Why，youknewMrs。GreggoryandAlice，ofcourse——andPete，’smiledMarie。Andwasn’tPetehappy？Billysaysshe’dhavehadPeteifshehadnooneelse；thattherewouldn’thavebeenanywedding，anyway，ifithadn’tbeenforhistelephoningAuntHannahthatnight。’
Yes；Willtoldme。’
AsforTommyandtheothers——mostofthemwerethosepeoplethatBillyhadatherhomelastsummerforatwoweeks’vacation——
people，youknow，toopoortogivethemselvesone，andtooproudtoacceptonefromordinarycharity。Billy’sbeenfollowingthemupanddoinglittlethingsforthemeversince——sugarplumsandfrostingontheircake，shecallsit；andtheyadoreher，ofcourse。Ithinkitwaslovelyofhertohavethem，andtheydidhavesuchagoodtime!YoushouldhaveseenTommywhenyouplayedthatweddingmarchforBillytoentertheroom。HispoorlittlefacewassotransfiguredwithjoythatIalmostcried，justtolookathim。
Billysayshelovesmusic——poorlittlefellow!’
Well，Ihopethey’llbehappy，inspiteofKate’sdolefulprophecies。Certainlytheylookedhappyenoughto-day，’declaredCyril，pattingayawnasherosetohisfeet。IfancyWillandAuntHannaharelonesome，though，aboutnow，’
headded。
Yes，’smiledMarie，mistily，asshegatheredupherwork。IknowwhatAuntHannah’sdoing。She’shelpingRosaputthehousetorights，andshe’sstoppingtocryovereveryslipperandhandkerchiefofBilly’sshefinds。Andshe’lldothatuntilthatfunnyclockofhersstrikestwelve，thenshe’llsay`Oh，mygriefandconscience——midnight!’Butthenextminuteshe’llrememberthatit’sonlyhalf-pasteleven，afterall，andshe’llsendRosatobedandsitpattingBilly’sslipperinherlaptillitreallyismidnightbyalltheotherclocks。’
Cyrillaughedappreciatively。
Well，IknowwhatWillisdoing，’hedeclared。
WillisinBertram’sdendozingbeforethefireplacewithSpunkiecurledupinhislap。’
Asithappened，boththesesurmiseswerenotfarfromright。IntheStrata，theHenshaws’oldBeaconStreethome，Williamwassittingbeforethefireplacewiththecatinhislap，buthewasnotdozing。Hewastalking。
Spunkie，’hewassaying，yourmaster，Bertram，gotmarriedto-day——andtoMissBilly。He’llbebringingherhomeoneofthesedays——yournewmistress。Andsuchamistress!
Neverdidcatorhousehaveabetter!
Justthink；forthefirsttimeinyearsthisoldplaceistoknowthetouchofawoman’shand——andthat’swhatithasn’tknownforalmosttwentyyears，exceptforthosefewshortmonthssixyearsagowhenadark-eyedgirlandalittlegraykittenthatwasSpunk，yourpredecessor，youknowblewinandblewoutagainbeforewescarcelyknewtheywerehere。ThatgirlwasMissBilly，andshewasadearthen，justassheisnow，onlynowshe’scomingheretostay。She’scominghome，Spunkie；andshe’llmakeitahomeforyou，forme，andforallofus。Uptonow，youknow，ithasn’treallybeenahome，foryears——justusmen，so。It’llbeverydifferent，Spunkie，asyou’llsoonfindout。Nowmind，madam!Wemustshowthatweappreciateallthis：notempers，notantrums，noshowingofclaws，noleavingourcoats——eitheryoursormine——onthedrawing-roomchairs，notrackinginofmudoncleanrugsandfloors!Forwe’regoingtohaveahome，Spunkie——ahome!’
