CHAPTER XVII. AUNT OLIVIA'S WEDDING
What a delightful, old-fashioned, wholesome excitement there was aboutAunt Olivia's wedding! The Monday and Tuesday preceding it we did not goto school at all, but were all kept home to do chores and run errands.The cooking and decorating and arranging that went on those two dayswas amazing, and Felicity was so happy over it all that she did not evenquarrel with Dan--though she narrowly escaped it when he told her thatthe Governor's wife was coming to the wedding.
"Mind you have some of her favourite rusks for her," he said.
"I guess," said Felicity with dignity, "that Aunt Olivia's weddingsupper will be good enough for even a Governor's wife."
"I s'pose none of us except the Story Girl will get to the first table,"said Felix, rather gloomily.
"Never mind," comforted Felicity. "There's a whole turkey to be kept forus, and a freezerful of ice cream. Cecily and I are going to wait on thetables, and we'll put away a little of everything that's extra nice forour suppers."
"I do so want to have my supper with you," sighed Sara Ray, "but Is'pose ma will drag me with her wherever she goes. She won't trust meout of her sight a minute the whole evening--I know she won't."
"I'll get Aunt Olivia to ask her to let you have your supper with us,"said Cecily. "She can't refuse the bride's request."
"You don't know all ma can do," returned Sara darkly. "No, I feel thatI'll have to eat my supper with her. But I suppose I ought to be verythankful I'm to get to the wedding at all, and that ma did get me anew white dress for it. Even yet I'm so scared something will happen toprevent me from getting to it."
Monday evening shrouded itself in clouds, and all night long the voiceof the wind answered to the voice of the rain. Tuesday the downpourcontinued. We were quite frantic about it. Suppose it kept on rainingover Wednesday! Aunt Olivia couldn't be married in the orchard then.That would be too bad, especially when the late apple tree had mostobligingly kept its store of blossom until after all the other trees hadfaded and then burst lavishly into bloom for Aunt Olivia's wedding. Thatapple tree was always very late in blooming, and this year it was a weeklater than usual. It was a sight to see--a great tree-pyramid with high,far-spreading boughs, over which a wealth of rosy snow seemed to havebeen flung. Never had bride a more magnificent canopy.
To our rapture, however, it cleared up beautifully Tuesday evening,and the sun, before setting in purple pomp, poured a flood of wonderfulradiance over the whole great, green, diamond-dripping world, promisinga fair morrow. Uncle Alec drove off to the station through it to bringhome the bridegroom and his best man. Dan was full of a wild idea thatwe should all meet them at the gate, armed with cowbells and tin-pans,and "charivari" them up the lane. Peter sided with him, but the rest ofus voted down the suggestion.
"Do you want Dr. Seton to think we are a pack of wild Indians?" askedFelicity severely. "A nice opinion he'd have of our manners!"
"Well, it's the only chance we'll have to chivaree them," grumbled Dan."Aunt Olivia wouldn't mind. SHE can take a joke."
"Ma would kill you if you did such a thing," warned Felicity. "Dr. Setonlives in Halifax and they NEVER chivaree people there. He would think itvery vulgar."
"Then he should have stayed in Halifax and got married there," retortedDan, sulkily.
We were very curious to see our uncle-elect. When he came and UncleAlec took him into the parlour, we were all crowded into the dark cornerbehind the stairs to peep at him. Then we fled to the moonlight worldoutside and discussed him at the dairy.
"He's bald," said Cecily disappointedly.
"And RATHER short and stout," said Felicity.
"He's forty, if he's a day," said Dan.
"Never you mind," cried the Story Girl loyally, "Aunt Olivia loves himwith all her heart."
"And more than that, he's got lots of money," added Felicity.
"Well, he may be all right," said Peter, "but it's my opinion that yourAunt Olivia could have done just as well on the Island."
"YOUR opinion doesn't matter very much to our family," said Felicitycrushingly.
But when we made the acquaintance of Dr. Seton next morning we liked himenormously, and voted him a jolly good fellow. Even Peter remarked asideto me that he guessed Miss Olivia hadn't made much of a mistake afterall, though it was plain he thought she was running a risk in notsticking to the Island. The girls had not much time to discuss him withus. They were all exceedingly busy and whisked about at such a ratethat they seemed to possess the power of being in half a dozen placesat once. The importance of Felicity was quite terrible. But after dinnercame a lull.
"Thank goodness, everything is ready at last," breathed Felicitydevoutly, as we foregathered for a brief space in the fir wood. "We'venothing more to do now but get dressed. It's really a serious thing tohave a wedding in the family."
