said, No they can not lie down, they are not married yet! So I sat them up while we finished it and decorated it with flowers from the woods and along the riverbank. It was the prettiest thing you can ever imagine. Poor Sarah had only her calico dress but we put some of the flowers in her hair. Then Mary White began the wedding.
Is all in readiness? Robert E. Lee asked in his big voice and Sarah said, Yes Sir.
Do you Robert E. Lee take this poor, poor girl to be your lawful wedded wife, to honor and cherish till death do you part? the minister asked.
I do, said Robert E. Lee.
Do you Sarah take Robert E. Lee to be your lawful wedded husband, to honor and cherish, to love and obey until death do you part?
I do, said Sarah.
You may kiss the bride, said the minister, and Mary White put their two faces together. Then for the wedding feast we all ate some scotchbreads that Victoria and Blanche had stole from the press. I used to hate Victoria but now I dont so much since Aunt Cecelia hates her even more. Aunt Cecelia tells us repeatedly not to play with those rough girls as she calls Victoria and Blanche.
• • •
On Sundays we have to keep the Sabbath holy and go to whatever nearby church is holding service, and afterward we can neither play nor work, it is terrible. No games or toys allowed, not even for little Junius. We all have to rest or read tales from Aunt Cecelias special Sunday school books, awful stories about children who go out in boats on Sundays and drown.
We will go to Hell if we play dolls, I whispered to Mary White who lay in bed last Sunday with her eyes closed.
I dont care. She giggled and got right up.
I dont care either, I said as we grabbed up the dolls and ran down the stairs and into the parlor, shutting the door behind us.
It was my turn to tell the love story.
Robert E. Lee went off to War leaving Margaret with a diamond ring and a kiss, but soon he was declared dead in a fearsome battle in Virginia. Then oh how Margaret wept and flung herself face down beating her fists on the floor, oh how she mourned him. Margaret mourned Robert E. Lee for two years and then finally agreed to marry her ugly old neighbor man Mister Snow who just would not leave her alone.
We dressed Margaret up in her white wedding dress and her veil to marry Mister Snow, we stuck little rosebuds on her head. Now all was in readiness and the wedding began. Fleur was Mister Snow.
Mister Snow do you take Mary Margaret Petree to be your lawful wedded wife? the minister asked.
I sure do! Mister Snow said in his big voice.
But just then came the sound of approaching hoofbeats, I said— Mary White made a clicking hoofbeat sound with her tongue— and sure enough, here came Robert E. Lee on his gray horse Traveler to save the day, kicking Mister Snow face down on the floor so he could marry Margaret himself. He was not dead after all!
Then they were happily married for ever and ever amen. Mary White finished the story.
But I got another idea. Now lets do it again and have her marry MisterSnow but be so unhappy crying all day long at her tasks and then Robert E. Lee will come in the night as her demon lover.
For I do not want a husband myself nor a big clawfoot chest full of silver, I want a demon lover and so does Margaret, this is her secret desire.
Mary Whites big blue eyes got bigger. Well, Robert E. Lee cant do that, Molly, she said. Either he is Robert E. Lee or he is a demon lover, one or the other, he cant be both.
Why not? I asked.
Because he just cant. Mary White shook her head so her pigtails flew all around. Robert E. Lee is a gentleman. He is supposed to marry them.
I was getting mad at Mary White who had suddenly got this expression just like Aunt Cecelia on her face.
He doesnt have to, I said. He doesnt have to marry them.
He does so! So they can have babys.
Maybe he doesnt want any babys, I said. All babys do is cry and get sick and die. Maybe Robert E. Lee hates babys.
Oh! Before I knew what
Is all in readiness? Robert E. Lee asked in his big voice and Sarah said, Yes Sir.
Do you Robert E. Lee take this poor, poor girl to be your lawful wedded wife, to honor and cherish till death do you part? the minister asked.
I do, said Robert E. Lee.
Do you Sarah take Robert E. Lee to be your lawful wedded husband, to honor and cherish, to love and obey until death do you part?
I do, said Sarah.
You may kiss the bride, said the minister, and Mary White put their two faces together. Then for the wedding feast we all ate some scotchbreads that Victoria and Blanche had stole from the press. I used to hate Victoria but now I dont so much since Aunt Cecelia hates her even more. Aunt Cecelia tells us repeatedly not to play with those rough girls as she calls Victoria and Blanche.
• • •
On Sundays we have to keep the Sabbath holy and go to whatever nearby church is holding service, and afterward we can neither play nor work, it is terrible. No games or toys allowed, not even for little Junius. We all have to rest or read tales from Aunt Cecelias special Sunday school books, awful stories about children who go out in boats on Sundays and drown.
We will go to Hell if we play dolls, I whispered to Mary White who lay in bed last Sunday with her eyes closed.
I dont care. She giggled and got right up.
I dont care either, I said as we grabbed up the dolls and ran down the stairs and into the parlor, shutting the door behind us.
It was my turn to tell the love story.
Robert E. Lee went off to War leaving Margaret with a diamond ring and a kiss, but soon he was declared dead in a fearsome battle in Virginia. Then oh how Margaret wept and flung herself face down beating her fists on the floor, oh how she mourned him. Margaret mourned Robert E. Lee for two years and then finally agreed to marry her ugly old neighbor man Mister Snow who just would not leave her alone.
We dressed Margaret up in her white wedding dress and her veil to marry Mister Snow, we stuck little rosebuds on her head. Now all was in readiness and the wedding began. Fleur was Mister Snow.
Mister Snow do you take Mary Margaret Petree to be your lawful wedded wife? the minister asked.
I sure do! Mister Snow said in his big voice.
But just then came the sound of approaching hoofbeats, I said— Mary White made a clicking hoofbeat sound with her tongue— and sure enough, here came Robert E. Lee on his gray horse Traveler to save the day, kicking Mister Snow face down on the floor so he could marry Margaret himself. He was not dead after all!
Then they were happily married for ever and ever amen. Mary White finished the story.
But I got another idea. Now lets do it again and have her marry MisterSnow but be so unhappy crying all day long at her tasks and then Robert E. Lee will come in the night as her demon lover.
For I do not want a husband myself nor a big clawfoot chest full of silver, I want a demon lover and so does Margaret, this is her secret desire.
Mary Whites big blue eyes got bigger. Well, Robert E. Lee cant do that, Molly, she said. Either he is Robert E. Lee or he is a demon lover, one or the other, he cant be both.
Why not? I asked.
Because he just cant. Mary White shook her head so her pigtails flew all around. Robert E. Lee is a gentleman. He is supposed to marry them.
I was getting mad at Mary White who had suddenly got this expression just like Aunt Cecelia on her face.
He doesnt have to, I said. He doesnt have to marry them.
He does so! So they can have babys.
Maybe he doesnt want any babys, I said. All babys do is cry and get sick and die. Maybe Robert E. Lee hates babys.
Oh! Before I knew what
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