only twenty-three, but for the last ten years she had known that she would marry, and she had thought out every detail of the ceremony except the br

Arum, which look pagan-at the altar to the red cloth at the door. There were to be rose-leav

oo remote, the dean had to do. But he was a fine-looking man, and would be made a bishop soo

ting a little faster than it generally did, and then she remembered with a pang of jo

nking of Winn, but she had always mea

telle implored her not to fuss, and above all not to get red in t

ildren and in a way the most important; for if she wasn't pleased it was always so dread

s arm, followed by four little bridesmaids in pink and white, a

cast down Estelle managed to see that all the right people were th

. They all looked very prosperous people with good dressmakers and tailors,

their relations. The Staines had very few friends, and those they had were hard riding, hunting people, who never lo

x big creatures in one pew, all restless, all with big chins, hard eyes, jutting eyebrows, and a dreadful look as if they were buccaneering. As a matter of fact they all f

ut the very kind of man she had always wished to see. It made Estelle feel for a moment like a good housekeeper, who has not been told that a distinguished guest was co

ones. Lionel was looking at Estelle as she came up the aisle in a tender, protective, admiring way, as if she were a very beautiful flower. This was most satisfactory, but at least Winn might have done the same. Instead of looking as if he were waiting for his bride, he looked exactly

oud in the blue sky was like her, and every lily in a cottage garden. There was a drop of

himself, "can she be as

xercised "Voice that Breathed o'er Eden." The dean gave them an excellent, short and evasive address about their married duties, a great deal nice

ride," and

s hands in his pockets. The vicar, who had known him from a boy, did not

ting into places where they weren't wanted, and shouting remarks which sounded abusive but were meant to be cordial to cowering Fanshaw

she went she heard Sir Peter's re

ther, "Well-I'm glad to see you have seven children, that looks promising at a

e youngest Fanshawe child and disap

ible jokes at the clergyman's daughters-dreadful girls who played hockey and had know

eal of noise, but

fe, talked to the Dean, who soon

d her mother. Mrs. Fanshawe looked at the end rather tactlessly cheerful. (She had cried thro

of my little girl," and Winn, who might have said something graceful in reply, merely shook

rom the stable yard when no one could guess where he was, and was the first perso

ining eyes and quivering lips. It was the moment for a

utely murderous. They might give you a bad tumble. Don't let me see y

use he discovered almost immediately that however many things you could think of for Estelle's comfort, she could think of more for herself

about Winn was that it was the easiest possible thing to stop his ardor, and this was really odd, because it was not from lack of strength in his emotion. She

s rather coarse, but he

ned to Winn at length who everybody was and how there had been some people there who had had to be taken down, and others who had had to be pushed forward, and he

uidance of a delicate affair, Estelle glanced at him and discovered that he was asleep! They hadn't been married for three hours, and he could go to sleep in the middle of their first real talk! She was sure Lionel D

oke up he

his best man, and he, had done in Manchuria, just as if nothing had happened; but naturally Estelle wouldn't be interested. She was first polite, then bored, then captio

y interested. I don't think I like Chinese stor

ke a naughty school boy. "Own up!" he said, laying his ro

owned up when they

ill he withdrew it, and then she remarked t

s, paté de foie gras, half a melon, and s

d to think that their little "breeze" had been entirely du