‘Shall we have time?’ Ben asked, making for the bank as he spoke1. The path that led to the Cottage struck off from the river-side above The Willows2. And it was always gaining time to make this little diversion. He had been so silent, saying nothing,—and a sense of disappointment had crept over Mary after the intense sympathy with which she felt she had been entering into all his thoughts.
But when he thrust the boat into the flowery bank, and helped her to jump out, Ben replied to her, though she had said nothing. ‘You are quite right,’ he said. ‘It is best in every way not to meet them again.’
‘Ben! I did not say a word——’
‘No,’ he answered, ‘you did not, and it was very, very kind of you, Mary. I am more obliged{175} to you than I can say. There are some things which it is impossible to talk about. I thank you with all my heart.’
What did this mean? Mary was accustomed to a great deal of talk about everything,—more talk than meaning, indeed. And she was a little bewildered by this absence of all explanation. She would have been comforted had he opened up a little and told her how it all was. But she submitted, of course, concluding it was his mannish, unsatisfactory way. And as they went hurriedly up the lane, in the kindness of her heart she slid her hand through Ben’s arm. It was the softest, kindly3 touch, such as his sister’s hand might have given. Was not she his sister, nearer to him than any one else, and, little as she did understand, yet knowing more of what was in his heart,—she thought,—than any other creature in the world?
And Ben was not indifferent to that mute token of sympathy. He drew the timid hand closely through his arm. ‘My good little Mary!’ he said; but even then he said no more. No explanation came, whatever she might do or say, which was hard, but had to be borne.
And this is how it was that Mrs. Westbury, to her very great amazement4, saw her daughter and Ben Renton approaching the Cottage arm-in-arm,—‘like an engaged couple,’ she said afterwards,—which gave her a curious thrill of admiration5 and{176} satisfaction at the first glance. When her nephew came up to her, however, nature prevailed, and the recollection of her own agency, which nobody but herself believed in, in sending all the boys away.
‘Ben!’ she cried, and then kissed him, and held both his hands, and shed some tears of surprise and joy, ‘I am so glad to see you! I cannot tell how glad I am to see you! Have you all come home?’
‘Only I,’ said Ben; ‘but the others are coming, and Mary and I have come to fetch you, Aunt Lydia, to dine with my mother. She does not understand my noise and uncouthness7, after the long spell of quiet she has had. After dinner Mary and I will bring you back.’
‘Mary and you seem to be—full of business,’ said Mrs. Westbury, more and more astonished. She had intended to end her sentence differently, but had met Mary’s eye, and paused, not quite knowing what to make of it. But she went up-stairs for her best cap, calling her daughter with her. ‘What is the meaning of all this, Mary?’ she said. ‘What does Ben mean by it? For my part, I cannot tell what to think.’
‘About what, mamma?’ said Mary; but there was a little flutter in her heart which belied8 her composure. ‘Ben has come home, as you see, and he came to see you, as he ought to do, and he wants{177} you to go to dinner. I think it is all very visible what he means.’
‘It does not seem to me at all plain,’ said Mrs. Westbury; but then she put her hand into her wardrobe to get out her cap, and decided9 that it was best not to spoil sport by any premature10 remarks. It was startling to see Mary leaning so confidentially11 on her cousin’s arm. And Ben’s talk of ‘Mary and I’ was very peculiar12; and if the will was all right, such an arrangement would be a most sensible, most admirable one. But if things were going on so well of their own accord, it might be best to let them alone, and suffer the affair to take its own course. When she found herself walking down to the river a quarter of an hour afterwards, with a maid behind carrying her cap, and Ben and Mary on each side of her, Mrs. Westbury freely expressed her surprise at the whole business. ‘I was just going to have tea,’ she cried. ‘One can’t dine late when one is alone, and Laurence has gone over to Cookesley to see some of his friends. I never thought of seeing any of you, nor of Ben at all, though I knew he was expected. And now to find myself on my way to Renton! Laurence will be struck dumb when he comes home.’
