A moment more, and she was receiving the congratulatory embraces of her father and mother. Next Hal kissed her, then passed her on to Marjorie. The smiling group of dear ones now hemmed the bridal pair in, eager to wish them good fortune.
Jerry and Connie met with wide-open arms, hugging each other with delighted vigor.
“You certainly put one over on me, you rascal!” Jerry exclaimed with slangy disregard for her newly-fledged title of Mrs. Daniel Seabrooke. “Oh, Connie, you can’t possibly guess how glad I felt to hear your dear voice singing the wedding song! I wanted to rush downstairs, then and there, and hug you. We’d given up hoping you and Laurie might be here at the wedding, and Danny was awfully blue about it. He had counted on Hal and Laurie and the ‘Crane’ as his special standbys.”
“I had no idea you esteemed me so highly, Dan-yell.” Laurie’s laughing voice broke in. He had fixed mischievous blue eyes upon Danny, face alight with the old love of teasing which had never yet failed to draw his freckled-faced pal into good-natured argument.
Danny’s becomingly serious expression had now vanished in a challenging grin. He could not resist the joy of a verbal tilt with Laurie.
“You know it now, but don’t let it turn your head,” he cautioned. “Absence caused me to think kindly of you. Now that you are here, my future good opinion of you will depend entirely upon the way you treat me. As a bran-new, extremely well-behaved husband I am entitled to your profound respect. As yet I see no flourishing signs of it in your manner toward me. I shall hope for the best, however,” he ended with mock encouragement.
“Here’s hoping.” Laurie showed white teeth in a broad smile.
“Matters look far from hopeful to me. Never mind, Mr. Armitage. Your wife at least respects me. Such being the case, I will overlook your decidedly disrespectful grin.”
“How about the one you’re sporting?” Laurie affably inquired.
“You must be seeing things.” Danny whisked the smile from his face in a twinkling, gazing at Laurie with wide-eyed solemnity.