Mrs. Pendleton supposed Sisily was fretting5 over her mother, but she did not understand a girl whose grief took the form of silence and stillness. She would have preferred a niece who would have sobbed6 out her grief on her shoulder, been reasonably comforted, and eaten a good dinner afterwards. But Sisily was not that kind of girl. She was strange and unapproachable. There was something almost repellent in her reserve, something in her dark preoccupied7 gaze which made Mrs. Pendleton feel quite nervous, and unfeignedly relieved when Sisily had asked to be allowed to go to her room immediately the meal was concluded.
As she sat at the table, reviewing the events of the afternoon, after the girl had taken her departure, Mrs. Pendleton regretted that she had consented to take charge of Sisily. She flattered herself that she was sufficiently8 modern not to care a row of pins for the stigma9 on the girl’s birth, but there were awkward circumstances, and not the least of them was her own rash promise to break the news to Sisily that she was illegitimate. That disclosure was not likely to help their future relations together. Mrs. Pendleton reflected that she knew very little about her niece, whom she had not seen since she was a small girl, but the recollection of her set face and tragic10 eyes at the dinner table impelled11 prompt recognition of the fact that she was going to be difficult to manage.
But there was more than that. With a feeling of dismay Mrs. Pendleton’s mind awoke to a belated realization12 of the scandal which would fasten on Sisily and her birth if Robert succeeded in establishing his claim to the title. A peer of the realm with an illegitimate, disinherited daughter! The story would be pounced13 upon by a sensational14 press, avid15 for precisely16 such topics. In imagination Mrs. Pendleton saw the flaming headlines, the photographs, and the highly spiced reports in which every detail of her brother’s private life was laid bare for a million curious eyes.
Such an exposure was too terrible to be faced. Mrs. Pendleton saw her own comfortable life affected17 by it; saw her position in her small social circle shaken and overwhelmed by the clamour of notoriety. She saw herself the focus of the malicious18 tea-table gossip of all her friends. Decidedly, it would not do.
She did her brother the justice to realize that he had overlooked the public effect of the disclosure of his painful domestic secret as completely as she had. He had forgotten that his accession to the peerage would make him, as it were, a public figure, and the glamour19 which the newspapers would throw over his lifelong quest would invest every act of his life with a publicity20 from which he could not hope to escape. If he had foreseen this, he would have made some other arrangement for his daughter’s future, not for the girl’s sake, but for the honour of the famous old name of which he was so fanatically proud.
The question remained, what was to be done? Robert would have to be told, of course. Mrs. Pendleton’s first impulse was to retract21 her promise to take charge of Sisily, and wash her hands of the whole affair. Then she thought of the money, and wavered. Robert had made her a generous offer, and the money would have helped so much! She had already planned the spending of the cheque he had given her that afternoon. She had thought of a new suite22 of drawing-room furniture, and bedroom carpets. She had a vision of a small motor-car, later on.
As she pondered over the situation she thought she saw a way out—a way so simple and practical that she was astonished that it had not occurred to her before.
Mrs. Pendleton was a woman of decision and prompt of action when she made up her mind. Her mind was made up now. She glanced across the table at her husband. “Joseph!” she said.
Mr. Pendleton, hidden behind the sheets of a newspaper just arrived from London, had the temerity23 not to hear. He was in a grumpy mood, arising, in the first instance, from having been dragged away from his business and his club to Cornwall. It was nothing to him that he was in the Land of Lyonesse. His brief impression of the Duchy was that it was all rocks, and that Penzance was a dull town without a proper seafront, swarming24 with rascally25 shopkeepers who tried to sell serpentine26 match-boxes at the price of gold ones, and provided with hotels where dull tourists submitted to a daily diet of Cornish pasties and pollock under the delusion27 that they were taking in local colour in the process. Mr. Pendleton’s stomach resented his own rash deglutition of these dainties, and in consequence he was suffering too much with acute indigestion to think of the compensation he would gain at next year’s Academy by standing28 with a bragging29 knowing air before pictures of the Cornish coast, expatiating30 to his bored acquaintances (who had never been to Cornwall) on their lack of merit compared with the real thing. Like most husbands, Mr. Pendleton had been able to reach the conclusion that the real cause of his bodily and mental discomfort31 was his wife, so he maintained a sulky silence behind the pages of his newspaper.
With that lack of ceremony which the familiarity of marriage engenders32 in the female breast, his wife leant across the table and plucked the paper from his hand.
“Listen to me, Joseph,” she said, “I want to talk to you.”
Lacking the newspaper screen, Mr. Pendleton’s rebellious33 tendencies instantly evaporated beneath his wife’s searching eye.
“Yes, my dear,” he replied meekly34. “What about?”
“About Sisily. Did you notice that she did not speak a word during dinner?”
“Perhaps she was overcome with grief, my dear.”
