The Staying Guest

by Carolyn Wells

  CHAPTER XXI AN ORCHARD WEDDING

  After Ladybird's letter was safely on its way to her grandmother, thechild told the Flint ladies what she had done, and Miss Priscilla decidedto await the outcome of Ladybird's communication before sending one ofher own to Mrs. Lovell.

  Matters went on quietly enough at Primrose Hall. The two children got onamiably, though by nature as far apart as the poles.

  Chester came down often, and Stella had decided that her wedding shouldtake place the following spring.

  About the middle of September the letter for which Ladybird had beenlooking came. It was addressed to Miss Priscilla Flint, and was a mostbusinesslike proposition, to the effect that Mrs. Lovell very muchpreferred her grandchild named Lavinia to the one called Ladybird, and ifthe Misses Flint were willing to renounce legally all claim to Lavinia,Mrs. Lovell would be only too glad to adopt the child and leave theMisses Flint in undisputed possession of her other grandchild, calledLadybird. A condition attached to this arrangement, however, was that,since the will of the child's grandfather Flint entailed to her the titleof the Primrose estate, the Misses Flint should pay to the estate ofLavinia Lovell such a sum of money as should represent her lawfulinheritance of Primrose Hall, or such other Flint property as the MissesFlint might possess.

  All of this arrangement found great favor in the eyes of those mostconcerned, except the clause relating to the inheritance; for the Flintladies, although possessed of Primrose Hall and Farm, had no more moneythan was sufficient to maintain their home in such manner as they deemedappropriate.

  The case was laid before Chester Humphreys, and he promised to thinkabout it, which, in his bright lexicon of youth, meant to discuss it withStella.

  "You see, my dear," he said as they talked it over, "the Primrose estateis not such a very great affair, after all, and it seems to me that asyou and I owe our happiness primarily to Ladybird, there is only onething to be done."

  "Can you afford it?" said Stella, simply.

  "I certainly can," replied Chester. "I can easily afford to buy PrimroseHall from the Flint ladies and settle it on Ladybird. The money can go toLavinia, and she can return it to her grandmother Lovell. Then Ladybirdwill own Primrose Hall. The aunties can stay there as long as they live,and we'll all be happy."

  "Two of us will, at any rate," said Stella, as Chester kissed her.

  "Not until the two are one," he responded.

  When the plan was submitted to the Flint ladies, they hesitated more thana little. It seemed a fearful thing to have the Flint property pass intoother hands. But when those hands were Ladybird's little brown claws, italtered the matter, and they finally agreed.

  Lavinia was calmly pleased, and Ladybird was ecstatic.

  "Chester," she cried, "my own sweet, darling Chester, are you reallygoing to do this for me?"

  "I am," said Chester, "in token of my deep gratitude."

  "Yes," said Ladybird, nodding her wise little head, "I know, and youought to be grateful. For nobody but me could ever have got Stella foryou."

  "Quite so," said Chester.

  "And now," said Ladybird, "since you have decided to do this, why can'tit be done at once?"

  "It can," said Miss Priscilla.

  "Certainly," said Chester; "the deeds can be drawn up at once."

  "And can I go to London?" said Lavinia, with more amiability than she hadshown at any time since her arrival.

  "You can go," said Miss Priscilla, "as soon as we can find any one totake you. You're enough to drive any one distracted, the way you worryand fret about going back home."

  "That's what I'm talking about," cried Ladybird. "I didn't mean only todraw up the deeds at once: I mean, why can't Chester and Stella bemarried right away? What's the use of waiting?"

  "Ladybird," said Miss Priscilla, sternly, "you promised me you'd stopmeddling with Stella's affairs."

  "Yes, I know, aunty, and so I will after she's married. Chester can do itthen; can't you, Chester?"

  "I can, indeed," said the young man, heartily.

  "And you'd like to begin right away, wouldn't you?"

  "I would, indeed," he replied.

  "Then that's what I say," went on Ladybird. "You two get married now andgo to Europe on your wedding-trip, and you can take Lavinia over with youand leave her at her grandmother's."

  "I don't think that's at all a bad scheme," said Chester, looking atStella.

  "Ridiculous nonsense!" replied the girl. "We're to be married nextspring. That's my ultimatum, and you can't over-rule it this time,Ladybird!"

  "Can't I?" said Ladybird. "Well, maybe I can't. But if I were you, StellaRussell, and a beautiful young man wanted me to marry him, I wouldn'tkeep him waiting a thousand years. And if I were you, Mr. ChesterHumphreys, and wanted to marry a dear, beautiful, lovely angel likeStella, I'd just do it--that's what I'd do!"

  Nothing more was said then on the subject; but the ridiculous remark ofthe absurd child so affected Mr. Humphreys that that evening, alone withhis betrothed, he said a little diffidently:

  "Ladybird's arguments seem to me at least worthy of consideration."

  "Then let us consider them," said Stella, promptly; and before theconsideration was concluded, those two foolish young people had decidedthat Ladybird's advice was wisdom, and that the only possible date fortheir marriage was not later than the following month.

  "Of course," said Ladybird, when told of this decision--"of course I knewyou'd do it. There isn't anything else to do; and we'll have the weddingout in the orchard, under the apple-trees, and Lavinia and I will bebridesmaids, and oh, it will be perfectly lovely!"

  It _was_ perfectly lovely. The pretty outdoor wedding did full justice toall the traditions of Primrose Hall in the matter of festivities.

  Stella in white muslin and blue ribbons was a lovely country bride, andLavinia and Ladybird, in more white muslin and more blue ribbons, werelovely country bridesmaids. Their roles, however, were decidedlydifferent, for while Lavinia was quietly sweet and amiably indifferent,Ladybird was the mainspring of the whole affair. She was more than everlike a will-o'-the-wisp. She attended to everything, and flew here andthere with sparkling eyes and burning cheeks, in a wild state ofexcitement.

  "Isn't it just perfect?" she cried, tumbling into Aunt Priscilla's armsas the carriage drove away with the bride and groom. "Now they'll go offon their honeymoon, but they won't stay more than a fortnight. Chesterpromised me that. And then they'll come back, and we'll see them again,and then they'll go to England and take Lavinia. Of course I likeLavinia; she's very, very nice; but she wants so much to go to Englandthat I can't help being glad to have her go. No, that isn't true," shesaid as her aunt looked at her inquiringly; "I do like her, but I don'twant her here, and the real reason I'm glad she's going is because I wantto live here at Primrose Hall alone with you and Aunt Dorinda. Isn't thatwhat _you_ want, aunty?"

  Miss Priscilla Flint hesitated. The child Lavinia was the daughter of herown sister, and yet--

  "Say true, aunty!" said Ladybird.

  So Miss Priscilla Flint said "true."

  "It _is_ what I want, dearie," she said. "They say blood is thicker thanwater, but I don't know about that. If we had known Lavinia first, weprobably would have cared more for her than for you. But after you cameand twined your foolish, ridiculous little self around our old hearts, wewanted no one else. I don't know exactly what it is myself: there must besome reason."

  "It is because I love you," said Ladybird, simply.

  * * * * * *

  Transcriber's note:

  Obvious typographical errors were corrected without note.

  Non-standard spellings and dialect were left unchanged.

 
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