第220章

Occasion also had been taken of this happy moment to make up, or rather to get rid of the last shreds of the last feud that had so long separated Dr Thorne from his own relatives. The Thornes of Ullathorne had made many overtures in a covert way. But our doctor had contrived to reject them. 'They would not receive Mary as their cousin,' said he, 'and I will go nowhere that she cannot go.' But now all this was altered. Mrs Gresham would certainly be received in any house in the county. And thus, Mr Thorne of Ullathorne, an amiable, popular old bachelor, came to the wedding; and so did his maiden sister Miss Thorne, than whose no kinder heart glowed all through Barsetshire.

'My dear,' said she to Mary, kissing her, and offering her some little tribute, 'I am very glad to make your acquaintance; very. It was not her fault,' she added, speaking to herself. 'And now that she will be a Gresham, that need not be any longer be thought of.' Nevertheless, could Miss Thorne have spoken her inward thoughts out loud, she would have declared, that Frank would have done better to have borne his poverty than marry wealth without blood. But then, there are but few so stanch as Miss Thorne; perhaps none in the county--always excepting the lady Amelia.

And Miss Dunstable, also, was a bridesmaid. 'Oh, no' said she, when asked; 'you should have them young and pretty.' But she gave way when she found that Mary did not flatter her by telling her that she was either the one or the other. 'The truth is,' said Miss Dunstable, 'I have always been a little in love with your Frank, and so I shall do it for his sake.' There were but four: the other two were the Gresham twins. Lady Arabella exerted herself greatly in framing hints to induce Mary to ask some of the De Courcy ladies to do her so much honour; but on this head Mary would please herself. 'Rank,' she said to Beatrice, with a curl on her lip, 'has its drawbacks--and must put up with them.'

And now I find that I have not one page--not half a page--for the wedding-dress. But what matters? Will it not be all found written in the columns of the Morning Post?

And thus Frank married money, and became a great man. Let us hope that he will be a happy man. As the time of the story has been brought down so near to the present era, it is not practicable for the novelist to tell much of his future career. When I last heard from Barsetshire, it seemed to be quite settled that he is to take the place of one of the old members at the next election; and they say, also, that there is no chance of any opposition. I have heard, too, that there have been many very private consultations between him and various gentlemen of the county, with reference to the hunt; and the general feeling is said to be that the hounds should go to Boxall Hill.

At Boxall Hill the young people established themselves on their return from the continent. And that reminds me that one word must be said of Lady Scatcherd.

'You will always stay here with us,' said Mary to her, caressing her ladyship's rough hand, and looking kindly into that kind face.

But Lady Scatcherd would not consent to this. 'I will come and see you sometimes, and then I shall enjoy myself. Yes, I will come and see you, and my own dear boy.' The affair was ended by her taking Mrs Opie Green's cottage, in order that she might be near the doctor; Mrs Opie Green having married--somebody.

And of whom else must we say a word? Patience, also, of course, got a husband--or will do so. Dear Patience! it would be a thousand pities that so good a wife should be lost to the world. Whether Miss Dunstable will ever be married, or Augusta Gresham, or Mr Moffat, or any of the tribe of the De Courcys--except Lady Amelia--I cannot say. They have all of them still their future before them. That Bridget was married to Thomas--that I am able to assert; for I know that Janet was much put out by their joint desertion.

Lady Arabella has not yet lost her admiration for Mary, and Mary, in return, behaves admirably. Another event is expected, and her ladyship is almost as anxious about that as she was about the wedding. 'A matter, you know, of much importance in the county!' she whispered to Lady De Courcy.

Nothing can be more happy than the intercourse between the squire and his son. What their exact arrangements are, we need not specially inquire; but the demon of pecuniary embarrassment has lifted his black wings from the demesne of Greshamsbury.

And now we have but one word left for the doctor. 'If you don't come and dine with me,' said the squire to him, when they found themselves both deserted, 'mind I shall come and dine with you.' And on this principle they seem to act. Dr Thorne continues to extend his practice, to the great disgust of Dr Fillgrave; and when Mary suggested to him that he should retire, he almost boxed her ears. He knows the way, however, to Boxall Hill as well as he ever did, and is willing to acknowledge, that the tea there is almost as good as it ever was at Greshamsbury.