And then Marjorie realized to her dismay that all of the others were staring at her curiously. Every one of them had heard her blurt out: “I hope Mr. X wears something more original.” They were overcome with curiosity but they were all too polite to ask any more questions.
Hastily Marjorie said, “Aren’t you all starving? I’ll go ask Ann Mary if I can’t fix some lemonade and raid the cooky jar.”
She was off without waiting for their replies, but Judy raced after her. Marjorie’s heart sank. As soon as they were out of earshot of the boys, Judy’s curiosity would get the better of her good manners. She would demand an explanation of Marjorie’s unfortunate remark.
Then Marjorie had an idea. “You know,” she said casually, “I’ll bet a lot of people come to the party disguised as the ghost who’s supposed to haunt the Lodge. I think of him as Mr. X and he wears a long gray beard. It would be hard to see through that disguise. I mean, a long flowing white robe, a wig and a mask with a long gray beard.”
Judy looked disappointed but Marjorie knew that her curiosity was satisfied. “It would be a perfect disguise,” Judy said. “And much more original than a cowboy outfit.”
Back in the Lodge they found all the other guests busy making final decisions about their costumes. The ladies had all enjoyed going through the trunks, spending one entire day rummaging, to the great delight of the younger fry. Some of the people had gone into town to get extra things for their costumes from the local stores. They reported that the townspeople, too, were all excited about the party and that a great many of them were planning to come.
At last it was the day of the big event, and to Marjorie’s delight the sun shone brightly in an almost cloudless sky.
Penny had decided to wear the old wedding dress from the trunk. It was beautiful even though it had yellowed with age. Adra was wearing a green silk dress with matching slippers from the same old trunk. Penny and Marjorie helped each other fix their costumes, and Marjorie suggested to Penny that she should wear the veil that went with the dress and thus really look like a bride.
“Because, Sis,” Marjorie said unashamedly, “you are going to be a bride pretty soon. You might as well start getting used to the idea.”
Penny’s cheeks flamed. Then she suddenly threw her arms around Marjorie. “Oh, honey, if only I could be sure. There’s no sense in my trying to hide from you that I love Peter. But how can I be sure that he loves me?”