“All’s done at the Hut,” he answered, “an’ the carriage be ordered. After us be married, we’ll walk over to Minnie’s aunt an’ have the spread as the old woman have arranged; then we’ll drive straight away off to the Moor. An’ if ’tis wet weather, us be going to have a covered cab; for I won’t have Minnie drowned on her wedding-day. Please God, you’ll be up to coming to church, father.”
“I shall be there,” said Matthew—“there an’ glad to be there, since you wasn’t doing any harm this night. But Mr Henry may not come. I had speech with him, for the gentlemen hadn’t gone to bed. Sir Reginald’s in a proper fury. They’ll leave no stone unturned to take the rascals. My man won’t travel far, I should reckon, for I gived him quite as good as I got, maybe better.”
“You’ve got enough anyway,” declared the keeper’s wife. “Now lean on Dan an’ me, an’ we’ll fetch ’e up to your chamber.”
Without a groan Matthew Sweetland let them help him to his bed; but not until dawn did the pain of his bruises lessen and suffer him to sleep.
CHAPTER IV
THE WEDDING DAY
Daniel’s wedding day dawned gloriously, and at the lodge gates a splendour of autumn foliage blazed in the morning light. But Mr Sweetland woke black and blue, and stiff in all his joints. He had broken a finger of the right hand; that, however, did not prevent him dressing in his best clothes and setting out to see his son married.
Daniel wished his friend, Titus, to be best man; but the circumstances made that impossible, since poor Sim himself had been a suitor. The lad, Sam Prowse, therefore filled that important post, and Minnie’s aunt, an ancient widow named Mary Maine, gave the bride away.
Daniel and his party were the first to arrive at church; for Mr Sweetland called at the cottage hospital on his way and had his broken finger attended to. There he heard black news, but the keeper kept it to himself and presently joined his wife at church. People began to drop in by twos and threes, and Daniel, from a place in the choir stalls, kept turning his head to the door. But those he looked for did not appear. Neither Titus Sim nor Henry Vivian was at his wedding, and the circumstance cast a gloom upon the bridegroom. He grumbled under his breath to Sam Prowse concerning the matter.