Page:Leah Reed--Brenda's summer at Rockley.djvu/336

316 with this pinned to the lapel of his coat he made the circuit of the room and piazzas.

The fourth of the wedding-cake treasures, the gold dollar, whose possessor was supposed to become a very  rich person, by a curious freak of fate went to old Mr. Anstruthers, who really was perhaps the richest man in the room.

“Dear me!” cried Nora, “if he’s going to inherit anything more, what in the world will he do with it?”

At that moment, looking out of the window, Nora caught sight of a rather forlorn little figure seated on a  large chair under one of the apple-trees at the edge of the  lawn. Although the larger number of the young girls at the wedding were dressed in white, it took her only a  second to recognize Amy, and her first impulse was to  rush forward. But a little reflection, or, rather, a flash of insight, showed her that this might not be altogether  agreeable to Amy, since it would evidently call attention  to her loneliness. Instead, Nora waited a moment until she could speak to Brenda by herself.

“Amy seems to be alone on the lawn. I thought that I saw her on the piazza with Frances and one or two other  girls some time ago.”

“Why, yes,” said Brenda, looking a little confused. “Dear me, how careless I am; I ought to have looked out for Amy more. You see I forgot that, she knew so few people here; it seems so like a great family party. I’m afraid that I did n’t even introduce her to Frances, and—”

“Well, that was rather thoughtless. You know how