of her intimate friends had not received their invitations. Her shoemaker did not send home her slippers in time, so that at last she had to wear a pair that did not match her gown. But the wedding itself!—well there was nothing in any way to interfere with its completeness.
The groom and a party of friends came down from the city on an early train. They were to stay at the house of a friend of Mr. Barlow’s until the hour for the ceremony, which was to be precisely at twelve o’clock.
Several of the bride’s relatives were staying at her home, at Rockley, greatly to Brenda’s delight. She always rejoiced in a houseful of company, and one or two of these cousins—although they were only second cousins—were girls near her own age, and she and Julia had had great fun with them the day or two before. Philip and Tom, too, and Will Hardon had been over to call the evening before, and had tried to induce Brenda to join in one or two plans to discomfit the bride at the last moment. Brenda, indeed, might have been willing to yield to some of the suggestions, had not Julia rather persuaded her that such things were likely to prove more annoying than funny.
“Well, perhaps we won’t tie the white ribbons to the trunks, but there are other things; you know they can’t expect to get off without anything, and Ralph has been ready enough to tease us. Why, I never knew any one so fond of teasing; although for the first few days he was so very respectful to me!” said Brenda.
“He’s very good fun though,” said Philip, who had seen Mr. Weston several times at Marblehead, “and I have
