LANDINGS CASTLE was astir from roof to hall. Lights blazed, voices shouted, bells rang. All over the huge building there prevailed a vast activity like that of a barracks on the eve of the regiment’s departure for abroad. Dinner was over, and the Expeditionary Force was making its final preparations before starting off in many motor-cars for the County Ball at Shifley. In the bedrooms on every floor, Reggies, doubtful at the last moment about their white ties, were feverishly1 arranging new ones; Berties brushed their already glistening2 hair; and Claudes shouted to Archies along the passages insulting inquiries4 as to whether they had been sneaking5 their handkerchiefs. Valets skimmed like swallows up and down corridors, maids fluttered in and out of rooms in aid of Beauty in distress6. The noise penetrated7 into every nook and corner of the house. It vexed8 the Efficient Baxter, going through his papers in the library preparatory to leaving Blandings on the morrow for ever. It disturbed Lord Emsworth, who stoutly9 declining to go within ten miles of the County Ball, had retired10 to his room with a book on Herbaceous Borders. It troubled the peace of Beach the butler, refreshing11 himself after his activities around the dinner table with a glass of sound port in the housekeeper’s room. The[p. 283] only person in the place who paid no attention to it was Eve Halliday.
Eve was too furious to pay attention to anything but her deleterious thoughts. As she walked on the terrace, to which she had fled in quest of solitude12, her teeth were set and her blue eyes glowed belligerently13. As Miss Peavey would have put it in one of her colloquial14 moods, she was mad clear through. For Eve was a girl of spirit, and there is nothing your girl of spirit so keenly resents as being made a fool of, whether it be by Fate or by a fellow human creature. Eve was in the uncomfortable position of having had this indignity15 put upon her by both. But, while as far as Fate was concerned she merely smouldered rebelliously17, her animosity towards Psmith was vivid in the extreme.
A hot wave of humiliation18 made her writhe19 as she remembered the infantile guilelessness with which she had accepted the preposterous20 story he had told her in explanation of his presence at Blandings in another man’s name. He had been playing with her all the time—fooling her—and, most unforgivable crime of all, he had dared to pretend that he was fond of her and—Eve’s face burned again—to make her—almost—fond of him. How he must have laughed . . .
Well, she was not beaten yet. Her chin went up and she began to walk quicker. He was clever, but she would be cleverer. The game was not over . . .
“Hallo!”
A white waistcoat was gleaming at her side. Polished shoes shuffled21 on the turf. Light hair, brushed and brilliantined to the last possible pitch of perfection, shone in the light of the stars. The Hon. Freddie Threepwood was in her midst.
“Well, Freddie?” said Eve resignedly.
“I say,” said Freddie in a voice in which self-pity[p. 284] fought with commiseration22 for her. “Beastly shame you aren’t coming to the hop23.”
“I don’t mind.”
“But I do, dash it! The thing won’t be anything without you. A bally wash-out. And I’ve been trying out some new steps with the Victrola.”
“Well, there will be plenty of other girls there for you to step on.”
“I don’t want other girls, dash them. I want you.”
“That’s very nice of you,” said Eve. The first truculence24 of her manner had softened25. She reminded herself, as she had so often been obliged to remind herself before, that Freddie meant well. “But it can’t be helped. I’m only an employée here, not a guest. I’m not invited.”
“I know,” said Freddie. “And that’s what makes it so dashed sickening. It’s like that picture I saw once, ‘A Modern Cinderella.’ Only there the girl nipped off to the dance—disguised, you know—and had a most topping time. I wish life was a bit more like the movies.”
“Well, it was enough like the movies last night when . . . Oh!”
Eve stopped. Her heart gave a sudden jump. Somehow the presence of Freddie was so inextricably associated in her mind with limp proposals of marriage that she had completely forgotten that there was another and a more dashing side to his nature, that side which Mr. Keeble had revealed to her at their meeting in Market Blandings on the previous afternoon. She looked at him with new eyes.
“Anything up?” said Freddie.
Eve took him excitedly by the sleeve and drew him farther away from the house. Not that there was any need to do so, for the bustle26 within continued unabated.
[p. 285]“Freddie,” she whispered, “listen! I met Mr. Keeble yesterday after I had left you, and he told me all about how you and he had planned to steal Lady Constance’s necklace.”
“And I’ve got an idea,” said Eve.
She had, and it was one which had only in this instant come to her. Until now, though she had tilted28 her chin bravely and assured herself that the game was not over and that she was not yet beaten, a small discouraging voice had whispered to her all the while that this was mere16 bravado29. What, the voice had asked, are you going to do? And she had not been able to answer it. But now, with Freddie as an ally, she could act.
