“Is not that your place as mistress of the house, Cousin Elsie?” he asked.
“Oh, yes!” she replied. “I will write a note at once and send it by one of the servants.”
“And, if you please, I will send a note of thanks along with it. I will write it at once.”
“I will send it with pleasure,” she said. “Oh, Cousin Arthur, I am so glad for you! It is not an extravagant gift for a man of Mr. Croly’s means—and I think you have fairly earned it—but it must make you quite rich.”
“It does indeed,” he said in joyous tones, “and will put it in my power to make the dear girl who is trusting her happiness to me very comfortable. It will also enable me to help those of my brothers and sisters who may need aid.”
“You have always been a generous fellow,” she said, giving him a look full of appreciation and affection, “but I think if they do all they can to help themselves they will need very little assistance from you. But,” she added with a smile, “we have each a great deal to do in a little time and must not hinder each other.”
The delegation sent to the city was very successful. The young men returned early in the afternoon, bringing the minister of Marian’s choice, and shortly after the captain came in from his yacht, which lay at anchor at no great distance from the shore.
Neither Will Croly nor his mother ventured out, but his father came, bringing his sister-in-law with him.
Marian looked very sweet and lovely in white tarletan and orange-blossoms brought by Harold from the city; and Arthur, still rather youthful in appearance, seemed a not unsuitable bridegroom for her. Mary Keith, Rosie, and Lulu, Calhoun, Harold, and Herbert acted the parts of bridesmaids and groomsmen.
The ceremony was short and followed by some simple refreshments—several kinds of cake, ice-cream, and lemonade.