They walked through the churchyard with its quiet sleepers, into the
cool church where David was waiting to give his sister away. Some of the
village women, with little girls in clean pinafores clinging to their
skirts, came shyly in after them and sat down at the door. Lord
Bidborough, waiting for his bride, saw her come through the doorway
winged like Mercury, smiling back at the children following ... then her
eyes met his.
The first thing that Jean became aware of was that Mr. Macdonald was
reading her own chapter.
"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them: and the
desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose....
"And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The
Way of Holiness: the unclean shall not pass over it: but it shall be for
those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein....
"No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it
shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.
"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs
and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
The schoolmistress had played the wedding march from _Lohengrin_, and
was prepared to play Mendelssohn as the party left the church, but when
the service was over Mrs. Macdonald whispered fiercely in Jean's ear,
"You _can't_ be married without 'O God of Bethel,'" and ousting the
schoolmistress from her place at the organ she struck the opening notes.
They knew it by heart--Jean and Davie and Jock and Mhor and Lewis
Elliot--and they sang it with the unction with which one sings the songs
of Zion by Babylon's streams.
"Through each perplexing path of life
Our wandering footsteps guide;
Give us each day our daily bread,
And raiment fit provide.
O spread Thy covering wings around
Till all our wanderings cease,
And at our Father's loved abode
Our souls arrive in peace."
Out in the sunshine, among the blossoms, Jean stood with her husband and
was kissed and blessed.
"Jean, Lady Bidborough," said Pamela.
"Gosh, Maggie!" said Jock, "I quite forgot Jean would be Lady
Bidborough. What a joke!"
"She doesn't look any different," Mhor complained.
"Surely you don't want her different," Mrs. Macdonald said.
"Not _very_ different," said Mhor, "but she's pretty small for a
Lady--not nearly as tall as Richard Plantagenet."
"As high as my heart," said Lord Bidborough. "The correct height, Mhor."
The vicar lunched with them at the inn. There were no speeches, and no
one tried to be funny.
Jock rebuked Jean for eating too much. "It's not manners for a bride to
have more than one help."
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