No one was with him, and he wore a worried frown.
“May I speak to you, Mr. Towne?” he asked.
Edith was standing by the window looking out at the old churchyard. The uneasiness which had infected the others had not touched her. Slender and white she stood waiting. In a few minutes Del would walk up the aisle with her and they would be married. In her mind that program was as fixed as the stars.
And now her uncle approached and said something. “Edith, Del isn’t coming——”
“Is he ill?”
“I wish to Heaven he were dead.”
“What do you mean, Uncle Fred?”
“I’ll tell you—presently. But we must get away from this——”
His glance took in the changed scene. A blight had swept over those high young heads. Two of the bridesmaids were crying. The ushers had withdrawn into a huddled group. The servants were staring—uncertain what to do.
Somebody got Briggs and the big car to the door.