When Gertrude made her appearance at the Vale House, Mrs. Bloxam's anticipations19 were more than fulfilled. The young woman's easy and assured grace of manner, the calmness with which she inducted herself into the place which she had assigned to herself in the establishment, and the conviction with which she inspired Mrs. Bloxam that, if she desired to possess her confidence, she must patiently await the time and manner of her accordance of it, at her own will, were simply inimitable. The schoolmistress contemplated20 the girl with wonder and secret admiration21. She had seen so much of the vapidity22, the frivolity23, the dependence24, and the littleness of feminine human nature, that (as she did not care for Gertrude sufficiently to be alarmed by the dangerous side of her complex character) it was a positive pleasure to her to observe a disposition25 so exceptional. In person she was also changed and much improved, though Mrs. Bloxam was not slow to notice the discordant26 expression which occasionally deprived her face of its youthfulness by lending it an intensity27 beyond her years.
Gertrude Lloyd had been settled at the Vale House for more than a week, and had entered on her duties with a grave alacrity28 which surprised Mrs. Bloxam, whose recollection of her as a desultory29 pupil had left her unprepared to find the girl an active and conscientious30 teacher, before she accorded to Mrs. Bloxam any more confidence than that which her letter had conveyed. When so much time had elapsed, she informed Mrs. Bloxam that she intended to commence her singing-lessons, and invited that lady to be present at the trial of her voice. The masters who attended at the Vale House were all of a superior class, and Gertrude was satisfied to abide31 by the opinion which Signor da Capo should express concerning her musical capacity. The testimony32 of that dark-eyed and sentimental33 exile was most reassuring34; he had rarely heard such a voice as Miss Lambert's, and it was perfectly35 fresh and uninjured, susceptible36 of the highest training. He could conscientiously37 assure Miss Lambert no concert-singer in London possessed38 a finer organ, not even Mademoiselle Roulade, who was just then making such a sensation at the private concerts of the nobility--she was quite the rage at Carabas House in particular.
Miss Grace Lambert was not interested in Mademoiselle Roulade, and cut the worthy39 signor's raptures40 rather unceremoniously short; but he produced a second edition of them for the benefit of Mrs. Bloxam, when Miss Lambert had left the room, and evinced so much curiosity concerning Miss Lambert's future plans, throwing out hints of the advantage to be derived41 from the judicious42 promulgation43 of reports as avant-coureurs of a débutante, that Mrs. Bloxam felt convinced of his sincerity44, and forthwith began to form a pleasant scheme for the future in her fancy.
On the same evening Gertrude requested audience of Mrs. Bloxam in her private sitting-room46; and having been cordially welcomed, briefly47 expressed her appreciation48 of the kindness with which she had been received at the Vale House, and asked Mrs. Bloxam's opinion of what Signor da Capo had said. Mrs. Bloxam thought nothing could be more satisfactory, nothing more encouraging; and if Gertrude really intended to become a public singer--
"I do intend it," interrupted Gertrude, with a slight expressive49 frown; "understand this once for all, Mrs. Bloxam, my mind is quite made up. I may succeed, I may fail; but at least I will make the attempt; and I feel that I shall succeed. I am confident this will not be a losing speculation50 for you."
"My dear girl," said Mrs. Bloxam,--and she said it quite sincerely, with true interest: there had been a fascination51 for her about the girl since her return, a charm partly arising from the uncommonness52 of her disposition and manners, and partly from the elder woman's dim perception of the pitifulness of her story,--"I am not thinking about that. I am thinking about you, and of what you must have suffered, to have made you turn your back so resolutely53 on your past life. You are so young, Gertrude."
"Grace, if you please," said the younger woman, and she touched Mrs. Bloxam's hand for a moment. In the slight caress54 there was a little softening55, and the other took advantage of it.
"You may trust me, my dear, you may indeed," she said. "I don't pretend to be disinterested56 in many of the occurrences of my life; I could not afford to be so--no woman can who has her bread to earn--and I have not acted disinterestedly57 towards you; but I will if you will trust me."
An unusual expression of gentleness was in Mrs. Bloxam's face, and her shallow shifty blue eyes grew almost deep and almost steady under the influence of unwonted feeling.
Gertrude sat still before her, with downcast eyes. A little interval of silence passed, and then she looked up, and spoke59.
"I will trust you, Mrs. Bloxam, as much as I can ever trust anyone in this world. I am separated for ever, of my own free will, by my own irrevocable decision, from my husband. I cannot tell you why in more than general terms. Gilbert Lloyd is a bad man--I am not a particularly good woman; but I could not live with him, and I trust I may never see him again. My life is at my own disposal now; I have no friend but you."
There was no tremor60 in her voice, no quiver through her slight frame, as this young girl gave so terrible an account of herself.
"But if he claims you?" said Mrs. Bloxam.
"He will never claim me," replied Gertrude; and there was that in her voice and in her look which carried conviction to her hearer's mind. "He is more than dead to me--he is as though he had never lived."
"My poor child, how wretched you must be!" exclaimed Mrs. Bloxam, almost involuntarily.
"I am not wretched," said Gertrude; and again she frowned slightly, and again her face looked old, and her voice sounded hard. "I feel that there has been a chapter of misery61 and of degradation62 in the story of my life; but I have closed it for ever. I will never speak of it again, I will never think of it again, if by any effort of my will I can keep my mind clear of it. I am young, strong, clever, and ambitious; and I am not the first woman who has made a tremendous mistake, and incurred63 a dreadful penalty, in the outset of her life; but I daresay few, if any, have had such a chance of escape from the consequences as I have. I will take the fullest advantage of it. And now, Mrs. Bloxam, we will talk of this no more. Let that man's name be as dead to you and me as all feeling about him is dead in my heart for ever; and help me to make a new line in life for myself."
Mrs. Bloxam looked at her silently, and sighed. Then she said:
"You are a strange young woman, and have suffered some great wrongs, I am sure. It shall be as you wish, my dear, and I will try to forget that you ever were anything but Grace Lambert. And now let us talk of affairs--yours and mine, if you like; for I have something to tell you, and to consult you about."
Gertrude looked round her, and smiled. The scene of their interview and its associations were strangely familiar to her. It seemed as though it were only the other day she had sat in that same room, summoned to a consultation64 with Mrs. Bloxam about the expenditure65 of her quarter's allowance, and the fashion of her summer costume. The same bureau lay open, disclosing a collection of tradesmen's books and bills of well-known aspect. Gertrude knew in which of the little drawers the reserve of prospectuses66, in which the innumerable and incomparable advantages of the Vale House were set forth45, was kept. A low chair, with a straight, upright, uncompromising back, whereon a very frosty-looking bunch of yellow dahlias had been worked in harsh worsted by a grateful pupil, stood in the position it had always occupied within Gertrude's memory, beside the bureau. It was known as "the client's chair." Moved by a familiar impulse, Gertrude rose and seated herself in this chair, and looked up at Mrs. Bloxam, with the old look so completely banished68 from her face, with so exactly the same girlish smile which she remembered, that Mrs. Bloxam started.
"You might have never gone away," she said, "for all the change there is in you now. What a chameleon69 you are, Gertrude--"
"Grace!" said Gertrude once more; and then the consultation, whose details there is no need to follow, as they will be made plain by their results, proceeded without interruption.
* * * * *
Signor da Capo was right in his judgment70 of Miss Lambert's voice. Her industry in the study of her art, her unflinching labour, and her great talent were alike conspicuous71. After the interview with Mrs. Bloxam, Miss Lambert did not make her appearance very often in the school-room, and it was rumoured72 that she was not going to be exactly a teacher. This report proved to be correct. She gave a few occasional lessons, but only in a casual way; and it was understood among the pupils that not only did Miss Lambert receive lessons of preternatural duration from Signor da Capo, but that she went very often into London, and took instruction from a still more eminent74 professor of music, a beatified creature, glorious on the boards of the Italian Opera. It was even said, and with truth, that Miss Lambert's singing was beginning to be talked of outside the precincts of the Vale House; and that great ladies with coronets on their carriages and pocket-handkerchiefs had questioned Signor da Capo about his gifted pupil, and even called on Mrs. Bloxam. When these rumours75 had been for some time in circulation, and Grace Lambert's appearance in the school-room had become an event so rare as not to be looked for more than once in ten days or so, another report, and one of a startling nature, disturbed the small world of the Establishment for young Ladies. This tremendous on dit foretold76 an event of no less moment than the relinquishment77 of the "Establishment" by Mrs. Bloxam, and that lady's retirement78 into the genteel tranquillity79 of private life. The Vale House had been disposed of; so ran the rumour73; and Mrs. Bloxam was communicating with the "parents and guardians," and making over her interest and "connection" to her successor. The announcement would be made at breaking-up time. Much excitement prevailed. Most of the young ladies entertained a lively hope that their parents would not feel unreserved confidence in the successor, and that thus they should gain an indeterminate addition to the vacation. Those who had no such hope rather liked the novelty of the substitution. They "didn't mind old Bloxam;"--but anything new must be welcome. For once rumour was not mistaken. When breaking-up time came, Mrs. Bloxam took leave of her dear young charges in a touching80 speech, and consigned81 them, with many expressions of interest, to the care of the Misses Toppit, who were henceforth to preside over the Vale House.
It was generally understood that Mrs. Bloxam's retirement had taken place under pecuniary82 conditions of a satisfactory character, and that Mr. Dexter had acted in the matter with becoming zeal83 for the interests of his client. A few days after the departure of her "dear young friends" for their several homes, Mrs. Bloxam left the Vale House. She was accompanied by Grace Lambert, who remarked, as they drove away, "It must be painful to you, after all, to leave a place where you have lived so long."
"No," said Mrs. Bloxam, "it is not. I feel what the girls fancy about it: I have had too much work and too little play there, to be able to regret the Vale House."
* * * * *
The carriage placed at her disposal by the Marchioness of Carabas whirled Miss Grace Lambert, after her brilliantly successful first appearance at Carabas House, to a small but remarkably84 pretty villa85 at Bayswater. The detached house, intensely modern and white, with the largest possible windows for its size, and the prettiest possible ornamentation about it--of carved wood in the Swiss style, and curly iron railings and posts and verandahs in the Birmingham style, with neat flower-beds, the colours all en suite86, in the miniature Tuileries style--was very pretty and very comfortable. Mrs. Bloxam interested herself in every detail of the small establishment, which she had not found any difficulty in "starting" with her own funds, and which she fully2 expected to be able to maintain most creditably with those which should accrue87 from the success of Miss Grace Lambert, about which she was assured by competent authorities no reasonable doubt could be entertained.
And now that success seemed to be assured indeed. The little coterie88 which was wont58 to assemble almost daily at the villa would rejoice hugely on the morrow of the grand concert at Carabas House, and the grand Carabas Marchioness would no doubt speed the fame of her protégée's success far and wide in the most profitable directions.
The Marchioness had "taken up" Signer da Capo's favourite pupil, concerning whom the gushing89 Italian was wont to tell wonderful things, while he was pretending to administer instruction to the Lady Angelica, the beautiful and accomplished90 daughter of the most noble the Marchioness, who had a remarkably pretty throat, which the singing attitude exhibited in a favourable91 light, but who possessed about as much talent for music, or indeed for anything, as the favourite Persian cat of the most noble. Signor da Capo was very good-looking, and was one of those who, at a respectable distance, and in a modified sense, "understood" the Marchioness, and she responded to his gushing communications about Miss Lambert's talents and attractions, and the inevitable92 furore which she was indubitably to create, by a vehemently-expressed desire to befriend that young lady, and an amiable93 determination to bring her out at Carabas House, and so at once serve Miss Lambert, and prevent Lady Lowndes, who was her intimate enemy, and a rival patroness of genius, art, literature, and fashionable religion, from "getting hold of" the promising67 young débutante. The pleasure of the honest signor--who was truly interested in his young friend, and who religiously believed every word he had said in her favour--when Lady Carabas announced her intention of making Miss Lambert's acquaintance, was genuine and demonstrative, and he readily gave the pledge which she exacted from him, that he would not let Lady Lowndes know of the existence of this unsunned treasure.
"I cannot answer for the discretion18 of M--, my lady," said the signor; "he knows Miss Lambert's genius as well as I do, and he goes to Lady Lowndes' oftener than I do; but there is always the chance for us that M-- never thinks and seldom talks of anybody but himself."
The acquaintance made under such favourable auspices94 ripened95 rapidly into intimacy96, very flattering, and likely to prove very profitable, to Miss Lambert. The Marchioness was almost as much delighted with the girl as she professed97 to be; and Miss Lambert, who "understood" the grande dame98 in quite a different sense from that in which she was in the habit of using the word, was quite alive to the profit and the pleasure to be derived from such exalted99 patronage100. The calmness, the reserve, the unbending self-respect of the girl had a powerful effect on Lady Carabas. They excited her curiosity, and awakened101 her interest. She had a good deal of the former in her disposition, apropos102 of everything, and particularly apropos of the love affairs of her friends and acquaintances, and she naturally felt strong curiosity on this subject as regarded Grace Lambert. She arrived, as she thought, at a tolerably accurate knowledge of who Miss Lambert saw, and where Miss Lambert went; but she never came upon the traces of the slightest "tendre."
"How very charming!" said the Marchioness of Carabas to herself, a day or two before the grand concert at Carabas House; "this young creature's heart has evidently never spoken. She will be a débutante in every sense."
The heart of the most noble had spoken so frequently, that it might fairly be supposed to be a little hoarse103. Hence her admiration of the inarticulatism of that organ in the case of Grace Lambert. As she drove in the Park that day, she actually meditated104 upon the expediency105 of introducing to the special notice of her charming protégée a delightful106 man in the Blues107, who had up to a late period "understood" her, but who had had the misfortune to bore her lately, and the bad taste to take his dismissal in dudgeon.
"He knows about music," thought her ladyship; "yes, that will do;" and then she pulled the deck-string, and gave the order "home," and had scribbled108 half-a-dozen notes of invitation to a little dinner en petit comité on the following Sunday, before post-hour. One of the half-dozen notes was addressed to Lord Sandilands, a second to the man in the Blues, and a third to Miss Grace Lambert. The destination of the other three is no concern of ours.
When Miss Lambert's page brought her the much-monogramed note which contained Lady Carabas' invitation, she observed that a second missive lay on the salver. It was addressed to Mrs. Bloxam, who was sitting in the same room, at a little distance from the piano before which Grace was seated. The page crossed the room, and held the salver towards Mrs. Bloxam, who took the letter, and as she glanced at the superscription, turned deadly pale. She held the letter in her hand unopened, and glanced with a strange uneasiness in her usually placid109 face towards Grace. But Grace had thrown the note she had just read on the floor beside her, and her fingers were scampering110 over the keys, and her Voice was pouring out volumes of sound; she seemed unconscious even of Mrs. Bloxam's presence. Seeing which that lady rose and went to her own room. Having reached that sanctum, and carefully bolted the door, she broke the seal of the letter which had caused her to experience so much emotion, and found, as she expected, that it came from Lord Sandilands. Its contents were brief and businesslike. Mrs. Bloxam knew his lordship's style of old. He told her that he wished to see her alone, for a reason which he would explain in person, should he be so fortunate as to procure111 the desired interview, on calling at the villa on the following day, at three o'clock in the afternoon. He would take his chance of finding her at home, and, if he should be unsuccessful, would call again.
The receipt of this letter threw Mrs. Bloxam, who had been prevented by indisposition from accompanying Grace Lambert to Carabas House, and was therefore unaware112 that Lord Sandilands had been present at the concert, into a state of the utmost perturbation. She dreaded113 she knew not what. It was in vain she asked herself what had she to fear. If, indeed, the design of Lord Sandilands in coming to see her were to inquire after his daughter, he would find her in the care to which he had committed her. With regard to the career which she had chosen, he certainly could not possess the right, nor could she imagine his having the inclination114, to interfere115. Was he coming to destroy the long-maintained incognito116, to make himself known to his daughter? Was he coming to demand from her, to whose care he had committed the child, a stern account of her stewardship117? Had he any suspicion of the truth? Had any rumour of Gertrude's miserable118 marriage reached her father? Was he coming in anger, or in curiosity, or in an access of newly-awakened conscience, of newly-born feeling? She could not tell, and yet she was forced to ask herself these questions, vain though they were; and Mrs. Bloxam acknowledged to herself afterwards that she had seldom passed through more miserable hours than those which elapsed between the receipt of Lord Sandilands' letter, and the page's announcement that Lord Sandilands was awaiting her presence in the drawing-room, on the afternoon of the same day.
At the hour which he had named Lord Sandilands presented himself at the villa. Mrs. Bloxam was alone, and received him with much more composure than she really felt, while he, in his turn, did not betray any symptoms of the unaccustomed mental perturbation which had led him to seek her presence. Years had elapsed since Mrs. Bloxam had last seen Lord Sandilands; years had changed him from a hale middle-aged119 man to one on whom the burden of age was beginning to tell. Those years had made less alteration120 in her; and the first desultory thought that occurred to her when she saw him was, how completely the likeness121 she had formerly122 traced in his features to those of Gertrude had ceased to exist. Lord Sandilands entered at once on the business of his visit.
"I have come to ask you, Mrs. Bloxam," he said, "whether I am not right in supposing that the young lady whom I saw at Carabas House two nights ago is the same whom I placed with you under the name of Gertrude Keith?"
"Miss Lambert is that young lady," replied Mrs. Bloxam.
"I thought I could not be mistaken. I have never seen her since her childhood, as you know, and did not purpose to see her. But I have changed my mind. She is very handsome and very clever, Mrs. Bloxam;" and Lord Sandilands' voice took almost a pleading tone. "She is a girl who would do credit to such a position as--as I cannot give her now--but I should like to serve her in any way that is open to me; and I have come to you to ask your advice as to how this is to be done."
"Miss Lambert is in the house now," said Mrs. Bloxam; "but I have not mentioned your name to her, or your intended visit. I fancied you might have some such purpose as you tell me of in coming, and thought it better to wait until I should know more."
"You did very right, Mrs. Bloxam," said Lord Sandilands. "I think it is better I should not see Gertrude now; and I do not think she ought ever to know the truth--to know that I am her father. It could do no good to her or to me; there is no undoing123 the past; but I see no objection, if you have none, to my being introduced to her in the character of an old friend of yours, interested in her because you are, and anxious to serve her. Do you see any reason why this should not be, Mrs. Bloxam?"
"Certainly not, my lord," replied Gertrude's friend; "it requires little consideration, I think, and I shall be happy to carry out your wishes now as formerly."
Mrs. Bloxam spoke with her usual fluent composure. It had forsaken124 her for a little while after Lord Sandilands' appearance, but now it was perfectly restored. Things were taking the best possible turn. Lord Sandilands was putting himself into the position of her debtor125, making a compact of positive friendship with her. What an escape from the danger she dreaded, the risk she felt she had so duly incurred! He had no suspicion, not the slightest--the terrible episode of Gertrude's disastrous126 marriage was, then, safely concealed127 from the only human being whom, beside herself and her husband, it concerned! With steady serenity128 she turned her attention to what Lord Sandilands had to say to her. Their interview was long and uninterrupted, until, a few minutes after they had heard the sound of carriage-wheels in the little avenue, Grace Lambert entered the room abruptly129. She was looking handsome, and in high spirits, and came in saying:
"I beg your pardon--I thought you were alone."
"This is Lord Sandilands, my dear," said Mrs. Bloxam, as the old nobleman rose and bowed. "Lord Sandilands, Miss Lambert. His Lordship saw you the other night at Carabas House, Grace.
"Indeed!" said Grace, with a perfectly unembarrassed smile. "I am going there now--Lady Carabas has sent the carriage for me--so I came to tell you." Then, with a gesture of leave-taking, she said to Lord Sandilands, "Ah, yes, I remember now, quite well. You were in the front seats, next to a tall young man with a very thick dark beard."
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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varied
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feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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manifestation
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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inevitably
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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contemplated
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admiration
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vapidity
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| n.乏味；无滋味；无生气；无趣 | |
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frivolity
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| n.轻松的乐事，兴高采烈；轻浮的举止 | |
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dependence
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disposition
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discordant
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intensity
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alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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desultory
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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perfectly
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susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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conscientiously
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| adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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raptures
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| 极度欢喜( rapture的名词复数 ) | |
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derived
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| 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 | |
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42
judicious
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| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
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43
promulgation
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| n.颁布 | |
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44
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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45
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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46
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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47
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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48
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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49
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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50
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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51
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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52
uncommonness
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53
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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54
caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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55
softening
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| 变软，软化 | |
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56
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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57
disinterestedly
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58
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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59
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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60
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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61
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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62
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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63
incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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64
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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65
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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66
prospectuses
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| n.章程，简章，简介( prospectus的名词复数 ) | |
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67
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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68
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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69
chameleon
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| n.变色龙，蜥蜴；善变之人 | |
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70
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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71
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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72
rumoured
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| adj.谣传的；传说的；风 | |
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73
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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74
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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75
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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76
foretold
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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77
relinquishment
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| n.放弃；撤回；停止 | |
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78
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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79
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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80
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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81
consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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82
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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83
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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84
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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85
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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86
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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87
accrue
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| v.(利息等)增大，增多 | |
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88
coterie
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| n.(有共同兴趣的)小团体，小圈子 | |
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89
gushing
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| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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90
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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91
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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92
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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93
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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94
auspices
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| n.资助，赞助 | |
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95
ripened
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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96
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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97
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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98
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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99
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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100
patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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101
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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102
apropos
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| adv.恰好地；adj.恰当的；关于 | |
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103
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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104
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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105
expediency
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| n.适宜；方便；合算；利己 | |
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106
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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107
blues
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| n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐 | |
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108
scribbled
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| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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109
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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110
scampering
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 ) | |
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111
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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112
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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113
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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114
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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115
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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116
incognito
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| adv.匿名地；n.隐姓埋名；adj.化装的，用假名的，隐匿姓名身份的 | |
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117
stewardship
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| n. n. 管理工作；管事人的职位及职责 | |
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118
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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119
middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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120
alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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121
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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122
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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123
undoing
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| n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭 | |
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124
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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125
debtor
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| n.借方，债务人 | |
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126
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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127
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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128
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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129
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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