When in after days Burgo came to look back on this episode in his career he could recognise that it had not been a wholly unhappy time with him. He was at an age when it is impossible for a man worth calling a man to be actively5 miserable6 for any length of time. Fate had smitten7 him hardly; both Love and Fortune had turned their backs on him; the gilt8 had been rubbed off his gingerbread with a vengeance9; and yet, as time went on, he was surprised to find that he was by no means so wretched as he deemed himself to have a right to be. When the discovery dawned upon him he could not resist a certain sense of disappointment, and was inclined to be savage10 with himself. But presently it seemed much better to laugh at, rather than be angry with, himself, and to regard the whole affair with philosophical11 indifferentism as from the standpoint of an outsider. He would be at once both actor and spectator of his own little tragi-comedy.
Summer was on the turn; Goodwood was a thing of the past till another year; wearied legislators were anxiously speculating as to the proximate prorogation12 of Parliament; and the prospects13 of the coming grouse14 season were being eagerly discussed by those interested in such matters, when, on a certain sunny afternoon, Burgo Brabazon, who had just set down a fare, and was making his way back in leisurely15 fashion to the rank from which he usually plied16, was hailed by the porter of the Mastodon Club. As he drew up by the kerb the man said: "Old gent--hot weather--fainting-fit--come round again all right--won't wait for his carriage--wants to be taken home in a keb."
Scarcely had the last words left the man's lips before Burgo beheld17 coming slowly and feebly down the club steps, and leaning heavily on the arm of another member, none other than his uncle, Sir Everard Clinton.
But what a change there was in him since Burgo had seen him last He looked the mere18 wreck19 of his former self. He had been a tall, robust-looking, well-set-up man, as upright in figure as a military martinet20, with the fine healthy colour (although he had a way of fancying himself out of sorts when there was nothing more serious the matter with him than a mild attack of dyspepsia) of one who habitually21 spent much of his time in the open air. Now he had all the appearance of a man who was slowly but surely dying of some incurable22 disease. His face, which wore the pallor of old ivory, had shrunken till there seemed little left of it besides skin and bone. His eyes had lost all their old-time brightness and clear fixity of regard. His figure was bowed as might be that of a man a century old, and so attenuated23 and worn away that it seemed hard to believe his clothes had not been made for some one half as big again as himself. Burgo felt a great wave of commingled24 love, grief, compassion25, and rage surge over his heart as he watched his uncle descending26 the club steps.
His friend, having helped Sir Everard into the cab and taken leave of him, said to Burgo: "No. 22 Great Mornington Street," adding in a lower voice, "Ring and summon some of the servants as soon as you get there and see that he is properly helped out of the cab."
Burgo drove very steadily27. Ten minutes brought them to their destination. As soon as he had drawn28 up he leapt to the ground, ran up the steps of the house, and gave a mighty29 tug30 at the bell. Then going back to the cab, he leant forward, and looking Sir Everard straight in the face, said: "Uncle, won't you let me help you to alight?"
The old man started at the sound of his voice; then he began to tremble, and staring hard at him, he said: "Who are you? Surely--surely you can't be my nephew, Burgo Brabazon?"
"But, indeed, I can be, and am Burgo Brabazon, and you are my Uncle Everard. You used to say I had my mother's eyes. Have you forgotten what they were like, uncle?"
"Ah! now I recognise you; now I know you are speaking the truth. Still, you are changed somehow. For that matter"--with a deep sigh--"are we not all changed? But--but what's this? It was you who drove me here, and--and you are wearing a badge. What is the meaning of it?"
"Simply, sir, that I am endeavouring to earn an honest livelihood31 by driving a cab."
"My God! and has it come to that? My nephew--poor, hardly done by Josephine's son! Ah, dear shade, while on earth so dearly loved, forgive me--forgive!" The last words were spoken half under his breath.
By this a couple of footmen had appeared on the scene, but not with any unseemly amount of haste. In their opinion, it was a piece of "confounded cheek" on the part of a common cabby to ring the bell as this one had done. But their faces changed at sight of their master. Waving them aside, Sir Everard said in a low voice to Burgo: "Don't let those fellows come near me. Help me yourself into the house, but--but put that horrid33 badge out of sight!"
