The bride began to cry, and said he was unkind; whereon he said nothing, but revolved unutterable things in his heart.  Was this, then, the end of his six years of unflagging devotion?  Was it for this that when Christina had offered to let him off, he had stuck to his engagement?  Was this the outcome of her talks about duty and spiritual mindedness—­that now upon the very day of her marriage she should fail to see that the first step in obedience to God lay in obedience to himself?  He would drive back to Crampsford; he would complain to Mr and Mrs Allaby; he didn’t mean to have married Christina; he hadn’t married her; it was all a hideous dream; he would—­But a voice kept ringing in his ears which said:  “YOU CAN’T, CAN’T, CAN’T.”

“CAN’T I?” screamed the unhappy creature to himself.

“No,” said the remorseless voice, “YOU CAN’T.  YOU ARE A MARRIED MAN.”

He rolled back in his corner of the carriage and for the first time felt how iniquitous were the marriage laws of England.  But he would buy Milton’s prose works and read his pamphlet on divorce.  He might perhaps be able to get them at Newmarket.

So the bride sat crying in one corner of the carriage; and the bridegroom sulked in the other, and he feared her as only a bridegroom can fear.

Presently, however, a feeble voice was heard from the bride’s corner saying: 

“Dearest Theobald—­dearest Theobald, forgive me; I have been very, very wrong.  Please do not be angry with me.  I will order the—­the—­” but the word “dinner” was checked by rising sobs.

When Theobald heard these words a load began to be lifted from his heart, but he only looked towards her, and that not too pleasantly.

“Please tell me,” continued the voice, “what you think you would like, and I will tell the landlady when we get to Newmar—­” but another burst of sobs checked the completion of the word.

The load on Theobald’s heart grew lighter and lighter.  Was it possible that she might not be going to henpeck him after all?  Besides, had she not diverted his attention from herself to his approaching dinner?

He swallowed down more of his apprehensions and said, but still gloomily, “I think we might have a roast fowl with bread sauce, new potatoes and green peas, and then we will see if they could let us have a cherry tart and some cream.”

After a few minutes more he drew her towards him, kissed away her tears, and assured her that he knew she would be a good wife to him.

“Dearest Theobald,” she exclaimed in answer, “you are an angel.”

Theobald believed her, and in ten minutes more the happy couple alighted at the inn at Newmarket.

Bravely did Christina go through her arduous task.  Eagerly did she beseech the landlady, in secret, not to keep her Theobald waiting longer than was absolutely necessary.

“If you have any soup ready, you know, Mrs Barber, it might save ten minutes, for we might have it while the fowl was browning.”