The Ethels held each others' hands as they stood behind the bride,
wreaths of Queen Anne's Lace over their arms, and a delicate blossom or
two tucked under a pale blue ribbon in each filmy white hat. It seemed
but a moment to them and it was all over and Miss Gertrude was no
longer "Miss Gertrude" but "Mrs. Edward." The doctor seemed to have
put on new dignity and the girls found themselves wondering if they
should ever call him "Edward" again.
Gertrude swept by them with her eyes full of happiness, but when she
reached the back of the church she gave a lovely smile to the women and
children of Rose House seated in the last pews.
"I want every one to see my lovely presents," Miss Gertrude had said,
so the guests exclaimed over the pretty things grouped in the library.
It was all simple and happy, and a bit of pathos at the end of the
afternoon brought no depression. Gertrude was just about to go
upstairs to change her dress and she stood with her maids and ushers,
around her, exchanging a laughing word or two with them, when a little
procession made its way toward her from the dining-room. It consisted
of all the women and children from Rose House, dressed in the fresh
clothes which the women had made for themselves and the children during
the summer.
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