Chapter 7

 He was very handsome, very erect¹, very noble there, standing² by the old fireplace³. He was not merry to-night, so he was going to ask her to marry him, she knew. And in the black and white of evening things, bronzed face and curling hair, he looked the equal of any old Kyteler on the wall. And he had more than they had, she felt—abounding energy. She was very pretty herself to-night, too, she knew, and stately a little.

 

He was hurting, hurting her badly, for he was speaking now of South Africa, where he was going. And he was carefully telling her how wonderful he had heard that country was: the mass of Table Mountain and the rolling hills, the great acres of grapes, the miles of veldt with the white Boer farmhouses⁴, the sun forever shining, hunting such as she had never dreamed of, great, majestic⁵ storms.

 

"You 'd like it; you 'd like it ever so much."

 

"Oh, I don't know," she lied. "Ireland is a lot to me."

 

He was telling her clumsily, shamefacedly of another thing—of a lucky chance he had had in Brazil many years ago, a chance he had taken laughingly, and that had made him indecently rich, and he still a very young man. She understood.

 

She moved away, and began hunting for a piece of music, so that her back was to him.

 

"Did you ever think," she said, "of settling down in Ireland? You 're Irish, you know.

 

"And it's not a bad place," she went on before he answered. "It's a sort of sportsman's paradise⁷. Fishing and hunting and race-courses. And sailing. And if you get tired you can run over to London, or Paris, or Madrid.

 

"Oh, damn⁸!" she said, "I can't find that thing at all!" She was trembling from head to heel. "Why don't you marry some nice Irish girl and settle down?"

 

"Oh, I could n't settle down in Ireland."

 

"No?"

 

"There 's my work to do."

 

"But you just said you were rich."

 

"That's no excuse for not working."

 

"I thought—I don't know."

 

"No, I 'd be a very poor sort," he laughed, "if I stopped work because I was rich. I 'd have no self-respect—"

 

"No?" she said dully. The trembling had passed now. She was just numb⁹, numb and dead.

 

"But as to marrying an Irish girl, Lady Margery—Margery—"

 

She stood up and turned about. She was smiling quizzically.

 

"You 're not proposing to marry me, are you?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Don't. Don't, O'Conor," she said. "Please don't."

 

"Why?"

 

"Because of this—" she looked at him squarely—"I like you. I like you immensely. To me you 're everything a man should be, but just—I don't seem to see you that way. I don't love—do you see? And I don't think I ever could. No. I never could."

 

"Well, that's straight. Thanks."

 

"Are we friends still?"

 

"Of course, but—" He smiled. "Do you mind if I go?"

 

"I 'll see you out myself.

 

"O'Conor," she half whispered in the hall, "I'm an awful son of a gun. I should love you—you 're so fine, so decent⁶, so—so everything—but I don't. I 'm sure I could never love any one. I 'm a very selfish woman, I sometimes think. It wouldn't have been worth while marrying me."

 

"You're not selfish, and you're very sweet, Margery."

 

"No, no! Shall I see you again?"

 

"I 'm afraid not. To-morrow I go to London, and from there to Africa."

 

"O'Conor, will you do something for me because we are friends?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Will you send me pictures of South Africa, and an occasional one of you, because we are friends?"

 

"Yes, Margery."

 

"And, O'Conor, if twenty years from now you want to settle down, come to me and let me find you a nice girl to marry—oh! the nicest girl in the world—or if you are sick or crippled¹⁰, come."

 

He smiled.

 

"Promise me."

 

"All right, Margery. I will." He put out his hand.

 

"O'Conor," she said. Again she was trembling, but her voice—thank God!—her voice was all right. "I know you 're disappointed, and—O'Conor, would it help if you kissed me?"

 

"No," he said, "I 'm afraid it would hurt more. So I won't."

 

"I suppose it would hurt more." She stepped forward and put out her hand. "I am always your friend, O'Conor, your assured friend. And good-by now, O'Conor, and God bless you wherever you go!"

 

"And you too, Margery."

 

"You 'll come back, O'Conor, if you 're sick or hurt, or want to settle down, and talk to me about it—your friend, O'Conor, your little Irish friend. You won't forget?"

 

"I 'll never forget."

 

He walked down the path under the cloud-touched moon. Would he look back? No, he would n't. He did n't. Oh, there went a man!

1 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

2 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。

3 fireplace   

n.壁炉，炉灶

参考例句：

• The fireplace smokes badly.这壁炉冒烟太多。
• I think we should wall up the fireplace.我想应该封住壁炉。

4 farmhouses   

n.农舍，农场的主要住房( farmhouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Then perhaps she is staying at one of cottages or farmhouses? 那么也许她现在住在某个农舍或哪个农场的房子里吧？ 来自辞典例句
• The countryside was sprinkled with farmhouses. 乡间到处可见农家的房舍。 来自辞典例句

5 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

6 decent   

adj.象样的，不错的，体面的，正派的，恰当的

参考例句：

• We want to raise our children to be decent men and women.我们盼望把孩子们培养成优秀人才。
• There isn't even a decent table in this room.这屋里连张像样的桌子也没有。

7 paradise   

n.伊甸乐园，天堂

参考例句：

• My house had a small backyard,the paradise of children.我那幢房子有一个小后院，那是孩子们玩耍的乐园。
• On a hot day a dip in the sea is sheer paradise.热天洗个海水澡是十分令人惬意的事。

8 damn   

int.该死，他妈的；vt.指责，贬斥，诅咒

参考例句：

• Damn this useless typewriter!这台破打字机真该死！
• I knew damn well what he was going to say.我非常清楚他要说什么。

9 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

10 crippled   

adj.跛腿的，残废的

参考例句：

• He was crippled by polio as a child. 他幼年患过小儿麻痹症，结果腿就瘸了。
• It is not decent to laugh at a crippled person. 笑话一个瘸子是不得体的行为。 来自《简明英汉词典》