How all we perceive and know in it
Tends to some moment's product thus,
When a soul declares itself—to wit,
By its fruit the thing it does!
Robert Browning.
The carriage rolled on its way through the snow to St. John's Wood, while its two occupants sat side by side in silence. Now that they had set out, each felt the hopelessness of the errand on which they were bound, to which only that first stifling1 moment of horror, that absolute need of action, had prompted them.
The brougham stopped in the road before the gate of The Sycamores.
[Pg 247]
"We had better walk up the drive," said Lord Watergate, and opened the carriage door.
By this time the snow lay deep on the road and the roofs of the houses; the trees looked mere2 blotches3 of greyish-white, seen through the rapid whirl of falling flakes4, which it made one giddy to contemplate5.
"A terrible night for a journey," thought Lord Watergate, as he opened the big gate; but he said nothing, fearing to arouse false hopes in the breast of his companion.
They wound together up the drive, the dark mass of the house partly hidden by the curving, laurel-lined path, and further obscured by the veil of falling snow.
Then, suddenly, something pierced through Gertrude's numbness6; she stopped short.
"Look!" she cried, beneath her breath.
They were now in full sight of the house. The upper windows were dark; the huge windows of the studio were shuttered close, but through the chinks were visible lines and points of mellow7 light.
Lord Watergate laid his hand on her arm. He thought: "That is just like Darrell, to have doubled back. But even then we may be too late."
[Pg 248]
He said: "Miss Lorimer, if they are there, what are you going to do?"
"I am going to tell my sister that she has been deceived, and to bring her home with me."
Gertrude spoke8 very low, but without hesitation9. Somewhere, in the background of her being, sorrow, and shame, and anger were lurking10; at present she was keenly conscious of nothing but an irresistible11 impulse to action.
"That she has been deceived!" Lord Watergate turned away his face. Had Phyllis, indeed, been deceived, and was it not a fool's errand on which they were bent12?
They mounted the steps, and he rang the bell; then, by the light of the hanging lamp, while the snow swirled13 round and fell upon them both, he looked into her white, tense face.
"Do not hope for anything. It is most probable that they are not there."
A long, breathless moment, then the door was thrown open, revealing the solemn manservant standing14 out against the lighted vestibule.
"I wish to see Mr. Darrell," said Lord Watergate, shortly.
[Pg 249]
"He's not at home, your lordship."
Gertrude pressed her hand to her heart.
"He is at home to me, as you perfectly15 well know."
"He has gone abroad, your lordship."
Gertrude swayed forward a little, steadying herself against the lintel, where she stood in darkness behind Lord Watergate.
"There are lights in the studio, and you must let me in," said Lord Watergate, sternly.
The man's face betrayed him.
"I shall lose my place, my lord."
"I am sorry for you, Shaw. You had better make off, and leave the responsibility with me."
The man wavered, took the coin from Lord Watergate's hand, then, turning, went slowly back to his own quarters.
Gertrude came forward into the light.
"You must not come in, Lord Watergate."
Her mind worked with curious rapidity; she saw that a meeting between the two men must be avoided.
"I cannot let you go alone. You do not know——"
"I am prepared for anything. Lord Watergate, spare my sister's shame."
[Pg 250]
She had passed him, with set, tragic16 face. He saw the slim, rapid figure, in the black, snow-covered dress, make its way down the passage, then disappear behind the curtain which guarded the entrance to the studio.
Gertrude had entered noiselessly, and, pausing on the threshold, hidden in shadow, remained there motionless a moment's space.
Every detail of the great room, seen but once before, smote17 on her sense with a curious familiarity. It had been wintry daylight on the occasion of her former presence there; now a mellow radiance of shaded, artificial light was diffused18 throughout the apartment, a radiance concentrated to subdued19 brilliance20 in the immediate21 neighbourhood of the fireplace.
A wood fire, with leaping blue flames, was piled on the hearth22, its light flickering23 fitfully on the surrounding objects; on the tiger-skin rug, the tall, rich screen of faded Spanish leather; on Darrell himself, who lounged on a low couch, his blonde head outlined against the screen, a cloud of cigarette smoke issuing from his lips, as he looked from under his eye-lids at the figure before him.
[Pg 251]
It was Phyllis who stood there by the little table, on which lay some fruit and some coffee, in rose-coloured cups. Phyllis, yet somebody new and strange; not the pretty child that her sisters had loved, but a beautiful wanton in a loose, trailing garment, shimmering24, wonderful, white and lustrous25 as a pearl; Phyllis, with her brown hair turned to gold in the light of the lamp swung above her; Phyllis, with diamonds on the slender fingers, that played with a cluster of bloom-covered grapes.
For a moment, the warmth, the overpowering fragrance26 of hot-house flowers, most of all, the sight of that figure by the table, had robbed Gertrude of power to move or speak. But in her heart the storm, which had been silently gathering27, was growing ready to burst. For the time, the varied28 emotions which devoured29 her had concentrated themselves into a white heat of fury, which kindled30 all her being.
The flames leapt, the logs crackled pleasantly. Darrell blew a whiff of smoke to the ceiling; Phyllis smiled, then suddenly into that bright scene glided31 a black and rigid32 figure, with glowing eyes and tragic face; with the snow sprinkled on the old[Pg 252] cloak, and clinging in the wisps of wind-blown hair.