‘So Laurence is a parson now,’ said Ben. ‘How droll14 it will be to see him so! but pleasant for you.{178} You can keep hold of a parson and keep him at home.’
‘Yes. I expect you to give him Renton, you know, Ben, when old Mr. Palliser dies.’
‘Well, I suppose one of us is sure to have Renton to give,’ said Ben; ‘so that Laurence will be safe anyhow. But I have no confidence that it will be me.’
‘It must be you,’ said Mrs. Westbury, indignantly. And then there came a pause, and she was helped into the boat. ‘Who are those new people at The Willows?’ she said, as she settled herself. ‘That is their boat; they are always on the water. They say she is a young widow; but I don’t think that is much like a widow. Somebody told me you knew them, Mary. Was it yourself?’
‘She was at Thorny15 croft at school for a little,’ said Mary, giving her mother a look. The look put a stop to the conversation; but it had to be explained afterwards, which was done somewhat at the expense of truth. The Willows’ boat had been drawn16 close to the bank before they passed, and Mary was less particular in steering17 wide of it. Millicent stood on the lawn, having just landed, with her scarlet18 cloak dropping off her shoulders, and waved her hand to them. ‘Good-night! How pleasant it has been!’ she cried, her voice falling softly through the summer air, still full of the slanting19 sunshine. ‘Good-night!’ Mary cried{179} across the water. Ben never said a word; he did not even pause in the slow, vigorous, regular stroke which made the boat fly down the shining current. They were yards below The Willows before Millicent had finished speaking her two or three words. “Was he afraid?—was he indifferent? And while Mary’s mind was busy about this question, Aunt Lydia was forming her little theories of a very different kind. When a young man passes by a very pretty woman without so much as raising his head, it means,—what does it mean?—that some one else has secured his attention, and taken up all his thoughts. Mrs. Westbury felt as if Providence20 itself was heaping coals of fire on her head. She it was who had brought about the banishment21 of the boys, and yet no sooner had the first of them come home than he set about fulfilling her dearest wish. But no doubt it was for Mary’s sake. Mary, who had never harmed any one, who had helped and served everybody from her cradle. How bright she had become all at once!—how she had learned to chatter22 like the rest! It seemed curious to Mrs. Westbury that an important event should be coming about in her child’s life in which she herself had not been the chief actor,—especially that Mary should have had the sense to acquire for herself an eligible23 lover without any assistance. Ben did not look very much like a lover it is true, but Aunt Lydia was aware that a man in such a posi{180}tion is not always possessed24 with an insane delight, but often has a great deal to think of. She, too, was silent with the stress of her own thoughts. It was Mary who entertained them,—talking as she had never been heard to talk before,—full of wild spirits and fun. Her mother, who knew nothing of the story, did not perceive that Mary’s gaiety came on suddenly after they passed The Willows, nor that her eyes had the humid and dilated25 look which signifies emotion. One finds things out so much more readily when one has an inkling of the fin13 mot of the enigma26. Mrs. Westbury did not even know there was an enigma to solve, and set down her daughter’s high spirits to what seemed to her the most natural and the most likely cause.
‘I congratulate you, my dear, upon having Ben back again,’ she said to Mrs. Renton as she kissed her. They were not very fond of each other, the two ladies; but yet, by dint27 of connexion and contiguity28, had come to a certain habit of mutual29 dependence30, though the support was chiefly on one side.
‘Yes,’ Mrs. Renton said, with an under-tone which was slightly querulous. ‘He is a very good boy; but a stranger in the house makes such a difference in one’s life.’
‘You don’t call Ben a stranger, poor fellow! And he is so nice. It is quite a pleasure to see{181} him back,’ said Mrs. Westbury. ‘I thought you would have been out of your wits with joy.’
‘And so I am,’ said Ben’s mother, with a little indignation; ‘but there is nobody that has any real consideration for my weakness except Mary. She knows just how much I am able to bear. I suppose it is difficult for people in health to realise how weak I am.’
‘Well, my dear, you know I always said that if you would but make an effort to exert yourself it would do all the good in the world,’ said Mrs. Westbury; and then she went up-stairs to put on her cap. ‘I have no patience with your aunt,’ she said to Mary,—‘thinking of her own little bits of ailments31, half of which are mere32 indulgence, when her poor boy has just come home.’
‘Poor godmamma! I don’t think she can help it,’ said Mary.
‘Nonsense, child! I have said to her from the first that she ought to make an effort. How do you think I should ever have managed had I given in? And now tell me, please, what you meant by looking at me so, twice over, when I was speaking to Ben.’
‘I did not want you to talk about Mrs. Rich,’ said Mary, turning away as the exigencies33 of her own toilette required. ‘He used to know her, and {182}I was afraid you might say something——’
‘You might have left that to my own discretion34,’ said Mrs. Westbury, with some offence.
‘But, dear mamma, how could your discretion serve when you did not know?’ said Mary. ‘And, poor fellow! he is so,—so——’
‘So very devoted35 to some one else that he could not even take the trouble to look at Mrs. Rich,—such a pretty woman, too!’ said Mrs. Westbury. ‘It seems to me, my dear, that you have made the very most of your time.’
‘Oh, mamma, how dreadful that you should say so!’ cried Mary, turning round again with flaming, crimson36 cheeks. ‘Surely, surely, you know me better! And Ben, poor fellow! has so much to think of. Nothing could be further from his mind. I have been their sister all their lives; it would be hard if I could not try to be a little comfort to him now.’
‘My dear, if he needs comfort, I am sure I have no objection,’ said Mrs. Westbury, with a smile; and just then Mary’s maid came into the room, and the conversation came to an end. It was this dreadful practical turn, which was in the old Renton blood, which bewildered the less energetic members of the family. But it was wonderful to see how Ben and Aunt Lydia got on at dinner. He told her more about his work, and what he had been doing, in half-an-hour than the others had extracted from him in twenty-four. And the Ren{183}ton spirit sparkled in Mrs. Westbury’s eyes as she listened. ‘Even if you had not made a penny, Ben,’ she said, in her energetic way, ‘I should be so much more pleased that you had been making some use of your talents than just hanging on in the old way at home.’
‘But I have made a penny,’ Ben said, with a kindred glance;—he was pleased with the thought, which gave Mary a momentary37 disgust;—‘though it has cost more than it is worth in the making,’ he added, in a lower tone. And then his cousin forgave, and was sorry for poor Ben. It was dangerous work for Mary, especially as there was still the excitement of the return expedition across the river, to convey Mrs. Westbury home to look forward to. But, fortunately, there was no one visible about The Willows when that moment came;—nothing but serene38 moonlight, white and peaceable, unbroken by any shadow or voice but their own, was on the gleaming river. And the Rev6. Laurence Westbury standing39 on the bank in his clerical coat,—who had been at school when Ben left Renton,—to take his mother home, and bid the new-comer welcome; and then the silent progress back down the stream in the moonlight. It surprised Mary afterwards to think how little Ben and she had said to each other, and yet what perfectly40 good company he had been. And thus they went on, those curious, rapid days.
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1
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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2
willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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3
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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4
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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5
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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6
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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uncouthness
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8
belied
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| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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9
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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11
confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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12
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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fin
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| n.鳍；(飞机的)安定翼 | |
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14
droll
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| adj.古怪的，好笑的 | |
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15
thorny
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| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
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16
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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17
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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24
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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25
dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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enigma
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| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
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dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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28
contiguity
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| n.邻近，接壤 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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30
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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31
ailments
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| 疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 ) | |
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32
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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34
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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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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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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37
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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38
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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39
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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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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