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Read book online ยซLittle Women by Louisa May Alcott (e books free to read TXT) ๐Ÿ“•ยป.   Author   -   Louisa May Alcott



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well, for laughter is ready when hearts are light. There was no display of gifts, for they were already in the little house, nor was there an elaborate breakfast, but a plentiful lunch of cake and fruit, dressed with flowers. Mr. Laurence and Aunt March shrugged and smiled at one another when water, lemonade, and coffee were found to be the only sorts of nectar which the three Hebes carried round. No one said anything, however, till Laurie, who insisted on serving the bride, appeared before her, with a loaded salver in his hand and a puzzled expression on his face.

โ€œHas Jo smashed all the bottles by accident?โ€ he whispered, โ€œor am I merely laboring under a delusion that I saw some lying about loose this morning?โ€

โ€œNo; your grandfather kindly offered us his best, and Aunt March actually sent some, but father put away a little for Beth, and despatched the rest to the Soldiersโ€™ Home. You know he thinks that wine should be used only in illness, and mother says that neither she nor her daughters will ever offer it to any young man under her roof.โ€

Meg spoke seriously, and expected to see Laurie frown or laugh; but he did neither, for after a quick look at her, he said, in his impetuous way, โ€œI like that! for Iโ€™ve seen enough harm done to wish other women would think as you do.โ€

โ€œYou are not made wise by experience, I hope?โ€ and there was an anxious accent in Megโ€™s voice.

โ€œNo; I give you my word for it. Donโ€™t think too well of me, either; this is not one of my temptations. Being brought up where wine is as common as water, and almost as harmless, I donโ€™t care for it; but when a pretty girl offers it, one doesnโ€™t like to refuse, you see.โ€

โ€œBut you will, for the sake of others, if not for your own. Come, Laurie, promise, and give me one more reason to call this the happiest day of my life.โ€

A demand so sudden and so serious made the young man hesitate a moment, for ridicule is often harder to bear than self-denial. Meg knew that if he gave the promise he would keep it at all costs; and, feeling her power, used it as a woman may for her friendโ€™s good. She did not speak, but she looked up at him with a face made very eloquent by happiness, and a smile which said, โ€œNo one can refuse me anything today.โ€ Laurie certainly could not; and, with an answering smile, he gave her his hand, saying heartily, โ€œI promise, Mrs. Brooke!โ€

โ€œI thank you, very, very much.โ€

โ€œAnd I drink โ€˜long life to your resolution,โ€™ Teddy,โ€ cried Jo, baptizing him with a splash of lemonade, as she waved her glass, and beamed approvingly upon him.

So the toast was drunk, the pledge made, and loyally kept, in spite of many temptations; for, with instinctive wisdom, the girls had seized a happy moment to do their friend a service, for which he thanked them all his life.

After lunch, people strolled about, by twos and threes, through house and garden, enjoying the sunshine without and within. Meg and John happened to be standing together in the middle of the grass-plot, when Laurie was seized with an inspiration which put the finishing touch to this unfashionable wedding.

โ€œAll the married people take hands and dance round the new-made husband and wife, as the Germans do, while we bachelors and spinsters prance in couples outside!โ€ cried Laurie, promenading down the path with Amy, with such infectious spirit and skill that everyone else followed their example without a murmur. Mr. and Mrs. March, Aunt and Uncle Carrol, began it; others rapidly joined in; even Sallie Moffat, after a momentโ€™s hesitation, threw her train over her arm, and whisked Ned into the ring. But the crowning joke was Mr. Laurence and Aunt March; for when the stately old gentleman chassรฉed solemnly up to the old lady, she just tucked her cane under her arm, and hopped briskly away to join hands with the rest, and dance about the bridal pair, while the young folks pervaded the garden, like butterflies on a midsummer day.

Want of breath brought the impromptu ball to a close, and then people began to go.

โ€œI wish you well, my dear, I heartily wish you well; but I think youโ€™ll be sorry for it,โ€ said Aunt March to Meg, adding to the bridegroom, as he led her to the carriage, โ€œYouโ€™ve got a treasure, young man, see that you deserve it.โ€

โ€œThat is the prettiest wedding Iโ€™ve been to for an age, Ned, and I donโ€™t see why, for there wasnโ€™t a bit of style about it,โ€ observed Mrs. Moffat to her husband, as they drove away.

โ€œLaurie, my lad, if you ever want to indulge in this sort of thing, get one of those little girls to help you, and I shall be perfectly satisfied,โ€ said Mr. Laurence, settling himself in his easy-chair to rest, after the excitement of the morning.

โ€œIโ€™ll do my best to gratify you, sir,โ€ was Laurieโ€™s unusually dutiful reply, as he carefully unpinned the posy Jo had put in his buttonhole.

The little house was not far away, and the only bridal journey Meg had was the quiet walk with John, from the old home to the new. When she came down, looking like a pretty Quakeress in her dove-colored suit and straw bonnet tied with white, they all gathered about her to say โ€œgoodbye,โ€ as tenderly as if she had been going to make the grand tour.

โ€œDonโ€™t feel that I am separated from you, Marmee dear, or that I love you any the less for loving John so much,โ€ she said, clinging to her mother, with full eyes, for a moment. โ€œI shall come every day, father, and expect to keep my old place in all your hearts, though I am married. Beth is going to be with me a great deal, and the other girls will drop in now and then to laugh at my housekeeping struggles.

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