"I have an idea," Earle said presently. "Ladybird will have to go into mourning for her father, so she cannot enter society this winter. We will go abroad with Arthur and Precious, and make it a double bridal tour."
They agreed with him that it was a good idea, and then he went, with the letter from the sea, to his bride.
"I must go now to Ethel, but you need not come with me, Paul, for you would only scold her, and of course the poor child feels badly enough now," said Mrs. Winans; but all that she could urge did not prevent the irate father from reprimanding his elder daughter in very strong terms for her heartless conduct, that he assured her had brought a disgrace on the family that could only be wiped out by the nobility Precious had displayed.
Ethel did not have one word to say in her own defense. She received her father's reprimand in cold, proud silence more irritating than any retort, then turned away. But to Precious and all the others Ethel was kind and gracious in spite of a certain coldness that every one but her mother displayed toward her. How could they help it when she had acted so abominably?
Ethel did not resent their anger. She endured it humbly, and even took an interest in the bustle of preparations that followed on the change of brides. There was so much to do to get Precious ready for the rôle of bride instead of bridesmaid that every one was busy. The bridal gown was altered to fit the slender form of Precious, the bridal veil was given to her with a smile.
Every one wondered at Ethel's humility, and they began to forgive her in their hearts in spite of themselves, for she even offered to be the maid of honor.
"I want to do everything to make you happy, dear," she said, with a light caress on the golden head, "and by and by you'll be glad, Precious, that my selfishness left Arthur free for you. He will love you better than he could have loved me. Every one does, you know."
There was a tear and a sigh behind the smile, but Precious did not notice it. She was very, very happy, our little heroine, and life lay before her all bright and joyous with the sunshine of love and the flowers of hope on her life-path.
Ethel's story leaked out to the world as such stories will, and society declared it was not at all surprised. Her pride and ambition and heartlessness were well known to the world, declared the knowing ones.