Now, it so happened that Keymer père had a cousin, who was a clerk in the office of Mr. Linaway, the chief lawyer in St. Oswyth's--a man with a large family and a very limited income, whom the brewer had more than once been able to help, at little or no cost to himself. This cousin, Tuttle by name, not ungrateful for past favours, and with an eye, perhaps, to any which the future might have in store for him, and having some reason to believe that Launce was looking out for a wife with a fortune, determined6 to do the brewer what he termed "a good turn," in confiding7 to him a certain professional secret which he had learnt by accident, and of which he was supposed to be wholly ignorant.
"The very man I've been wanting to see for the last week or more," said Tuttle to the elder Keymer, next time they met. "Rather a curious thing happened to me about ten days ago, which I want to tell you about. I'll turn and walk part of the way with you, if you don't mind. Well, you must know that one forenoon I had occasion to visit the strong room which opens out of the governor's private office, in order to obtain some title-deeds which were wanted, but which I was not at once able to find, owing to their having been misplaced. While thus engaged, the governor rang his bell for Mr. Dix, the managing clerk. I suppose the old boy, who is beginning to break up, and whose memory fails him strangely at times, had quite forgotten that I was there within hearing. But be that as it may, he proceeded to give Dix instructions for the drawing up of a couple of wills, the particulars of which he was to keep strictly8 to himself. The wills in question were those of the two Miss Thursbys of Vale View House. The governor talks in a low voice, and mumbles9 a good deal, so that I was not able to catch all he said; but I picked up enough to satisfy myself that, with the exception of a few hundreds, to be distributed amongst various charities, an annuity10 to an old servant, and a few minor11 legacies12, the whole of the property of both sisters is bequeathed to the young lady known as Miss Ethel Thursby--their niece, I believe she is. Of course, I can only make a rough guess as to the value of the property in question, which seems to consist chiefly of securities of various kinds; but there's no doubt in my mind that, if realised, it would mount up to a respectable number of thousands. That being the case, Cousin Bob, it might be worth your boy's while to make up to the heiress, who is, I believe, a very pretty girl into the bargain. But not a word to a soul of what I've just told you, unless you want me to lose my berth13 and be ruined for life."
The hint thus afforded was too precious not to be followed up and acted upon.
Launce Keymer had already been introduced to Ethel, he having met her on two or three occasions at garden parties and other gatherings14 of young people. He had admired her for the time being, as he admired every pretty girl he met, and had thought no more about her. Truth to tell, Ethel was not the kind of girl to attract more than a passing glance of admiration15 from the brewer's son. She was too quietly dignified16 and "stand-offish"; she was lacking in dash and "go"; she was one of those girls whom he felt instinctively17 it would be unwise to talk slang to; there was something about her which, when in her company, compelled him to be upon his best behaviour; he never felt quite what he termed "at home" with her; as a consequence of which, while always smilingly polite to her, he had rather shunned18 than sought her society.
When the brewer had told his son that he must either change his mode of life, or marry a girl with money, the latter had pertinently19 asked: "Where am I to find her?" That there was an overplus of marriageable young women at St. Oswyth's, as there is in all small provincial20 towns, was a melancholy21 fact which could not be gainsaid22, nor that many of them were nice girls, carefully brought up, well educated, and in every way fitted to make a reasonable man happy; but, alas24! they were one and all comparatively poor. Several of them had small dowries, and would inherit something considerable at the death of their parents; but 'tis ill waiting for dead men's shoes, and Launce Keymer's needs were those of the immediate25 future. Meantime, while waiting for the coming heiress, he flirted26 to his heart's content, but, so far as was known, contrived27 to steer28 clear of any serious entanglement29.
And now, lo and behold30! the heiress was here--had been here, at his elbow all the time, without his having had the least suspicion of the fact.
No long time was allowed to elapse after the interview between Mr. Keymer and his cousin before Launce began to seize every opportunity that came in his way to pay assiduous court to the heiress of Vale View. There was a good deal of quiet gaiety in St. Oswyth's that winter and spring, and they met on a number of occasions. It is not needful that we should linger over what came to pass. Launce, with a cleverness which, in a better cause, would have done him credit, did his best to adapt himself to what he called Ethel's "Quaker-like ways," toning himself down, so to speak, when in her presence, content to feel his way gradually, and not to startle her by too premature31 a declaration of his love, or what he wished her to regard as such. As already stated, he was both handsome and plausible. Ethel had never had such attentions paid her by any one else, and, almost before she knew what had befallen her, her heart had capitulated. When he had, as he conceived, sufficiently32 paved the way, Launce seized an opportunity to press his suit with well-simulated ardour, and succeeded in winning from the shrinking girl a half-reluctant consent, which, as soon as the glamour33 of his presence was removed, sent her to her chamber34, there to shed tears which had in them a sting of poignant35 regret.
But she had passed her word, and she was too loyal to attempt to recall it. As the days went on, she strove to persuade herself that she had not made a mistake, but that she really did love Launce, and it may be that she gradually succeeded in hoodwinking herself into such a belief. Yet at times there was a strange aching void in her heart which puzzled and frightened her. She had always understood that when people were in love it was for them a season of unalloyed happiness; but she, alas! was far from happy.
