“W. W. Bayard, Register.”
We all listened to the reading with breathless interest. When it was concluded Mrs. Horton observed: “Wright, Stearns, and Wilson, they’re your witnesses, are they?”
“Yes; father selected them, you know,” Jessie replied.
“They’re good men, all of them, but, I declare, I wish that your pa had thought to put Jake on, too! It would have given me a good excuse to go down with you when the day comes. Not but what I mean to go anyhow, for that matter. Well, now, your date is set. It wasn’t set before, was it?”
“No; the other notices read: ‘On a day to be hereinafter named, etc.’”
“August 30th,” Mrs. Horton repeated, musingly; “let’s see, this is the 15th. You’ve got two weeks and a day yet to wait. It don’t give a great amount of time to get money in, but it’s a relief to know when it’s coming off, isn’t it?”
Joe had been sitting in his corner, saying nothing, but, just at this point, I saw him roll his eyes scornfully at our neighbor, and wondered if it could be that the old man was jealous of her openly expressed interest in the little family to which he laid prior claim. “Yes,” Jessie said, replying to Mrs. Horton’s question: “It is a great relief, and, after all, we’ve done about all that we can to make ready for it.”
“I’m not doubting that, still, I wish, now that we’ve thought of it, that you did have time to earn a little more by sewing. How much are the witnesses’ fees?”
“Six dollars each; it will take eighteen dollars for that alone,” Jessie told her.