As the architect had said to his wife, nothing of a serious nature was to happen. In the end Everett Wheeler settled the matter. After the first gust1 of passion it was clear enough that the trustees could not have a scandal about the building. If the contractor3 were prosecuted4, the architect, the donor's nephew, would be involved; and, besides, it was plain that Wheeler could not continue as trustee and assist in ruining his cousin. When it came to this point, Pemberton, not wishing to embarrass his associates, resigned.
Hart was to continue nominally5 as the architect for the school, but Trimble was to have actual charge of the building henceforth, with orders to complete the work as soon as possible according to the original specifications7. At first Graves had blustered9 and threatened to sue if certain vouchers10 issued by Hart were not paid, but Wheeler "read the riot act" to him, and he emerged from the lawyer's office a subdued11 and fearful man. The calm lawyer had a long arm, which reached far into the city, and he frightened the contractor so thoroughly12 that he was content to be allowed to complete the contract. Whatever parts of his work had been done crookedly13, he was to rectify14 as far as was possible, and Trimble was to see that the construction which remained to be done came up to specification8. As for the irrevocable, the bad work already accepted and paid for, the lawyer said nothing.
Thus the man of the world, the perfectly15 cynical16 lawyer, had his way, which was, on the whole, the least troublesome way for all concerned, and avoided scandal. He was the calm one of the men involved: it was his business to make arrangements with human weakness and frailty17 and "to avoid scandal." That at all costs!
He made his cousin no long reproaches.
"We've nipped your claws, young man," he admonished18 him.
He was disappointed in Jackson. Privately19 he considered him a dunderheaded ass2, who had weakly given himself as a tool to the contractor. In his dealings with men, he had known many rascals20, more than the public was aware were rascals, and he respected some of them. But they were the men, who, once having committed themselves to devious21 ways, used other men as their tools. For little, foolish rascals, who got befogged and "lost their nerve," he had only contempt.
"How's your wife?" he asked bruskly. "That was a dirty blow she got here the other day—straight between the eyes. I never thought she'd come in here that afternoon."
"Helen has gone East with the boys and her mother,—to that place in Vermont. She hasn't been feeling well lately, and she needs the rest."
"Oh, um, I see," the lawyer commented, comprehending quite well what this journey meant. He was a little surprised that Helen should desert her husband at this crisis. In his philosophy it was the part of a woman who had character to "back her husband," no matter what he might do, so long as he was faithful to his marriage oath. Jackson had been a fool, like so many men; there was trouble in the air, and she had run away. He would not have thought it of her.
Hart swallowed his humiliation22 before his cousin. He was much relieved at the outcome of the affair; it released him from further responsibility for the school, which had become hateful to him. He was chiefly concerned, now, lest the difficulty with the trustees should become known and hurt his reputation, especially lest the men in his office, to whom he was an autocrat23 and a genius, should suspect something. He began at once to push the work on the last details for the hotel, with the hope of forcing Graves to deliver another block of the "stock," which he argued was due him for his commission.
Now that the matter had been quietly adjusted without scandal, he was inclined to feel more aggrieved25 than ever over his wife's departure. "She might have waited to see how it turned out," he repeated to himself, obstinately26 refusing her the right to judge himself except where his acts affected27 her publicly. For some time he kept up with acquaintances the fiction of Helen's "visit in the East"; he even took a room at the Shoreham Club for the hunting season. But he soon fancied that the people at the club were cool to him; fewer engagements came his way; no one referred to the great building, which had given him so much reputation; the men he had known best seemed embarrassed when he joined them,—men, too, who would not have winked28 an eye at a "big coup29." The women soon ceased to ask about Helen; it was getting abroad that there was "something wrong with the Jackson Harts." For it had leaked, more or less, as such matters always will leak. One man drops a word to his neighbor, and the neighbor's wife pieces that to something she has heard or surmised30.
