11 a.m.
It was really astonishing the number of visitors he had to receive , and cards and notes of invitation were showered upon him from people whose very existence he had previously never heard of , connections by marriage of the past generation crowded upon him , mothers with marriageable daughters invited him to their assemblies , young men of his own order sought to engage him in the various pursuits considered indispensable among those by whom he now found himself surrounded . When it became generally known that the new Earl was , beyond the possibility of a doubt , engaged to be married , the connections just mentioned thought it right and proper to recognize in Edith Effingham the future Countess of Castlemere ; and , on learning that she was the niece of a baronet , and heiress , in her own right , to twenty thousand a year , she was sought after and made much of by the aristocratic relatives of her affianced husband , for the privilege of entering , as honoured guests , such places as Vellenaux and Carlton Abbey was not to be lost for the want of a little tact and polite attention to the bride elect , and so Edith 's circle of female friends enlarged rapidly , and it was from among these that she selected the eight young beauties who were to act as bridesmaids on her marriage day , now fast approaching . The Bishop of Exeter , who had been well acquainted with Arthur 's father , offered his services on the interesting occasion , which were gladly accepted . Exactly at 11 a.m. , the family carriage of the Bartons , containing Edith , Pauline Barton , and three of the bridesmaids , left Berkly Square . In a second were seated the other five ladies acting in that capacity . Then came the large , roomy vehicle of the good natured stock broker , occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Cotterell , Horace Barton and Mr. and Mrs. Denham , who had come up from Devonshire expressly to be present at the ceremony . Tom Barton and Cousin Kate accepted seats in the handsome barouche of the Ashburnhams .