AtHillside，AuntHannahwas，indeed，helpingRosatoputthehousetorights，asMariehadsaid。Shewascrying，too，overagloveshehadfoundonBilly’spiano；butshewascryingoversomethingelse，also。NotonlyhadshelostBilly，butshehadlostherhome。
Tobesure，nothinghadbeensaidduringthatnightmareofaweekofhurryandconfusionaboutAuntHannah’sfuture；butAuntHannahknewverywellhowitmustbe。ThisdearlittlehouseonthesideofCoreyHillwasBilly’shome，andBillywouldnotneeditanylonger。Itwouldbesold，ofcourse；andshe，AuntHannah，wouldgobacktoasecond-storyfront’andlonelinessinsomeBackBayboarding-house；andasecondstoryfrontandlonelinesswouldnotbeeasynow，aftertheseyearsofhome——andBilly。
Nowonder，indeed，thatAuntHannahsatcryingandpattingthelittlewhitegloveinherhand。Nowonder，too，that——beingAuntHannah——
shereachedfortheshawlnearbyandputiton，shiveringly。EvenJuly，to-night，wascold——toAuntHannah。
InyetanotherhomethateveningwastheweddingofBillyNeilsonandBertramHenshawuppermostinthoughtandspeech。InacertainlittleSouth-Endflatwhere，intworentedrooms，livedAliceGreggoryandhercrippledmother，AlicewastalkingtoMr。M。J。Arkwright，commonlyknowntohisfriendsasMaryJane，’
owingtothemysteryinwhichhehadforsolongshroudedhisname。
Arkwrightto-nightwasplainlymoodyandillatease。
You’renotlistening。You’renotlisteningatall，’complainedAliceGreggoryatlast，reproachfully。
Withavisibleeffortthemanrousedhimself。
IndeedIam，’hemaintained。
Ithoughtyou’dbeinterestedinthewedding。Youusedtobefriends——youandBilly。’
Thegirl’svoicestillvibratedwithreproach。
Therewasamoment’ssilence；then，alittleharshly，themansaid：
Perhaps——becauseIwantedtobemorethan——afriend——iswhyyou’renotsatisfiedwithmyinterestnow。’
AlookthatwasalmostterrorcametoAliceGreggory’seyes。Sheflushedpainfully，thengrewverywhite。
Youmean——’
Yes，’henoddeddully，withoutlookingup。
Icaredtoomuchforher。IsupposedHenshawwasjustafriend——tilltoolate。’
Therewasabreathlesshushbefore，alittleunsteadily，thegirlstammered：
Oh，I’msosorry——soverysorry!I——I
didn’tknow。’
No，ofcourseyoudidn’t。I’vealmosttoldyou，though，lotsoftimes；you’vebeensogoodtomealltheseweeks。’Heraisedhisheadnow，andlookedather，frankcomradeshipinhiseyes。
Thegirlstirredrestlessly。Hereyesswervedalittleunderhislevelgaze。
Oh，butI’vedonenothing——n-nothing，’shestammered。Then，atthelighttapofcrutchesonabarefloorsheturnedinobviousrelief。
Oh，here’smother。She’sbeeninvisitingwithMrs。Delano，ourlandlady。Mother，Mr。Arkwrightishere。’
Meanwhile，speedingnorthasfastassteamcouldcarrythem，werethebrideandgroom。
Thewondrousnessofthefirsthouroftheirjourneysidebysidehadbecomeajoyouscertitudethatalwaysitwastobelikethisnow。
Bertram，’beganthebride，afteralongminuteofeloquentsilence。
Yes，love。’
Youknowourweddingwasverydifferentfrommostweddings。’
Ofcourseitwas!’
Yes，but_really_itwas。Nowlisten。’Thebride’svoicegrewtenderlyearnest。Ithinkourmarriageisgoingtobedifferent，too。’
Different？’
Yes。’Billy’stonewasemphatic。Therearesomanycommon，everydaymarriageswhere——where——Why，Bertram，asifyoucouldeverbetomelike——likeMr。Carletonis，forinstance!’
