more than six months have passed away, and spring has come. lucy carne, strong and well again, is able to walk without even a trace of a limp. mona has grown an inch or two, has put up her hair, and lengthened her skirts.
"you see i must learn to do it nicely by the time miss grace wants me," she explained, when, on christmas day, she appeared for the first time with it coiled about her head. and, for a few weeks after, knew no peace of mind. "i shall never keep it up," she sighed, "unless i take a hammer and nails and fix it to my head that way."
lucy complained that she spent a fortune in hairpins, and her father said he could always trace where mona had been by the hairpins strewing the place.
lucy and she had been busy since the new year came in making her uniform, blue print frocks, and large white linen aprons for the mornings, and a brown cloth dress and muslin aprons for the afternoons. she was to have muslin caps too, and white collars and cuffs.
"i don't think black is really more serviceable than any other colour," miss lester had said when she came to talk to lucy about mona, "and i think i would like to have something new. so i want my servants to wear a pretty warm brown."
mona was enraptured. the idea of wearing a uniform was delightful enough, but to have one unlike what other servants wore was doubly attractive. and when, on top of that, miss grace had said she had been thinking a great deal about mona's pretty suggestion for her wedding day, and would be very happy indeed if her bible-class girls would carry it out, mona thought that life was almost too full of happiness. "i'm afraid i shall wake up and find it's all a dream," she said pathetically. "mother, i'm not dreaming, am i?"
"and i would like to give you all the muslin to make your dresses of," added miss grace.
lucy looked at her gratefully. "it's too good of you, miss, and you with so much else to think about, and such a lot to get. i don't know how to thank you."
"then don't try," said miss grace. "i understand. i shall leave it to you," turning smilingly to mona, "to provide the flowers you are going to throw."
"oh, we are all doing our best to get plenty of those," said lucy. "there's a proper rivalry all through seacombe, trying which of us can get the best. there won't be any out-door roses, but we've all got bushes in our windows."
seacombe folk that spring tried to outdo each other in their cleaning, too. as soon as the march winds died down, and the days grew light and fine such a fury of whitewashing and painting, scrubbing and polishing set in, as had never been known in seacombe before. by the middle of april there was not a whitewashing brush left, nor a yard of net for curtains.
"it dazzles one to walk up the street when the sun shines," dr. edwards complained. "what's the meaning of it all. is it any special year——"
"it's your year, sir," laughed lucy. "that's the meaning of it! it's all for your wedding day. you see, sir, you have been so good to us all, we want to do what we can to show you and miss grace what we feel towards you both."
dr. edwards was touched. seacombe folk did not talk much of their feelings, and he had never dreamed how much they felt. "it is very, very kind of you all," he said, "and the knowledge will make us more happy than all our wedding presents put together."
"and we are all praying, sir, that the day may be as perfect a one as ever anybody knew," chimed in mrs. row, who was standing close by.
and surely no people ever had their prayers more graciously granted. the sun shone in a cloudless sky from morning till night. a soft little breeze from the sea tempered the warmth, and set all the flags and streamers waving. and as the bride walked down the churchyard path on her husband's arm, it blew the rose petals over her, pink, and crimson, and white.
mona, her wishes realised, wore a blue sash and forget-me-nots in her hat; millie stood next her with pink roses in hers, and a pink sash. patty was a blue girl, and philippa a pink one. and though the baskets they carried held not so very many roses, they were flowing over with other flowers, for the girls had walked miles to gather bluebells and primroses, violets and delicate anemones, the air smelt sweetly of spring, and the joy of spring was in their faces, and in their hearts as well.
and as the bride walked away down the path, mona looked after her with tender, wistful eyes, and an unspoken prayer in her heart, that she might be given the grace, and the power to serve her new mistress well and loyally, and to do her share towards making her new life in her new home as happy as life could be.
