Thou art perfect in love-lore.
—Tennyson.
"My cabbage," said Maman Legros in that decisive tone, which she only assumed on great occasions, and which then no one dreamed of contradicting, "what thou dost ask is entirely1 out of the question. It is not seemly for a maiden2 to be left alone in company with her lord. Why! every one down the street would know of it—thy father's 'prentices would make mock of thee—and thy reputation would be as surely gone as is thistle-down after a gale3."
"But, Maman," hazarded Rose Marie, bold for the first time in her life, in the face of maman's stern refusal, "my lord is not my future husband. He is my husband, and surely I have the right to talk to him alone sometimes."
"Rose Marie, thou talkest like a goose, that cackles without understanding," replied maman sternly, "though my lord is thy husband by law and by the will of the Church, he will not be thy true lord until the day after to-morrow, when thou wilt4 ratify5 thy vows6 to love, honour and humbly7 obey him, which vows I, thy mother, took in thy name eighteen years ago. Before thou hast spoken them with thine own lips, after High Mass on Wednesday, thou dost an unseemly and unmaiden-like act in wishing to be alone in his company. Truly thy guardian9 angel must be veiling his face with the shame of thee at the present moment."
[155] But Rose Marie refused to look upon the troubles of her guardian angel with proper compunction. She still felt rebellious10 and argumentative; but she changed her tactics. The sly young damsel realised that she had taken maman the wrong way and that she would gain nothing by controversy11. She, therefore, brought forth12 her other weapons of attack, certain methods of pressure on the parental13 will which hitherto she had never known to fail.
She commenced proceedings14 by allowing her blue eyes to be veiled in tears, then seeing that maman turned her face away so as not to be forced to look on those pathetic dewdrops the rogue15 went close up to her mother and kneeling beside her put two loving arms round the old woman's shoulders.
"Maman!" she whispered with quivering lips.
"'Tis no use," retorted maman obdurately16.
"Only one very tiny, short quarter of an hour, Maman chérie—after dinner—when papa goes downstairs to set the afternoon work to the 'prentices—you could be busy in the kitchen—accidentally—just for one quarter of an hour—Maman chérie!"
The pleading voice was hard to resist. Maman tried to steel her heart and obstinately17 turned away from those liquid eyes, drowned in tears.
"But in the name of the Holy Virgin18, child," she said gruffly, "what is there that thou wouldst say to my lord, that thou canst not do in thy mother's presence?"
"'Tis not what I would say, Maman—" rejoined Rose Marie in a soft murmur19 quite close to maman's ear.
"Then what?"
"I want to hear him speak to me, Maman chérie—oh, I am sure that he will say naught20 that is unseemly—he is too proud and too rigid21 for that—but, when you and[156] papa are in the room he never, never speaks to me at all—I have oft wondered if he thought me a goose. When he comes, he greets me of a truth as if I were a queen, he kisses my hand—and bows in the most correct manner—then, when I sing to him and play on the harpsichord22, he praises my voice, and coldly thanks me for the entertainment—"
"And 'tis right and proper conduct on the part of a great gentleman," retorted maman hotly, "thou wouldst not have him kiss thee, as if thou wert a kitchen wench."
But Rose Marie did not commit herself into saying what she did wish in this matter, but continued with seeming irrelevance23.
"When I go out of the room, after the frigid24 and stately adieux which my lord bestows25 upon me, I oft hear his ringing, merry voice echoing up the stairs, right through the walls to my room. I hear papa and you laughing, in obvious response to his sallies—and once—it was yesterday—I stayed peeping over the bannister until my lord departed—"
"Very unseemly behaviour," growled26 maman whilst an obvious blush rose to her fat cheeks, and her little, beady eyes seemed to twinkle at a certain recollection.
"I saw my lord take thee in his arms, Maman," continued Rose Marie with stern reproach, "and he imprinted27 two such kisses on thy cheeks that literally28 raised the echoes in the house and must have been heard in the 'prentices' shop."
Maman made great efforts to preserve her gravity.
"Well!" she said, "and if he did—I am old enough to be his mother—and would it had pleased God to give me a son like him! Those merry eyes give joy to my heart when I look into them, and he has such funny ways with[157] him—such amusing sallies—why not later than yesterday, he said, speaking of Mme. Renaud, the cobbler's wife down the street, that—"
Maman caught Rose Marie's blue eyes fixed29 eagerly upon her—there were no tears in them now—only excitement and curiosity—Maman promptly30 checked her own flow of eloquence31 and suddenly resumed her gruff, stern voice.
"But that is naught for thee, my pigeon—and now, enough of this talk—the pot-au-feu will be boiling over."
She wore a great air of finality now and would have risen but for Rose Marie's clinging arms.
"Maman darling," pleaded the girl.
"Nonsense!" retorted Mme. Legros decisively.
"One little, tiny, very, very short quarter of an hour."
"Nonsense."
"I want so to know what he would say when we are alone—he could not sit before me mute as a carp, and stiff as papa's wooden measure. I want to hear his merry voice myself. I want to see—what he looks like—when he laughs."
"Nonsense," reiterated32 maman for the third time.
But even as she spoke8 the word, she looked down upon the beautiful upturned head, the glowing eyes, the quivering lips parted in earnest pleading, and like the thistle-down in a gale, which she herself had quoted, the worthy33 old woman's resistance fell away.
"Of a truth thou'rt a rogue," she said more gently.
"Fifteen minutes, Maman."
"Thy father would not hear of it."
"He need not know. When he goes down after dinner—to set the work for the 'prentices."
Maman hesitated one moment longer, but that final hesi[158]tation was useless by now. The fortress34 had yielded to the powerful weapons of the loved one in tears.
"Very well," she said. And Rose Marie jumped to her feet with a little cry of triumph. "But remember," continued maman with stern, upraised finger, "it shall be ten minutes and no more."
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1
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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4
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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ratify
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| v.批准，认可，追认 | |
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6
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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7
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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8
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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9
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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10
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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11
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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12
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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13
parental
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| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
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14
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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15
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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16
obdurately
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| adv.顽固地，执拗地 | |
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obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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18
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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harpsichord
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| n.键琴（钢琴前身） | |
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irrelevance
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| n.无关紧要；不相关；不相关的事物 | |
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frigid
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| adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的 | |
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25
bestows
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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27
imprinted
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| v.盖印（imprint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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29
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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30
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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31
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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32
reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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