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Show 23 As if drawn there by separate magnets, Ellis and Milford each went to Battle Creek to spend the Christmas holidays. Delightful experiences with their relatives made it a magical time, but underscoring it all was the blossoming relationship between them. "Mr. Shipp was remarkably attentive. I could read a depth of meaning in every glance and word." Toward the end of one evening's entertainment, Milford requested and was granted a private interview with Ellis, to take place the next morning at 10:00. Ellis did not sleep all night, recalling that it "had been but a short time since his wife had renounced all alliance with him" and resolving that should he ask for a commitment from her, she would answer in the "negative." Her grandmother, not blind to the signals from Milford, advised Ellis to stay clear of him. Ellis used a bit of dissimulation. "I pacified her by saying that he wished to know if I understood the nature of the President's feelings toward him. Aunt Laura gave us a private room." In that heart-to-heart, Milford successfully pleaded his love for Ellis, convincing her that it went back a long way. He defended his position in the now-defunct marriage until she felt no qualms about the idea of marrying him if she could only get the approbation of President Young. Magical evenings followed. Though they were careful to keep their communications private, knowing of negative attitudes toward their liaison, one evening Milford went to see Ellis in Brigham Young's home. While they were conversing, |
