“What,” exclaimed the child, “another name!” They all laughed. Mira and her children then withdrew to her apartments.
CHAPTER XXIV.
The wedding day dawned clear and bright and the weather was all that could be desired, and in the midst of a profusion of flowers the ceremony took place. The costumes were beautiful and two fairer brides were never led to the altar. The picture remained in the minds of all who saw them for many years. The wedding was in the morning so they could leave on the mid-day train for their honeymoon.
A special car belonging to the society had been placed at their service and was fitted up with drawing room, state room and dining room accommodations.
The guests had departed and Mrs. Vivian went alone to the apartments of the newly married daughters. They were so bright and had every convenience for comfort and rest.
The pictures on the walls and the statuary were works of art, all showing the taste of the occupants as well as their own industry. All displayed the fact that their friends who had presented them with so many of these things were artists as well as people of wealth.
“Well, I intend to enjoy these rooms while they are away,” Mrs. Vivian thought. “What a pleasure it is to know these apartments are secured for them during their lives. No mortgages can ever be placed on them to torment them in the years to come. What a comfort! It is certainly a great comparison between their newly married life and my own and yet my marriage was considered a good one in that day, and it was, both from a financial standpoint and in our affection for each other. Still all the wealth my husband left me did not give me an income the last few years. If these girls had not secured my shares I am afraid the outlook would not have been so bright and comforting as it is now. I suppose Geron did the best he could, but, oh, men risk so much! He did so differently from what the girls have done. Oh, girls,” she soliloquized, “you will never know how happy you have made me by your self-denial.”
She turned and looked at a picture of her husband which Scoris had painted. “Yes, my dear,” she says sadly, “I wish things could have been different and we could have gone through life longer together. As I look at your dear face it is so lifelike that my heart yearns for you. Dear me! dear me! I do hope no one will come in until I have washed away the trace of these tears. Will I never get accustomed to seeing that picture? She painted it as she remembers him and it is not like any other that we have. What a wonderful talent she has! Paul Arling, you are a lucky man to have won her.
“I am going to sit right down here so I can see them all. Why, how sleepy I am! I will rest just a moment. My!” she exclaimed opening her eyes, “it only seems a moment since I sat down and here I have slept an hour! These rooms are so restful and have such a soothing effect. Everything speaks of harmony. Well, I wish every mother I know could feel as contented as I do over the choice that their daughters have made. They have married men who are worthy of them and that is admitting a great deal. I really feel that I have gained two more children. Time will tell, but until then I am going to look upon them as such.”
Next day, Paul Arling’s mother called upon Mrs. Vivian to invite her to go for a drive. Paul had purchased a small pony for her just before he was married and she knew that her old friend would enjoy it as much as she would. Their sympathies were very near and now that a relationship had been established between them it was closer than ever. Both loved to drive out into the open country, over the hills and along the lake shore, letting the pony jog along as he liked. It was so pleasant to breathe the balmy air as they talked over the wedding of their beloved children. Mrs. Arling remarked: