"You!" Marian cried.
"You don't mean it, my dear fellow!" Thatcher held out his hand cordially.
"We children ask the parental blessing."
Merry slipped by, into her mother's arms.
"Oh! Momsie! I am happy at last!"
"You have certainly kept us in the dark!" Marian exclaimed, recovering from her surprise.
Then the pleasure in her face changed to one of concern. "You have loved Merry, yet stood aside these weeks?"
"I could not believe that she could care for me."
"Almost a triple tragedy!" Marian said soberly, so low that only Huntington heard her. "Can any one ever forgive me!"
"Come, we must tell Edith and Cosden," Thatcher urged. "They are consumed with impatience to see you."