Far more necessary is it for her to have the goodwill4 of the mother-in-law than that of the husband. It is even possible for the mother-in-law, for certain causes, to divorce the young wife. In point of fact, the bride goes on trial not to her husband, but to her husband’s parents. It depends entirely5 upon their verdict whether she shall be “returned” or not. In most cases, however, where the marriage is arranged between the families, there is the desire to please the family of the bride; and it is more often the case than not that the parents of the husband receive the little, fearful bride with open arms and hearts.
The geisha is not educated for marriage. From her earliest years, indeed, she is taught that her office in life is merely to entertain.
In the case of the Spider, she had even less opportunity for knowing the rules that prevailed in such matters. She had been educated by the witless wife of the geisha-keeper. All her short life had been spent in aiding nature to make her more beautiful, more charming. The most important thing in life, the thing that brought rare smiles of admiration6 to even the sternest lips, was to be beautiful, witty7, and charming.
So the Spider set out for the Saito house with a light and fearless heart, confident in the power of her beauty and witchery to win even the most frosty-hearted of mothers-in-law. Arrayed in the most gorgeous robe the geisha-house afforded, with huge flowers in her hair, her little scarlet8 fan fluttering at her breast, attended by her no less gaudily9 dressed maiden10 and apprentice11, Omi, and followed almost to the gates of the estate by a procession of well-meaning friends and former comrades, the geisha entered the ancestral home of the illustrious family. For just a moment, ere she entered, she paused upon the threshold, a premonitory thrill of fear seizing her. She clung to the supporting hand of the garrulous12 Omi, whose shrill13 and acid little tongue already grew mute in the silent halls of the shiro (mansion).
Presently they were ushered14 into the ozashiki, and the Spider became conscious of the stiff and ceremonious figures standing15 back coldly by the screens, their gowns seeming in the subdued16 light of the room of a similar dull color to the satin fusuma of the walls, their shining topknots undecorated with flower or ornament17, their thin, unmoving lips and eyes almost closed in cold, unsmiling scrutiny18 of the intruder, who seemed, like some brilliant butterfly, to have dropped in their midst from another world.
The women of the household—and these comprised the mother, two austere19 maternal20 aunts, and Takedo Ohano-san (she who was to have been the bride of Lord Gonji)—surveyed the Spider with narrow, keen eyes that took in every detail of her flaming gown, her dazzling coiffure, flower-laden, and, beneath, the exquisite21 little face, with wide and starlit eyes that looked at them now in friendly appeal.
There was no word spoken. Nothing but the sighing, hissing22 sound of indrawn breaths, as with precise formality they made their obeisances23 to the bride.
In vain did the wandering eyes of the geisha scan the farthermost corner of the great room in search of her lover, or even his seemingly friendly father. There were only the women there to receive her.
Dimly, now, she recalled hearing or reading somewhere that this was a fashion followed by many families—the reception of the bride at first alone by the women of the house, who were later to present her to the assembled relatives. But why this disconcerting silence? Why the cold, unfriendly, lofty gaze of these unmoving women? They stood like grave automata, regarding sternly the bride of the Lord Saito Gonji.
The smile upon the geisha’s lips flickered24 away tremulously; her little head drooped25 like a flower; she closed her eyes lest the threatening tears might fall.
A voice, cold, harsh, and with that note of command of one in authority addressing a servant, at last broke the silence.
“It is my wish,” said the Lady Saito Ichigo, “that you retire to your chamber26, and there remove the garments of your trade.”
So strange and unexpected were the words that at first the Spider did not realize that they could possibly be addressed to her. She looked up, bewildered, and encountered the steely gaze of the mother-in-law. Moonlight never forgot that first glance. In the unrelenting gaze bent27 upon her she read what brought havoc28 and pain to her heart, for all the stored-up resentment29 and hatred30 that burned within the Lady Saito Ichigo showed now in her face. Her voice droned on with mechanical, incisive31 calmness, but always with the cruel and harsh tone of contemptuous command:
“It is my wish that your maiden of the geisha-house be returned at once to her proper home.”
She clapped her hands precisely32 twice, and a serving-woman answered the summons and knelt respectfully to take the order of her mistress.
“You will conduct the wife of the Lord Saito Gonji to her chamber.”
The servant crossed to the still kneeling Moonlight, and while the latter, mystified, looked dumbly at the exalted33 but, to her, horrible lady, she assisted the Spider to arise. Mechanically and fearfully, pausing not even at the wrathful, sobbing34 outcry that had broken loose from Omi, she followed in the wake of the serving-maid.
Presently she found herself in an empty chamber, unlike any she had known in the geisha-house, with its golden matting shining like glass, and its lacquer latticed walls of water-paper, and the sliding screens, rare and exquisite works of art. Here the maid fell to work upon the geisha, removing every vestige35 of her attire36 and substituting the plain but elegant flowing robes of a lady of rank.
From the geisha’s hair she removed the ornaments37 and the poppies. She swept it down, like a cloud of lacquer, upon the shoulders of the girl, then drew it up into the stiff and formal mode proper for one of her class. From the girl’s face she wiped the last trace of rouge38 and powder, revealing the rosy39, shining skin beneath, clear and clean as a baby’s.
When she emerged from the hands of the maid, Moonlight looked at herself curiously40 in the small mirror tendered her, and for a moment she stared, dumbfounded at the face that looked back at her. It seemed so strangely young, despite its wide and wounded eyes. Though she was in reality more charming than ever, seeming like one who had come from a fresh and invigorating bath, the geisha felt that the last vestige of her beauty had fled. Within her heart arose a panic-stricken fear of the effect of the metamorphosis upon her lord. She wished ardently41 she were back in the noisy geisha-house, with the maidens42 clamoring about her and the apprentices43 vying44 with one another in imitating her. She put the mirror behind her. Her lips trembled so she could hardly compress them, and to avoid the scrutiny of the maid she moved blindly to the shoji. There she stared out unseeingly at the landscape before her, heroically trying to choke back the tears that would force their way and dripped down her dimpled cheeks like rain.
Some one whispered her name, very softly, adoringly. She turned and looked at him—her young bridegroom, with his pale face alight with happiness. She tried to answer him, but even his name eluded45 her. It was the first time they had been alone together, the first time they had seen each other since that night in the gardens of the Saito.
“Why, how beautiful thou art!” he stammered46. “More so even than I had dreamed!”
He was very close to her now, and almost unconsciously she leaned against him. His arms enfolded her rapturously, and she felt his young cheek warm against her own.
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1
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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2
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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3
propitiating
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| v.劝解，抚慰，使息怒( propitiate的现在分词 ) | |
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4
goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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6
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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7
witty
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| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
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8
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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9
gaudily
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| adv.俗丽地 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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garrulous
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| adj.唠叨的，多话的 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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14
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
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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16
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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17
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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18
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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19
austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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20
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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21
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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22
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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23
obeisances
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| n.敬礼，行礼( obeisance的名词复数 )；敬意 | |
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24
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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27
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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28
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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30
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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31
incisive
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| adj.敏锐的，机敏的，锋利的，切入的 | |
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32
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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33
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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34
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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35
vestige
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| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
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36
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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37
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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38
rouge
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| n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红 | |
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39
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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40
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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41
ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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42
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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43
apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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44
vying
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| adj.竞争的；比赛的 | |
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45
eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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46
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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