old himself, were not altogether unsatisfactory; it was not
likely that she would survive him. They were of about the same age; he
had never known what it was to be ill, and she, although not such an
invalid as she fancied herself, was still not strong. If she did not
survive him he would have the whole business, subject only to the paltry
annuity of two hundred and forty pounds a year to the three children.
If, the most unlikely thing in the world, she did survive him--well, it
mattered not a jot in that case who the mill went to.

So the terms were settled, the necessary deeds were drawn up by a
solicitor, and signed by both parties. Mrs. Sankey recovered her
spirits, and the preparations for the wedding went on.

Ned had intended to absent himself from the ceremony, but Mr. Porson,
guessing that such might be his intention, had talked the matter gravely
over with him. He had pointed out to Ned that his absence would in the
first place be an act of great disrespect to his mother; that in the
second place it would cause general comment, and would add to the
unfavorable impression which his mother's early remarriage had
undoubtedly created; and that, lastly, it would justify Mr. Mulready
in regarding him as hostile to the marriage, and, should trouble
subsequently arise, he would be able to point to it in self
justification, and as a proof that Ned had from the first determined to
treat him as an enemy.

So Ned was present at his mother's marriage. Quiet as the wedding
was, for only two or three acquaintances were asked to be present, the
greater part of Marsden were assembled in the church.

The marriage had created considerable comment. The death of Captain
Sankey in saving a child's life had rendered his widow an object of
general sympathy, and people felt that not only was this marriage within
eighteen months of Captain Sankey's death almost indecent, but that it
was somehow a personal wrong to them, and that they had been defrauded
in their sympathy.

Therefore the numerous spectators of the marriage were critical rather
than approving. They could find nothing to find fault with, however, in
the bride's appearance. She was dressed in a dove colored silk, and with
her fair hair and pale complexion looked quite young, and, as every one
admitted, pretty. Mr. Mulready, as usual, was smiling, and seemed to
convey by the looks which he cast round that he regarded the assemblage
as a personal compliment to himself.