckled. "I hear some real doubt in your voice."

"Nothing wrong with your hearing, husband. Now let's go eat."