Chapter 12. An Impromptu Excursion

‘WE CERTAINLY must have a masque,’ said the young Duke, as he threw himself into his chair, satisfied with his performance.

‘You must open Hauteville with one,’ said Mrs. Dallington.

‘A capital idea; but we will practise at Dacre first.’

‘When is Hauteville to be finished?’ asked Mrs. Dallington. ‘I shall really complain if we are to be kept out of it much longer. I believe I am the only person in the Riding who has not been there.’

‘I have been there,’ said the Duke, ‘and am afraid I must go again; for Sir Carte has just come down for a few days, and I promised to meet him. It is a sad bore. I wish it were finished.’

‘Take me with you,’ said Mrs. Dallington; ‘take us all, and let us make a party.’

‘An admirable idea,’ exclaimed the young Duke, with a brightening countenance¹. ‘What admirable ideas you have, Mrs. Dallington! This is, indeed, turning business into pleasure! What says our hostess?’

‘I will join you.’

‘To-morrow, then?’ said the Duke.

‘To-morrow! You are rapid!’

‘Never postpone², never prepare: that is your own rule. To-morrow, tomorrow, all must go.’

‘Papa, will you go tomorrow to Hauteville?’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Yes,’ said Miss Dacre: ‘we never postpone; we never prepare.’

‘But do not you think a day, at least, had better intervene?’ urged Mr. Dacre; ‘we shall be unexpected.’

‘I vote for tomorrow,’ said the Duke.

‘To-morrow!’ was the universal exclamation³. Tomorrow was carried.

‘I will write to Blanche at once,’ said the Duke.

Mrs. Dallington Vere ran for the writing materials, and his Grace indicted⁴ the following pithy⁵ note:—

‘Half-past Ten, Castle Dacre.

‘Dear Sir Carte,

‘Our party here intend to honour Hauteville with a visit tomorrow, and anticipate the pleasure of viewing the improvements, with yourself for their cicerone. Let Rawdon know immediately of this. They tell me here that the sun rises about six. As we shall not be with you till noon, I have no doubt your united energies will be able to make all requisite⁶ preparations. We may be thirty or forty. Believe me, dear Sir Carte,

‘Your faithful servant,

‘St. James.

‘Carlstein bears this, which you will receive in an hour. Let me have a line by return.’

1 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

2 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

3 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

4 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

5 pithy   

adj.(讲话或文章)简练的

参考例句：

• Many of them made a point of praising the film's pithy dialogue.他们中很多人特别赞扬了影片精炼的对白。
• His pithy comments knocked the bottom out of my argument.他精辟的评论驳倒了我的论点。

6 requisite   

adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the requisite qualifications for the job.他不具备这工作所需的资格。
• Food and air are requisite for life.食物和空气是生命的必需品。