“My dear Frank,
“When I opened your letter and saw your signature I was so overwhelmed with astonishment1 and delight that I nearly upset the tea-tray, quite upset (I mean as regards temper) my respected father, who hates excitement; and the affair would probably have ended fatally, had [2] not the girls administered brandy in small doses. Seriously, Frank, I am truly glad to see your fist again, and still more so to hear that you will come down and see us, if invited. Please consider yourself invited hereby. We are all agreed, father, mother, and girls, that you will be received with open arms—that is by me. Fortunately, this is of all others just the time for you to come, for we are about to plunge2 into dissipation. My eldest3 sister, Margaret, is just going to be married. The event comes off on Thursday, and there are great killings4 of the fatted calf5 over the departure of the prodigal6. Now a wedding in London is, I imagine, a serious, not to say heavy, business. Here it gives rise to no end of fun and excitement, and is wound up by a ball in the evening. You will be a great acquisition. Travelled swells7 are scarce in these parts, and as Shakespeare says, ‘homekeeping folks have ever homely8 wits.’ So great things will be expected of you. My people here know all about you, having heard me speak of you a thousand times. So lose no time, but put yourself into the train at twelve o'clock upon the day you receive this. I shall be at the station, [3] Stoke you know, at half-past five to meet you; so let there be no mistake about it. Shake old Prescott by the hand for me.—Yours very truly,
“Teddy Drake.
Prescott laughed over the letter.
“I suppose you mean to go, Frank?”
“Of course,” Frank said. “This is quite an excitement. A country wedding will be a relief indeed after these solemn London parties. Well, I have no time to lose, and must go and get gloves and things for the festive9 occasion. Keep your eye on Buttons, Prescott, and make him useful.”
It was nearly six o'clock, and already dark, when Frank arrived at the dingy10 little station of Stoke-on-Trent. Teddy Drake was upon the platform to meet him, and was perfectly11 uproarious in his greeting.
“And so am I to see you, Drake, very glad. You are not a bit altered.”
“You are, Frank, tremendously. I should hardly have known you with those big whiskers. [4] Is that portmanteau all you have? That is right. Here, porter, just put this portmanteau in my dog-cart.”
“This Trent valley of yours, Drake, is rather alarming to a weak-minded man. All these flaming forges and kilns12 certainly give one the idea that the crust of the earth must be of unusual thinness hereabouts, and the hot regions unpleasantly near. I do not feel singed13 yet, certainly, still one can't but think that facilis descensus averni. The question is, ‘shall I hence unscathed go?’”
Teddy laughed.
“To another man I should have said that the bright eyes of the Staffordshire girls were more dangerous than their fathers' fires; but you, who have seen the beauties of Spain, Italy, and the East, are not likely to be scorched14 by our lesser15 luminaries16.”
“You see more pretty faces in a week in England than in a year abroad, Teddy. How far is your place?”
[5]
“Only another hundred yards or so. There, you can see the lights among the trees. Now, we are turning in at the gate. Mind your face, Frank: some of these shrubs17 want cutting. Here we are.”
The front-door was opened as the dog-cart drove up, and the bright light streamed cheerfully out into the damp evening. Mr. Drake was in the hall.
“I am very glad to see you, Mr. Maynard. We have heard so much of you from Teddy that we all feel as if you were quite an old friend.”
“Come along, Frank; I will show you your room. Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes, so you had better go up at once, and then I can introduce you to the womankind.”
The room was a small one, for which Teddy apologised.
“You must put up with a small room, Frank, for to-morrow we shall have no end of people here,—bridesmaids and aunts, and that sort of thing.”
“You need not apologise, Teddy. After knocking about Europe and the East for the last two years I am not likely to quarrel with such a room as this. Now, you go off and dress while I am unpacking18, and come in again as soon as you can, and talk to me.”
[6]
Teddy was not long absent.
“Now, Teddy, sit down while I am dressing19, and tell me about every one; give me the consigne, as it were.”
“The present occupants of the house,” Teddy Drake said, “are, first, my father, whom you have seen—a dacent man, though I say it myself—acting partner in the great house of Painter & Co., porcelain20 manufacturers; an Englishman, quiet and matter of fact; has not a keen appreciation21 of a joke. My mother is Irish to the backbone22, and we all take after her. Indeed, we spend a good deal of our time over there with her relations, and the brogue comes natural to us. I always use it myself, especially when I am talking with ladies; one can venture upon a tinder sentiment in the brogue which one could never hazard in Saxon. The only son of the above-mentioned couple——”
“Spare me that, Teddy,” Frank laughed; “I know more of him than is to his advantage already.”
