excerpt
Will thought she looked lovely. He heard his wife draw in a quick
breath, and someone behind him – he thought it was Celia Stratton
– said in a whisper, “Just look at her. How could a maid afford
clothes like that? He must have been sending her money.”
“Would you look at Ben Fielding!” Janet Peterson, from Peterson’s
Garage, spoke so loudly that the women on either side of her
hissed a warning. Behind the tree Paula Martin giggled while Mary
Peterson rolled her eyes and moaned, “Oh, Mom!”
“He’s had a haircut and he’s wearing a suit,” Janet said, this time
in a stage whisper. “It must have been his grandpa’s. I’ve never seen
him in a suit before.”
“Of course you have, Janet,” Molly Andrews said impatiently.
“You were here when ….” She broke off suddenly, her cheeks flaming
as she glanced furtively around her.
“It’s all right, Molly,” said Celia Stratton, “Jean McKinnon isn’t
here. But you could hardly expect her to come today, could you?”
The attention of the crowd was drawn again to the rectory as the
door opened. A squat, untidy little woman appeared on the front
steps. They heard the vicar say, “Thank you, Millie,” and the door
closed softly behind her. Millie Osborne, her head thrown back, her
shoulders as straight as anyone had ever seen them, came down the
walk behind the newlyweds. She directed an almost toothless grin
at the people who stood on the street.
“Huh,” said Georgina Porter from Porter’s Cafe. “Look at that
one, would you? Just because she’s Mrs. Carson’s charwoman she
gets asked to be second witness at rectory weddings, then she brags
about it for weeks.”
Emma Martin nodded in agreement. “And her being the wife of
the town drayman … and living on the other side of the coulee at
that. You’d think Reverend Carson could ask someone from uptown.
Don’t you agree, Mr. Andrews?”
But Will wasn’t listening. He had taken note of Sarah’s downcast
eyes and white face and, to his wife’s chagrin, he stepped from the
crowd and made his way along the street to where the bride and
groom paused beside Ben’s pickup. Sarah looked up and a smile
spread across her face.
“Mr. Andrews, how nice of you to come.”
Libros Libertad 