“Of course I want my new daughter there!’ he declared.
Susanne didn’t really mind. At least she’d be able to attend the wedding, and would be the envy of all the other staff when they returned. And Cindy Lou would be there, too, to watch over Samantha.
More Guests
The biggest surprise arrived the day before the wedding. Mrs. Flowers, now Mrs. Williams, and her new husband, Henry, had agreed to accept train tickets from William to come see their two darling girls get married. Both ladies wept with joy and apologized for their dismissal.
“But, my dear, I thought you knew, I thought that Henry explained to Miranda, that we had planned our retirement for some time,” said Mrs. Williams with some concern.
“As soon as both you girls were wed, we were to retire. We intended to train our replacements during the wedding preparations since that would have the added benefit of increasing staff for the event, and then bringing the numbers back down with our departure. Of course,” she sighed, “when Mrs. Belden became ill we put our plans on hold so as to take care of all of you.”
Henry hung his head. “Well I didn't quite explain it that way, my love.”
Looking at Miranda, he said softly, “I wanted to make sure you got on that train and got here safely. I would have told you anything at that point to get you out of the house and away from that crazy woman. As you did for your Penelope, we made sure each of the other staff members was carefully placed before acting out our own parts. Your father set it up this way.”
“Father has always like to control things,” commented Miranda dryly.
“A trait both of his daughters honor,” laughed Mrs. Williams.
“Well, I, for one, am hugely relieved to discover I was not the cause for your dismissal!” Celeste said, eyes round with sincerity. “I feared that was why I had not been made privy to your intended nuptials.”
“Oh, my dear! I know how sensitive is your conscience and must apologize myself that you ever felt responsible in the slightest for events that were well beyond your control.”
Miranda added, “I, too, was unaware of their intentions to wed until a dozen hours or so before the event. I felt so honored to be able to share the occasion with them and wished you there to attend as well, but was at the same time was relieved you and Samantha were safely gone.”
A great deal of hugging and a few tears cleared the air and lifted everyone’s spirits.
“We are so thankful you were able to be here. You’ve always been such a large part of our lives.”
Which speech engendered a few more tears and embraces, but occasioned great happiness for all there.
EPILOGUE
The wedding was beautiful, the ceremony especially touching. But all agreed the highlight came when both clerics gave an interwoven sermon expounding the joys of brotherhood and unity. At one point they alternated reading appropriate verses from Genesis, Galatians, First Corinthians, Romans, and more, expanding from the theme of unity of husband and wife to the broader concept of unity of community. Their styles were strikingly different and they even used that to their advantage to emphasis the unity of their message.
Years later, mention of the Unity Sermon would still cause heads to be bowed in tribute, not only to a wonderful feat of oratory but, in a nation where brother had fought brother and resentments still abounded, to the strength of the message of Love.
~~~
William had discussed with the editor at the River Times the need to keep the names of the brides out of the paper for their protection. However, a sermon of such magnitude and magnificence must receive its due, and it was reported in great detail, with large parts of the text quoted in full. Ultimately, a bound pamphlet of the entire text was created, with the cooperation of the participating clergy, who also elected to remain anonymous. As the Times said, “All parties involved requested anonymity that the Message be the focus, not the messengers.”
Years later, one of the guests, talking of the impact on himself of the sermon, turned to Chip and asked, “Were you there, too?”
And Chip replied with a gentle smile, “Oh, yes, I was in attendance.”
~~~
And they lived happily ever after! All of them!
The End
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ABOUT THIS SERIES
The Widows, Brides, and Secret Babies series presents Mail Order Brides with a twist—a secret baby, whose existence was not mentioned in any correspondence.
My volumes are scattered through this multi-author project, each novel standing alone. Here’s where you can find the rest of the series:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084WYL1QX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The more stories I write, the more I realize that it's not me you're interested in but my friends whose stories I share. A lot of times they are total strangers when they come knocking on my brain, but by the time I've written 20 or 30 thousand words about them, we are pretty close.
So, I have attached a list of places you can find me. Feel free to contact me with