“Told you all about it?” Freddie was muttering pallidly30. He had never had a very high opinion of his Uncle Joseph’s mentality32, but he had supposed him capable of keeping a thing like that to himself. He was, indeed, thinking of Mr. Keeble almost the identical thoughts which Mr. Keeble in the first moments of his interview with Eve in Market Blandings had thought of him. And these reflections brought much the same qualms33 which they had brought to the elder conspirator34. Once these things got talked about, mused35 Freddie agitatedly36, you never knew where they would stop. Before his mental eye there swam a painful picture of his Aunt Constance, informed of the plot, tackling him and demanding the return of her necklace. “Told you all about it?” he bleated37, and, like Mr. Keeble, mopped his brow.
“It’s all right,” said Eve impatiently. “It’s quite all right. He asked me to steal the necklace, too.”
“Yes.”
[p. 286]“My Gosh!” cried Freddie, electrified39. “Then was it you who got the thing last night?”
“Yes it was. But . . .”
For a moment Freddie had to wrestle40 with something that was almost a sordid41 envy. Then better feelings prevailed. He quivered with manly42 generosity43. He gave Eve’s hand a tender pat. It was too dark for her to see it, but he was registering renunciation.
“Little girl,” he murmured, “there’s no one I’d rather got that thousand quid than you. If I couldn’t have it myself, I mean to say. Little girl . . .”
“Oh, be quiet!” cried Eve. “I wasn’t doing it for any thousand pounds. I didn’t want Mr. Keeble to give me money . . .”
“You didn’t want him to give you money!” repeated Freddie wonderingly.
“I just wanted to help Phyllis. She’s my friend.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Sorry. That was a sub-title from a thing called ‘Prairie Nell,’ you know. Just happened to cross my mind. It was in the second reel where the two fellows are . . .”
“Yes, yes; never mind.”
“Thought I’d mention it.”
“Tell me . . .”
“It seemed to fit in.”
“Do stop, Freddie!”
“Right-ho!”
“Tell me,” resumed Eve, “is Mr. McTodd going to the ball?”
“Eh? Why, yes, I suppose so.”
“Then, listen. You know that little cottage your father has let him have?”
[p. 287]“Little cottage?”
“Little cottage? I never heard of any little cottage.”
“Well, he’s got one,” said Eve. “And as soon as everybody has gone to the ball you and I are going to burgle it.”
“What!”
“Burgle it!”
“Burgle it?”
“Yes, burgle it!”
“Look here, old thing,” he said plaintively48. “This is a bit beyond me. It doesn’t seem to me to make sense.”
Eve forced herself to be patient. After all, she reflected, perhaps she had been approaching the matter a little rapidly. The desire to beat Freddie violently over the head passed, and she began to speak slowly, and, as far as she could manage it, in words of one syllable49.
“I can make it quite clear if you will listen and not say a word till I’ve done. This man who calls himself McTodd is not Mr. McTodd at all. He is a thief who got into the place by saying that he was McTodd. He stole the jewels from me last night and hid them in his cottage.”
“But, I say!”
“Don’t interrupt. I know he has them there, so when he has gone to the ball and the coast is clear you and I will go and search till we find them.”
“But, I say!”
Eve crushed down her impatience50 once more.
“Well?”
[p. 288]“I know he has.”
“Well, then, it’s jolly well the best thing that could possibly have happened, because I got him here to pinch it for Uncle Joseph.”
“What!”
“Absolutely. You see, I began to have a doubt or two as to whether I was quite equal to the contract, so I roped in this bird by way of a gang.”
“You got him here? You mean you sent for him and arranged that he should pass himself off as Mr. McTodd?”
“Well, no, not exactly that. He was coming here as McTodd anyway, as far as I can gather. But I’d talked it over with him, you know, before that and asked him to pinch the necklace.”
“Then you know him quite well? He is a friend of yours?”
“Did he tell you that?”
“Absolutely!”
“When?”
“In the train.”
“I mean, was it before or after you had told him why you wanted the necklace stolen?”
“Eh? Let me think. After.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me exactly what happened,” said Eve. “I can’t understand it at all at present.”
Freddie marshalled his thoughts.
“Well, let’s see. Well, to start with, I told Uncle Joe I would pinch the necklace and slip it to him, and he said if I did he’d give me a thousand quid. As a matter of fact, he made it two thousand,[p. 289] and very decent of him, I thought it. Is that straight?”
“Yes.”
“Then I sort of got cold feet. Began to wonder, don’t you know, if I hadn’t bitten off rather more than I could chew.”
“Yes.”
“And then I saw this advertisement in the paper.”
“Advertisement? What advertisement?”
