"Don't you love your own Félicie? Tell me! Doesn't it flatter your vanity to possess a little woman who makes people cheer and clap her, who is written about in the newspapers? Mamma pastes all my notices in her album. The album is full already."
He replied that he had not waited for her to succeed before discovering how charming she was; and, in fact, their liaison2 had begun when she was making an obscure first appearance at the Odéon in a revival3 which had fallen flat.
"When you told me that you wanted me, I didn't keep you waiting, did I? We didn't take long about that! Wasn't I right? You are too sensible to think badly of me because I didn't keep things dragging along. When I saw you for the first time I felt that I was to be yours, so it wasn't worth while delaying. I don't regret it. Do you?"
[Pg 72]
The cab stopped at a short distance from the fortifications, in front of a garden railing.
This railing, which had not been painted for a long time, stood on a wall faced with pebbles4, low and broad enough to permit of children perching themselves on it. It was screened half-way up by a sheet of iron with a toothed edge, and its rusty5 spikes6 did not rise more than ten feet above the ground. In the centre, between two pillars of masonry7 surmounted8 by cast-iron vases, the railing formed a gate opening in the middle, filled in across its lower part, and furnished, on the inside, with worm-eaten slatted shutters9.
They alighted from the cab. The trees of the boulevard, in four straight lines, lifted their frail10 skeletons in the fog. They heard, through the wide silence, the diminishing rattle11 of their cab, on its way back to the barrier, and the trotting12 of a horse coming from Paris.
"But, my darling, the Boulevard de Villiers is not the country."
He could not open the gate, and the lock creaked. Irritated by the sound, she said:
"Open it, do: the noise is getting on my nerves."
She noticed that the cab which had come from [Pg 73] Paris had stopped near their house, at about the tenth tree from where she stood; she looked at the thin, steaming horse and the shabby driver, and asked:
"What is that carriage?"
"It's a cab, my pet."
"Why does it stop here?"
"It has not stopped here? It's stopping in front of the next house."
"There is no next house; there's only a vacant lot."
"Well, then, it has stopped in front of a vacant lot. What more can I tell you?"
"I don't see anyone getting out of it."
"The driver is perhaps waiting for a fare."
"What, in front of a vacant lot!"
"Probably, my dear. This lock has got rusty."
She crept along, hiding herself behind the trees, toward the spot where the cab had stopped, and then returned to Ligny, who had succeeded in unlocking the gate.
"Robert, the blinds of the cab are down."
"Well, then, there's a loving couple inside."
"Don't you think there's something queer about that cab?"
"It is not a thing of beauty, but all cabs are ugly. Come in."
"Isn't somebody following us?"
[Pg 74]
"Whom do you expect to follow us?"
"I don't know. One of your women friends."
But she was not saying what was in her thoughts.
"Do come in, my darling."
When she had entered the garden she said:
"Be sure to close the gate properly, Robert."
Before them stretched a small oval grass-plot.
Behind it stood the house, with its flight of three steps, sheltered by a zinc14 portico15, its six windows, and its slate16 roof.
Ligny had rented it for a year from an old merchant's clerk, who had wearied of it because nocturnal prowlers used to steal his fowls17 and rabbits. On either side of the grass-plot a gravel18 path led to the steps. They took the path on the right. The gravel creaked beneath their feet.
"Madame Simonneau has forgotten to close the shutters again," said Ligny.
Madame Simonneau was a woman from Neuilly, who came every morning to clean up.
A large Judas-tree, leaning to one side, and to all appearance dead, stretched one of its round black branches as far as the portico.
"I don't quite like that tree," said Félicie; "its branches are like great snakes. One of them goes almost into our room."
They went up the three front steps; and, while he was looking through his bunch of keys for the [Pg 75] key of the front door, she rested her head on his shoulder.
Félicie, when unveiling her beauty, displayed a serene19 pride which made her adorable. She revealed such a quiet satisfaction in her nudity that her chemise, when it fell to her feet, made the onlooker20 think of a white peacock.
