At the house people were hungry again,so the table was set and they ate up every scrap in sight,and Leon and I ate with them that time and saved ours.Then one by one the carriages,spring wagons,and horseback riders went away,all the people saying Sally was the loveliest bride,and hers had been the prettiest wedding they'd ever seen,and the most good things to eat,and Laddie and the Princess went with them.When the last one was gone,and only the relatives from Ohio were left,mother pitched on the bed,gripped her hands and cried as if she'd go to pieces,and father cried too,and all of us,even Mrs.Freshett,who stayed to wash up the dishes.She was so tickled to be there,and see,and help,that mother had hard work to keep her from washing the linen that same night.She did finish the last dish,scrub the kitchen floor,black the stove,and pack all the borrowed china in tubs,ready to be taken home,and things like that.Mother said it was a burning shame for any neighbourhood to let a woman get so starved out and lonesome she'd act that way.She said enough was enough,and when Mrs.Freshett had cooked all day,and washed dishes until the last skillet was in place,she had done as much as any neighbour ought to do,and the other things she went on and did were a rebuke to us.
I felt sore,weepy,and tired out.It made me sick to think of the sage bag in the cracked churn,so I climbed my very own catalpa tree in the corner,watched up the road for Laddie,and thought things over.If I ever get married I want a dress,and a wedding exactly like that,but I would like a man quite different from Peter;like Laddie would suit me better.When he rode under the tree,I dropped from a limb into his arms,and went with him to the barn.He asked me what was going on at the house,and I told him about Mrs.Freshett being a rebuke to us;and Laddie said she was,and he didn't believe one word against her.When I told him mother was in bed crying like anything,he said:"I knew that had to come when she kept up so bravely at the station.
Thank the Lord,she showed her breeding by holding in until she got where she had a right to cry if she pleased."Then I whispered for fear Leon might be around:"Did he set the dogs on you?""He did not,"said Laddie,laughing softly.
"Did he call you names again?"
"He did!"said Laddie,"but I started it.You see,when we got there,Thomas was raking the grass and he came to take the Princess'horse.Her father was reading on a bench under a tree.
I helped her down,and walked with her to the door and said good-bye,and thanked her for the pleasure she had added to the day for us,loudly enough that he could hear;then I went over to him and said:`Good evening,Mr.Pryor.If my father knew anything about it,he would very much regret that company from Ohio detained him and compelled me to escort your daughter home.He would greatly have enjoyed the privilege,but I honestly believe that I appreciated it far more than he could.'""Oh Laddie,what did he say?"
"He arose and glared at me,and choked on it,and he tried several times,until I thought the clods were going to fly again,but at last he just spluttered:`You blathering rascal,you!'
That was such a compliment compared with what I thought he was going to say that I had to laugh.He tried,but he couldn't keep from smiling himself,and then I said:`Please think it over,Mr.Pryor,and if you find that Miss Pryor has had an agreeable,entertaining day,won't you give your consent for her to come among us again?Won't you allow me to come here,if it can be arranged in such a way that I intrude on no one?'""Oh Laddie!"
"He exploded in a kind of a snarl that meant,I'll see you in the Bad Place first.So I said to him:`Thank you very much for to-day,anyway.I'm sure Miss Pryor has enjoyed this day,and it has been the happiest of my life--one to be remembered always.
Of course I won't come here if I am unwelcome,but I am in honour bound to tell you that I intend to meet your daughter elsewhere,whenever I possibly can.I thought it would be a better way for you to know and have us where you could see what was going on,if you chose,than for us to meet without your knowledge.""Oh Laddie,"I wailed,"now you've gone and ruined everything!""Not so bad as that,Little Sister,"laughed Laddie."Not half so bad!He exploded in another growl,and he shook his walking stick at me,and he said--guess what he said.""That he would kill you,"I panted,clinging to him.
"Right!"said Laddie."You have it exactly.He said:`Young man,I'll brain you with my walking stick if ever I meet you anywhere with my daughter,when you have not come to her home and taken her with my permission.'""What!"I stammered."What!Oh Laddie,say it over!Does it mean----?""It means,"said Laddie,squeezing me until I was near losing my breath,"it means,Little Sister,that I shall march to his door and ask him squarely,and if it is anywhere the Princess wants to go,I shall take her.""Like,`See the conquering hero comes?'"
"Exactly!"laughed Laddie.
"What will mother say?"
"She hasn't made up her mind yet,"answered Laddie.
"Do you mean----?"I gasped again.
"Of course!"said Laddie."I wasn't going to let a girl get far ahead of me.The minute I knew she had told her mother,I told mine the very first chance.""Mother knows that you feel about the Princess as father does about her?""Mother knows,"answered Laddie,"and so does father.I told both of them."Both of them knew!And it hadn't made enough difference that any one living right with them every day could have told it.Time and work will be needed to understand grown people.