“There was an advertisement in the paper saying if anybody wanted anything done simply apply to this chap. So I wrote him a letter and went up and had a talk with him in the lobby of the Piccadilly Palace. Only, unfortunately, I’d promised the guv’nor I’d catch the twelve-fifty home, so I had to dash off in the middle. Must have thought me rather an ass3, it’s sometimes occurred to me since. I mean, practically all I said was, ‘Will you pinch my aunt’s necklace?’ and then buzzed off to catch the train. Never thought I’d see the man again, but when I got into the five o’clock train—I missed the twelve-fifty—there he was, as large as life, and the guv’nor suddenly trickled52 in from another compartment53 and introduced him to me as McTodd the poet. Then the guv’nor legged it, and this chap told me he wasn’t really McTodd, only pretending to be McTodd.”
“Didn’t that strike you as strange?”
“Yes, rather rummy.”
“Did you ask him why he was doing such an extraordinary thing?”
“Oh, yes. But he wouldn’t tell me. And then he asked me why I wanted him to pinch Aunt Connie’s necklace, and it suddenly occurred to me that everything was working rather smoothly—I mean, him being on his way to the castle like that. Right on the[p. 290] spot, don’t you know. So I told him all about Phyllis, and it was then that he said that he had been a pal of hers and her husband’s for years. So we fixed54 it up that he was to get the necklace and hand it over. I must say I was rather drawn55 to the chappie. He said he didn’t want any money for swiping the thing.”
Eve laughed bitterly.
“Why should he, when he was going to get twenty thousand pounds’ worth of diamonds and keep them? Oh, Freddie, I should have thought that even you would have seen through him. You go to this perfect stranger and tell him that there is a valuable necklace waiting here to be stolen, you find him on his way to steal it, and you trust him implicitly56 just because he tells you he knows Phyllis—whom he had never heard of in his life till you mentioned her. Freddie, really!”
The Hon. Freddie scratched his beautifully shaven chin.
“Well, when you put it like that,” he said, “I must own it does sound a bit off. But he seemed such a dashed matey sort of bird. Cheery and all that. I liked the feller.”
“What nonsense!”
“Well, but you liked him, too. I mean to say, you were about with him a goodish lot.”
“I hate him!” said Eve angrily. “I wish I had never seen him. And if I let him get away with that necklace and cheat poor little Phyllis out of her money, I’ll—I’ll . . .”
She raised a grimly determined57 chin to the stars. Freddie watched her admiringly.
“I say, you know, you are a wonderful girl,” he said.
“He shan’t get away with it, if I have to pull the place down.”
[p. 291]“When you chuck your head up like that you remind me a bit of What’s-her-name, the Famous Players star—you know, girl who was in ‘Wed To A Satyr.’ Only,” added Freddie hurriedly, “she isn’t half so pretty. I say, I was rather looking forward to that County Ball, but now this has happened I don’t mind missing it a bit. I mean, it seems to draw us closer together somehow, if you follow me. I say, honestly, all kidding aside, you think that love might some day awaken58 in . . .”
“We shall want a lamp, of course,” said Eve.
“Eh?”
“A lamp—to see with when we are in the cottage. Can you get one?”
Freddie reluctantly perceived that the moment for sentiment had not arrived.
“A lamp? Oh, yes, of course. Rather.”
“Better get two,” said Eve. “And meet me here about half an hour after everybody has gone to the ball.”
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1
feverishly
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| adv. 兴奋地 | |
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glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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3
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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5
sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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8
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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9
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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10
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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11
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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12
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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13
belligerently
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14
colloquial
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| adj.口语的，会话的 | |
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15
indignity
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| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
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16
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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17
rebelliously
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| adv.造反地，难以控制地 | |
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18
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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19
writhe
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| vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼 | |
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20
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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21
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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22
commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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23
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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24
truculence
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| n.凶猛，粗暴 | |
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25
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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26
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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27
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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28
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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29
bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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30
pallidly
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| adv.无光泽地，苍白无血色地 | |
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31
pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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32
mentality
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| n.心理，思想，脑力 | |
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33
qualms
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| n.不安；内疚 | |
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34
conspirator
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| n.阴谋者，谋叛者 | |
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35
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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36
agitatedly
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| 动摇，兴奋； 勃然 | |
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37
bleated
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| v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的过去式和过去分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说 | |
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38
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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39
electrified
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| v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋 | |
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40
wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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41
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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42
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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43
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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44
pals
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| n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙 | |
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45
yew
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| n.紫杉属树木 | |
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46
alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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47
gulped
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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48
plaintively
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| adv.悲哀地，哀怨地 | |
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49
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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50
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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51
cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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52
trickled
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| v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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53
compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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54
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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55
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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56
implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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57
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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58
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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