So before the season was over Hart gave up his room at the club, where his raw self-consciousness was too often bruised31. Then, finding his empty house in the city insupportable, he went to live with his mother in his uncle's old home. There was a lull32 in building at this time, due to the high prices of materials, but fortunately he could keep himself busy with the hotel and a large country house in the centre of the state, which often made an excuse for him to get away from the city.
Helen wrote to him from time to time, filling her letters with details about the boys. She suggested that they should return to the city to visit their grandmother during the Christmas holidays. She never referred to the situation between them, apparently33 considering that he had it in his power to end it when he would. He was minded often when he received these letters to write her sternly in reply, setting forth6 the wrong which in her obstinacy34 she was doing to herself and their children. He went over these imaginary letters in his idle moments, working out their phrases with great care; they had a fine, dignified35 ring to them, the tolerant and condoning36 note. But when he tried to write he did not get very far with them. Sometimes he thought of writing simply, "I love you very much, Nell; I want you back; can you not forgive me?" But he knew well that he could not merely say, "I have done wrong, forgive me," if he would affect that new will in his wife, so gently stern. Even if he could bring himself to confess his dishonesty, that would not suffice. There was another and deeper gulf37 between them, one that he could not clearly fathom38. "From the very beginning we have lived wrongly," she had cried that last time. "We can never go on again in the same way." ... No, he was not ready to accept her judgment39 of him.
Thus the winter wore away, forlornly, and early in April the first hint of spring came into the dirty city. On a Sunday afternoon the architect went to call on his old friend, Mrs. Phillips, who was one of the few persons who gave him any comfort these days. He found her cutting the leaves of an art journal.
"There's an article here about that German—the one we are all trying to help, you know," she said, giving him a hand. "Yes, I have taken to patronizing the arts; it's pleasanter than charities. I have graduated from philanthropy. And you have to do something nowadays, if you want to keep up."
She spoke40 with her usual bluntness, and then added a little cant41 in a conventional tone:—
"And I think those of us who have the time and the position should do something to help these poor artists who are struggling here in this commercial city. People won't buy their pictures.... But what is the matter with you? You look as if you had come to the end of everything. I suppose it's the old story. That cold Puritan wife of yours has gone for good. It's no use pretending to me; I knew from the start how it would be."
"But I don't know whether she has gone for good," he muttered.
"You might as well make up your mind to it. Two people like you two can't get along together."
"It isn't that," he protested. "We have been very happy until lately."
"Well, don't mope, whatever you do. Either go and eat your humble42 pie, or arrange for a divorce. You can't go on this way much longer. Oh, I know all your troubles, of course. Hasn't that pleasant brother-in-law of mine been in here rehearsing that story about the school,—well, what do you call it? And he seems to hold me responsible for the mess, because I liked you, and gave you your first chance. I didn't corrupt43 you, did I?"
The architect moved uneasily. The widow's levity44 displeased45 him, and roused his anger afresh against the trustees.
"I don't know what rot Judge Phillips has been telling you, but—"
"Come," she interrupted him in his defence, "sit down here by me and let me talk to you. You know me well enough to see that I don't care what the judge says. But I have something to say to you."
She made a place for him on the lounge, and tossed him a pillow to make him comfortable. Then, dropping her review on the floor, she locked her fingers behind her head and looked searchingly at the man.
"I don't know what you have been up to, and I don't care. Harrison always said I hadn't any moral sense, and I suppose I haven't of his sort. You should have had your uncle's money, or a good part at any rate, and it's natural that you should try to get all you can of it now, I say. But you must have been stupid to let that old square-toes Pemberton get in your way."
This cynical analysis of the situation was not precisely46 salve to the architect's wound. He was not ready to go as far as the woman lightly sketched47. But he listened, for the sake of her sympathy, if for no other reason.
"Now, as I said, there's no use moping around here. Pick right up and get out for a few months. When you come back, people won't remember what was the matter. Or, if you still find it chilly48, you can go to New York and start there. It's no use fighting things out and all that. Bury them."
