Part 55 (1/2)

”Well, what do _you_ think?” said Caesar. ”Shall the man slip off and get married to himself, think you?”

There was laughter among the people standing round, and she laughed also and stepped into the coach. Her mother followed her, crinkling in noisy old silk, and Nancy Joe came next, smelling of lavender and hair-oil.

Then her father got in, and then Pete, with his great warm presence.

A salute of six guns was fired straight up by the coach-windows. The horses pranced, Nancy screamed, and Grannie started, but Kate gave no sign. People were closing round the coach-door and shouting altogether as at a fair. ”Good luck to you, boy. Good luck! Good luck!” Pete was answering in a rolling voice that seemed to be lifting the low roof off, and at the same time flinging money out in handfuls as the horses moved away.

They were going slowly down the road. From somewhere in front came the sound of a clarionet. It was playing ”the Black and the Grey.”

Immediately behind there was the tramp of people walking with an even step, and on either side the rustle of an irregular crowd. The morning was warm and beautiful. Here and there the last of the golden cus.h.a.g glistened on the hedges with the first of the autumn gorse. They pa.s.sed two or three houses that had been made roofless by the recent storm, and once or twice they came on a fallen tree-trunk with its thin leaves yellowing on the fading gra.s.s.

Kate was floating vaguely through these sights and sounds. It was all like a dream to her--a waking dream in shadow-land. She knew where she was and where she was going. Some glimmering of hope was left yet.

She was half expecting a miracle of some sort. Philip would be at the church. Something supernatural would occur.

They drew up sharply, the gla.s.s of the windows rattled, and the talk that had been going on in the carriage ceased. ”Here we are,” cried Caesar; there were voices outside, and then the others inside stepped down. She saw a hand held out to her and knew whose it was before her eyes had risen to the face. Philip was there. He was helping her to alight.

”Am I to get down too?” she asked in a helpless way.

Caesar said something that made the people laugh again, and then she smiled like faded suns.h.i.+ne and took the hand of Philip. She held it a moment as if expecting him to say something, but he only raised his hat.

His face was white as marble. He will speak yet, she thought.

Over the gateway to the churchyard there was an arch of flowers and evergreens, with an inscription in coloured letters: ”G.o.d bless the happy pair.” The sloping path going down as to a dell was strewn with gilvers and slips of fuchsia.

At the bottom stood the old church mantled in ivy, like a rock of the sea covered by green moss.

Leaning on her father's arm she walked in at the porch. The church was full of people. As they pa.s.sed under the gallery there was a twittering as of birds. The Sunday-school girls were up there, looking down and talking eagerly. Then the coughing and hemming ceased; there was a sort of deep inspiration; the church seemed to hold its breath for a moment.

After that there were broken exclamations, and the coughing and hemming began again. ”How pale!”--”Not fit, poor thing.” Everybody was pitying her starved features.

”Stand here,” said somebody in a soft voice.

”Must I?” she said quite loudly.

All at once she was aware that she was alone before the communion rail, with the parson--old ruddy-faced Parson Quiggin--in his white surplice facing her. Some one came and stood beside her. It was Pete. She did not look at him, but she felt his warm presence again, and was relieved. It was like shelter from the eyes around. After a moment she turned about Philip was one step behind Pete. His head was bent.

Then the service began. The voice of the parson muttered words in a low voice, but she did not listen. She found herself trying to spell out the Manx text printed over the chancel arch: ”Bannet T'eshyn Ta Cheet ayns Ennyn y Chearn” (”Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”).

Suddenly the words the parson was speaking leapt into meaning and made her quiver.

”.... is commended of Saint Paul to be honourable among all men, and therefore not by any to be enterprised, nor taken in hand unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly----”

She seemed to know that Philip's eyes were on her. They were on the back of her head, and the veil over her face began to shake.

The voice of the parson was going on again--

”Therefore if any man can show just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace.”

She turned half around. Her eyes fell on Philip. His face was colourless, almost fierce; his forehead was deathly white. She was sure that something was about to happen.

Now was the moment for the miracle. It seemed to her as if the whole congregation were beginning to divine what tie there was between him and her. She did not care, for he would soon declare it. He was going to do so now; he had raised his head, he was about to speak.