“Now I call that unkind, Frank; I was about to have said some neat things about Edward Drake, Esq. My elder sister Margaret is to be [7] married in two days, so you won't see much of her, and I need not bother you with a description. She is quiet, and takes after her father. Sarah is one of the jolliest girls you will meet in a day's journey, and Katie's a darling.”
“I remember your speaking of your two elder sisters at Cambridge, Teddy, but I do not think I heard you mention the youngest.”
“Oh, Katie is not a sister at all, Frank. She is a cousin—a downright Irish girl. She has lost her father and mother, and has been living with us for the last two years. Now, Frank, make haste with your dressing, and draw it as mild as you conveniently can, for the girls' sake. It is not fair, Frank; upon my life, it is not. I told them that you were really a good fellow, and they are prepared to like you upon my recommendation; but I said that, as far as looks went, you were nothing to speak of—in fact, rather the contrary—and now they'll think I've been humbugging them entirely24.”
“I am very much obliged to you for your recommendation, Teddy,” Frank said, laughing.
[8]
“It's as true as the piper, Frank. You know you were not a bit good-looking—too thin and whipcordy; but now you have got so much broader, and those whiskers of yours alter your face altogether. Do you know, Frank,” Teddy said, critically, “you are really an uncommonly25 good-looking fellow.”
“Have you got any boxing-gloves in the house, Teddy?” Frank asked, laughing; “because, if so, we will put them on after breakfast to-morrow.”
“No, thank you, Frank, I know you of old; and at any rate no boxing for me till after the wedding. There, now you are ready; let's go downstairs. Dinner will be ready in three or four minutes.”
As Frank Maynard crossed the drawing-room, he came to the rapid conclusion that Teddy's sister Sarah was a tall, handsome girl, with good features, and a happy, good-natured expression like that of her brother. Katie was short and rather plump, with large eyes, which Frank noticed, with amusement, opened a little wider in surprise as he entered. Teddy had evidently drawn26 his portrait in most unflattering colours, for the introduction over, Sarah's first remark was,—
[9]
“I should not have known you in the least, Mr. Maynard, by Teddy's description. You are not one bit like it; is he, Katie?”
“No,” Katie said; “not in one bit. Teddy, what did you take us in that way at all for?”
“'Pon my life, Katie, it's as true as could be. It's the whiskers have made the difference to him.”
“Nonsense, Teddy. Don't believe him, Miss Drake; he has been making fun of you on purpose. Teddy was always great at romancing.”
“Don't you mind what these young people say, Mr. Maynard; they are very rude,” Mrs. Drake said.
“Thank you, Mrs. Drake, I am pretty well able to take care of myself, and I know Teddy of old.”
When they were fairly seated at dinner, Frank had time to examine his new acquaintances more accurately27. Miss Drake was something like her sister Sarah in appearance, but was more quiet and subdued28. Sarah, he thought, was really very pretty, and seemed as full of spirits and fun as her brother. Kate O'Byrne was, as has been [10] said, short and rather plump. Her hair was jet black, and her head set gracefully29 on to her neck. Her features were not particularly good, but her eyes were beautiful; large eyes of uncertain colour, now hazel, now grey, generally very soft and trusting in their expression, but frequently lighting30 up with an arch ripple31 of fun, and when indignant flashing out defiantly32; eyes which in repose33, shaded by the long black eyelashes, were soft and thoughtful, but which looked up so earnestly and straight for an answer, that he would have been a bold man who would have ventured upon an untruth to their owner. A soft, plump cheek, lips slightly parted, a pretty chin with a little double roll beneath it, a soft and very musical voice, a very small, well-shaped hand, and, as Frank afterwards noticed, tiny feet. Katie O'Byrne was not nearly so pretty, so far as prettiness went, as her cousin Sarah: hers was one of those faces which do not strike greatly at first sight, but grow gradually upon one. A face with a good deal of character and firmness; altogether, as Frank said to himself at the end of the evening, “a very loveable face.”
The conversation at dinner was sustained with [11] unflagging spirit, principally by Frank, Teddy Drake, and his sister Sarah. Miss O'Byrne did not talk much, and indeed, Frank found afterwards that she seldom took much share in general conversation.
Frank did not sit long over his wine, but soon joined the ladies in the drawing-room, and was speedily engaged in an animated34 skirmish with the two girls. Then they had some music, and Miss O'Byrne sang some Irish melodies in a pure, rich, contralto voice, which had been thoroughly35 trained, and with a feeling and expression which delighted Frank. The ladies retired36 early, as the next was to be a fatiguing37 day, and Frank and Teddy sat up smoking and talking of college days, until a very late hour indeed.
The next day the house filled with guests, and great were the preparations for the event of the day following. Frank and Teddy were in great request, and found full occupation in assisting the bridesmaids to fill the vases, &c., with flowers. Furniture, too, had to be moved, and many arrangements improvised38, for the ball in the evening. Very gay was the wedding, and the whole town of Stoke made [12] holiday. The wedding festivities were followed by much general gaiety,—dinners, small dances, and balls. The Drakes' house continued full of guests, and Frank had great opportunities in the midst of all these gaieties to indulge in a very extensive amount of flirtation39. After his long absence on the Continent, there was a great charm in the unrestrained and familiar intercourse40 with a number of young English girls as lively, innocent, and fearless as young fawns41. But if he flirted42, he flirted generally, dividing his attentions with perfect impartiality43 among the bridesmaids, and, with the assistance of Teddy Drake, keeping up a perpetual state of fun and laughter with them. Miss Drake and himself were great allies. After the first few days they had, by mutual44 consent, taken to call each other Frank and Sarah. With her cousin Frank never attempted a similar step, but addressed her as Miss O'Byrne, in a formal manner, and took excessive pleasure in teazing her in that and other small matters, especially in respect of her brogue, to her no small indignation. For Katie was a staid little person in her way, and stood rather on her dignity, and she [13] chafed45 not a little under the feeling that even when Frank was professing46 the utmost deference47 to her opinion, he was really quietly bantering48 her. One evening, when Frank had been there nearly three weeks, and was talking of leaving in a few days, he had been specially23 teazing. Katie had fought hard as usual, but had been conscious of being worsted, and when she went upstairs for the night, she said to her cousin,—
“I am really glad Mr. Maynard is going, Sarah. I begin almost to hate him.”
Sarah opened her eyes in astonishment.
“What nonsense, Katie. You don't mean it? Why I do think he is the very nicest fellow I ever met.”
“Yes, I suppose so, Sarah; and his opinion of you seems to be equally good.”
“I hope so,” Sarah said; “one always wishes to be liked by people as one likes them.”
“Stuff, Sarah! My opinion is,” Katie said, positively49, “that we shall have another wedding here one of these days.”
“Perhaps so, Katie,” Sarah answered composedly; [14] “but I do not think we should name the same person if we were to guess.”
“Well, Sarah, I will bet you half-a-dozen pairs of kid gloves upon it.”
“Very well, Katie, I bet. Now who do you name?”
“Frank Maynard and you, of course.
“That's your idea, Katie, is it?” Sarah said, provokingly cool.
“Yes, it is, Sarah,” Katie said, sturdily. “Now, Sarah, you don't think you can deceive me. Never mind, dear, though he does make me mad with him, he's a very good fellow, and you have my full consent and approval.”
“Thank you, dear—wait till you're asked.”
“It won't be so very long, Sarah.”
“Yes, it will, Katie. Frank and I are the best friends in the world, but if he were stopping here for the next ten years we should never be anything more.”
“Now, Sarah, you name your couple. It must be one of the bridesmaids you know, or at any rate, some one down here.”
“It is one of the bridesmaids,” Sarah said quietly.
“Well, which?” Katie said, impatiently.
[15]
“Katie O'Byrne.”
A flush of colour came into Katie's face, and she said, indignantly,—
“Sarah, you're making fun of me!”
“No, I am not, my dear. That's the couple I name for six pair of kid gloves against the other.”
“Ah, well,” Katie said, “then if what you say about yourself is true, our bet will never be decided50. He dislikes me, I'm sure of it, and certainly I dislike him. Why, he's always making fun of me. He never even says a civil word to me, and I'm sure I don't want him to.”
“My dear Katie, I don't say the affair is coming off at once. I don't even say that I believe, or rather that I have any reason to believe, that Frank is in love with you. I only say, as you challenged me to fix on one of the bridesmaids, I fix upon you. He makes no distinction between the others; he flirts51 with them miscellaneously. You are the only exception. He certainly does take pleasure in teazing you, and in making you indignant, but that shows at least that he thinks you worth the trouble of teazing. He almost always manages to get next to you [16] out walking and at meals, quite accidentally, Katie, or else wonderfully well managed.”
“Nonsense, Sarah; I never remarked it.”
“Very well, Katie; but it is so for all that.”
Her cousin thought a little, and then said,—
“Well, if he does, Sarah, it is only because he sees I would rather he didn't, and wants to bother me. No, no; you may not have to pay your gloves, but you will never win mine. I never heard a more ridiculous idea in my life.”
“Well, Katie, we shall see,” Sarah said. “Now I must be off to bed.”
The next day they were out in the garden, looking for violets, for it was now the end of March. Frank and Miss O'Bryne were a little apart from the others, and he had just made an attack upon Ireland. The girl turned round upon him, suddenly,—
“Why do you always treat me like a spoilt child, Mr. Maynard? Why are you always teazing me and making me mad?”
“Not always, I hope, Miss O'Byrne?” Frank said, seriously.
“Yes, you are,” Katie said, indignantly; “you are laughing at me now. Why do you do it?”
[17]
“Do you really wish me to tell you, Miss O'Byrne?”
“Oh, I suppose you are going to invent some ridiculous compliment, but I won't believe it, Mr. Maynard.”
“Are you quite sure, Miss O'Byrne?”
“Sure and sure,” Katie said, resolutely52.
“Well, I shall try to convince you,” Frank said. “Do you like the sea?”
“I don't see what that has to do with the question, Mr. Maynard. But, yes, I do like it—I love it dearly.”
“So do I, Miss O'Byrne. Are you a good sailor?”
“Oh, yes,” Katie said; “I always lived near the sea, and used to go out in yachts. Yes, I am a very good sailor.”
“Then, of course, you enjoy rough weather, Miss O'Byrne? I like, above all things, to see a storm.”
“So do I,” she said, enthusiastically. “I love being out when it is really rough.”
“I suppose, then, you will agree with me, Miss O'Byrne, that no one who does not really love the sea could enjoy a gale53.”
[18]
Katie thought the proposition over for a second.
“No, I suppose not,” she said. “But I really don't see that this has anything to do with what I asked you—why are you always teazing me?”
“I have been answering your question the whole time, Miss O'Byrne. You have only to suppose you are the sea.”
The girl thought a moment, and then looked up indignantly, with a heightened colour, as she saw the application.
“What nonsense you talk, Mr. Maynard. You will try to persuade me next that to knock a person down is a sign of friendship. I shall never believe you again,” she said, as she turned to join the others.
“Yes you will, some day, Katie,” Frank said, following her closely.
Miss O'Byrne did not appear to have heard, but she had. It was the first time he had called her by her Christian54 name, and it sounded strangely to her from his lips. Katie could not help colouring, and was angry with herself for doing so, and still more angry when she saw [19] by a little quiet smile on Sarah's face that she noticed it. When she thought the matter over, she determined55, on the first opportunity to tell Mr. Maynard she considered it to be a great liberty. But then she felt certain Frank would only laugh and say that he called her cousin “Sarah,” but that if Miss O'Byrne objected, he would apologise, and not repeat the offence. After all, too, there was no particular reason why she should object any more than Sarah. As to that talk about the sea, it was absurd.
“No one would care for a storm unless he loved the sea,” Katie said, thoughtfully; “and of course he meant me to suppose that he would not have cared about making me mad if he didn't—well, like me. What humbugs56 men are,” she exclaimed, indignantly; “I do think they imagine we girls are fools enough to believe any stuff they like to tell us.”
Frank Maynard did not repeat the offence of calling her by her Christian name until he said good-bye to her upon leaving.
“What impudence57!” Katie said to herself, as she looked after the dog-cart; [20] “what impudence, to venture to squeeze my hand, as he certainly did, just as if he would persuade me that all his rudeness is to go for nothing. Well, men are humbugs! I wonder whether he will ever come back again.”
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1
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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killings
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| 谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发 | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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prodigal
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| adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的 | |
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swells
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| 增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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festive
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| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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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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kilns
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| n.窑( kiln的名词复数 )；烧窑工人 | |
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singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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lesser
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luminaries
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shrubs
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unpacking
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| n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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dressing
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porcelain
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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backbone
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specially
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entirely
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uncommonly
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drawn
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accurately
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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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gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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lighting
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ripple
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defiantly
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repose
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animated
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thoroughly
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retired
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fatiguing
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improvised
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flirtation
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| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
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intercourse
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fawns
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| n.（未满一岁的）幼鹿( fawn的名词复数 )；浅黄褐色；乞怜者；奉承者v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的第三人称单数 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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flirted
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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impartiality
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| n. 公平, 无私, 不偏 | |
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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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chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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professing
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| 声称( profess的现在分词 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉 | |
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deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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bantering
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| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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50
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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51
flirts
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的第三人称单数 ) | |
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52
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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53
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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54
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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55
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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56
humbugs
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| 欺骗( humbug的名词复数 )； 虚伪； 骗子； 薄荷硬糖 | |
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57
impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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