So Burgo, having first beckoned34 a near-at-hand crossing-sweeper to take charge of his horse and cab, helped his uncle to alight, and then gave him his arm up the steps and into the house.
"You must not leave me, my dear boy--not on any account," said Sir Everard emphatically, as soon as the servants had been sent about their business. "Her ladyship will probably want to get rid of you--nay, she is sure to do so--but promise me not to leave me, promise me not to allow yourself to be turned out of doors by her."
"If it is your wish, uncle, that I should remain here I will certainly do so."
"It is my wish, my most earnest wish." Then, with a ghost of his old authoritative35 manner, he added: "In point of fact I order you to stay."
"In that case, I had better send my horse and cab home as soon as possible. Have you anyone whom I can entrust36 them with?"
"Grimes, the stable-help, is your man. Ring for him."
So, presently Grimes drove off with the horse and cab, being also the bearer of a message from Burgo to Mr. Hendry.
"And now assist me upstairs to my own room," said Sir Everard, when the man was gone.
It had been a room well-known to Burgo of old, and perhaps was the only one in the house which had not been more or less transmogrified by Lady Clinton. Its furniture was dark, substantial, and old-fashioned. Two of its sides were lined with mahogany cases crammed37 with coins, medals, and curios of various kinds. Of late, however, Sir Everard seemed to have lost all interest in his old pursuits. On the floor stood a couple of unopened boxes containing purchases forwarded to him by one of his agents from abroad, but as yet he had not had the heart to open them. It was a fact which proclaimed more eloquently38 than words the pass to which he had been brought. As soon as the baronet had been relieved of his overcoat, and established in his own particular chair, he said: "You see a great change in me, don't you, my boy?"
"I do indeed, sir."
"You, too, are altered, I hardly know how, but there's a difference. It seems to me that you get more like your mother every time I see you."
"It's a long time since you saw me last, uncle."
"So it is--more's the pity. How long? But never mind now. If her ladyship wants to bundle you out, you will refuse to go, eh?"
"You already have my promise, sir. Here I am, and here I will stay till you yourself order me to begone."
"With you here, Burgo, I shall have nothing to be afraid of."
"But what have you to be afraid of at any time, uncle?"
He cast his eyes slowly around as if to make sure that they were alone. Then leaning forward, he said in a whisper: "Sometimes--God help me!--I fear for my life."
Burgo started. Was it because Sir Everard's words had sufficed to give a definite shape and consistency39 to certain half-fledged suspicions of his own?
He did not reply, not, indeed, knowing what to say, but waited to hear more. "Then, again, there are times," resumed the baronet, "when I cast the fear--the thought--the suspicion (call it what you will) from me as utterly40 unworthy of me--wholly degrading--nay, far worse than degrading to her; times when I tell myself that old age is creeping upon me, that my constitution is breaking up (a few years earlier, maybe, than at one time I thought it would), and that, the circumstances being such as they are, I ought to deem myself one of the most fortunate of mortals, seeing that in Giulia I have secured one of the most devoted41 of nurses and the most affectionate of wives."
Burgo felt that it was expected of him to say something; and yet, on so delicate a topic, and one about which he knew so little, would it not be an impertinence on his part to venture on an opinion of any kind?
"I presume, sir, that you have not gone all this time without seeking medical advice?" was his diplomatic remark.
"Certainly not. I had only been three days at home when I sent for Hoskins, who knows my constitution, if anybody does. He's attending me still; but, if a frequent change of physic may be taken as any criterion, he's puzzled what to make of me; though, of course, he would be the last man in the world to admit it. In fact, I've tried to pin him down more than once to a definite opinion, but there's nothing to be got out of him save vague generalities."
Not for some weeks had he talked so much in so short a time. The excitement of meeting his nephew had lent him a fictitious42 strength, but the effort now told upon him. "Pour me out three-parts of a wine-glassful of that green stuff," he said, indicating a bottle on a side table, "and then fill it up with water."
Having swallowed the cordial, he lay back for a little space with closed eyes. But presently he roused himself, and looked at his watch. "Her ladyship is past her time," he said; "she may be here at any moment."
A curiously43 apprehensive44 expression showed itself in his eyes, and Burgo seemed to detect a distinct note of timidity in his voice when he spoke32 next.
"I'm not sure that I've done right, Burgo, in pressing you to stay," he said; "she won't approve of it--I'm certain she won't approve of it."
"I presume, uncle, that you are master in your own house," said Burgo, with a touch of sternness in his voice.
The old man looked at him for a moment or two in silence. Then he said: "I used to be master in my own house, wasn't I, my boy?"
"No man more so, sir."
"Ah I well, I'm not now. How it's all come about would take too long to tell. Indeed, I'm by no means sure that I'm clear about it myself. It's all due to my breakdown45 in health, I suppose. I'm not like the same man I used to be. The days come and go, I hardly know how, nor do I greatly care. Giulia has relieved me of all worry and responsibility; she has taken everything into her own hands." Then, after a momentary46 pause, he added: "And to-day I'm a cipher47 in my own house."
His chin sank forward on his breast, and for a minute or two he seemed lost in thought. Then, lifting his head, and speaking with an echo of his old energy, he said: "But whether Giulia approves of your being here or no, you must stay, Burgo--you have promised me that."
"As I have said already, not till you bid me go will I budge48 an inch."
"But the worst of it is that I'm by no means sure of myself from one hour to another. Such is her influence over me that she seems able to make me say and do whatever she chooses. It's a shameful49 confession50 for a man to make, but it's the truth. As I remarked before, she's the most devoted of nurses, the most affectionate of wives; and yet, for all that, there are occasions when, for some inscrutable reason, my soul rises in revolt against her. Sometimes, when I wake up in the dark hours, and see her by the dim light of the night-lamp standing51 by my bedside, and holding in her hand the potion she has mixed for me, a chill horror comes over me--an unreasoning dread52 of I know not what. It is as though I had just succeeded in breaking the fetters53 of some dreadful nightmare, but still felt its influence upon me. Happily for me, such moments come but seldom. When I look up into Giulia's beautiful eyes the nightmare feeling leaves me, I swallow my draught54, and sink back on my pillows, feeling profoundly grateful that I am blessed with so loving a wife. Ah! that must be the barouche."
Burgo rose, crossed to the window, and looked out. "It is her ladyship," he said quietly.
"Quick--give me a little more of that cordial before she comes upstairs," said Sir Everard.
As Burgo took back the glass he gripped him by the hand. "Courage, uncle!" he said; "remember that you are the master of your own actions, and that under this roof no one has either the right or the power to act in any way whatever in opposition55 to your wishes."
But Sir Everard scarcely seemed to hear him; his eyes were bent56 apprehensively57 on the door. Burgo groaned58 inwardly. He felt that if it came to a contest with Lady Clinton, both he and his uncle would be ignominiously59 defeated, simply because the latter would not have enough strength of will to hold his own against her.
The door opened and her ladyship entered the room.
She had been later than usual in reaching the club on her return from the Park, having had to call at her dressmaker's en route. When told by the hall-keeper at the Mastodon that, as a consequence of a slight attack of indisposition, Sir Everard had already gone home, she drove there as quickly as possible. The report of Vallance, Sir Everard's man, reassured60 her in some measure. His master on his return seemed in no way worse than when he had left the house with her ladyship, but the strangest part of the affair was that the cabman who had brought him home had not only been allowed to assist him into the house, but was actually closeted with Sir Everard at that moment. Vallance had only been about a year in the baronet's service, and had never set eyes on Mr. Brabazon before that day.
Consequently it was with no ordinary feelings of curiosity that her ladyship opened the study door. Who could this mysterious cabman be who had been shut up with her husband for the last half-hour or more? One glance at his face was enough. Despite the change in his appearance, she recognised Burgo on the instant. Her ebon brows came together for a second or two while she stood holding the open door, and her eyelids61 contracted in a curiously feline62 manner. She drew a single long breath, and next moment her face became illumined with one of her sunniest smiles. Closing the door behind her, she went slowly forward.
"My dear," Sir Everard made haste to begin, speaking in an anxious, hurried voice, "this is my nephew, Burgo Brabazon, whom, if I mistake not, you have met on one occasion already. I came over a little queer at the club this afternoon--a mere nothing, due entirely63, I believe, to the heat of the weather--and Burgo being fortunately at hand, was enabled to convey me home. He has fallen upon evil days, Giulia, having actually been compelled to drive a cab in order to keep himself from starving. My sister's son--the boy whom I promised his dying mother I would act a father's part by! It is nothing less than shocking, and I feel myself greatly to blame that things should have been allowed to come to such a pass with him. But all that must be altered from to-day. Meanwhile, until I have time and strength to think matters over and decide what had best be done, I have requested him to take up his abode64 under my roof, which he has agreed to do. So long as he is here he will be able to attend to my little needs, especially at night time, and so divide with you a burden which, although you refuse to admit it, is really beyond your strength, and cannot fail before long to become altogether intolerable."
"Intolerable! my dear Everard, as if anything could be that to me which in the slightest degree concerns your dear self!" exclaimed her ladyship in her clear vibrant65 tones. "You must not say such things unless you wish both to hurt and offend me" Then turning to Burgo, she added: "All the same, Mr. Brabazon, I am very pleased to see you here, and I trust that your presence and company will help to cheer up your uncle and do him more good than all Dr. Hoskins's prescriptions66." Speaking thus, she crossed to him, and smilingly offered her hand. "This house, I have been told, was your home for many years in your youth; why should it not be the same again?"
The baronet heaved a deep sigh of relief, and his face brightened perceptibly.
Burgo took her ladyship's hand and bowed over it. "Thank you very much, Lady Clinton, for your kindly67 welcome," was all he could find to say. For once in a way he felt thoroughly68 nonplussed69. His eyes met hers, but in them he read nothing aggressive, nothing defiant70; they were brilliant, as they could not help being, but beyond that, expression they had none. He noticed, however, that the smile which wreathed the full ruddiness of her lips did not extend beyond them.
Her ladyship turned to her husband. "Do you feel well enough, dear, after your indisposition of this afternoon, to come down to dinner? Yes--I see that you do. Your nephew's presence has done you good already. There is only just time for me to dress. By-the-by, which room have you assigned Mr. Brabazon?"
"Room? He had better have the one that used to be his years ago. I don't believe it has been slept in since. It will seem to you like old times come back again, Burgo, my boy." He was evidently in the cheeriest of spirits.
"I am afraid I must ask your ladyship to excuse my presence at dinner to-day," said Burgo, evidently a trifle discomposed. "I have no clothes here but these which I am wearing, and----"
"My ladyship is prepared to excuse all shortcomings on that score," she broke in with a short laugh. "And so is Sir Everard. Are you not, dear?"
"Of course, of course. What does it matter for once?"
Scarcely had the door closed behind Lady Clinton before it opened to admit Vallance. He had come to assist Sir Everard to his room.
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1
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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conceited
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| adj.自负的，骄傲自满的 | |
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4
vernacular
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| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 | |
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actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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prorogation
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| n.休会，闭会 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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grouse
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| n.松鸡；v.牢骚，诉苦 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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martinet
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| n.要求严格服从纪律的人 | |
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habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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incurable
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| adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人 | |
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attenuated
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| v.（使）变细( attenuate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱 | |
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commingled
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| v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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descending
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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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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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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authoritative
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| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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eloquently
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| adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地) | |
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consistency
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| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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breakdown
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| n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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48
budge
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| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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51
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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52
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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53
fetters
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| n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 )；束缚v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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54
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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55
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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56
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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apprehensively
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| adv.担心地 | |
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58
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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59
ignominiously
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| adv.耻辱地，屈辱地，丢脸地 | |
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60
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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61
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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62
feline
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| adj.猫科的 | |
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63
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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65
vibrant
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| adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的 | |
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66
prescriptions
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| 药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划 | |
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67
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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68
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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69
nonplussed
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| adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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