Ma to look over and approve and they had a wonderful
time with the two best hens in the hen-coop for dinner. Ryan
incidentally gave his approval to Betty.

During these visits Reyburn was making great strides in the wisdom and
the knowledge of the love of God. One could not be in that family over
Sunday and not feel the atmosphere of a Christian home. Even Jimmie felt
it and said he liked it; that he wanted his house to be that way when
he had one. He went obediently to church with Jane, and marveled at the
way social classes were getting all muddled up in his world.

The Christmas time was coming on when the house finally got itself
completed and was ready for living, and with holly and mistletoe and
laurel they made it gay for the wedding. Betty spent several days with
Jane in New York picking out Jane's "trooso" things, and then a few more
days doing some shopping of her own, and at last the wedding day
arrived.

Nobody thought it queer, though Jimmie felt just the least bit shy when
the two trustees of Betty's estate arrived the night before from Boston
and incorporated themselves into the wedding party. Ma seemed to think
it was all right, so nobody said anything about it.

But after the ceremony when Jane and Jimmie were happily married, Jane
looking very young and pretty indeed in Betty's old wedding gown, veil
and slippers and all, and standing under the holly bell in the laurel
arch to be congratulated just as it had been arranged, there suddenly
came a hush over everybody. Jane noticed for the first time that Betty
was not anywhere in the room. Then everybody's eyes went to the wide
staircase, and here came Betty trailing down the stairs on the arm of
Reyburn, wearing still the little white organdie she had worn a few
minutes before as a bridesmaid, only she had thrown aside the
rose-colored sash and put over her brow a simple tulle veil, and her
arms were full of little pink rosebuds and lilies of the valley.

Up they walked in front of the minister just where the others had stood,
and were married with the same sweet simple service, and everybody was
so surprised and delighted and excited and breathless that Bob simply
couldn't stand it. He slipped into the little music room where the piano
had been installed, turned a handspring on the floor, and then sat down
and played chopsticks on the piano with all the pedals on, till Ma had
to send Emily in to stop him.

* * * *