"I have a note from Sara Ray," said Cecily. "Judy Pineau brought it upwhen she brought Mrs. Ray's spoons. Just let me read it to you:--
DEAREST CECILY:--A DREADFUL MISFORTUNE has happened to me. Last night I went with Judy to water the cows and in the spruce bush we found a WASPS' NEST and Judy thought it was AN OLD ONE and she POKED IT WITH A STICK. And it was a NEW ONE, full of wasps, and they all flew out and STUNG US TERRIBLY, on the face and hands. My face is all swelled up and I can HARDLY SEE out of one eye. The SUFFERING was awful but I didn't mind that as much as being scared ma wouldn't take me to the wedding. But she says I can go and I'm going. I know that I am a HARD-LOOKING SIGHT, but it isn't anything catching. I am writing this so that you won't get a shock when you see me. Isn't it SO STRANGE to think your dear Aunt Olivia is going away? How you will miss her! But your loss will be her gain.
"'Au revoir, "'Your loving chum, SARA RAY.'"
"That poor child," said the Story Girl.
"Well, all I hope is that strangers won't take her for one of thefamily," remarked Felicity in a disgusted tone.
Aunt Olivia was married at five o'clock in the orchard under the lateapple tree. It was a pretty scene. The air was full of the perfume ofapple bloom, and the bees blundered foolishly and delightfully from oneblossom to another, half drunken with perfume. The old orchard was fullof smiling guests in wedding garments. Aunt Olivia was most beautifulamid the frost of her bridal veil, and the Story Girl, in an unusuallylong white dress, with her brown curls clubbed up behind, looked so talland grown-up that we hardly recognized her. After the ceremony--duringwhich Sara Ray cried all the time--there was a royal wedding supper, andSara Ray was permitted to eat her share of the feast with us.
"I'm glad I was stung by the wasps after all," she said delightedly."If I hadn't been ma would never have let me eat with you. She just gottired explaining to people what was the matter with my face, and soshe was glad to get rid of me. I know I look awful, but, oh, wasn't thebride a dream?"
We missed the Story Girl, who, of course, had to have her supper atthe bridal table; but we were a hilarious little crew and the girls hadnobly kept their promise to save tid-bits for us. By the time the lasttable was cleared away Aunt Olivia and our new uncle were ready to go.There was an orgy of tears and leavetakings, and then they drove awayinto the odorous moonlight night. Dan and Peter pursued them down thelane with a fiendish din of bells and pans, much to Felicity's wrath.But Aunt Olivia and Uncle Robert took it in good part and waved theirhands back to us with peals of laughter.
"They're just that pleased with themselves that they wouldn't mind ifthere was an earthquake," said Felix, grinning.
"It's been splendid and exciting, and everything went off well," sighedCecily, "but, oh dear, it's going to be so queer and lonesome withoutAunt Olivia. I just believe I'll cry all night."
"You're tired to death, that's what's the matter with you," said Dan,returning. "You girls have worked like slaves today."
"Tomorrow will be even harder," said Felicity comfortingly. "Everythingwill have to be cleaned up and put
away."
Peg Bowen paid us a call the next day and was regaled with a feast offat things left over from the supper.
"Well, I've had all I can eat," she said, when she had finished andbrought out her pipe. "And that doesn't happen to me every day. Thereain't been as much marrying as there used to be, and half the time theyjust sneak off to the minister, as if they were ashamed of it, and getmarried without any wedding or supper. That ain't the King way, though.And so Olivia's gone off at last. She weren't in any hurry but they tellme she's done well. Time'll show."
"Why don't you get married yourself, Peg?" queried Uncle Rogerteasingly. We held our breath over his temerity.
"Because I'm not so easy to please as your wife will be," retorted Peg.
She departed in high good humour over her repartee. Meeting Sara Rayon the doorstep she stopped and asked her what was the matter with herface.
"Wasps," stammered Sara Ray, laconic from terror.
"Humph! And your hands?"
"Warts."
"I'll tell you what'll take them away. You get a pertater and go outunder the full moon, cut the pertater in two, rub your warts with onehalf and say, 'One, two, three, warts, go away from me.' Then rubthem with the other half and say, 'One, two, three, four, warts, nevertrouble me more.' Then bury the pertater and never tell a living soulwhere you buried it. You won't have no more warts. Mind you bury thepertater, though. If you don't, and anyone picks it up, she'll get yourwarts."