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Show Page 47 He tugged at a tuft of his hair and grinned foolishly. "So be it," muttered Governor Yeardley, "Edward Howe you shall wed." Then, turning to Edward Sharpless, the pimple-pocked clerk of the General Assembly,who stood at his side, he said, "Send for Reverend Buck." "No need," said the minister, stepping through the crowd. So there and then Rose and Edward Howe were wed, she still wearing the shameless bodice she had worn the previous day. When the vows were said, Edward leaned toward his wife to kiss her. Rose pushed him away. "Hands off," she told him. "You'll not be kissing me unless I give you leave. Now come. I want you to fetch my chest. If we're to be home to the fine house you boast about before day going, you best move your lazy carcass." Off she stalked, poor, bewildered Edward Howe following after. As the crowd that had enjoyed the spectacle was splintering, Governor Yeardley called out over our heads. "Let no more maids follow the example of Mistress Hawkings. Promise yourself to more than one lad and indeed I shall see some fair ears nailed to the pillory. And you men," he added, as the lads jostled each other and chuckled after Edward. "Ask more than one maid at a time to be your bride and you shall rue the day you ever saw Virginia. "Indeed,I should have made the wench confess her misbehavior in church," the governor muttered loudly as he tramped off |
