The day of the wedding arrived. At half past nine in the morning, Daniel
appeared in Jordan's house. He wore an afternoon suit and a high hat!
He was vexed, and villanous to behold, a picture of misery.
Benno, the man of the world, was forced to leave the room. No sooner was
he outside than he laughed so heartily that he fell into a clothes
basket. He did not approve of this marriage; he was ashamed to tell his
friends about it.
Gertrude wore a plain street dress and a little virgin bonnet, then
prescribed by fashion. She sat by the table, and gazed into space with
wide-opened eyes.
Eleanore came into the room with a wreath of myrtle. "You must put this
on, Gertrude," she said, "just to please us; just to make us feel that
you are a real bride. Otherwise you look too sober, too much as though
you two were going to the recorder's office on profane business."
"Where did you get that wreath?" asked Jordan.
"I found it in an old chest; it is mother's bridal wreath."
"Really? Mother's bridal wreath?" murmured Jordan, as he looked at the
faded myrtle.
"Put it on, Gertrude," Eleanore again requested, but Gertrude looked
first at Daniel, and then laid it to one side.
Eleanore went up to the mirror, and put it on her own head.
"Don't do that, child," said Jordan with a melancholy smile.
"Superstitious people say that you will remain an old maid forever, if
you wear the wreath of another."
"Then I will remain an old maid, and gladly so," said Eleanore.
She turned away from the mirror, and looked at Daniel half unconscious
of what she was doing. The blond of her eyelashes had turned almost
grey, the red of her lips had been dotted with little spots from her
smiling, and her neck was like something liquid and disembodied.
Daniel saw all this. He looked at the Undine-like figure of the girl. It
seemed to him that he had not seen her since the day of his return, that
he had not noticed that she had become more mature, more beautiful, and
more lovely. All of a sudden he felt as if he were going to swoon. It
went through him like a flash: Here, here was what he had forgotten;
here was the countenance, the eye, the figure, the movement that had
stood before him, and he, fool, unspeakable fool, had been struck by
blindness.
Gertrude had a fearful suspicion of the experience he was going through.
She arose, and looked at Daniel in horror. He hastened up to her as if
he were fleeing, and seized her hands. Eleanore, believing she had
aroused Daniel's displeasure by some word or gesture, snatched the
myrtle wreath from her hair.
Jordan had paid no attention to these incidents. Bringing at last his
restless pacing back and forth to an end, he took out his watch, looked
at it, and said it was time they were going. Eleanore, who had displayed
a most curious disposition the whole morning, asked them to wait a
minute. Before they could find out why she wished them to wait, the door
bell rang, and she ran out.
She returned with a radiant expression on her face; Marian Nothafft
followed her. Marian composed herself only with extreme difficulty. Her
eyes roamed about over the circle of people before her, partly as if she
were frightened, partly as if she were looking for some one.
Mother and son stood face to face in absolute silence. That was the work
of Eleanore.
Marian said she was living with her sister Theresa; that she had arrived
the day before; and that she wished to return this evening.
"I am glad, Mother, that you could come," said Daniel with a stifled
voice.
Marian laid her hand on his head; she then went up to Gertrude, and did
the same.
After the wedding, Jordan gave a luncheon for his children. In the
afternoon they all started off in two hired coaches. Daniel had never
seen his mother so cheerful; but it was useless to ask her to prolong
her visit. While this was being discussed, she and Eleanore exchanged
knowing glances.
As evening drew on, Daniel and Gertrude betook themselves to their home.