Besides the three lovely Force girls, there were the Grandieres--Sophy, Nancy, Polly and Peggy--four blooming lasses of ages ranging from ten to fourteen, and bearing to each other so strong a family likeness that they may collectively be described as plump, fair, rosy, blue-eyed and brown-haired. They all wore bright, blue merino dresses, trimmed with swan's-down, and white carnelian necklaces.
With them were their brothers, Ned and Sam, two fine, well-groomed lads, respectively fifteen and sixteen years of age, rosy, blue-eyed and brown-haired, like their sisters.
These two handsome lads, after making their bows to Mr. and Mrs. Force, went to find Wynnette and Elva, to engage them for the first dance, to be in good time, although the negro fiddlers had not yet taken their places.
"Where is Rosemary Hedge?" inquired Odalite, as soon as she could get a chance to speak to Le.
"She is coming. Oh, she would not miss it! Roland Bayard is to bring her on, with her Aunt Susannah and Miss Sibby.
"With those grown people! Why, how is that? Not but what we shall be very glad to see them, you know."
"Of course. I know that, or I shouldn't have asked them."
"Oh, Le, you know you can always ask whoever you please to this house. You know it, Le!"
"Oh, yes, of course I do. I only meant to say that I would not have asked those two ladies if I had not known that they would be welcome. But I am going to tell how it was that I did ask them."
"You see, I went to Grandieres' first, and gave the pressing invitation, and, I tell you, the young ones jumped at it. They did not keep me waiting long while they got ready, and girls and boys soon tumbled up into the break."
"Yes, I will warrant that they did," said Odalite.
"Then I drove on to Grove Hill, where I found Miss Sibby spending the day. Roland had just brought her there in their mule wagon. I gave my message. There was a great meeting and great excitement between the Grandieres and the Elks. Rosemary and her little cousins, Erny and Melly, were wild to come. But the stately Miss Susannah declared that they could not go without a chaperon. So I invited her; then I could not 'make a bridge over Miss Sibby's nose,' so I invited her, also."
"But all was not settled yet! Miss Grandiere declared that she and her nieces were not ready, and could not get ready for an hour to come; and, besides that, the addition of five more passengers to the seven we had already in the break would crowd us too much and be too heavy a load, even for our strong draft horses to draw so long a way over such rough roads."