There was one summer during which Selwyn Grant had haunted Wish-ton-wish , the merry comrade of the younger girls , the boyishly , silently devoted lover of Esme . Tom St. Clair had always been there too , in his right as second cousin , Selwyn had supposed . One day he found out that Tom and Esme had been engaged ever since she was sixteen ; one of her sisters told him . That had been all . He had gone away soon after , and some time later a letter from home made casual mention of Tom St. Clair 's marriage . He narrowly missed being late for the wedding ceremony . The bridal party entered the parlour at Wish-ton-wish at the same moment as he slipped in by another door . Selwyn almost whistled with amazement at sight of the bride . That Alice Graham , that tall , stately , blushing young woman , with her masses of dead-black hair , frosted over by the film of wedding veil ! Could that be the scrawny little tomboy of ten years ago ? She looked not unlike Esme , with that subtle family resemblance that is quite independent of feature and colouring . Where was Esme ? Selwyn cast his eyes furtively over the assembled guests while the minister read the marriage ceremony . He recognized several of the Graham girls but he did not see Esme , although Tom St. Clair , stout and florid and prosperous-looking , was standing on a chair in a faraway corner , peering over the heads of the women . After the turmoil of handshakings and congratulations , Selwyn fled to the cool , still outdoors , where the rosy glow of Chinese lanterns mingled with the waves of moonshine to make fairyland . And there he met her , as she came out of the house by a side door , a tall , slender woman in some glistening , clinging garment , with white flowers shining like stars in the coils of her brown hair . In the soft glow she looked even more beautiful than in the days of her girlhood , and Selwyn 's heart throbbed dangerously at sight of her . `` Esme ! '' he said involuntarily . She started , and he had an idea that she changed colour , although it was too dim to be sure .
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Clair Selwyn colour day days girlhood independent parlour second tomboy