LikeMr。Carletonis——toyou？’Bertram’svoicewasfranklypuzzled。
No，no!AsMr。CarletonistoMrs。Carleton，Imean。’
Oh!’Bertramsubsidedinrelief。
AndtheGrahamsandWhartons，andtheFreddieAgnews，and——andalotofothers。
Why，Bertram，I’veseentheGrahamsandtheWhartonsnotevenspeaktoeachotherawholeevening，whenthey’vebeenatadinner，orsomething；andI’veseenMrs。Carletonnotevenseemtoknowherhusbandcameintotheroom。
Idon’tmeanquarrel，dear。Ofcoursewe’dnever_quarrel!_ButImeanI’msureweshallnevergetusedto——toyoubeingyou，andIbeingI。’
Indeedwesha’n’t，’agreedBertram，rapturously。
Oursisgoingtobesuchabeautifulmarriage!’
Ofcourseitwillbe。’
Andwe’llbesohappy!’
Ishallbe，andIshalltrytomakeyouso。’
AsifIcouldbeanythingelse，’sighedBilly，blissfully。Andnowwe_can’t_haveanymisunderstandings，yousee。’
Ofcoursenot。Er——what’sthat？’
Why，Imeanthat——thatwecan’teverrepeathosemiserableweeksofmisunderstanding。
Everythingisallexplainedup。I_know_，now，thatyoudon’tloveMissWinthrop，orjustgirls——anygirl——topaint。Youloveme。Notthetiltofmychin，northeturnofmyhead；but_me_。’
Ido——justyou。’Bertram’seyesgavethecaresshislipswouldhavegivenhaditnotbeenforthepresenceofthemanintheseatacrosstheaisleofthesleeping-car。
Andyou——youknownowthatIloveyou——justyou？’
NotevenArkwright？’
NotevenArkwright，’smiledBilly。
Therewasthebriefestofhesitations；then，alittleconstrainedly，Bertramasked：
Andyousaidyou——younever_had_caredforArkwright，didn’tyou？’
ForthesecondtimeinherlifeBillywasthankfulthatBertram’squestionhadturnedupon_her_
loveforArkwright，notArkwright’sloveforher。
InBilly’sopinion，aman’sunrequitedloveforagirlwashissecret，nothers，andwascertainlyonethatthegirlhadnorighttotell。OncebeforeBertramhadaskedherifshehadevercaredforArkwright，andthenshehadansweredemphatically，asshedidnow：
Never，dear。’
Ithoughtyousaidso，’murmuredBertram，relaxingalittle。
Idid；besides，didn’tItellyou？’shewentonairily，Ithinkhe’llmarryAliceGreggory。
AlicewrotemeallthetimeIwasaway，and——
oh，shedidn’tsayanythingdefinite，I’lladmit，’
confessedBilly，withanarchsmile；butshespokeofhisbeingtherelots，andtheyusedtoknoweachotheryearsago，yousee。Therewasalmostaromancethere，Ithink，beforetheGreggoryslosttheirmoneyandmovedawayfromalltheirfriends。’
Well，hemayhaveher。She’sanicegirl——
amightynicegirl，’answeredBertram，withtheunmistakablysatisfiedairofthemanwhoknowshehimselfpossessesthenicestgirlofthemall。
Billy，readingunerringlythetriumphinhisvoice，grewsuddenlygrave。Sheregardedherhusbandwithathoughtfulfrown；thenshedrewaprofoundsigh。
Whew!’laughedBertram，whimsically。Sosoonasthis？’
Bertram!’Billy’svoicewastragic。
Yes，mylove。’Thebridegroompulledhisfaceintosobriety；thenBillyspoke，withsolemnimpressiveness。
Bertram，Idon’tknowathingabout——
cooking——exceptwhatI’vebeenlearninginRosa’scook-bookthislastweek。’
Bertramlaughedsoloudthatthemanacrosstheaisleglancedoverthetopofhispapersurreptitiously。
Rosa’scook-book!Isthatwhatyouweredoingallthisweek？’
Yes；thatis——Itriedsohardtolearnsomething，’stammeredBilly。ButI’mafraidIdidn’t——much；thereweresomanythingsformetothinkof，youknow，withonlyaweek。IbelieveI_could_makepeachfritters，though。TheywerethelastthingI
studied。’
Bertramlaughedagain，uproariously；but，atBilly’sunchanginglytragicface，hegrewsuddenlyverygraveandtender。
Billy，dear，Ididn’tmarryyouto——togetacook，’hesaidgently。