And then his eyes fell upon the girl at his feet, in her plain dark dress crushed and disordered with a night’s travel; the bare, empty chapel; the utter want of music, flowers, company, or social support of any kind; the small, rigid-looking preacher without surplice or insignia of holy office; the half-expressed disapproval on the countenances of the three women present as witnesses––it was not thus Elizabeth was married; it was not thus he himself ought to have been married. How the surroundings might affect Denas he did not even think; and yet the poor girl also had had her dreams, which this cold, dreary reality in no measure redeemed.
But the ring was on her finger; she was Roland’s wife. Nothing could ever make her less. She heard the preacher say: “Come into the vestry, Mrs. Tresham, and sign the register.” And then Roland gave her his arm and kissed her, and she went with the little company, and took the pen from her husband’s 145 hand, and wrote boldly for the last time her maiden name:
“Denasia Penelles.”
Roland looked inquiringly at her, and she smiled and answered: “That is right, dear. I was christened Denasia.”
Very small things pleased Roland, and the new name delighted him. All the way to London he spoke frequently of it. “You are now Denasia, my darling,” he said. “Let the old name slip with the old life. Besides, Denasia is an excellent public name. You can sing under it splendidly. Such a noble name! Why did you let everyone spoil it?”
“Everyone thought Denas was my name. Father and mother always called me Denas, and people forgot that it was only part of my name. Fisher-folk have short names, or nicknames.”
“But, really, Denasia Penelles is a very distinguished name. A splendid one for the public.”
“Why not Denasia Tresham?”
“Because, my dear, there are Treshams living in London who would be very angry at me if I put their name on a bill-board. The Treshams are a very proud family.”
“Roland, it would kill my father if I put his name on anything that refers to a theatre. You don’t know how he feels on that subject. It is a thing of life and death––I mean the soul’s life or death––to him.”