She paused to give emphasis to her suggestion,
"Let your wife play by herself for a while; it will do her good. When she hears that you are in Europe, having a good time, she'll begin to see she's been silly.... I am going over, too. I've got to rent Forest Manor49 this summer. That Harris man went wrong the last time he advised me, and got me into all sorts of trouble,—industrials. Venetia pensions me! She won't go abroad, but she kindly50 gives me what she thinks I ought to spend for the summer and advises me to go over. I sail on the Kronprinz, the 20th."
The invitation to him was implied in the pause that followed. The gleam in the man's eyes showed his interest in her suggestion, but he made no reply.
"There's nothing to do in your business just now, as you said, and you should give these talky people a chance to forget. We could have a good time over there. You might buy some things and sell them here, and make your expenses that way easily. You know all the nice little places, and if Maida and her husband come over, we could take an auto24 and do them. Think of Italy in May!"
She unclasped her hands and leaned forward, resting one arm on the cushioned back of the lounge, and thus revealing a very pretty forearm and wrist. Two little red spots of enthusiasm glowed in her cheeks. What life and vitality51 at forty-three! the man thought, smiling appreciatively into her face. For the first time she moved him emotionally. He was lonely, miserable52, and thoroughly susceptible53 to such charm as she had.
"It would be awfully54 pleasant," he said at last, leaning toward her, "to get away from this place, with you!" ...
His hand slipped to her beautiful arm. At that moment Venetia came into the room, unnoticed by the two on the lounge. She stood for a little while watching them, and then, with a smile on her expressive55 lips, noiselessly withdrew.
"Well, wire for a passage to-morrow," Mrs. Phillips murmured....
There was nothing more, nothing that would have offended the most scrupulous56; for the architect, at least, was essentially57 healthy-minded. In a lonely moment he might satisfy the male need for sympathy by philandering58 with a pretty woman, who soothed59 his bruised egotism. But he did not have that kind of weakness—the woman weakness. A few minutes later he was leaving the room, saying as he looked into Louise Phillips's brown eyes:—
"Yes, I think you are right. I need to get away from this town for a while and rest my nerves."
"When you come back people will be only too glad to see you. They don't remember their scruples60 long."
"There isn't anything for them to worry over."
"The Kronprinz, then."
In the hall he met Venetia, who was slowly coming down the stairs, wrapped in a long cloak. She hesitated a moment, then continued to descend61.
"Hello, Venetia!" Hart called out.
She swept down the remaining steps without replying, her eyes shining hotly. As she passed him, she turned and shot one word full in his face,—"Cad!"
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1
gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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contractor
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| n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌 | |
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prosecuted
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| a.被起诉的 | |
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nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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specifications
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| n.规格；载明；详述；（产品等的）说明书；说明书( specification的名词复数 )；详细的计划书；载明；详述 | |
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specification
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| n.详述；[常pl.]规格，说明书，规范 | |
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blustered
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| v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹 | |
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vouchers
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| n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据 | |
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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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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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crookedly
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| adv. 弯曲地，不诚实地 | |
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rectify
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| v.订正，矫正，改正 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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cynical
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| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
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frailty
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| n.脆弱；意志薄弱 | |
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admonished
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| v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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devious
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| adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的 | |
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humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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auto
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| n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车 | |
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aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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coup
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| n.政变；突然而成功的行动 | |
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30
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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31
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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condoning
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| v.容忍，宽恕，原谅( condone的现在分词 ) | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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40
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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cant
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| n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔 | |
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42
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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43
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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44
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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sketched
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| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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48
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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49
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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50
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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51
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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52
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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53
susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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54
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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55
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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56
scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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57
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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58
philandering
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| v.调戏，玩弄女性( philander的现在分词 ) | |
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59
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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60
scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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61
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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