“Nonsense! Grief does not make a woman speechless. She’s one of the dumb sort of girls. I always mistrust a girl who hasn’t plenty to say for herself.”
“Well, you know, my dear, she has had a strange sort of life. She hasn’t had the educational advantages of other young women”—Mr. Pendleton was going to add “in her station of life,” but a timely recollection of the afternoon’s disclosures caused him to substitute: “with wealthy fathers.”
“Robert has neglected his duty to her shamefully35. I’ve been thinking it all over, and I’m half sorry now that I consented to take charge of her.”
“Then why do it?” said her husband placidly36.
“It’s the scandal I fear,” rejoined his wife, pursuing her own thought. “There’s bound to be a lot of talk and newspaper publicity when Robert comes into the title. It would be much better to keep this quiet, after all these years. There is really no occasion for it, if Robert will only listen to reason. Robert wishes to avoid future trouble and complications about the succession. That could be arranged by getting Sisily to sign some agreement renouncing37 all claim on the title.”
“I doubt if such a document would be legal, my dear,” said her husband dubiously38.
“That wouldn’t matter in the least,” replied Mrs. Pendleton, with a woman’s contempt for the law. “It would be purely39 a family arrangement. Sisily could be assured by somebody in whom she has reliance—not her father, of course—that there was some legal reason why she could not succeed. I do not think there would be any trouble with her. She does not look the kind of girl to delight in a title and a lot of money. Robert would have to settle a handsome allowance on the poor child—indeed, it is the very least he can do! If Robert agreed to this course there would be no need to blurt40 out the brutal41 truth, and I would take Sisily under my charge.”
Mr. Pendleton saw several objections to his wife’s plan, but he had long learnt the futility42 of domestic argument—on the husband’s side at least. “How much do you consider your brother ought to allow Sisily?” he asked.
“Two thousand a year. Robert can well afford it.”
“Do you think your brother Austin would agree?”
“Of course he wouldn’t. Austin is horribly selfish. He wouldn’t give Sisily a penny if he had his way, now that he knows the truth. But I don’t intend to consult Austin in the matter. I thought of asking Dr. Ravenshaw to go with me and try and influence Robert. Robert trusts him implicitly43, and he seems to have a great deal of influence with him. I feel sure he would do his utmost to bring Robert to listen to reason. Do you not think my plan a good one?”
In the secret depth of his heart Mr. Pendleton did not, but with the moral cowardice44 of a husband he forebore from saying so. “It might be tried,” he feebly muttered.
“Very well, we will try it, then,” said his wife, rising from her seat as she spoke4. “Go and order that motor-car we had this afternoon while I get ready.”
Mr. Pendleton was accustomed to his wife’s energetic way of doing things on the spur of the moment, but he had never become used to it. “Do you intend to go and see your brother to-night?” he said, with an air of surprise.
“Why not?”
Mr. Pendleton sought for a reason, but could find none. “It’s rather late, isn’t it?” he suggested.
“Nonsense!” Mrs. Pendleton glanced at her wrist watch. “It’s not much past eight.”
“Why not leave it until the morning?” said her husband, with a lingering glance at the cheery glow of the log-fire in the lounge. “It’s a beast of a night to be out. Hark to the wind!”
“If it is to be settled, it must be settled to-night,” said Mrs. Pendleton decisively. “There’ll be no time in the morning for anything, if we are to catch the ten o’clock train for London. Beside, Austin would see us if we went there in daylight, and I do not want him to know anything about it—he would only try and put obstacles in our way.”
“What about Sisily?”
“She will be quite all right in her room. She looked tired out, and needs a good night’s rest. You had better see about the car at once.”
Mr. Pendleton said no more, and his wife bustled45 away to put on her outdoor things. When she descended46 from her room her husband was awaiting her in the lounge, and the head-light of the hired motor-car gleamed in the darkness outside.
They set out through the narrow uneven47 streets, which smelt48 strongly of mackerel and pitch. In a few minutes the car was clear of the town, and running at an increased pace through the gusty49 darkness of the moors50.
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1
unreasonably
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| adv. 不合理地 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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fretting
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| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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7
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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8
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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stigma
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| n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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pounced
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| v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
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14
sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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avid
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| adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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glamour
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| n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住 | |
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publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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retract
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| vt.缩回，撤回收回，取消 | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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24
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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serpentine
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| adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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bragging
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| v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话 | |
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expatiating
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| v.详述，细说( expatiate的现在分词 ) | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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engenders
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的第三人称单数 ) | |
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rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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shamefully
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| 可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地 | |
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placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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renouncing
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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40
blurt
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| vt.突然说出，脱口说出 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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42
futility
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| n.无用 | |
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implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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45
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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46
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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48
smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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49
gusty
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| adj.起大风的 | |
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50
moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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