Chapter XXVIII

“Fanny,” said Ellen suddenly; “I want to tell you something.”

Mrs. Wesley Elliot turned a complacently¹ abstracted gaze upon her friend who sat beside her on the vine-shaded piazza² of the parsonage. She felt the sweetest sympathy for Ellen, whenever she thought of her at all:

“Yes, dear.”

“Do you remember my speaking to you about Jim— Oh, a long time ago, and how he—? It was perfectly³ ridiculous, you know.”

Fanny's blue eyes became suddenly alert.

“You mean the time Jim kissed you,” she murmured. “Oh, Ellen, I've always been so sorry for—”

“Well; you needn't be,” interrupted Ellen; “I never cared a snap for Jim Dodge⁴; so there!”

The youthful matron sighed gently: she felt that she understood poor dear Ellen perfectly, and in token thereof she patted poor dear Ellen's hand.

“I know exactly how you feel,” she warbled.

Ellen burst into a gleeful laugh:

“You think you do; but you don't,” she informed her friend, with a spice of malice⁵. “Your case was entirely⁶ different from mine, my dear: You were perfectly crazy over Wesley Elliot; I was only in love with being in love.”

Fanny looked sweetly mystified and a trifle piqued⁷ withal.

“I wanted to have a romance—to be madly in love,” Ellen explained. “Oh, you know! Jim was merely a peg⁸ to hang it on.”

The wife of the minister smiled a lofty compassion⁹.

“Everything seems so different after one is married,” she stated.

“Is that really so?” cried Ellen. “Well, I shall soon know, Fan, for I'm to be married in the fall.”

“Married? Why, Ellen Dix!”

“Uh—huh,” confirmed Ellen, quite satisfied with the success of her coup¹⁰. “You don't know him, Fan; but he's perfectly elegant—and handsome! Just wait till you see him.”

Ellen rocked herself to and fro excitedly.

“I met him in Grenoble last winter, and we're going to live there in the sweetest house. He fell in love with me the first minute he saw me. You never knew anyone to be so awfully¹¹ in love ... m'm!”

Without in the least comprehending the reason for the phenomenon, Mrs. Wesley Elliot experienced a singular depression of spirit. Of course she was glad poor dear Ellen was to be happy. She strove to infuse a sprightly¹² satisfaction into her tone and manner as she said:

“What wonderful news, dear. But isn't it rather—sudden? I mean, oughtn't you to have known him longer! ...You didn't tell me his name.”

Ellen's piquant¹³ dark face sparkled with mischief¹⁴ and happiness.

“His name is Harvey Wade¹⁵,” she replied; “you know Wade and Hampton, where you bought your wedding things, Fan? Everybody knows the Wades¹⁶, and I've known Harvey long enough to—”

She grew suddenly wistful as she eyed her friend:

“You have changed a lot since you were married, Fan; all the girls think so. Sometimes I feel almost afraid of you. Is it—do you—?”

Fanny's unaccountable resentment¹⁷ melted before a sudden rush of sympathy and understanding. She drew Ellen's blushing face close to her own in the sweetness of caresses¹⁸:

“I'm so glad for you, dear, so glad!”

“And you'll tell Jim?” begged Ellen, after a silence full of thrills. “I should hate to have him suppose—”

“He doesn't, Ellen,” Jim's sister assured her, out of a secret fund of knowledge to which she would never have confessed. “Jim always understood you far better than I did. And he likes you, too, better than any girl in Brookville.”

“Except Lydia,” amended¹⁹ Ellen.

“Oh, of course, except Lydia.”

1 complacently   

adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地

参考例句：

• He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
• "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装，"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 piazza   

n.广场；走廊

参考例句：

• Siena's main piazza was one of the sights of Italy.锡耶纳的主要广场是意大利的名胜之一。
• They walked out of the cafeteria,and across the piazzadj.他们走出自助餐厅,穿过广场。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

5 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 piqued   

v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心）

参考例句：

• Their curiosity piqued, they stopped writing. 他们的好奇心被挑起，停下了手中的笔。 来自辞典例句
• This phenomenon piqued Dr Morris' interest. 这一现象激起了莫里斯医生的兴趣。 来自辞典例句

8 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

9 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

10 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

11 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

12 sprightly   

adj.愉快的，活泼的

参考例句：

• She is as sprightly as a woman half her age.她跟比她年轻一半的妇女一样活泼。
• He's surprisingly sprightly for an old man.他这把年纪了，还这么精神，真了不起。

13 piquant   

adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的

参考例句：

• Bland vegetables are often served with a piquant sauce.清淡的蔬菜常以辛辣的沙司调味。
• He heard of a piquant bit of news.他听到了一则令人兴奋的消息。

14 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

15 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

16 wades   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A lumi wields a golden morningstar with trained ease as it wades into melee. 光民熟练地挥舞钉头锤加入战团。

17 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

18 caresses   

爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A breeze caresses the cheeks. 微风拂面。
• Hetty was not sufficiently familiar with caresses or outward demonstrations of fondness. 海蒂不习惯于拥抱之类过于外露地表现自己的感情。

19 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。