"Phyllis," it said in level tones; "come home with me at once. Mr. Darrell cannot marry you; he is married already."
Phyllis shrank back, with a cry.
"Oh, Gerty, how you frightened me! What do you mean by coming down on one like this?"
Her voice shook, through its petulance33; she whisked round so suddenly that her long dress caught in the little table, which fell to the ground with a crash.
Darrell had sprung to his feet with an exclamation34. "By God, what brings that woman here!"
Gertrude turned and faced him.
His face was livid with passion; his prominent eyes, for once wide open, glared at her in rage and hatred35.
Gertrude met his glance with eyes that glowed with a passion yet fiercer than his own.
Elements, long smouldering, had blazed forth36 at last. Face to face they stood; face to face, while the silent battle raged between them.
Then with a curious elation37, a mighty[Pg 253] throb38 of what was almost joy, Gertrude knew that she, not he, the man of whom she had once been afraid, was the stronger of the two. For one brief moment some fierce instinct in her heart rejoiced.
Phyllis, cowering39 in the background, Phyllis, pale as her splendid dress, shrank back, mystified, afraid. Her light soul shivered before the blast of passions in which, though she had helped to raise them, she felt herself to have no part nor lot.
Reckoned by time, the encounter of those two hostile spirits was but brief; a moment, and Darrell had dropped his eyes, and was saying in something like his own languid voice—
"To what may I ascribe this—honour?"
Gertrude turned in silence to her sister—
"Take off that——" (she indicated the shimmering garment with a pause), "and come with me."
Darrell sneered40 from the background; "Your sister has decided41 on remaining here."
"Phyllis!" said Gertrude, looking at her.
Phyllis began to sob42.
"Oh, Gerty, what shall I do? Don't look[Pg 254] at me like that. My dress is there behind the screen; and my hat. Oh, Gerty, I shall never get it on; I am so much taller."
With rapid fingers Gertrude had unfastened her own long, black cloak, and was wrapping it about her sister.
"Great heavens," cried Darrell, coming forward and seizing her hands; "You shall not take her away! You have no earthly right to take her against her will."
With a cold fury of disgust she shook off his touch.
"Oh, Sidney, I think I'd better go. I oughtn't to have come." Phyllis' voice sounded touchingly43 childish.
Something in the pleading tones stirred his blood curiously44.
"Do you know," he cried, addressing himself to Gertrude, who was deliberately45 drawing the rings from her sister's passive hands, "Do you know what a night it is? That if you take her away you will kill her? Great God, you paragon46 of virtue47, don't you see how ill she is?"
She swept her glance over him in icy disdain48; then going up to the mantelpiece, laid the rings on the shelf.
[Pg 255]
"I swear to you," he cried, "that I will leave the house this hour, this minute. That I will never return to it; that I will never see her again—Phyllis!"
At the last word, his voice had dropped to a low and passionate49 key; he stretched out his arms, but Gertrude coming between them put her strong desperate grasp about Phyllis, who swayed forward with closed eyes. Darrell retreated with a muffled50 exclamation of grief and rage and baffled purpose, and Gertrude half led, half carried her sister from the room, the hateful satin garment trailing noisily behind them from beneath the black cloak.
A tall figure came forward from the doorway51; the door was standing open; and the white whirlpool was visible against the darkness outside.
"She has fainted," said Gertrude, in a low voice.
Lord Watergate lifted her gently in his arms. At the same moment Darrell emerged from the studio, then remained rooted to the spot, dismayed and sullen52, at the sight of his friend.
"You are a scoundrel, Darrell," said Lord Watergate, in very clear, deliberate tones;[Pg 256] then, his burden in his arms, he stepped out into the darkness, Gertrude closing the door behind them.
Half an hour later the brougham stopped before the house in Upper Baker53 Street.
Lord Watergate, when he had carried the fainting girl upstairs, went himself for a doctor.
"I think I have killed her," said Gertrude, before he went, looking up at him from over the prostrate54 figure of her sister; "and if it were all to be done again—I would do it."
Mrs. Maryon asked no questions; her genuine kindness and helpfulness were called forth by this crisis; and her suspicions of Gertrude had vanished for ever.
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1
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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blotches
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| n.（皮肤上的）红斑，疹块( blotch的名词复数 )；大滴 [大片]（墨水或颜色的）污渍 | |
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flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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numbness
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| n.无感觉，麻木，惊呆 | |
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7
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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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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9
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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10
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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11
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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12
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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13
swirled
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
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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15
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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18
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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21
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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23
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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24
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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25
lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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26
fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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27
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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28
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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29
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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30
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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31
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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32
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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petulance
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| n.发脾气，生气，易怒，暴躁，性急 | |
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34
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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35
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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36
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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37
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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38
throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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39
cowering
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
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40
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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42
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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43
touchingly
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| adv.令人同情地，感人地，动人地 | |
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44
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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45
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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46
paragon
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| n.模范，典型 | |
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47
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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48
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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49
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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50
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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51
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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52
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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53
baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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54
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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