CHAPTER XI. “UNTIL DEATH”

The lights burned in the hall with unusual brightness. Ella stood in the open door of the room, through which the light was streaming. With its radiance came the perfume of roses—the scrub-woman's gift of love. The room was a bower¹ of gorgeous flowers. She had spent her last cent in this extravagance. Mary swept the place with a look of amazement².

“Oh, Ella,” she cried, “how could you be so silly!”

“You like them, ja?” Ella asked softly.

“They're glorious—but you should not have made such a sacrifice for me.”

“For myself, maybe, I do it—all for myself to make me happy, too, tonight.”

She dismissed the subject with a wave of her hand and placed the chairs beside the beautifully set table.

“Dinner is all ready,” she announced cheerfully. “And shall I go now and leave you? Or will you let me serve your dinner first?”

A sudden panic seized the bride.

“Stay and serve the dinner, Ella, if you will,” she quickly answered.

Jim frowned, but seated himself in business-like fashion.

“All right; I'm ready for it, old girl!”

With soft tread and swift, deft³ touch, Ella served the dinner, standing⁴ prim⁵ and stiff and ghost-like behind Jim's chair between the courses.

The bride watched her, fascinated by the pallor of her haggard face and the queer suggestion of Death which her appearance made in spite of the background of flowers. She had dressed herself in a simple skirt and shirtwaist of spotless white. The material seemed to be draped on her tall figure, thin to emaciation⁶. The chalk-like pallor of her face brought out with startling sharpness the deep, hollow caverns⁷ beneath her straight eyebrows⁸. Her single eye shone unusually bright.

Gradually the grim impression grew that Death was hovering⁹ over her bridal feast—a foolish fancy which persisted in her highly-wrought nervous state. Yet the idea, once fixed¹⁰, could not be crushed. In vain she used her will to bring her wandering mind back to the joyous¹¹ present. Each time she lifted her eyes they rested upon the silent, white figure with its single eye piercing the depths of her soul.

She could endure it no longer. She nodded and smiled wanly¹² at Ella.

“You may go now!”

The woman gazed at the bride in surprise.

“I shall come again—yes?”

“Tomorrow morning, Ella, you may help me.”

The white figure paused uncertainly at the door, and her drawling voice breathed her parting word tenderly:

“Good night!”

The bride closed her eyes and answered.

“Good night, Ella!”

The door closed. Jim rose quickly and bolted it.

“Thank God!” he exclaimed fervently¹³. He fixed his slumbering¹⁴ eyes on his wife for a moment, saw the frightened look, walked quickly back to the table and took his seat.

“Now, Kiddo, we can eat in peace.”

“Yes, I'd rather be alone,” she sighed.

“I must say,” Jim went on briskly, “that parson of yours did give us a run for our money.”

“I like the old, long ceremony best.”

“Well, you see, I ain't never had much choice—but do you know what I thought was the best thing in it?”

“No—what?”

“UNTIL DEATH DO US PART! Gee¹⁵ how he did ring out on that! His voice sounded to me like a big bell somewhere away up in the clouds. Did you hear me sing it back at him?”

Mary smiled nervously¹⁶.

“You had found your voice then.”

“You bet I had! I muffed that first one, though, didn't I?”

“A little. It didn't matter.” She answered mechanically.

He fixed his eyes on her again.

“Hungry, Kiddo?”

“No,” she gasped¹⁷.

“What's the use!” he cried in low, vibrant¹⁸ tones, springing to his feet. “I don't want to eat this stuff—I just want to eat you!”

Mary rose tremblingly and moved instinctively¹⁹ to meet him.

He clasped her form in his arms and crushed with cruel strength.

“Until death do us part!” he whispered passionately²⁰.

She answered with a kiss.

1 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

2 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

3 deft   

adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手）

参考例句：

• The pianist has deft fingers.钢琴家有灵巧的双手。
• This bird,sharp of eye and deft of beak,can accurately peck the flying insects in the air.这只鸟眼疾嘴快，能准确地把空中的飞虫啄住。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 prim   

adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• She's too prim to enjoy rude jokes!她太古板，不喜欢听粗野的笑话！
• He is prim and precise in manner.他的态度一本正经而严谨

6 emaciation   

n.消瘦，憔悴，衰弱

参考例句：

• His face was hollowed out to the point of emaciation. 他的脸瘦削到了憔悴的地步。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These photographs show extremes of obesity and emaciation. 这些照片展现了肥胖与消瘦两个极端。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 caverns   

大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Within were dark caverns; what was inside them, no one could see. 里面是一个黑洞，这里面有什么东西，谁也望不见。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• UNDERGROUND Under water grottos, caverns Filled with apes That eat figs. 在水帘洞里，挤满了猿争吃无花果。

8 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

9 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

11 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

12 wanly   

adv.虚弱地；苍白地，无血色地

参考例句：

• She was smiling wanly. 她苍白无力地笑着。 来自互联网

13 fervently   

adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地

参考例句：

• "Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

14 slumbering   

微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• It was quiet. All the other inhabitants of the slums were slumbering. 贫民窟里的人已经睡眠静了。
• Then soft music filled the air and soothed the slumbering heroes. 接着，空中响起了柔和的乐声，抚慰着安睡的英雄。

15 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！

16 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

17 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

19 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。