And then there was that hateful promise which Launce had extracted from her, not to speak of their engagement to any one till he should give her leave to do so. It was only for a few weeks, he told her, probably a month at the most, that he asked her to keep unbroken silence. Private reasons of an imperative36 nature compelled him to ask this favour at her hands. She had yielded to his importunity37, but none the less did she realise how disloyal it was on her part to have a secret--and such a secret--locked up from her aunts.
The fact was that Launce Keymer, unknown to his father, or any one at St. Oswyth's, had for some time past been making love to a pretty nursery governess at Dulminster, the county town, a dozen miles away, to which place he ran over by train on a couple of evenings in each week. Furthermore, he had been infatuated enough--and he now reviled38 himself in bitter terms for his folly--to write her a number of compromising letters, such as if produced in an action for breach39 of promise would infallibly land him in heavy damages. He knew that Hetty Blair had more than one correspondent in St. Oswyth's, and that, if the news of his engagement with Ethel Thursby were once made public, it could scarcely fail to reach her ears. Not that he would have minded that in the least, if Hetty had only burnt or otherwise destroyed those fatal letters. But, as he was well aware, she had done nothing of the kind. He had seen them with his own eyes, tied round with white ribbon, where they lay in the girl's old-fashioned workbox which stood on the top of the bureau in her mother's little parlour, and his object was to get them back into his own hands before his engagement to Ethel got noised abroad. That once accomplished40, he felt that he could afford to snap his fingers at Miss Hetty Blair.
It may seem strange that such a cool, calculating, mercenary fellow as Launce Keymer should so far have run counter to all the principles by which it was his ambition to regulate his life as to permit himself to fall in love with a young person who was compelled to work for her daily bread. But it was just one of those things which occasionally come to pass, as if to upset all one's preconceived notions of what we poor mortals think ought to happen, and to prove by what contradictory41 impulses hearts the most calculating and unemotional are sometimes swayed, as by a force they are powerless to resist.
Hetty Blair was a pretty brunette, with sparkling black eyes, full ripe lips, and a vivacious42, not to say saucy43, manner. She was genuinely in love with Keymer, and jealously miserable44, although she strove to hide the fact from her lover, because for five evenings out of seven she saw nothing of him, and had no assurance that he was not making love to some one else at St. Oswyth's--which was precisely45 what he was doing.
Miss Blair, who at this time was filling the post of day-governess to the two young children of a major on half-pay, had her home with her mother in a little cottage in a suburb of Dulminster. Keymer was in the habit of visiting Hetty twice a week, on Wednesdays, when the girl's pupils were allowed a half-holiday, and on Saturdays, when business with the young brewer was over at an early hour; consequently, when he made an unexpected appearance at the cottage on a certain Thursday afternoon, when he was fully23 aware that Hetty was from home, Mrs. Blair could not refrain from expressing her surprise. His explanation was, that having to come to Dulminster on business for his father, he could not resist the temptation of arranging a little surprise for Hetty. Accordingly, he had brought her a bouquet46 of hothouse flowers, and one of those delicious Madeira cakes of which she was so fond, and if Mrs. Blair would so far oblige him as to step upstairs, where she kept her little cellaret, and bring down one of those half dozen of choice bottles of port he had once sent her, he should feel that his little surprise was complete.
Mrs. Blair did not object in the least. She had a weakness for port, as Launce, who was a great favourite with her, was quite aware. Accordingly she trotted47 slowly upstairs, for she was somewhat infirm, leaving Keymer alone, smoking his cigar in the little parlour, and he was still occupied in the same harmless fashion when she returned, ten minutes later. But in the interim48 he had contrived either to pick or force the lock of Hetty's workbox and obtain possession of his letters. Presently he took his leave. His father, he explained, would expect him back by six o'clock at the latest; but of course he should see Hetty as usual on Saturday.
It was on the day prior to Ethel Thursby's birthday that Launce Keymer regained49 possession of his letters.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
insinuating
|
|
| adj.曲意巴结的，暗示的v.暗示( insinuate的现在分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
plausible
|
|
| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
brewer
|
|
| n. 啤酒制造者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
rein
|
|
| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
confiding
|
|
| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
mumbles
|
|
| 含糊的话或声音，咕哝( mumble的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
annuity
|
|
| n.年金；养老金 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
minor
|
|
| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
legacies
|
|
| n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
berth
|
|
| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
gatherings
|
|
| 聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
dignified
|
|
| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
shunned
|
|
| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
pertinently
|
|
| 适切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
provincial
|
|
| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
gainsaid
|
|
| v.否认，反驳( gainsay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
alas
|
|
| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
flirted
|
|
| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
contrived
|
|
| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
steer
|
|
| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
entanglement
|
|
| n.纠缠，牵累 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
behold
|
|
| v.看，注视，看到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
premature
|
|
| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
glamour
|
|
| n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
poignant
|
|
| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
imperative
|
|
| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
importunity
|
|
| n.硬要，强求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
reviled
|
|
| v.辱骂，痛斥( revile的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
breach
|
|
| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
contradictory
|
|
| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
vivacious
|
|
| adj.活泼的，快活的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
saucy
|
|
| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
bouquet
|
|
| n.花束，酒香 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
trotted
|
|
| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
interim
|
|
| adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
regained
|
|
| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |