The scene was the conservatory4 at the back of Mrs. Mordaunt's London house. It was a wilderness5--that is to say, a wilderness where art reigned6 supreme--of shrubs7, ferns, mosses8, and sweet-smelling tropical flowers. Here and there a shaded lamp glowed with chastened radiance through the greenery; here and there a Chinese lantern hung suspended in mid-air like some huge transparent9 insect of many colours; here and there a statue gleamed snow-white through the leafage. Some one in the drawing-room was playing a dreamy waltz; in the breaks of the music the low silvery plash of a hidden fountain made music of another kind.
Time and the place conspired10. The dark, handsome face bent closer, the lean brown fingers tightened11 their grasp, two hearts fluttered as they had never fluttered before. Then the words which one was dying to say and the other one dying to hear, broke forth12 in accents low, eager, and impassioned:
"Clara, darling, you must know that I love you. You must know that I have loved you ever since that day when----"
In smooth, clear accents a voice behind them broke in:
"Clara, love, I have been looking for you everywhere. I want you particularly. Mr. Brabazon, will you kindly13 open that slide a few inches? I can't think what Stevens has been about; the temperature is perfectly14 unbearable15."
Burgo Brabazon was brought back to mundane16 matters with a shock as though a stream of ice-cold water had been poured down his back. He dropped Miss Leslie's trembling fingers and turned in some confusion to obey Mrs. Mordaunt's behest. Before doing so however, he contrived17 to whisper the one word "To-morrow."
By the time he had arranged the slide, Mrs. Mordaunt and her niece had disappeared. He muttered an execration19 under his breath, for Mr. Brabazon was by no means an exemplary young man.
Ten minutes later he left the house without saying "Good-night" to anybody.
As he made his way through the drawing-room he saw Miss Leslie sitting a little apart from the general company in a recessed20 window. By her side, and playing with her fan, sat young vacuous-faced Lord Penwhistle--vacuous-faced, but enormously rich. "Ah-ha! chère madame, so that's your little game, is it?" muttered Burgo to himself.
A group of three or four men with whom he was slightly acquainted were talking on the stairs. They became suddenly silent when they saw him coming down, and each of them greeted him with a solemn nod as he passed. Burgo felt vaguely21 uncomfortable, he hardly knew why.
A hansom took him quickly to his club, and there, over a cigarette and a bottle of Apollinaris, he sat down to meditate22.
Burgo Brabazon at this time was within a month of his twenty-sixth birthday. He might have been a lineal descendant of Coleridge's Ancient Mariner23, seeing that, like him, he was "long and lank24 and brown"; but his was the lankiness25 of perfect health, of a frame trained to the fineness of a greyhound's, which had not an ounce of superfluous26 flesh about it. He had a long oval face and clear-cut aquiline27 features; he had dark, steadfast-looking eyes, with a fine penetrative faculty28 about them which gave you the impression that he was a man who would not be easily imposed upon; his hair and his small moustache were jet black. He was seldom languid, and still more rarely supercilious29, while occasionally inclined to be cynical30 and pessimistic (in which respect he was by no means singular); but those were qualities of which he could disembarrass himself as easily as he could of his overcoat. He dressed fastidiously, but had nothing whatever of the latter-day "masher" about him, he was far too manly31 for that. Finally, no one could have had a more frank and pleasant smile than Burgo Brabazon, so that it was almost a pity he was not less chary32 of it.
It is certainly unpleasant when, after much effort and inward perturbation, a man has succeeded in screwing up his courage to ask a certain question which has been trembling on his lips for weeks, to find himself baulked at the very outset--to be, as it were, dragged ignominiously33 back to earth when another moment would have seen him soaring into the empyrean. It is more than unpleasant--it is confoundedly annoying.
Till this evening Burgo had had no reason to suppose that Mrs. Mordaunt regarded him with unfavourable eyes. His evident liking34 for her niece had certainly not escaped the observation of that vigilant35 matron, and if she had not openly encouraged him, she had certainly given him no reason to suppose that any advances he might choose to make would meet with an unfavourable reception at her hands.
Miss Leslie was no heiress; her sweet face was her only fortune. Her father had been a country rector, and had bequeathed her an income which just sufficed to save her from the necessity of joining the great army of governesses. For a young lady so slenderly endowed with the good things of this world Burgo Brabazon might be looked upon as a very fair catch in the matrimonial fishpond--for was he not his uncle's heir?
"It's all that confounded little Penwhistle," he muttered to himself. "He's evidently entêté with Clara, and Mrs. M. will do her best to hook him. But I flatter myself I'm first favourite there, and if that is so, by Jove! no other man shall rob me of my prize. I'll call to-morrow, and again and again, till I can get five minutes alone with her. I never cared for any one as I care for that girl."
He was still deep in thought when some one touched him on the shoulder. It was Tighe, a club friend, to whom he had lost a hundred or so at cards during the course of their acquaintance.
"You have heard the news, of course?" said the latter.
"No; what is it?" asked Burgo languidly, with a half-smothered yawn. Just then he did not care greatly about either Tighe or his news.
For reply Tighe handed him an evening paper, his thumb marking a certain passage. The passage in question ran as under:
"At Nice, on the 12th inst., Sir Everard Clinton, Bart., to Giulia, relict of the late Colonel Innes."
Burgo stared at the paper for some moments as if his mind were unable to take in the announcement.
Then he gave it back to Tighe. "What an ancient idiot!" he said in his usual impassive tone. "He'll never see his sixtieth birthday again. But he always was eccentric." And Burgo lighted another cigarette.
But truth to tell, although he took the matter so coolly, he was much perturbed36 inwardly. The two lines he had just read announced a fact which might have the effect of altering all his prospects37 in life.
"I wonder whether Mrs. Mordaunt had heard the news when she carried off Clara?" was one of the first questions he asked himself. "And those fellows on the stairs?" Already he began to feel in some indefinable sort of way that he was no longer quite the same Burgo Brabazon in the eyes of the world that he had been a couple of hours previously38.
All his life he had been led to believe that he would be his uncle's heir. The title, together with such portion of the property as was entailed39, would go to his other uncle, Denis Clinton, the baronet's younger brother. He, Burgo, was the only son of Sir Everard's favourite sister. Both his parents dying when he was a child, his uncle had at once adopted him, and from that time to the present had treated him as if he were his own son. When his education was finished, and Burgo hinted to his uncle that the time had now arrived for deciding upon his future profession in life, Sir Everard had only laughed in his quiet way and put the question aside as a piece of harmless pleasantry; and when Burgo had ventured to broach40 the subject on two or three subsequent occasions, it had met with no response from the elder man.
Burgo, who had no wish to lead an idle life, would fain have gone into the army, but his uncle was unaccountably prejudiced against a military career, and there had been no hope in that direction.
Thus it fell out that month after month had drifted by without anything being finally arranged, till Burgo had gradually settled down into the groove41 of a young man about town, with no more serious employment in life than to contrive18 how his liberal quarterly allowance could be made productive of the greatest amount of enjoyment42. And that he did enjoy himself there could be no reasonable doubt. He belonged to two or three pleasant clubs; he knew no end of nice people who were glad to see him, or professed43 themselves to be so; and when the shooting season began he had the pick and choice of a dozen country houses. In short, Burgo was one of the spoiled darlings of Society, and he was quite aware of the fact, although how much of the favour accorded him was due to his own merits and how much to the reflected radiance of his uncle's prospective44 thousands, was one of those problems of which it would be invidious to attempt the solution.
Of his uncle during these latter years Burgo had seen but little. The English climate disagreed with the baronet's health, or so he averred45, and three-fourths of his time was spent abroad. He was a confirmed numismatist46 and an inveterate47 bric-à-brac hunter. He was said to have one of the finest collections of coins in the three kingdoms, and his house at Oaklands overflowed48 with curios picked up from every country under the sun. That such a man at the mature age of sixty-three should fall a victim to the shafts49 of Dan Cupid was one of the last things which any one who was acquainted with Sir Everard Clinton would have predicated of him.
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1
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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4
conservatory
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| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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7
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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mosses
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| n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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10
conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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11
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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12
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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13
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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14
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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15
unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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16
mundane
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| adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的 | |
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17
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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18
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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execration
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| n.诅咒，念咒，憎恶 | |
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20
recessed
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| v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的过去式和过去分词 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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21
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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24
lank
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| adj.瘦削的；稀疏的 | |
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25
lankiness
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| n.又瘦又高的，过分细长的 | |
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26
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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aquiline
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| adj.钩状的，鹰的 | |
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28
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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supercilious
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| adj.目中无人的，高傲的；adv.高傲地；n.高傲 | |
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30
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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31
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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32
chary
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| adj.谨慎的，细心的 | |
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33
ignominiously
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| adv.耻辱地，屈辱地，丢脸地 | |
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34
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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35
vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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36
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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38
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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39
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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40
broach
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| v.开瓶，提出(题目) | |
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41
groove
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| n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯 | |
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42
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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43
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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44
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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45
averred
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| v.断言( aver的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出 | |
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46
numismatist
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| n.钱币收藏家 | |
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47
inveterate
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| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
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48
overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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49
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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