And when Robert saw her in her nakedness, bright as the streams or stars, he said:
"At least you don't make one badger21 you! Its curious: there are women, who, even if you don't ask them for anything, surrender themselves completely, go just as far as it's possible to go, yet all the time they won't let you see so much as a finger-breadth of skin."
"Why?" asked Félicie, playing with the airy threads of her hair.
Robert de Ligny had experience of women. Yet he did not realize what an insidious22 question this was. He had received some training in moral science, and in replying he derived23 inspiration from the professors whose classes he had attended.
"It is doubtless a matter of training, religious principles, and an innate24 feeling which survives even when——"
This was not at all what he ought to have replied, for Félicie, shrugging her shoulders, and [Pg 76] placing her hands upon her smoothly25 polished hips26, interrupted him sharply:
"Well, you are simple! It's because they've got bad figures! Training! Religion! It makes me boil to hear such rubbish! Have I been brought up any worse than other women? Have I less religion than they have? Tell me, Robert, how many really well-made women have you ever seen? Just reckon them up on your fingers. Yes, there are heaps of women who won't show their shoulders or anything. Take Fagette; she won't let even women see her undress; when she puts a clean chemise on she holds the old one between her teeth. Sure enough, I should do the same if I were built as she is!"
She relapsed into silence, and, with quiet arrogance27, slowly ran the palms of her hands over her sides and her loins, observing proudly:
"And the best of it is that there's not too much of me anywhere."
She was conscious of the charm imparted to her beauty by the graceful28 slenderness of her outlines.
Now her head, thrown back on the pillow, was bathed in the masses of her golden tresses, which lay streaming in all directions; her slender body, slightly raised by a pillow slipped beneath her loins, lay motionless at full length; one gleaming leg was extended along the edge of the bed, ending in a [Pg 77] sharply chiselled29 foot like the point of a sword. The light from the great fire which had been lit in the fireplace gilded30 her flesh, casting palpitating lights and shadows over her motionless body, clothing it in mystery and splendour, while her outer clothing and her underlinen, lying on the chairs and the carpet, waited, like a docile31 flock.
She raised herself on her elbow, resting her cheek in her hand.
"You are the first, really you are, I am not lying: the others don't exist."
"Then the others?"
"To begin with, there were only two: my professor, and he of course doesn't count, and there was the man I told you about, a solid sort of a person, whom my mother saddled me with."
"No more?"
"I swear it."
"And Chevalier?"
"Chevalier? He? Good gracious, no! You wouldn't have had me look at him!"
"And the solid sort of person found by your mother, he, too, does not count any more?"
"I assure you that, with you, I am another woman. It's the solemn truth that you are the first to possess me. It's queer, all the same. [Pg 78] Directly I set eyes on you I wanted you. Quite suddenly I felt I must have you. I felt it somehow. What? I should find it very hard to say. Oh, I didn't stop to think. With your conventional, stiff, frigid33 manners, and your appearance, like a curly-haired little wolf, you pleased me, that was all! And now I could not do without you. No, indeed, I couldn't."
He assured her that on her surrender he had been deliciously surprised; he said all sorts of pretty, caressing34 things, all of which had been said before.
Taking his head in her hands, she said:
"You have really the teeth of a wolf. I think it was your teeth that made me want you the first day. Bite me!"
He pressed her to his bosom35, and felt her firm supple36 body respond to his embrace. Suddenly she released herself:
"Don't you hear the gravel creaking?"
"No."
"Listen: I can hear a sound of footsteps on the path."
He was disappointed, excited, irritated, and perhaps his self-esteem was slightly hurt.
"What has come over you? It's absurd."
[Pg 79]
She cried very sharply:
"Do hold your tongue!"
She was listening intently to a slight sound, near at hand, as of breaking branches.
Suddenly she leapt from the bed with such instinctive38 agility39, with a movement so like the rapid spring of a young animal, that Ligny, although by no means of a literary turn of mind, thought of the cat metamorphosed into a woman.
"Are you crazy? Where are you going?"
Raising a corner of the curtain, she wiped the moisture from the corner of a pane40, and peered out through the window. She saw nothing but the night. The noise had ceased altogether.
"As you will, but, if you catch a cold, so much the worse for you!"
She glided43 back into bed. At first he remained somewhat resentful; but she wrapped him about with the delicious freshness of her body.
When they came to themselves they were surprised to see by one of their watches that it was seven o'clock.
Ligny lit the lamp, a paraffin lamp, supported on a column, with a cut-glass container inside which the wick was curled up like a tape-worm. Félicie was very quick in dressing44 herself. They [Pg 80] had to descend45 one floor by a wooden staircase, dark and narrow. He went ahead, carrying the lamp, and halted in the passage.
"You go out, darling, before I put the lamp out."
She opened the door, and immediately recoiled46 with a loud shriek47. She had seen Chevalier standing48 on the outer steps, with arms extended, tall, black, erect49 as a crucifix. His hand grasped a revolver. The glint of the weapon was not perceptible; nevertheless she saw it quite distinctly.
"What's the matter?" demanded Ligny, who was turning down the wick of the lamp.
"Listen, but don't come near me!" cried Chevalier in a loud voice. "I forbid you to belong to one another. This is my dying wish. Good-bye, Félicie."
And he slipped the barrel of the revolver into his mouth.
Crouching50 against the passage wall, she closed her eyes. When she reopened them, Chevalier was lying on his side, across the doorway51. His eyes were wide open, and he seemed to be gazing at them with a smile. A thread of blood was trickling52 from his mouth over the flagstones of the porch. A convulsive tremor53 shook his arm. Then he ceased to move. As he lay there, huddled54 up; he seemed smaller than usual.
[Pg 81]
On hearing the report of the revolver, Ligny had hurriedly come forward. In the darkness of the night he raised the body, and immediately lowering it gently to the ground he attempted to strike matches, which the wind promptly55 extinguished. At last, by the flare56 of one of the matches, he saw that the bullet had carried away part of the skull57, that the meninges were laid bare over an area as large as the palm of the hand; this area was grey, oozing58 blood, and very irregular in shape, its outlines reminding Ligny of the map of Africa. He was conscious of a sudden feeling of respect in the presence of this dead man. Placing his hands under the armpits, he dragged Chevalier with the minutest precautions into the room at the side. Leaving him there, he hurried through the house in quest of Félicie, calling to her.
He found her in the bedroom, with her head buried under the bed-clothes of the unmade bed, crying: "Mamma! Mamma!" and repeating prayers.
"Don't stay here, Félicie."
She went downstairs with him. But, on reaching the hall, she said:
"You know very well that we can't go out that way."
He showed her out by the kitchen door.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
deserted
|
|
| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
liaison
|
|
| n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
revival
|
|
| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
pebbles
|
|
| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
rusty
|
|
| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
spikes
|
|
| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
masonry
|
|
| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
surmounted
|
|
| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
shutters
|
|
| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
frail
|
|
| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
rattle
|
|
| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
trotting
|
|
| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
dismal
|
|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
zinc
|
|
| n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
portico
|
|
| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
slate
|
|
| n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
fowls
|
|
| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
gravel
|
|
| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
serene
|
|
| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
onlooker
|
|
| n.旁观者，观众 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
badger
|
|
| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
insidious
|
|
| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
innate
|
|
| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
smoothly
|
|
| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
hips
|
|
| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
arrogance
|
|
| n.傲慢，自大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
chiselled
|
|
| adj.凿过的，凿光的； （文章等）精心雕琢的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
gilded
|
|
| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
docile
|
|
| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
jealousy
|
|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
frigid
|
|
| adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
caressing
|
|
| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
bosom
|
|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
supple
|
|
| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
instinctive
|
|
| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
agility
|
|
| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
pane
|
|
| n.窗格玻璃，长方块 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
moodily
|
|
| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
grumbling
|
|
| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
glided
|
|
| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
dressing
|
|
| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
recoiled
|
|
| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
shriek
|
|
| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
crouching
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
trickling
|
|
| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
tremor
|
|
| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
huddled
|
|
| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
flare
|
|
| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
skull
|
|
| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
oozing
|
|
| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |