That world which never makes the smallest difference in its career whether old members drop out of it, or new members are caught up and whirled along with it, was pursuing its course in very much its ordinary way. The Marchioness of Carabas still had a Soul which required male supervision7, and still found somebody to supervise it; though Mr. Pennington's year of office had expired, another charming creature reigned8 in his stead. Mr. Boulderson Munns still drove his mail-phaeton, still told his foreign artists that he didn't understand "their d--d palaver," and still managed the Grand Scandinavian Opera, though not with so much success as formerly9. There had been a reaction after Miss Lambert's secession from the boards; people began to think there was something good at the Regent, and went to see; and the heart of Mr. Munns was heavy under his gorgeous waistcoat, and he had half made up his mind to retiring from management, or, as he phrased it, "cuttin' the whole concern."
A change had come over one person who has played an important part in this little drama--Lord Ticehurst. Gilbert Lloyd's place in that young nobleman's establishment never was filled up, much to the disgust of Bobby Maitland, who wrote off directly he heard of the quarrel, volunteering his services, and being perfectly10 ready to throw over his then patron, Mr. Stackborough, at a moment's notice. But the news of his old companion's death acted as a great shock upon the young earl, and those reflections which had come upon him during that homeward drive from Hastings, after his refusal by Miss Lambert, came upon him with redoubled force. His life was purposeless, and worse than purposeless; was passed in a not very elevated pursuit among very degrading surroundings. He had a name and position to keep up; and though his brains were not much, he knew that he might do something towards filling his station in life, and, please God, he would. From Mr. Toshington you may gather that Lord Ticehurst has carried out his intention. "God knows what has come to Etchingham, sir!" the old gentleman, who has grown very shaky and senile, will say; "you never saw a fellow so changed. He's cut the turf and all that low lot of fellows--deuced good thing, that; lives almost entirely11 at his place down in Sussex, and has gone in for farmin', and cattle-breedin', and that kind of thing. What does it mean, eh? Well, I don't know, more than that there's never a sudden change in a man that I've ever seen, that there wasn't one thing at the bottom of it. A woman?--of course! They do say that Grace Belwether, niece of my old friend, Sir Giles, is a devilish pretty, sensible young woman, and that Etchingham is very sweet on her."
And Miles Challoner, was he changed? He was sobered and saddened, perhaps; for a great deal of the gilding12, which is but gum and gold-paper after all, but which makes life seem bright and alluring13, had been ruthlessly rubbed off during the past two years, and he bore about with him what was at once the greatest sorrow and the greatest joy--his love for Gertrude. This absorbing feeling influenced his whole life, and so engrossed14 him that he gave up everything in which he had formerly taken interest, and passed his time in recalling fleeting15 recollections of the happy days he had spent in the society of his beloved, and in endeavouring to arrange the wildest and most improbable combination of chances under which those happy days might be renewed. Long since he had fled from the "gross mud-honey of town"--where almost every place was fraught16 with bitter memories not merely of the loved and lost, but of the wretched man his brother, whose career of crime had been so suddenly brought to a close--and had established himself at Rowley Court in the hope that he quiet life and the occupation which his position required, and in which he would involve himself, would bring about a surcease of that gnawing17 pain which was ever at his heart.
All in vain. The ghost of the dead Past was not to be laid by change of scene; nor in the clear air of the country did the uncompromising Future loom18 brighter and more rosily19 than it had in murky20 London. Nor horse, nor dog, nor gun afforded the smallest pleasure to Miles Challoner, who said "Yes" or "No," whichever first entered his head when his steward21 made suggestions or asked for instructions, and who walked about his estate with his head hanging on his breast and his hands clasped behind him, chewing the cud of his bitter fancy, and wondering whether this purposeless, useless existence would ever terminate, and whether before his death he should ever have the chance of playing a part in the great drama of life.
One day he took a sudden determination. It was useless, he felt, remaining inert22, inactive as he was, ever pursuing a vain phantom23 and letting his energies rust24 and his opportunities of doing real good pass by. He was a young man, and there was a life before him yet. Not there, not in his old ancestral home, hampered25 by "proud laws of precedent26" and conventionality, dragged down by old memories and associations with things bygone, but in the New World. Why should he not yet make his life a source of happiness and comfort to himself and others? He had no sentimental27 notions about parting with his family acres. He should never marry, of that he was firmly convinced, and at his death they would go to some one for whom he cared not one jot28. Better to part with them at once, and take the proceeds with him to Australia, where at least he should be free from haunting memories of the past, and have the chance of making a career for himself.
This determination he at once proceeded to carry into effect, writing to his lawyer, and giving him instructions for the sale of the Rowley-Court property so soon as he could find a purchaser. Find a purchaser! It was difficult to make a selection. The Walbrooks and the Walbrooks' friends, who had bought land in the neighbourhood on Sir Thomas Walbrook's recommendation, and the friends who had been staying with the Walbrooks, and thought they would like to have property in the neighbourhood--all self-made men who came up to London with half-a-crown and were then worth millions--all wanted to buy Rowley Court. Eventually, however, Miles gave the preference to Sir Thomas himself, and the arrangement had just been concluded between them when Miles received the letter with which the reader has been made acquainted in the previous chapter.
In one of the wildest and yet most peaceful scenes of the Alpine29 land, the grave of the English nobleman was made, by his own desire. He had no wish that his remains30 should be brought to England, but desired that they should be suffered to remain where his last quiet days of life had been passed in the society of his daughter. Under the shadow of the rustic31 church he rested; and when all had been done, Gertrude and Miles found themselves alone. It was a solemn time and a solemn occasion; and their utter isolation32 from all whom they had ever previously33 known, the strangeness of the scene, and the urgency and uncertainty34 of the future, oppressed them; while the loss of the best friend either had ever possessed35 so darkened the horizon for them, that not even their mutual36 and avowed37 love could brighten it.
By Lord Sandilands' desire Miles Challoner had sent for his solicitor38, who arrived at the Fer à Cheval in time to be present at the funeral, and to whom Gertrude confided39 all the papers which her father had with him. Their contents were explicit40. The greater portion of Lord Sandilands' property he had had the power to dispose of, and he had left it unreservedly to his daughter. There was no mention made of any other person; and Mr. Leggatt, the solicitor, was charged by his late client with the administration of the bequest41.
The evening had fallen on the day whose morning had seen Lord Sandilands' quiet and simple funeral. Mr. Leggatt had explained to Gertrude her very satisfactory position in worldly affairs, and had received the few instructions she had to give him. He then stated that he should be obliged to start on his homeward journey on the following day, and inquired Gertrude's immediate42 intentions with regard to her own movements. Gertrude replied that she could not tell him until the morning. Then Mr. Leggatt discreetly43 retired44, and the lovers and mourners were left alone.
"I sent you from me because I had deceived you," said Gertrude, when the conversation, after long lingering upon the details of the past and upon the friends they had lost, was flagging. "And I thought you stayed away and made no sign because you could not forgive me."
"I stayed away because you had been deceived," said Miles, "and the time had not come when I could tell you the truth and ask you to aid me in making the best of it for us both. You know it all now." He took the letter Lord Sandilands had written to him from her hand "You know that the miserable45 man who was to both of us a rock ahead through life was my brother--the shame and misfortune of our family."
Gertrude bowed her head and covered her face with her hands.
He continued: "All that can be said, except how truly and devotedly46 I love you, is said in this letter--the last message of your father, of my best friend. There is nothing in England for which we care: we have no ties there; we are bound to each other only by ties of love and sorrow in all the world. No one knows, no one can ever know, what that unhappy man was to you and to me. Will you let me try to make you forgive and forget it all in a happier marriage? Ours is an exceptional case. The world would condemn47 us, if the world knew all it could, which would be only half the truth; we know all the truth, and are free from self-condemnation. Say yes, Gertrude; not to me only, remember, but to him whom we have lost; and we shall never see England any more, or part again in this world."
Gertrude made him no answer in words. Her head was still bowed, and her eyes hidden by one hand; but she placed the other in his, and he knew that she was won.
Their marriage took place at Berne, and they are lost in the crowd.
THE END.
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1
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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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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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lodger
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| n.寄宿人，房客 | |
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7
supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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8
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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9
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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10
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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11
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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12
gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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16
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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17
gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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18
loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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19
rosily
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| adv.带玫瑰色地，乐观地 | |
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20
murky
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| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
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21
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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24
rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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25
hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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28
jot
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| n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下 | |
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29
alpine
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| adj.高山的；n.高山植物 | |
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30
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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31
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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32
isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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33
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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35
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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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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37
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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38
solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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39
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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40
explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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41
bequest
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| n.遗赠；遗产，遗物 | |
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42
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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43
discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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44
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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45
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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46
devotedly
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| 专心地； 恩爱地； 忠实地； 一心一意地 | |
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47
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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