Rainbow Cottage (32 page)

A few days before he left them, there was a joyous gathering of the clans. For when they heard their brother who had been lost was found and that there was to be a wedding in the family, the children and grandchildren trooped home, all but Jessica, who was halfway round the world with her bridegroom.

Mary and Damaris Deane had been home several weeks; the Van Dykes cut short their outing; the family in Mexico rushed up at once to see their long-lost uncle Andrew before it was too late; and Max with his boy came up from New York several times before his brother died.

So they were all there the day of the wedding, a subdued happiness upon each. There was no sadness to think that the poor storm-tossed life of Andrew Ainslee was gathered home to God.

During the few days he had been with them, they had seen the very light of heaven in his face, and he had talked with each of them about the change that had come to him, until his going to a real heaven had become to them a fact. They had known him before as a reckless scapegrace, but he left a testimony behind him that would never be forgotten by his family.

So Grandmother went about her happy preparations for the simple wedding with a light in her eyes. Her son Andrew would not return to her, but he was safe, and she would go to him someday not too far away, or meet him in the air with her Lord. Grandmother was content.

The wedding was planned for the garden, but the day before it was to take place, the cousins looked anxiously at the clouds. Yet the bride, Sheila, was going around with such a shining countenance that one could only wonder and not complain.

When they woke up the day of the wedding, it was raining, and the twins were most outspoken against the weather; but it did not seem to trouble either Grandmother or Sheila, and Angus was too happy to be troubled by anything. He had that morning extracted a promise from Grandmother to go to Europe with them in a couple of weeks when they should return from a little trip together, and spend the winter with them. So he was well content.

The wedding plans were quietly transferred from the garden to the house. The ceremony was to be at two o’clock, with the Bible teacher minister officiating. The young people were terribly disappointed, all except the bride and groom, who didn’t seem to mind whether the ceremony was in the kitchen or the air, they were so quietly happy in each other.

But then, at the last minute, the sun suddenly shot out, the blue sky burst through, and a great rainbow flung its span across the sky! The sun was going to shine on the bride after all. The bridal train were in ecstasies, for who had ever been married right in a rainbow before!

Somebody hastened up to the attic for a great roll of green velvet carpet left over from other days, and they joyously rolled it down the garden walks. So in the soft-colored mist of a gorgeous rainbow, the garden stood waiting for the bridal couple. Through a bejeweled pathway, the bride and groom walked down the velvet path and stood in the vine-clad bower where late roses still graced the garden wall. Dew-gemmed blooms smiled under their bedraggled petals in the sunshine, and rainbow lights played over the faces of the guests. The flowers were steeped in rainbow colors, and Angus softly whispered to his bride, “We are walking under the arch of God’s covenant.”

The guests had to be careful about getting close to the flowers in their dewy decorations, but it was a lovely, sparkling wedding and most unique.

The twins had been just a little disappointed that they were not to wear the gorgeous Paris creations that they had brought home with them. But Sheila had elected to have her whole wedding party in white, so they all looked like a train of angels, walking down the way to heaven, as they trod the old green carpet among the flower beds.

It was just like Jacqueline to come roaring up in her big red car at the very minute, with Damaris playing the wedding march upon her violin and the children scattering late roses over the way and all the lovely chrysanthemums nodding their heavy, dewy heads along the path.

“For Pete’s sake, what on earth is going on here now?” cried Jacqueline, coming noisily in at the wicket gate and accosting some of the summer people who were close friends of Grandmother.

And then she looked up and saw Angus and Sheila coming down the steps of the house, arm in arm, and heard the soft strains of the wedding march.

She saw the radiance of Sheila’s lovely face and the look of deep devotion that her bridegroom gave her as they turned down the garden walk, and her heart contracted sharply. Jacqueline lingered only a moment—long enough to hear the first words of the wedding ceremony—then she turned and stole out the garden gate and into her car and softly, without peeling out this time, went flying up the beach.

When she had put a good ten miles between herself and the wedding, she said aloud, “Well, there goes the only man I ever really loved!” Then she flipped her fingers and drove hard away, seeking pastures new. She knew in her heart that he never would have loved her, and she never could have stood his quiet ways, yet her heart contracted painfully whenever she remembered.

Angus’s wedding present to Sheila had been McCleeve Castle, about whose purchase he had begun making negotiations as soon as he learned who Sheila’s mother was. Moira McCleeve’s daughter should own the castle where her mother was born and brought up if she would accept it, and so he bought it long before he dared to tell Sheila of his love.

The evening star was just beginning to shine when Sheila and Angus set sail into a silver sea of sky on their way to the far West to visit Moira’s grave and make arrangements for her body to be moved to the great Ainslee lot where Andrew was buried.

They were going to travel wherever they liked after they had completed their errand and then come back in time to get Grandmother and sail for McCleeve Castle, where they were to spend most of the winter.

It was all wonderful, and life looked bright and sweet to Sheila, even though there had been losses and sorrows mingled with the sweetness. But just now she and Angus were alone together in a sea of silver moonlight, flying happily into the years that were ahead.

“Oh,” said Sheila, after they had waved good-bye to the dear ones watching below and Sheila had thrown her bridal roses from the plane to the waiting bridesmaids, and even the silver sea in its evening opalescence was far behind. “Oh, I wonder if it will be like this when the Lord Jesus comes. Can’t you think how wonderful it will be looking up to see all our dear ones coming with Him in the air? What if it were tonight while we are up here together!”

Then they streamed away into the silver night, and as he softly pressed her hand, Angus was humming under his breath a bit of a song he had learned since he came to the States:

G
RACE
L
IVINGSTON
H
ILL
(1865–1947) is known as the pioneer of Christian romance. Grace wrote over  one hundred faith-inspired books during her lifetime. When her first husband died, leaving her with two daughters to raise, writing became a way to make a living, but she always recognized storytelling as a way to share her faith in God. She has touched countless lives through the years and continues to touch lives today. Her books feature moving stories, delightful characters, and love in its purest form.

Love Endures
Grace Livingston Hill Classics

Also available in series…

The Beloved Stranger
The Prodigal Girl
A New Name
Re-Creations
Tomorrow About This Time
Crimson Roses
Blue Ruin
Coming Through the Rye
The Christmas Bride
Ariel Custer
Not Under the Law
Job’s Niece
The White Flower
Duskin
Matched Pearls
April Gold
Amorelle
Rainbow Cottage
Ladybird
The Gold Shoe
The Substitute Guest
Kerry
Crimson Mountain
Beauty for Ashes