and go to the wedding, so have mercy, lads, and let’s get some sleep!”
They were up early, nevertheless, and Link was off to get his necessary work out of the way so that he could be on hand with the others that afternoon.
The hours seemed to move too swiftly as the day drew to a close, and excitement ran high. There were more and more presents to unwrap and place with the others, and Sydney sat at her little desk in the upper hallway and wildly dashed off notes of thanks. The girls hovered over the presents, admired and sometimes envied, and rejoiced over them all. Then suddenly they scurried to their rooms to get dressed, and the boys dashed back to Paul’s to do likewise, and not long after they appeared again as dignified well dressed ushers hovering around the church door, smiling and escorting the ladies to their places, and dropping back again to the door to gaze down the long awning-covered approach to see if the girls were coming yet.
It was Luther Waite who almost caused a panic among them. His station had been the vestibule at the left hand door, under the great curved stairway that led to the left galleries.
“Holy Mackerel, fellas,” he said under his breath, furtively peering out from the shadows. “If you see me beating it you’ll know that Minerva baby has come. If she turns up you can’t expect me to go on with my part. You’ll hafta get me a substitute quick! Because if she gets here she’ll freeze onto me and take me up the aisle, and smirk at me all the way, and that’s one thing I can’t take, fellas, I really can’t!”
“Oh, shut up, you goop!” laughed Lincoln Silverthorn. “She’s not coming, don’t you worry! Get back on your job and forget you ever saw her.”
“Oh, but I can’t forget, Link,” said Luther sadly. “She’s got my goat, and she might come, you know she might!” He was comical in his assumed distress. “And Link,” he added in sudden excitement, “I thought I saw her then, I really did. Right behind that man with the goatee. There! Isn’t that the gal with those pink doodads on her head?”
“Calm yourself, Lutie!” said Link, lowering his voice. “you take that gray lady and go on about your business. Don’t let any more fool gals get your goat. Besides, they don’t allow goats in this church, and you’ve got a job to walk back up the aisle with Sue Richards, so you’d better watch out. Get going, kid, and stop your nonsense!”
A few minutes later Link discovered the girl in question sitting far up in the back of the gallery, out of sight of the wedding party, but in a position where she could see the whole ceremony herself.
He had thought he recognized her slight form scuttling up the gallery stairs just after Luther had marched his gray lady in to her seat on the groom’s side of the church. When he could snatch a moment he hid himself for an instant behind the banks of palms up by the altar and searched the gallery until he discovered her pale wistful face. He only gave her a glance, but the impression he got of her was that she was sad and unhappy. Her lips were not vivid as he remembered them, her face was very white, and her eyes were big and tired looking. Also her attire seemed very plain, not at all bright and dashing as she usually was. And this for a wedding! It somehow gave him an uneasy feeling. He was suddenly reminded of the sharp words he had said to her last night and felt that perhaps he was to blame for her unhappiness. She deserved them of course, but it hadn’t entered his head that they would make any deep impression on her. A girl who broke every rule of courtesy wherever she was, who had barged into Sydney’s wedding unbidden, and come back again after she had been sent away! Could this be just another act she was putting on, with herself for persecuted heroine? Well, he was glad he had said what he had, anyway. It was good she should know for once what one young man thought of her.
She was wearing a black dress with a simple white collar, and a small black hat, not a crazy one. It wasn’t like her to dress so simply at an evening event. Well, he couldn’t bother his brains about her. He was only glad she was keeping in the background. So when he went back to the vestibule he whispered to Luther Waite.
“Don’t worry, Lutie, the bane of your life is sitting away up in the gallery back by the organ console. And she can’t get downstairs till after you’ve marched out with Sue Richards, so you’re safe.”
Luther answered with a relieved grin and the wedding came to order as a quartette of gorgeous voices began to sing:
“Fair bride and groom, greetings to thee,
Heaven’s choicest blessings descend rich and free,
Long may you live, loyal and true,
Happy in love ever rich, ever new.”
The last notes blended into the good old wedding march that always has a special thrill for the audience no matter how many weddings they have attended, and a breathlessness went over the church.
Now came the bridesmaids slowly, delicately, in all the colors of the rainbow, leading the procession. And how handsome the groom was, so happy-looking, with his pleasant stranger-best-man beside him! The groom was watching his approaching bride, and his face was as if a great happy light was over it. Did he know what a wonderful girl he was getting? Did he really know her well enough to take her away from them all? Would he treat her as a grand girl like that ought to be treated?
Sydney’s maid of honor wondered as these thoughts and questions surged about the electric atmosphere of the church, how he dared to face them all and just look happy that he was getting her. He wasn’t afraid that he wouldn’t have a happy marriage. He meant to have it. He looked as if it was all in his hands and he had entire confidence in himself. He had on his face the smile that was perhaps the sweetest and most childlike that he had worn for years, or might ever wear again. At least that was the impression Rae Silverthorn got as she looked at him from the vantage point of the aisle, and realized that he was looking straight over her beautiful pink maid of honor dress, back to his lovely white bride behind her. She was glad for Sydney’s sake that his eyes were all for her friend, and not at all for the general beautiful effect of everything, colors and flowers and pretty girl faces.
And the girl in black away up in the gallery saw his look, too, and her hungry heart winced. Would any young man, a nice young man like that, ever look at her that way?
The wedding party drifted into place and arranged themselves with no seeming effort, and then came Sydney on her father’s arm and the solemn service began.
Rae stood there sweetly beside her friend, her gorgeous sheaf of roses and delphiniums lying over her left arm so that there would be plenty of room without shifting them to receive the bride’s white roses and valley lilies when the proper time came. Then she settled to listen to the words of admonition, so gravely full of meaning, shadowing forth so many possibilities of life, and almost shuddered at them. Then came the vows. “Do you thus promise?” and Sydney’s clear voice so steady and so glad, “I do!”
It seemed long while they stood there, but the minutes were over swiftly, and then they were marching down in the procession, Rae with her hand on the arm of the best man. Oh, she was glad this wasn’t a permanent thing for all of them. She was glad she didn’t have to go off tonight with the best man. He was handsome, yes, and he was a lot of fun at the table last night, but if she had to go away with him forever tonight it would break her heart.
And how about the rest of them? Her mind traveled back along the line of the procession. Frannie and Steve Grant? Well that might be all right, but Lou McHale with Curlin, no, never! Whoever thought they ought to go together? Just because Curlin was so good-natured! And was she quite satisfied with Carey Carewe for her precious brother Link? Her heart shrank back from answering that.
And besides she was marching down the
