Domestic fiction; New England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
Then she introduced her husband, whose welcome, though quiet, was
sufficiently cordial. Then he said:
"I hope you have no other Thanksgiving dinner in view, for I think ours
is to be a good one; and we are very happy to see you."
"I supposed that I was to spend Thanksgiving in Halsey, but a mistake as
to connection, and then a breakdown on the road, left me here for the
day. I shall be glad to give thanks with you, and with--Fidelia."
"I am sorry for your grandmother," said Fidelia.
"You need not be sorry. My visit was to be a surprise to them. It must
wait till next summer now. I am going West again."
"Well, we will go to dinner now," said Mr Wainright, offering his arm
to his wife. "Miss Marsh, you must show Mr Ainsworth the way."
"Miss Marsh?" said Jabez, turning astonished eyes upon her, as the
others passed out at the door.
"Why, who did you suppose me to be?" said Fidelia, laughing.
"I--I don't know. I asked the door-keeper at the church who was the
singer to-day, and he said it was Mrs Wainright. But I am very glad he
was mistaken."
"I sang to-day--"
"You cannot imagine how strange it was--how wonderful. I had been
thinking about you all the morning--never supposing that you were within
hundreds of miles of me--and I heard your voice, Fidelia," he added,
taking both her hands in his. "It is Thanksgiving Day indeed with me
to-day."
"And with me too," it was on Fidelia's lips to say, but she only said it
in her heart. The joy that shone in her friend's eyes kept her silent,
though why it should do so she could hardly have told.
They went very soberly into the dining-room, where a few friends besides
the family were assembled. Fidelia sat between the two girls as usual,
and Lucy whispered that her friend was the stranger who walked up the
aisle, and that it must have been to to see where the voice came from,
as Lena had said.
And Lena said: "How tall he is, and how strong! He is not the least
like the lanky boy about whom you used to tell us funny stories."
Fidelia laughed and said softly, "Yes, he has changed--almost as much as
the little girls to whom the stories were told. It is a long time ago,
you must remember."
Mr Wainright was not mistaken. The dinner was a very good one, and
passed off, as all Mrs Wainright's dinners did, quite successfully. So
did the evening with music and pleasant talk, and all else that was
required for success. But it is not to be supposed that all this was
quite satisfactory to Fidelia and her friend.
"There were so many things I wanted to hear about," said Mr Ainsworth.
"And I too," said Fidelia.
"I shall see you in the morning before I leave, if possible," said he.
He came in the morning, and he stayed all day.
He could, by travelling all night, get to M--in time to meet an
engagement on Monday. He should have had to do so if he had gone to
Halsey.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account